Discussion: Why use the passi Common ruk * To place important information at the beginning of the sentence. A new bridge across the river was opened in 2011. * To describe a technical process impersonally The water is then heated to 80° centigrade, Finally, they are cemented onto the teeth © Without an agent, to avoid mentioning the person who performs the action, because this is obvious from the context, or unimportant or very general. Students are expected to attend all classes A new chief executive has been appointed * Note that it may be clearer not to use the passive, and the writers of scientific reports often use active rather than passive forms in order to focus on the result. The second example below may seem clearer. Lack of exercise is considered to be a contributory factor in heart disease. Researchers have concluded that lack of exercise is a contributory factor in heart disease. Agent by and instrument with. # Itmay be important to mention who performed the action: This theory was first developed by Isaac Newton. A new chief executive has been appointed by the parent company. * Inscientific writing, it is common for the agent to be a thing rather than a person, Glucose is used by the cells to provide energy. All social behavior is determined by genetic andlor biological factors. * We can describe the instrument used when something was done using with It was removed with the hand tools that can be seen at the top of the photo. Verbs that cannot be passive * Only transitive verbs (verbs with an object) can be made passive They constructed the building in the 1980s. The building was constructed in the 1980s. * Some transitive verbs cannot be made passive, e.g. become, get, have, fit (be the right size) lack, let, resemble, suit. That dress really suits you! (NOT: You are suited...) He resembles my brother (NOT my brother is resembled...) + Intransitive verbs (verbs with no object) cannot be made passive, e.g. sleep, arrive: She slept late. The train arrived on time, for a change. Lekhanhhufs@gmail.comImpersonal passive Form ‘Common verbs Example ‘Noun + verb in passive form + infinitive/perfect infinitive ‘There + verb in passive form + infinitive/perfect infinitive agree, assume, believe, claim, consider, estimate, expect, feel, find, guarantee, know, mean, presume, regard, report, say, suppose, think, understand Tourism is expected to become a major part of the country’s economy. There are reported to have been a record number of accidents on the roads this year. Tt verb in passive form +that clause accept, agree, argue, assume, believe, calculate, claim, consider, estimate, expect, feel, know, presume, report, say, suggest, suppose, think, understand ‘tis thought that the new railway will provide employment opportunities for local people. Practice: 1. Rewrite each sentence changing the active to passive, or vice versa. Only include an agent if this is needed, and make any other necessary changes. 1. The cells use glucose to provide energy. 2. We provided all the athletes taking part with laptops and video cameras. 3. Health experts advise everyone to eat 400 grammes of fruit and vegetables per day. 4, Nobody knows how the fire began, 5. According to reports, coastal areas have been hit the hardest by the storm, 6. Worldwide we spent around $400 billion dollars on advertising last year. 7. If were asked to rejoin the project, I would refuse. 9. The government is increasing the price of fuel oil from tomorrow. 8. Smith has been forced to abandon the Tour de France after breaking his arm, 10, The authorities are closing the laboratory until further notice. Lekhanhhufs@gmail.com2. Natural processes are often described using the active form, whereas manufacturing processes are usually described using the passive. Complete 1-6 with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets. Limestone is the main ingredient of cement. Firstly, it (I extract). from the ground, Then, at the factory, it (2. heat) to a high temperature with other ingredients. After this, it (3.cool).. . with blasts of cold air. When warm air (4.reach)... (S.COO!)...ecscceeeseeeeee . high ground, itis forced to rise, and, sas reul, it Moisture in the air (6.condense). ..to form rain. 3. When describing processes, make sure the subject and verb agree. Complete 1-8 with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets. ‘Some rock formations (1.hold). large amounts of water. When it (2.rain) . . the tiny spaces in the rock gradually (3. ill) secs With Water so thatthe rock (4.become).. saturated. The top of this saturated zone is called the water table. If long period ofra rain in (5 ‘occur, = , the water table (6.rise) the water table (8.fall), f there is no rain, the rock (7-begin). -.to dry out and 4. The passive and sequencing ‘The diagram shows how energy is produced from coal. Coal Removal Mercury Purified Sulphur syngas Heat recovery steam generator 4 Generator Stoam turbi e iia Electricity Answer the questions ( Lekhanhhufs@gm:a. How is the coal carried to the power plant? b, What is added to the furnace in addition to coal? cc. What gas is produced when coal is burnt in the furnace? . What do you think is removed from the gas? ¢, What is the gas called following this process? £ What do you think the gas does in the turbine? £8, What does the turbine do to the generator? hh, Where do the hot exhaust gases come from? i. What happens to the gases? Use phrases such as First of all, After that, and Where as trigger words to help sequence ideas. Lekhanhhufs@gmail.com5. Complete the text by writing a suitable passive or active form of the verb in brackets in each space. GREEN HOTELS Now that more and more people (1. realize).. other resources, hotels everywhere (2. force)... the UK, a speci ..the importance of saving energy and .to improve their green credentials. In body called the “Green Tourism Business Scheme" (3. set up) .with just this issue in mind, and (4. become) very popular. The number of hotels assessed by the scheme (5.double) cover the past two years as hotel ‘owners (6.persuade) .that going green also makes good business sense. Even the least perceptive hotel visitor can spot the problems: energy (7.waste) when lights. (B.leave on) .. Fooms are too hot, bathrooms (9,provide) with too many towels and so on, Cutting out waste in areas like these means that business costs (10.can cut) , 80 the scheme helps hotels up and down the country to plan changes. As a result, in some hotels inefficient boilers (11 replace) .,and better insulation (12.fit) .. thus saving energy and money. In others, waste usage (13.reduce) .. and some rural hotels (14.collect) ... rainwater in underground tanks. In one London hotel, beehives (15.install .. ..on the roof as part of a drive to save the threatened bee population, The honey produced here (16.serve) . in the hotel’s restaurant, As we know, going green is largely a matter of changing attitudes, and this (17.apply) to both hotel owners, and to guests. The latter (1 *) more information about green issues in the hotel, but (19.not lecture) . -in an aggressive way. Everyone (20.encourage) ..to do their bit, and in some hotels guests even get a discount for not using their car during their stay. 6. Write one word in each gap. THE SCRAMJET Imagine (1)...... transported around the globe in a matter of hours, rather than the 24 hours which (2).. .-----.curTently required to get from London to Sydney. Such is the promise of the scramjet, a highly experiment type of engine which has been @). development over the past couple of decades. In a conventional jet engine, air (4). ...sucked into the engine at speeds below the speed of sound, where it is mixed (8). fuel, ignited, and the exhaust gases provide thrust. Ina scramjet, which has to (6). taken to supersonic speeds by conventional means before it will operate, the air centers at supersonic speeds, Ithas (7) estimated that a scramjet might be capable of travelling at 12-24 times the speed of sound. However, the technology (8) been found to be extremely difficult to control, Although scientists (9). had seramjets perform short flights, commercial aircraft are still a long way in the future, and indeed may never (0) snecessfully develaped Lekhanhhufs@gmail.com