Passive Voice

Passive Voice in Present Tense

Look at the following sentences:

• The carpet is made of plastic.
• Plastics are produced in Indonesia.
• The book is printed in Medan.

We use the Passive Voice when we want to focus on the person or thing affected by the action, rather than  on the 'doer' of the action.

      We use be + past participle ( Verb3 ) to form the sentence.

Practice 1.
Complete the sentences using  the right form of  present passive.
Number one is done for you.

1.   Cars are produced in Japan. ( produce )
2.   Many different languages .... in India. ( speak )
3.   All kinds of food .... in supermarket. ( sell )
4.   In Bali, notices .... in Indonesian and English. ( Write )
5.   Football .... in most coutries in the world. ( play )
6.   This book .... by Erlangga. ( publish )
7.   Every five years, a new president .... ( elect )
8.   The homework ..... on Monday mornings. ( collect )
9.   Electricity .... by power station. ( generate )
10. Cartoon films ....on TV every afternoon. ( show )

Practice 2.
Change the sentences into passive.
Number one is done for you.

1.   We celebrate our Independence Day on 17th August.
      Our Independence  Day is  celebrated on 17th august.
2.   Farmers grow rice in the rice field.
3.   Air pollution causes health problems.
4.   People speak Arabic in Egypt.
5.   A robot operates the machine.
6.   They clean this house every week.
7.   A technician checks this computer every week.
8.   We put the food in the refrigerator.
9.   The students attend the study club on Wednesday.
10. The soldiers guard the buildings.

Practce 3.
Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in the correct form.

cover    show     cause     paint      make     translate      employ     cut

1.   Many accident .... by dangerous driving
2.  Cheese ...... from milk.
3.   A cinema is a place where films ....
4.   Two hundred people ....by the company.
5.   The park .....completely by snow in winter.
6    The books ..... into English.
7.   The grass .....frequently.
8.   The house .... blue.

Practice 4.
Change these active sentences into passive sentences.

1.   Eva invites me.
2.   My father plays the guitar.
3.   Gina and Tina do their home works.
4.   Jane closes the door.
5.   I help Gina.
6.   The printer prints my document.
7.   Olivia writes a biography book.
8.   The teacher explains the lesson.
9.   Ahmad prepares the party.
10. A horse pulls the farmer's wagon.

Practice 5.
Complete these active sentences with correct be (is, am, are).

1.   The door ...... opened by Jean.
2.   The window ........closed by Sam.
3.   The documents ......... printed with the printer.
4.   I ........invited by Gina.
5.   The order .........taken by the waiter.
6.   Eva .......called by her mother.

Practice 6.
Rearrange these jumbled words to make a passive sentence.

1.   is - Eva's - stolen - wallet - a thief - by
2.   Azis - brochures - are - the - sent - by
3.   publisher - the - are - published - by - books - the
4.   waiters - served - customers - by - are - waitresses - and
5.   taught - Jaja - that - is - by - Prof - course
6.   news - I - surprised - am - by - the

 

Passive Voice in Past Tense

Look at the following sentences.

• Printing machines were invented in 1450.
• News was spread verbally or in written letters.
• The house was built in 1995.
• Some computers were stolen last night.

We use the passive voice when we want to focus on the person or thing affected by the action in the past, rather than on the 'doer' of the action.

We use : was/were + past participle ( verb3 ) to form the past passive

Practice 1.
Change following sentences into passive.
Number one is done for you.

1.   People built this hotel in 1998.
      This hotel was built in 1998.
2.   An artist painted this picture last year.
3.   The ancient Egyptian built the Pyramids from about 2630 BC until
      about 1530 BC.
4.   The Norman invaded England in 1066.
5.   The ancient Javanese built Borobudur in the 9th century.
6.   Alexamder Graham Bell invented telephone in 1876.
7.   People manufactured these computers in Malaysia.
8.   Some people redecorated the office last night.
9.   Somebody burnt the trees in the back yard yesterday.
10. The Wright brothers flew the first heavier than air plane in 1903.

Practice 2.
Complete the following News with the right forms of passive.

Here is the News.
Last night, two houses (damaged) were damaged by a landslide. Fortunetly, nobody (kill) 1)...... Four people (injure) 2) ......and  (take) 3) ......to the nearest hospital. All of them (release) 4) ......this morning after they (treat) 5) ......by the doctors. A group of soldiers (order) 6) ......to help local people fix the broken buildings. – JP

Read the passage carefully.

Plastics        Today plastics have become important parts in modern life. Most of things around us contain plastics, or are made of plastics. Our blankets are made of nylon, a kind of plastics. The carpet is made of plastics. The ballpoints  or pens we write with are made of plastics. The pans and pots we use to cook with, the toys the children play with, even the cars people drive, all have important plastics components. Do you work or plat with a computer? Some components of your computer are made of plastics.        Plastics have some advantages. They are relatively cheap to produce. Some plastics are made hard as stone and strong as steel. Some plastics are produced transparent as glass, light as wood, and elastics as rubber. Plastics are also produced in almost any colors. They are lightweight, waterproof, and chemical resistant.        However, plastics also have some disadvantages. When they are burned, some plastics produced poisonous smoke. Although  certain plastics are designed to withstand temperatures as high as 288 degree Celcius, in general plastics  are not used in extremely hot condition. The worst thing is that are not easily broken  down into simpler components because of their molecular stability. As result, plastics can cause soil or water pollution.

Answer the following questions.

1.   Why are plastics important for modern life?

2.   Look around you. What is made of plastics?

3.   What are the advantages of plastics?

4.   What are the disadvantages of plastics?

5.   Why can plastics cause soil or water pollution?