Welcome to English 1!

Prof. Ana Katrina Palma-de Jesus

First, a brief intro
3 Things I Know about YOU
1) You are
milennials.
You learn best
by doing.
3 Things I Know about YOU

2) You like fun-
filled and
integrative
learning.
3 Things I Know about YOU

3) You all want
(and need!) to
improve your
communication
skills.
3 Things You Should Know about ME
1) I expect
my
students
to be avid
readers.

3 Things You Should Know about ME
2) I demand maximum
participation.

Do not think that
Do not think that
And dont ever think you can do this
3 Things You Should Know about ME
3) I believe that each student can succeed!
Additional House Rules
1) There might be a quiz every meeting.
2) University policy on attendance will apply.
3) We have a unique way of discouraging
tardiness.
See link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B6FkBq
kZ1g

Grading system
LECTURE

Long exams (2) - 25 %
Quizzes, Exercises, and Assignments - 20%
Written composition - 5% (Instructions)

TOTAL 50%

Sentence Transformation
Our Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1) Transform sentences from active to passive
voice and vice-versa;
2) Explain how and when to use the active and
passive voice;
3) Construct Yes-No and WH-questions.

First, a personality quiz!
Write the number corresponding to the
description that suits you.
1. I am often leader in groups.
2. I prefer keeping my hopes and dreams to
myself.
3. I seek out close, personal relationships with
people.
4. I act in a sympathetic way towards people.
First, a personality quiz!
5. I see to it that people do things the way I
want them to.
6. I easily get influenced by other peoples ideas.
7. I invite people to spend time or hang out.
8. I act in a sweet way towards people.
9. I decide fast and firmly.
10. I make friends usually when they are the
first to approach me.
Active Voice
- the subject performs the action expressed in
the verb; the subject acts.


S V DO
Dennis drives the car.

Passive Voice
the subject receives the action expressed in
the verb;
the subject is acted upon.
the agent performing the action may appear
in a "by the . . ." phrase or may be omitted.

The car is driven by Dennis.

Transform these from active to passive:
1. Filipinos deserve democracy.
2. I am teaching agriculture to UPLB students.
3. The board has announced its decision.
Transform these from active to passive:
1. Filipinos deserve democracy.
Democracy is deserved by Filipinos.
2. I am teaching agriculture to UPLB students.
Agriculture is being taught to UPLB
students by me.
3. The board has announced its decision.
The boards decision has been announced.

Transform these from passive to active:
1. That tree was planted by my grandfather.
2. The title is being claimed by him.
3. Rumours had been spread by the tabloid
writers.
Transform these from passive to active:
1. That tree was planted by my grandfather.
My grandfather planted that tree.
2. The title is being claimed by him.
He is claiming the title.
3. Rumours had been spread by the tabloid
writers.
The tabloid writers had spread the rumours.
How was it done?
Passive Voice - the object of the active sentence
is moved ahead of the verb and becomes the
subject

form of be (am, is, was, were, are, or been)
is added to the verb + past participle.

the subject of the active sentence is either
expressed in a prepositional phrase by or
dropped.

BUT!
1. Avoid starting a sentence in active voice and
then shifting to passive.

Incorrect: He tried to act cool when he slipped in
the puddle, but he was still laughed at by the
other students.


Correct: He tried to act cool when he slipped in
the puddle, but the other students still laughed
at him.

2. Do not change the verb tense.


Active Voice - Past Tense
Boredom struck me.


Passive Voice
I was struck by boredom.

3. Make sure the subject and the verb
agree in number.

Active Voice - Plural
Experienced pilots fly these planes.

Passive Voice
These planes are flown by experienced pilots.
4. Check to see if there are no
misplaced/dangling modifiers.

Dangling: To save time, the paper was written
on a computer. (Who was saving time? The
paper?)
Correct: To save time, Kristin wrote the paper
on a computer. (Provide a subject.)



4. Check to see if there are no
misplaced/dangling modifiers.

The rapid growth of the nuclear power
industry has raised a number of questions
about potential radiation exposure.
Misplaced: A number of questions have been raised by
the rapid growth of the nuclear power industry
about potential radiation exposure.
Correct: A number of questions about potential
radiation exposure have been raised by the rapid
growth of the nuclear power industry.





To simplify things, lets look at this table:

When to use the active and passive voice
Generally, we prefer the active voice!

Imagine reading sentences like this:
Since the car was being driven by Michael at
the time of the accident, the damages should
be paid for by him.

But the passive might be
more acceptable in the
following cases:

1) The actor is unknown.


The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in
the Upper Old Stone Age. (We dont know
who made them.)

2) The actor is irrelevant.


An experimental solar power plant will be
built in the Australian desert. (We are not
interested in who is building it.)


3) You want to be vague about who is
responsible.


Mistakes were made.
(Common in bureaucratic writing!)



4) You are talking about a general truth.


Rules are made to be broken.
(By whomever, whenever.)



5) You want to emphasize the person or thing
acted on.

Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by
scientists at the University of Toronto. It is still
the only treatment available for diabetes.

(Insulin is your main topic here.)


6) You are writing in a scientific genre that
traditionally relies on passive voice.
Passive voice is often preferred in lab reports
and scientific research papers, most notably in
the Materials and Methods section:

The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water.
This solution was then titrated with
hydrochloric acid.

Seatwork:
Transform from active to passive:

1. The Bureau of Internal Revenue sent
taxpayers copies of the new rules on tax
payments.
2. The president designated her governor.
Seatwork:
Transform from passive to active:

3. Chemical energy is converted into mechanical
energy by muscles.
4. What Americans consider poverty would be
regarded as affluence by Asians.

Constructing Yes-No and
WH- questions
Lets try these sentences:
1. Filipinos deserve democracy.
2. I am teaching agriculture to UPLB students.
3. The board has announced its decision.



A few basic rules in constructing questions
answerable by Yes or No
1 be verb - switch the positions of the
subject and verb.
Example:
S: Ligaya is an athlete.
Q: Is Ligaya an athlete?

2 verb phrases - switch the positions of the
subject and first verb.
Example:
S V1 - V2
S: Dennis is reviewing his lessons.

3 action words use do, does, did at the
beginning of the sentence.

examples
3.1. Add Do to the beginning of the sentence.

Note: Subject is plural; present tense.

S: The officials give benefits to drivers.
Q: Do the officials give benefits to drivers?

3.2. If the main verb "carries" a third person
singular s, use Does.
Note: Subject is singular; present tense.
S V
S: Jane attends a seminar.
Q: Does Jane attend a seminar?

3.3. If the main verb "carries" the past tense,
use Did.
Note: Change the verb to present tense.
S V
S: Shirley dyed her hair.
Q: Did Shirley dye her hair?

Open questions

Unlike Yes-No questions, this type
leaves room for a description or
opinion
- useful in eliciting information








WH Questions
WH Questions








Question
Word
Function Example
what asking for information
about something
What is the
meaning of our
existence?
asking for repetition or
confirmation
What? I can't
hear you.
What did you
say?
what...for asking for a reason, asking
why
What did you do
that for?
WH Questions









who

asking what or which person
or people (subject)

Who recited in
class?

whom

asking what or which person
or people (object)

Whom did you
see?
whose

asking about ownership

Whose is this
cell phone?
Whose turn is
it?
WH Questions








why asking for reason,
asking what...for
Why do we
use plastic?
why don't making a
suggestion
Why don't we
recycle
waste?
WH Questions








when asking about time When will we submit
the assignment?
where asking in or at what place
or position
Where is your
cubicle?
which asking about choice Which chapter should
we read?

how

manner
How can we solve the
problem?
WH Questions








how + adj /
adv
asking about extent
or degree
how far distance How far is Grove from
Crossing?
how long
length (time or
space)
How long will it take?
how many quantity (countable) How many books are
there?
how much
quantity
(uncountable)
How much time do you
have?
how old age How old are you?
how come
(informal)
asking for reason,
asking why
How come I can't see
her?
WH Questions








Grammar used with wh- questions:

depends on whether the
topic being asked about is the
"subject" or "predicate" of a
sentence

WH Questions








Subject pattern
S P
RJ has my laptop.

Who has my laptop?

The large room is bothering you.

What is bothering you?


WH Questions
Subject pattern
replace the person or thing
being asked about with the
appropriate wh-word

what, which, who or whose
refers to the subject

WH Questions
Predicate pattern
1. "be verb - invert the subject and verb,
then add the appropriate wh- word to
the beginning of the sentence.
S P
S - V Who?
A: Aquino is our president.
? is Aquino?
Q: Who is Aquino?

WH Questions
Predicate pattern
S P
S- V- When?
The meeting was in the afternoon.

? Was the meeting
When was the meeting?




WH Questions
Predicate pattern
2. "auxiliary" verb - Auxiliary or "helping" verbs
are verbs that precede main verbs

Auxiliary verbs are italicized in the following
sentences.

I can do it.
They are leaving tomorrow.
I have eaten my lunch.
I should have finished my homework.




WH Questions
Predicate pattern

First, form a yes/no question by inverting
the subject and (first) auxiliary verb.
Then, add the appropriate wh- word to the
beginning of the sentence.

S V1 V2 What?
He is doing something.
Is he doing something?
What is he doing?


WH Questions
Predicate pattern

S V1 V2 Where?
They have been to Robinsons.
? have they been
Where have they been?



WH Questions
Predicate pattern

3. add do to the beginning of the sentence (if there
is no auxiliary and the verb is not "be)
Then add the appropriate wh-question word.
Be sure to "transfer" the tense and number from
the main verb to the word do.
Note: Subject is plural.
S V What?
The freshmen review Math 17.
? do the freshmen review
What do the freshmen review?


WH Questions
Predicate pattern
Past tense
S V Where?
John went outside.
? did John go
Where did John go?

Present/singular
S V What?
The flower produces nectar.
? does the flower produce
What does the flower produce?



References:
Corson, T. and Smollett, R. Passive Voice: When to use it and when to avoid.
Retrieved from www.writing.utoronto.ca
Dadufalza, C.D. (1996). Reading into Writing I: Bookmark Inc.
Grammar (n.d.). Retrieved July 2010 from
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/questiontext.htm
Table of tenses in English with active and passive. Retrieved from
http://www.lingolex.com/tenses.htm
WH Question form (n.d.) Retrieved June 2010 from
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/wh-question-words.htm
Yes-No Questions (n.d.). Retrieved June 2010 from
http://www.eclecticenglish.com/grammar/PresentSimpleToBe1C.html