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REWRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO THE PASSIVE VOICE.

The passive has a form of be + past participle. The form of be is the same as the
tense in the active equivalent.
Ex: Peter has bought some flowers Some flowers have been bought by Peter
You must clean the house The house must be cleaned
When we form passives we !on"t usually mention the person or thin# responsible for
the action because we are usually intereste! in what happens. When we mention the
a#ent we usually use by .
A) PRESENT SIMPLE
$. They %ill &'.''' seals a year
(. )e #ives an interview every month
*. +ary !oesn,t loc% the !oor every
ni#ht
-. They buy the newspaper every !ay.
&. They sell newspapers in that shop.
B) PAST SIMPLE
$. )e increase! the volta#e slowly
(. )e occasionally turne! the machine off
*. They !i!n"t #ive any information about
the school rules.
-. We !i!n"t see the a!vertisements.
&. +ary bou#ht a new car yester!ay.
C) PRESENT CONTINUOUS
$. .ohn is writin# a new article.
(. They are buil!in# a new roa!.
*. Pollution isn"t affectin# the area.
-. +ary is writin# a letter now.
&. .ohn is !oin# the shoppin#.
D) PAST CONTINUOUS
$. They were carryin# out a survey.
(. The T/ was informin# the consumers.
*. Peter wasn"t ta%in# a !ifferent
attitu!e
-. They were stu!yin# the problem.
&. Paul was washin# up the !ishes.
E) PRESENT AND PAST PERFECT
$. The police have rai!e! the area
frequently.
(. Somebo!y has scratche! my car
*. They ha! followe! his example
-. We ha!n"t visite! that town yet.
F) FUTURE CONDITIONA! AND
"ODA! #ER$S%
$. They will postpone the meetin#.
(. They can pro!uce the cars here.
*. You must aban!on the scheme.
-. They coul!n,t repair the tractor.
0. They must repair the pavements.















When we use verbs with two ob1ects 2a person an! somethin#3 either
ob1ect can be the sub1ect of the sentence in the passive voice.
Ex: Peter bou#ht her some flowers in 4on!on yester!ay.
a3 She was bou#ht some flowers by Peter in 4on!on yester!ay.
b3 Some flowers were bou#ht to her by Peter in 4on!on yester!ay.
5t is more common however the first one.
&% C'AN&E T'E FO!!O(IN& SENTENCES INTO T'E PASSI#E #OICE
USIN& $OT' STRUCTURES
$. The company sent him a letter last wee%.
a3
b3
(. They have 1ust sent me a present.
a3
b3
*. The ban% will len! her some money.
a3
b3
-. Someone has promise! the chil!ren an ice6cream.
a3
b3
&. They are #oin# to offer Peter a 1ob next wee%.
a3
b3
0. 7ne of our uncles ha! tau#ht us maths.
a3
b3
8. They are showin# us the city tomorrow.
a3
b3
9. The lawyer #ave us the papers last wee%.
a3
b3
:. The #overnment is #ivin# the poor people some foo! at the moment.
a3
b3
$'. The postman !elivers me my letters every !ay.
a3
b3
$$. +ary bou#ht me a beautiful present last wee%en!.
a3
b3
$(. ;obo!y will len! me any money.
a3
b3
2
key
A. PRESENT SIMPLE
1. 50,000 seals are killed a year.
2. An interview is given every month.
3. The door isnt locked by Mary every day..
. The news!a!er is bo"ght every day.
5. #ews!a!ers are sold in that sho!.
B PAST SIMPLE
1. The voltage was increases slowly.
2. The machine was occasionally t"rned o$$.
3. #o in$ormation was given abo"t the school r"les.
. The advertisement werent seen.
5. A new car was bo"ght by Mary yesterday.
C. PRESENT CONTINUOS
1. A new article is being written by %ohn.
2. A new road is being b"ilt
3. The area isnt being a$$ected by !oll"tion.
. A writing is being written by Mary now.
5. The sho!!ing is being done by %ohn.
D. PAST CONTINUOUS
1. A s"rvey was being carried o"t.
2. The cons"mers were being in$ormed by the tv.
3. A di$$erent attit"de wasnt being taken by &eter.
. The !roblem was being st"died.
5. The dishes were being washed "! by &a"l.
E. PRESENT AND PAST PERFECT
1. The area has been raided by the !olice $re'"ently.
2. My car has been scratched.
3. (is e)am!le had been $ollowed.
. That town hadnt been visited yet.
F. FUTURE, CONDITIONAL AND MODAL VERBS.
1. The meeting will be !ost!oned.
2. The cars can be !rod"ced here.
3. The scheme m"st be abandoned.
. The tractor co"ldnt be re!aired.
5. The !avements m"st be re!aired.
G. CHANGE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO THE PASSIVE VOICE USING BOTH STRUCTURES
1. a* he as sent a letter by the com!any last week
b* A letter was sent to him by the com!any last week
2. a* + have ,"st been sent a !resent.
b* A !resent has ,"st been sent to me.
3. a* -he will be sent some money by the bank.
b* -ome money will be sent to her by the bank.
. a* The children have been !romised an ice.cream.
b* An ice.cream has been !romised to the children.
5. a* &eter is going to be o$$ered a ,ob ne)t week
b* A ,ob has been o$$ered to &eter ne)t week.
/. a* we had been ta"ght maths by one o$ o"r "ncles.
b* Maths had been ta"ght to "s by one o$ o"r "ncles.
0. a* we are being shown the city tomorrow.
b* The city is being shown to "s tomorrow.
1. a* 2e were given the !a!ers by the lawyer last week.
b* The !a!ers ere given to "s by the lawyer last week.
3. a* The !oor !eo!le are being given some $ood by the government at the moment.
b* -ome $ood are being given to the !oor !eo!le by the government at the moment.
10. a*+ am delivered my letters by the !ostman every day.
b* My letters are delivered to me by the !ostman every day.
11. a* + was bo"ght a bea"ti$"l !resent by Mary last weekend.
b* A bea"ti$"l !resent was bo"ght to me by Mary last weekend.
12. a* + wont be lent any money.
b* #o money was given to me











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