Study the following active and passive forms:
A.
Infinitive
active:
(to) do/clean/see etc. Somebody will clean the room later.
passive:
(to) be done/cleaned/seen etc. The room will be clean later.
* The
situation is serious. Something must be done before it's too late.
* A
mystery is something that can't be explained.
* The
music was very loud and could be heard from a long way away.
* A new
supermarket is going to be built next year.
* Please
go away. I want to be left alone.
B.
Perfect infinitive
active:
have done/cleaned/seen etc. Somebody should have cleaned the room.
passive:
have been done/cleaned/seen etc. The room should have been cleaned.
* I
haven't received the letter yet. It might have been sent to the wrong address.
* If you
hadn't left the car unlocked, it wouldn't have been stolen.
* There
were some problems at first but they seem to have been solved.
C.
Present perfect
active:
have/has (done) The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it.
passive:
have/has been (done) The room looks nice. It has been clean.
* Have
you heard the news? The President has been shot!
* Have
you ever been bitten by a dog?
* 'Are
you going to the party?' 'No, I haven't been invited.'
Past
perfect
active:
had(done) The room looked nice. Somebody had clean it.
passive:
had been (done) The room looked nice. It had been clean.
* The
vegetables didn't taste very good. They had been cooked for too long.
* The
car was three years old but hadn't been used very much.
D.
Present continuous
active:
am/is/are (do)ing Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment.
passive:
am/is/are being (done) The room is being cleaned at the moment.
*
There's somebody walking behind us. I think we are being followed.
* (in a
shop) 'Can I help you, madam?' 'No, thank you. I'm being served.'
Past
continuous
active:
was/were (do)ing Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived.
passive: was/were being (done) The
room was being cleaned when I arrived.
* There
was somebody walking behind us. We were being followed.
EXERCISES
42.1
What do these words mean? Use it can ... or it can't... . Use a dictionary if
necessary.
If
something is
1.
washable, _it can be washed._
2.
unbreakable, it ---
3.
edible, it ---
4.
unusable, ---
5.
invisible, ---
6.
portable, ---
42.2
Complete these sentences with one of the following verbs (in the correct form):
carry cause do
make repair send
spend wake up
Sometimes you need have ('might have', 'could have' etc.).
1. The
situation is serious. Something must be done before it's too late.
2. I
haven't received the letter. It might have been sent to the wrong address.
3. A
decision will not --- until the next meeting.
4. I
told the hotel receptionist that I wanted to --- at 6.30 the next morning.
5. Do
you think that less money should --- on armaments?
6. This
road is in very bad condition. It should --- a long time ago.
7. The
injured man couldn't walk and had to ---
8. It's
not certain how the fire started but it might --- by an electrical fault.
42.3
Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using 'somebody' or 'they', write a passive
sentence.
1.
Somebody has cleaned the room. _The room has been cleaned._
2. They
have postponed the concert. The ---
3.
Somebody is using the computer at the moment. The computer ---
4. I
didn't realise that somebody was recording our conversation. I didn't realise
that ---
5. When
we got to the stadium we found that they had cancelled the game. When we got to
the stadium, we found that ---
6. They
are building a new ring road round the city. ---
7. They
have built a new hospital near the airport. ---
42.4
Make sentences from the words in brackets. Sometimes the verb is active,
sometimes passive. (This exercise also includes the past simple--see Unit 41
C.)
1.
There's somebody behind us. (I think/we/follow) _I think we're being followed._
2. This
room looks different. (you/paint?) _Have you painted it?_
3. My
car has disappeared. (it/steal!) It ---
4. My
umbrella has disappeared. (somebody/take) Somebody ---
5. Tom
gets a higher salary now. (he/promote) ---
6. Ann
can't use her office at the moment. (it/redecorate) ---
7. The
photocopier broke down yesterday, but now it's OK. (it/work/again; it/repair)
8. The
police have found the people they were looking for. (two people/arrest/last
night)
9. A
tree was lying across the road. (it/blow down/in the storm)
10. The
man next door disappeared six months ago. (nobody/see/since then)
11. I
was mugged on my way home a few nights ago. (you/ever/mug?)
Answers
42.1
2 can't
be broken.
3 can be
eaten.
4 it
can't be used.
5 it
can't be seen.
6 it can
be carried.
42.2
3 he
made
4 be
woken up
5 be
spent
6 have
been repaired
7 be
carried
8 have
been caused
42.3
2 The
concert has been postponed.
3 The
computer is being used at the moment.
4 I
didn't realise that our conversation was being recorded.
5 ... we
found that the game had been cancelled.
6 A new
ring road is being built round the city.
7 A new
hospital has been built near the airport.
42.4
3 It has
been stolen!/It's been stolen?
4
Somebody has taken it. or ... taken my umbrella.
5 He has
been promoted./He's been promoted. or He was promoted.
6 It is
being redecorated./It's being redecorated.
7 It is
working again./It's working again . It has been repaired. It's been repaired.
8 Two
people were arrested last night.
9 It had
been blown down in the storm. or It was blown down.
10
Nobody has seen him since then.
11 Have
you ever been mugged?
