PASSIVE SENTENCES

1.1 ACTIVE SENTENCES AND PASSIVE SENTENCES

(a) ACTIVE: Bob mailed the package.
(a) and (b) have the same meaning.
(b) PASSIVE: The package was mailed by
Bob.
S
V
O
In (c): the object of an active sentence
(c) Bob mailed the package.
becomes the subject of a passive sentence.
S
V
by-phrase
The package was mailed by Bob.
(d) S
V
O
Bob mailed the package.

In (d): The subject of an active sentence is

the object of by in the by-phrase in a
passive sentence.

S
V
by-phrase
The package was mailed by Bob.
(e) ACTIVE: The teacher corrects our
homework.
(f) PASSIVE: Our homework is corrected by
the teacher.
(g) ACTIVE: Mr. Lee will teach this class.
(h) PASSIVE: This class will be taught by Mr.
Lee.

Forms of all passive verbs:

BE + PAST PARTICIPLE
BE can be in any of its forms: am, is, are,
was, were, has been, have been, will be, etc.
THE PAST PARTICIPLE follows BE.

1.2 TENSE FORMS OF PASSIVE VERBS

Notice that all the passive verbs are formed with BE + PAST PARTICIPLE
TENSE
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
Simple The news surprises me.
I am surprised by the news.
Present The news surprises Sam.
Sam is surprised by the news.
The news surprises us.
We are surprised by the news.
Simple The news surprised me.
I was surprised by the news.
Past
The news surprised Sam.
Sam was surprised by the news.
The news surprised us.
We were surprised by the news.
Present Bob has mailed the letter.
The letter has been mailed by Bob.
Perfect Bob has mailed the letters.
The letters have been mailed by Bob.
Future Bob will mail the letter.
The letter will be mailed by Bob.
Bob is going to mail the letter.
The letter is going to be mailed by
Bob.
A. Change the active verbs to passive verbs.
1. SIMPLE PRESENT:
a) The teacher helps me.
b) The teacher helps Jane.
c) The teacher helps us.

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2. SIMPLE PAST:
a) The teacher helped me.
b) The teacher helped them.

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3. PRESENT PERFECT:
a) The teacher has helped Joe.
b) The teacher has helped us.

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4. FUTURE
a) The teacher will help me.
b) The teacher is going to help me.
c) The teacher will help Tim.
d) The teacher is going to help Tim.

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B. Change the sentences to the passive voice.

a) Mrs. Fox washed the windows.
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b) Mr. Adam will do the work.
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c) A college student bought my old car.
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d) The secretary is going to fax the documents.
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e) That company employs many people.
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f) Ms. Bond will teach our class.
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g) The jeweler is going to fix my watch.
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h) The children have eaten all the chocolate cake.
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i) Mr. Cart delivers our mail.
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j) Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.
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k) Water surrounds an island.
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l) A maid will clean our hotel room.
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m) A plumber is going to fix the leaky faucet.
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n) A doctor has examined the sick child.
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o) The police arrested James Swan.
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p) A large number of people speak English.
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q) The teachers explanation confused Charles.
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r) Helicopters fascinate children and adults.
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s) Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

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C. Change the sentences from passive to active voice.
a) Anns purse was stolen by a thief.
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b) Was the bird killed by the cat?
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c) The jogger wasnt bitten by the dog.
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d) Is Spanish spoken by a big number of people?
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e) The petition has been signed by more than one hundred people.
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D. Change the sentence from active to passive. Include the by-phrase only if necessary.
a) Bob Smith built that house.
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b) Someone built this house in 1904.
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c) People grow rice in India.
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d) Some people speak Quichua in some parts of Ecuador.
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e) Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
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f) The president of the company has canceled the meeting.
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g) Someone serves beer and wine at that restaurant.
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h) Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of the Species in 1859.
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i) People sell hammers at a hardware store.
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j) My grandfather made that table.
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