A. I was born ...
We say:
I was born ... (not 'I am born'):
past
simple
* I was
born in Chicago.
* Where
were you born? (not 'where are you born')
but
present simple
* How
many babies are born everyday?
B.
Some verbs can have two objects. For example, give:
* We
gave _the police_(object 1) _the information._(object 2) (= We gave the information
to the police.)
So it is
possible to make two passive sentences:
* The
police were given the information. or The information was given to the police.
Other
verbs which can have two objects are: ask
offer pay show
teach tell
When we
use these verbs in the passive, most often we begin with the person:
* I was
offered the job but I refused it. (= they offered me the job)
* You
will be given plenty of time to decide. (= we will give you plenty of time)
* Have
you been shown the new machine? (= has anybody shown you ...?)
* The
men were paid L200 to do the work. (= somebody paid the men L200)
C. I
don't like being ...
The
passive of doing/seeing etc. is being done/being seen etc. Compare:
active:
I don't like people telling me what to do.
passive:
I don5t like being told what to do.
* I
remember being given a toy drum on my fifth birthday. (= I remember somebody
giving me a toy drum...)
* Mr.
Miller hates being kept waiting. (= he hates people keeping him waiting)
* We
managed to climb over the wall without being seen. (= ... without anybody
seeing us)
D. Get
Sometimes you can use get instead of be in the passive:
* There
was a fight at the party but nobody got hurt. (= nobody was hurt)
* I
don't often get invited to parties. (= I'm not often invited)
* I'm
surprised Ann didn't get offered the lob. (... Ann wasn't offered the job)
You can
use get to say that something happens to somebody or something, especially if
this is unplanned or unexpected:
* Our dog
got run over by a car.
You can
use get only when things happen or change. For example, you cannot use get in
these sentences:
* Jill
is liked by everybody. (not 'gets liked' - this is not a 'happening')
* He was
a mystery man. Nothing was known about him. (not 'got known')
We use
get mainly in informal spoken English. You can use be in all situations.
We also
use get in the following expressions (which are not passive in meaning):
get
married get divorced get dressed (= put on your clothes) get changed (= change your clothes)
EXERCISES
43.1
When were they born? Choose five of these people and write a sentence for each.
(Two of them were born in the same year.)
Beethoven Galileo Elvis Presley
1452 1869 1929
Agatha
Christie Mahatma Gandhi Leonardo da Vinci 1564
1891 1935
Walt
Disney Martin Luther King William Shakespeare 1770 1901
1. _Walt
Disney was born in 1901._
2.
---
3. ---
4. ---
5. ---
6. ---
7. And
you? I ---
43.2
Write these sentences in another way, beginning in the way shown.
1. They
didn't give me the money. I _wasn't given the money._
2. They
asked me some difficult questions at the interview. I ---
3.
Janet's colleagues gave her a present when she retired. Janet ---
4. Nobody
told me that George was ill. I wasn't ---
5. How
much will they pay you? How much will you ---
6. I
think they should have offered Tom the job. I think Tom ---
7. Has
anybody shown you what to do? Have you ---
43.3
Complete the sentences using being + one of these verbs:
ask attack
give invite keep
pay
1. Mr
Miller doesn't like _being kept_ waiting.
2. They
went to the party without ---.
3. Most
people like --- presents.
4. It's
a dangerous city. People won't go out after dark because they are afraid of
---.
5. I
don't like --- stupid questions.
6. Few
people are prepared to work without ---.
43.4
Complete the sentences using get/got + one of these verbs (in the correct
form): ask break
damage hurt pay
steal sting stop
use
1. There
was a fight at the party but nobody got hurt.
2. Ted
--- by a bee while he was sitting in the garden.
3. How
did that window ---?
4. These
tennis courts don't --- very often, Not many people want to play.
5. I
used to have a bicycle but it ---.
6. Last
night I --- by the police as I was driving home.
7. How
much did you --- last month?
8.
Please pack these things very carefully. I don't want them to ---.
9.
People often want to know what my Job is. I often --- that question.
Answers
43.1
2-6:
Beethoven was born in 1770.
Agatha
Christie was born in 1891.
Galileo
was born in 1564.
Mahatma
Gandhi was born in 1869.
Martin
Luther King was born in 1929.
Elvis
Presley was born in 1935.
Leonardo
da Vinci was born in 1452.
William
Shakespeire was born in 1564.
7 I was
born in ...
43.2
2 I was
asked some difficult questions at the interview.
3 Janet
was given a present by her colleagues when she retired.
4 I
wasn't told that George was ill.
5 How
much will you be paid?
6 I
think Tom should have been offered the job.
7 Have
you been shown what to do?
43.3
2 being
invited
3 being
given
4 being
attacked
5 being
asked
6 being
paid
43.4
2 got
stung
3 get
broken
4 get
used
5 got
stolen
6 got
stopped
7 get
paid
8 get
damaged/get broken
9 get
asked
