Why Passive?

The action / the event is more

important than the doer

The doer is unknown

The doer is obvious

 Passive structure
Tenses Structure Example

Simple present am/is/are+V3 English is spoken here.

Present continuous am/is/are being + V3 The suspect is being interrogated.
Simple Past was/were+V3 A car was stolen last night.
Past Continuous was/were being+V3 I felt I was being watched.
Present Perfect have/has been+V3 The verdict has been given.
Past Perfect had been+V3 The lawyer knew his client had been
threatened not to continue the case.

will future will be+V3 You will be informed when the date of the
trial has been set out.
future perfect will have been+V3 Everything will have been done by
Tuesday.
going to future am/is/are going to His case is going to be tried in South
be+V3 Jakarta District court.
Change the active to passive if possible. Some verbs are
intransitive and cannot be change.
1. My cat died.
2. I agree with Dr. Ikeda’s theory.
3. Dr. Ikeda developed that theory.
4. Timmy dropped the cup.
5. The cup fell to the floor.
6. The assistant manager interviewed me.
7. It rained hard yesterday.
8. A hurricane destroyed the small fishing village.
9. Dinosaurs existed millions of years ago.
10. A large vase stands in the corner of our front hallway.
11. The children seemed happy when they went to the zoo.
12. After class, one of the students always erases the
chalkboard.
13. The solution to my problem appeared to me in a dream.
Find the passive verbs in this text. What tenses are they?

In Denmark, 24 people were left hanging upside down

when a roller coaster car made an unscheduled stop.
The passengers were stranded 60 ft in the air for 20
minutes before firemen arrived with ladders.
An official for the fairground, at Aalborg in Western
Denmark, said the riders had been firmly locked in and had
not been in danger.
“They were given their money back,” the official said.
Study this example:
A driver has been sent to jail for 90 days for driving with
excess alcohol.
Graham Smith,29, of North Street, Barton, was stopped by
police officer near his home last November and was found to
have drunk almost twice the legal limit for drivers, Didcot
magistrates heard on Thursday.
Twelve months earlier Smith had been disqualified from
driving for three years for drink-driving.
He was disqualified for twelve months in 1986 for a similar
offence.
Mr Peter Jones, defending, said Smith had used the car to
visit a sick friend.
He said Smith was depressed after the visit, and went to a
pub and drunk five or six pints before driving home.
He was caught by police during a routine speed check in
Wantage Road, Barton.
Write passive sentence. Use the correct tenses.

1. Chinese (speak) in Singapore.

2. The Taj Mahal (build) around 1640.
3. The new hospital (open) next year.
4. She (interview) now.
5. These computers (make) in Korea.
6. Passengers (ask) not to speak to the driver.
7. Sorry about the noise – the road (mend).
8. The village church (burn down) last year.
9. A Roman pavement (just find) under Oxford Street.
Describing Process
HOW PEOPLE MAKE BOOKS
1. First of all, the printers print big sheets of paper.
2. Each sheet contains the text of a number of pages.
3. People fold and cut the sheets to produce sections of
the book.
4. We call these sections signatures.
5. The printers put all the signatures together in the
correct order.
6. Then they bind the signatures together and trim the
edges.
7. Finally, they attach the cover – which they have
printed separately.
8. Now, the publishers can publish the book.
Describing Process 2: How Courts settle dispute in civil case

1. In civil case, one person sues another.

2. We call this person a plaintiff.
3. He complains someone has injured him.
4. A lawyer writes out the complaint and files it with the
court.
5. The filing of the complaint starts the case.
6. The lawyer for the defendant prepares an answer and
files it with the court.
7. We call the answer or similar paper “pleading.”
8. The lawyer may make various motions or claims
concerning the pleadings.
9. When they join the issues, the court is ready to decide
the issue.