Çukurova University

School of Foreign Languages

English Preparatory Program
2022-2023 Academic Year
P1 BLOCK 3 WEEK 2

PASSIVES
 HOW DO WE FORM PASSIVE FORM?
- We use a form of the verb be + the past participle form of the main verb (V3).

- The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

ACTIVE: The daily newspapers print a movie guide.

subject object
PASSIVE: A movie guide is printed by the daily newspapers.
subject object

We can use the passive voice with different tenses and with modals. This handout focuses on only the
following tenses in the table:

ACTIVE PASSIVE
SIMPLE PRESENT Mary helps the boy. The boy is helped by Mary.
SIMPLE PAST Mary helped the boy. The boy was helped by Mary.
SIMPLE FUTURE Mary will help the boy. The boy will be helped by Mary.
BE GOING TO Mary is going to help the boy. The boy is going to be helped by Mary.
PRESENT PERFECT Mary has helped the boy. The boy has been helped by Mary.
MODALS Mary can help the boy. The boy can be helped by Mary.

 Only verbs that are followed by an object (transitive verbs) are used in the passive. Some verbs like go,
come, live, happen, sleep, arrive, die, become do NOT take an object, so they are NOT used in the passive
form.
Examples: People go to the cinema very often. (no passive form)
The winners come to the stage to get their awards. (no passive form)
Hollywood became the movie capital of the U.S. (no passive form)

Exercise 1: Read the following sentences and decide if they are Active or Passive. Write A (active) or P
(passive).
1. ___________ The actress received an Oscar.
2. ___________ Many actors live in California.
3. ___________ Predictions are made about the winners.
4. ___________ They are giving an award now.
5. ___________ Spielberg was presented an Oscar.
6. ___________ The actress thanked all the people.
7. ___________ Spielberg presented an Oscar.
8. ___________ The movie was filmed in black and white.
9. ___________ Walt Disney won the most Oscars ever (26).
10. ___________ The actress was driven to the ceremony in a white limousine.

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 WHEN DO WE USE PASSIVE VOICE?
EXAMPLES
1. When the doer of the action is not known The movie guide is published in more than 20
(when we don’t know WHO has performed the countries.
action) (We don’t know who publishes it.)

2. When it isn’t necessary to mention the DOER The movie guide is read in different countries.
because the DOER is obvious (It is obvious that people read it.)

3. When we are more interested in the action than The movie guide is published to give people
the DOER information about the recent movies.

 WHEN DO WE USE BY PHRASE?

When it is necessary to mention the DOER of the action, we use “by…”
e.g. The winners’ dresses are designed by famous fashion designers.

Exercise 2: Change the sentences from active to passive.

1. Shakespeare wrote that play.

___________________________________________________________________________.
2. The teacher is going to explain the lesson.
___________________________________________________________________________.
3. Mr. Evans has designed several buildings.
___________________________________________________________________________.
4. Jackie gave the speech at the conference.
___________________________________________________________________________.
5. I think the teaching assistant will correct our assignments.
___________________________________________________________________________.
6. Has the building manager informed you about the rent increase?
___________________________________________________________________________.
7. Hundreds of people visit the Washington Monument every year.
___________________________________________________________________________.
8. Parents should teach children to be kind to animals.
___________________________________________________________________________.

Exercise 3: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb (active or passive) in parentheses.

1. That’s not my coat. It (belong) _____________ to Louise.

2. These books (not/can/take) ______________ out of the library.
3. The report (finish) _____________ very soon.
4. Yesterday I (hear) _____________ about Margaret’s divorce. I (surprise) _____________ by the news.
5. A: When (your bike, steal) _________________________________________?
B: Two days ago.
6. A: Did you hear about the accident?
B: No. What (happen) ________________?
A: A bicyclist (hit) _____________ by a taxi in front of the dorm.
B: (the bicyclist, injure) ___________________________________________ ?
A: Yes. Someone (call) ___________________ an ambulance. The bicyclist (take) _____________ to
City Hospital and (treat) __________________ in the emergency ward for cuts and bruises.
B: What (happen) _____________________ to the taxi driver?
A: He (arrest) ___________________ for reckless driving.
B: He’ lucky that the bicyclist (kill, not) _________________.

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7. The Eiffel Tower (be) ___________ in Paris, France. It (visit) _______________ by millions of people
every year. It (design) _________________ by Alexandre Eiffel (1832-1923). It (construct) ___________ in
1889 for the Paris exposition. Since that time, it (be) ______________ the most famous landmark in Paris.
Today it (recognize) __________________ by people throughout the world.

Exercise 4: Read the sentences about the recipe of Vegetable Soup and put them in order.

Vegetable Soup
__ a) The whole mixture is boiled. Then the heat is reduced.
__ b) Onion, carrots and mushrooms are cut into small pieces. Green beans are cut in half and potatoes are
cut into quarters.
__ c) Mushrooms are added and then everything is cooked for 2-3 minutes.
__ d) The mixture is cooked lightly until the potatoes are soft and then spices are included to finish the soup.
__ e) Butter is heated with oil in a saucepan. Then the onion, carrots and green beans are heated lightly for
3-4 minutes.
__ f) When the vegetables are softer, water is added with the potatoes and salt and pepper.

Exercise 5: Read the texts below and complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in
parentheses.
How Chocolate is Made
Chocolate (1)________________ (make) from the seeds of roasted cocoa beans. After the seeds
(2)________________ (roast), the inside of the seed (3)________________(press) into a liquid. This liquid
(4)________________ (call) chocolate liquor. The liquor (5)________________ (contain) fat, which
(6)________________ (separate) from the liquor. After this (7)________________ (do), a solid
(8)________________(leave). This solid, which (9)________________ (know) as cocoa cake,
(10)________________ (grind) up and becomes unsweetened cocoa. This is a very bitter chocolate. To make
it taste better, other substances such as cocoa butter and sugar (11)________________ (add) later.

Early Writing Materials

The chief writing material of ancient times was papyrus. It (1)________________ (use) in Egypt, Greece,
and other Mediterranean lands. Parchment, another writing material that (2)_______________ (widely/used)
in ancient times, (3)________________ (make) from the skins of animals, such as sheep and goats. After the
hair (4)________________ (remove), the skins (5)________________ (stretch) and (6) _______________
(rub) smooth to make a writing surface. Paper, the main writing material today, (7)________________
(invent) by the Chinese.
Ink (8)________________ (use) for writing and drawing throughout history. No one knows when the first
ink (9)________________ (develop). The ancient Egyptians and Chinese (10)________________ (make)
ink from various natural substances such as berries, soot, and tree bark. Through the centuries, thousands of
different formulas (11)________________ (develop) for ink. Most ink today (12)________________
(make) from synthetic chemicals.

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 ANSWER KEY

Exercise 1.

1. A 2. A 3. P 4. A 5. P
6. A 7. A 8. P 9. A 10. P

Exercise 2.

1. That play was written by Shakespeare.

2. The lesson is going to be explained by the teacher.
3. Several buildings have been designed by Mr. Evans.
4. The speech was given by Jackie at the conference.
5. I think our assignments will be corrected by the teaching assistant.
6. Have you been informed about the rent increase by the building manager?
7. The Washington Monument is visited by hundreds of people every year.
8. Children should be taught to be kind to animals by parents.
Exercise 3.

1. belongs
2. can’t be taken
3. will be finished
4. heard / was surprised
5. was your bike stolen
6. happened/ was hit / Was the bicyclist injured/ called/ was taken/ (was) treated / happened / was
arrested / wasn’t killed
7. is / is visited/ was designed / was constructed / has been / is recognized
Exercise 4.

b,e,c,f,a,d

Exercise 5.

How Chocolate is Made

1. is made 2. are roasted/ 3. is pressed 4. is called
have been roasted
5. contains 6. is separated 7. is done / 8. is left
has been done
9. is known 10. is ground 11. are added/
will be added

Early Writing Materials

1. was used 2. was widely used 3. was made 4. was removed
5. were stretched 6. (was) rubbed 7. was invented 8. has been used
9.was developed 10. made 11. have been developed 12. is made