Use and Form – Basic Rules

Remember: We use the Passive voice when what happens is more important than who does it.

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

We form the Passive voice with the auxiliary verb Be (always in the same tense as the verb in the active voice) and the Past Participle of the main verb, followed by a by-phrase, the agent, when we know who or what performed the action.

Match the forms of the Active verbs with their corresponding Passive forms.

Read the following piece of news. Cross out the wrong verb forms.

Rewrite each sentence in the Passive:

Doctor George Tiller, 67, was at the morning

services this Sunday when he was shot/ shot,

police said. The gunman was fired/fired one shot

at Tiller and was threatened/ threatened two

other people who tried to stop him. The suspect

was taken/ took into custody in a Kansas City

suburb 3 hours after the shooting. Outside Tiller’s

clinic, flowers were placed/ placed along a fence,

and Kansas Coalition for Life was left/ left a sign

saying members were prayed/ prayed for his

change of heart "not his murder. A man yelled

that Tiller’s hands were covered/covered with

blood.

Doctor George Tiller, 67, was at the morning

services this Sunday when he was shot/ shot,

police said. The gunman was fired/fired one shot

at Tiller and was threatened/ threatened two

other people who tried to stop him. The suspect

was taken/ took into custody in a Kansas City

suburb 3 hours after the shooting. Outside Tiller’s

clinic, flowers were placed/ placed along a fence,

and Kansas Coalition for Life was left/ left a sign

saying members were prayed/ prayed for his

change of heart "not his murder. A man yelled

that Tiller’s hands were covered/covered with

blood.

english worksheet School Year 2010-2011

Children’s day is celebrated on June 1st.

Children’s day is celebrated on June 1st.

They built 3 new schools last year.

________________________________

Thousands of people visit the Azores.

________________________________

Someone stole my purse from my locker.

________________________________

The monkey painted that picture.

________________________________

Millions of teenagers enjoy her books.

________________________________

They built 3 new schools last year.

________________________________

Thousands of people visit the Azores.

________________________________

Someone stole my purse from my locker.

________________________________

The monkey painted that picture.

________________________________

Millions of teenagers enjoy her books.

________________________________

Street traders sell black-market products.

Black-market products are sold by street traders.

Subject

Object

Verb

Subject

Agent

Verb

Yeah…Lots of trees were

planted yesterday.

Yeah…Lots of trees were

planted yesterday.

I forget (singular, S. Past)

discover (Plural, S. Past)

make (singular, S. Present)

build (Plural, S. Present)

forget (Plural, S. Past)

leave (Plural, S. Past)

produce (Plural, S.Present)

leave (singular, S. Past)

build (singular, S. S. Past)

send (singular, S. Present)

were forgotten

were left

was forgotten

was left

are built

is sent

were discovered

was built

is made

are produced Write an active sentence and a passive sentence from these prompts.

1. The little boy / the wallet/ yesterday/ find.

a)

_________________________________

b)_________________________________

_

2. Teachers/ students/ good manners/

teach.

a)

_________________________________

b)_________________________________

_

3. Somebody/ the students’ bikes/ steal

a)

_________________________________

b)_________________________________

_

1. The little boy / the wallet/ yesterday/ find.

a)

_________________________________

b)_________________________________

_

2. Teachers/ students/ good manners/

teach.

a)

_________________________________

b)_________________________________

_

3. Somebody/ the students’ bikes/ steal

a)

_________________________________

b)_________________________________

_

THANK YU!