By kind permission of Ricardo A.

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PASSIVE VOICE

PASSIVE VOICE EXERCISES

1. - Rewrite the sentences in the passive omitting the words in brackets, and translate:

1. (Everyone) knows this fact very well.

2. (they) opened the theatre only last month
3. (People) will soon forget it.
4. (You) must write the answers in ink.
5. (Someone) has taken two of my books.
6. What can (one) do in these cases?
7. (We) have already filled the vacancy.
8. (They) brought something interesting to the fair.
9. (No one) ever made the situation clear to me.
10. (One) should keep the milk in the fridge.
11. I don’t think (they) can do it.
12. (They) would have killed him if he hadn’t promised to co-operate.
13. (You) must finish the work by eleven o’clock.
14. (They) are manufacturing this type of computer in many countries.
15. (No one) could possibly have known the secret.
16. (Someone) has made all the necessary arrangements.
17. Fortunately, (no one) has said anything about it.
18. (The police) kept the man under custody.
19. (We) will execute all orders promptly.
20. (One) cleans all the rooms regularly.

2. Double passive. Sentences with both Indirect and Direct Objects.

You needn’t make both possibilities, just the indirect one. And translate.

1. They gave the oldest councillor the freedom of the city.

2. They denied access to the secret documents to all but a few.
3. Someone showed the child how to use the telephone.
4. They gave him artificial respiration.
5. They didn’t offer him the job.
6. They promised me a rise at the beginning of the year.
7. Someone left him a legacy of $10000.
8. They will send me the details tomorrow.
9. Someone must teach that boy a lesson.
10. We are going to ask you for an answer soon.
 By kind permission of Ricardo A. 2
PASSIVE VOICE

3. Situations. Respond to the following statements by giving advice or making a recommendation

using should, had better + a suitable infinitive form.
1. I’ve got a toothache.
2. He failed this exam.
3. John’s terribly overweight.
4. Our train leaves in a few minutes.
5. Peter was involved in a car accident.
6. Someone has stolen my wallet.
7. Mary got sunburnt yesterday.
8. We’re spending our holidays in Spain next summer.
9. This jacket is worn out.

4.- Put the following into the passive voice. The agent should not be mentioned except in
numbers 11 and 28.
1 You should open the wine about three hours before you use it.
2 Previous climbers had cut steps in the ice.
3 Somebody had cleaned my shoes and brushed my suit.
4 We use this room only on special occasions.
5 You must not hammer nails into the walls without permission.
6 In some districts farmers use pigs to find truffles.
7 Someone switched on a light and opened the door.
8 Somebody had slashed the picture with a knife.
9 They are pulling down the old theatre.
10 Why didn't they mend the roof before it fell in?
11 The mob broke all the shop windows in recent riots.
12 The librarian said that they were starting a new system because people were not returning
books.
13 The police asked each of us about his movements on the night of the crime.
14 Someone will serve refreshments.
15 People must not leave bicycles in the hall.
16 Members may keep books for three weeks. After that they must return them.
17 The burglars had cut an enormous hole in the steel door.
18 I've bought a harp. They are delivering it this afternoon. (Do not change the first sentence.)
19 Someone has already told him to report for duty at six.
20 They rang the church bells as a flood warning.
21 No one can do anything unless someone gives us more information.
22 People are spending far more money on food now than they spent ten years ago.
23 The organizers will exhibit the paintings till the end of the month.
24 They will say nothing more about the matter if someone returns the stolen gun.
25 It is high time someone told him to stop behaving like a child.
26 A thief stole my dog and brought him back only when I offered £20 reward for him.
27 The judge gave him two weeks in which to pay the fine.
28 They make these artificial flowers of silk.
 By kind permission of Ricardo A. 3
PASSIVE VOICE

5.-Put the following into the passive, mentioning the agent where necessary.
Where there is an indirect and a direct object, make the indirect object the subject of the passive verb.
• They gave her a clock. She was given a clock.
The gerund after certain verbs is replaced in the passive by should be + past participle:
• They advised employing part-time workers. They advised that part-time workers should be employed.
1 They feed the seals at the zoo twice a day.
2 Who wrote it?
3 Compare clothes which we have washed with clothes which any other laundry has washed.
4 He expected us to offer him the job.
5 They showed her the easiest way to do it.
6 Lightning struck the old oak.
7 Titian couldn't have painted it as people didn't wear that style of dress till after his death.
8 A jellyfish stung her.
9 The author has written a special edition for children.
10 Judges used to carry sweet herbs as a protection against jail-fever.
11 “What did he write it with? “~ “He wrote it with a match stick dipped in blood”.
12 An uneasy silence succeeded the shot.
13 Did the idea interest you?
14 The lawyer gave him the details of his uncle's will.
15 Beavers make these dams.
16 They used to start these engines by hand. Now they start them by electricity.
17 Most people opposed this.
18 Students are doing a lot of the work.
19 The Prime Minister was to have opened the dry dock.
20 They recommended opening new factories in the depressed area. (Use should.)
21 The closure of the workshops will make a lot of men redundant.
22 Anyone with the smallest intelligence could understand these instructions.
23 We will not admit children under sixteen.
24 Boys of sixteen to eighteen are to man this training ship.
25 A rainstorm flooded the gypsies' camp.
26 The howling of wolves kept him awake all night.
27 They suggested making the tests easier. (Use should.)
28 Children couldn't have done all this damage

6 .-Correct any verb forms which are impossible or inappropriate.

a) A lot of homes in the area have been being broken into by burglars.
b) As I drove south, I could see that the old road was rebuilding.
c) I suppose the letter will have been delivered by now
d) There is nothing more annoying than been interrupted when you are speaking
e) Jim was been given the sack from his new job
f) Somehow without my noticing my wallet had been disappeared.
g) The new shopping centre was opened by the local MR
h) A lot of meetings have been held, but nothing has being decided yet.
 By kind permission of Ricardo A. 4
PASSIVE VOICE

7.- Both sentences in each pair have the same meaning. Complete the second sentence.
a) The crowd was slowly filling the huge stadium.
The huge stadium _________________by the crowd.
b) The inventor of the computer simplified the work of the accountants.
Since the computer the work of accountants_________________simplified.
c) Someone has suggested that the shop should close.
It_________________ that the shop should close.
d) 'I'd take out some travel insurance if I were you, Mr Smith.'
Mr Smith_________________ take out some travel insurance.
e) The waitress will bring your drinks in a moment.
Your drinks_________________ in a moment.
f) Someone used a knife to open the window.
This window _________________a knife.
g) You will hear from us when we have finished dealing with your complaint.
After your complaint_________________ , you will hear from us.
h) An announcement of their engagement appeared in the local paper.
Their engagement_________________ in the local paper.
i) Nobody ever heard anything of David again.
Nothing _________________David again.
j) They paid Sheila £1,000 as a special bonus.
£1,000 _________________Sheila as a special bonus.

7.- Rewrite each sentence in the passive, omitting the words underlined.

a) Someone left the phone off the hook all night.

b) The government has announced that petrol prices will rise tomorrow.
c) A burglar broke into our house last week.
d) People asked me the way three times.
e) The fruit-pickers pick the apples early in the morning.
f) It's time the authorities did something about this problem.
g) Lots of people had parked their cars on the pavement.
h) The government agreed with the report and so they changed the law.
i) You have to fill in an application form.
j) They don't know what happened to the ship.

8.- Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate passive verb form.
b) Your food (still/prepare).
c) The new ship (launch) next week.
d) Luckily by the time we got there the painting (not/sell).
e) We had to go on holiday because our house (decorate).
f) I'm afraid that next week's meeting (cancel).
g) If we don't hurry, all the tickets (sell) by the time we get there.
h) All main courses (serve) with vegetables or salad. At least that is what is written on the menu.
i) The second goal (score) by Hughes in the 41st minute,
j) The cathedral (build) in the fourteenth century
a) The boxes (not/pack) yet.