Grammar for advanced students 01: Passive voice - Thẩm Tâm Vy

 Thẩm Tâm Vy, November 23rd, 2018 GRAMMAR FOR ADVANCED ~ PASSIVE VOICE 
GRAMMAR FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS 
PASSIVE VOICE 
A. Have and Get something done, Need doing 
• Have /get something done 
This typically describes a service performed for us by someone else. 
 - I'm going to have /get my car serviced. I have /get it done every winter. 
It can also describe something unfortunate that happens to someone. 
 - We had /got our car broken into last month. 
Get is more likely to be used than have: 
i) when there is a feeling that something must be done 
 - I really must get my hair cut. 
ii) when there is a feeling of eventually managing to do something 
 - I eventually got the carfixed at the Fast Service garage. 
iii) in orders and imperatives. 
 - Get your hair cut! 
Note that get should not be used in the present perfect passive, where it would be 
confused with have got 
 - I've just had my hair cut. (possible) 
 - I’ve just got my hair cut. (not possible) 
• The need to have a service done can be expressed with need doing. 
 - Your hair needs cutting, 
• Passive GET' 
Get can be used instead of be to form the passive in spoken language. 
 - Martin got arrested at a football match. 
B. Reporting verbs: 
• Present reference 
 With verbs such as believe, know, say, think, which report peoples opinions, a passive 
construction is often used to avoid a weak subject, and to give a generalized opinion. 
With present reference, the passive is followed by the present infinitive. 
 - The criminal is thought to be in hiding in the London area. 
 - Vitamin C is known to be good for treating colds. 
• Past reference 
 With past reference, the passive is followed by the past infinitive. 
 - Smith is believed to have left England last week. 
• Past reporting verb 
When the reporting verb refers to a past situation, a past infinitive is used. However, 
when it refers to a present situation, an infinitive is used. 
 - Sue paid too much. [Active] 
 - People thought Sue had paid too much. [Active] 
 - Sue was thought to have paid too much. 
 - The thief is still in the house! Passive 
 - The police thought that the thief was still in the house. 
 - The thief was thought to still be in the house. 
Note the negative form. 
 - They thought he didn't live there any more. 
 - He was thought not to live there any more. 
• Past reference with two objects 
 In this case there are two ways of reporting with a passive construction. 
 - Everyone knows the portrait was painted by an Italian. 
 - The portrait is known to have been painted by an Italian. 
 - An Italian is known to have painted the portrait. 
• Continuous infinitive 
 Past and present continuous infinitives are also used. 
 - Kate is thought to be living in Scotland. 
 - The driver is thought to have been doing a U-turn. 
C. Verbs with prepositions 
• Ending a sentence with a preposition 
 It is possible to end a sentence with a preposition in a sentence where a prepositional 
verb is made passive. 
 - Somebody broke into our house. 
 - Our house was broken into. 
• By and With 
With is used after participles such as filled, packed, crowded, crammed. 
 - The train was packed with commuters. 
 The difference between by and with may depend on whether a person is involved. 
 - Dave was hit by a branch, (an accident) 
 - Dave was hit with a branch, (a person hit him with one) 
• Make is followed by to when used in the passive. 
 - My boss made me work hard. 
 - I was made to work hard by my boss. 
D. Common contexts for the passive 
 The passive is common in technical and scientific writing, and generally in spoken and 
written contexts where there is less use of personal reference, since the audience may be 
unknown, or the speaker wants to remain impersonal. 
PRACTICE 
I. Read each pair of sentences and decide whether they have the same meaning. 
Put a tick () if the meaning is the same, or rewrite the second sentence so that it 
means the same as the first. 
1. I’ve just been to the hairdresser’s. What do you think? 
 I’ve just cut my hair at the hairdresser’s. What do you think? 
2. Someone is painting our house at the moment. 
 We are painting our house at the moment. 
3. The dentist is going to take out two of my teeth tomorrow. 
 I’m having two teeth taken out tomorrow. 
 Thẩm Tâm Vy, November 23rd, 2018 GRAMMAR FOR ADVANCED ~ PASSIVE VOICE 
4. The teacher made us all tidy up. 
 We were made to tidy up by the teacher. 
5. The car is thought to have been stolen by joy-riders. 
 Joy-riders are thought to have stolen the car. 
6. Just a minute. I’ll ask someone to wrap this for you. 
 Just a minute. FH have to wrap this up for you. 
7. The car hasn’t been serviced for a long time. 
 We haven’t had the car serviced for a long time. 
8. They’re coming to put in a new heating system next week. 
 We’re putting in a new heating system next week. 
9. Would you consider having plastic surgery to alter your nose? 
 Would you consider having your nose altered by plastic surgery? 
II. Underline the correct word to complete each sentence. 
1. The busy shopping street was thronged by / with people. 
2. The emergency exit was concealed by /from a red curtain. 
3. The price of excursions is included in / with the cost of the holiday. 
4. All through January, the fields were covered with /from snow. 
5. The room was crammed by / with furniture of all descriptions. 
6. Two of the climbers were injured by / with falling rocks. 
7. The island is inhabited by / from people of mainly Chinese origin. 
8. The bank was quickly surrounded from / by armed police. 
9. The window had been smashed from / with a hammer taken from the shed. 
10. The stadium was packed from / with cheering fans 
III. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first 
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. 
1 We think the treasure dates from the thirteenth century. THINK 
 It is thought to date from the thirteenth century. 
2 Your hair needs cutting. GET 
You....................................................................... cut 
3 Jill's parents are making her study hard. MADE 
 Jill............................................................... her parents. 
4 Apparently the ship did not sustain any damage. APPEARS 
The ship......................................... .......................... 
5 It is thought that the two injured men were repairing overhead cables. HAVE 
The two injured men.........................................overhead cables. 
6 There is a rumour that the escaped prisoner is living in Spain. BE 
The escaped prisoner........................................ living in Spain. 
7 We have agreed to meet again in a fortnight. WILL 
It h as........................................meet again in a fortnight. 
8 We decided to try again later. WOULD 
It was............................................................ try again later. 
9 There is confirmation of Mr Jackson's intended resignation. THAT 
It is ...... .............................................................to resign. 
10 Most of the committee thought it was not a viable solution. NOT 
 It was thought......................................by most of the committee.\ 
IV. Rewrite each sentence so that it ends with the word underlined. 
1. Another company has taken over our company. 
 => Our company has been taken over. 
2. We are dealing with your complaint. 
3. We have not accounted for all the missing passengers. 
4. Someone had tampered with the lock of the front door. 
5. We don’t know how they disposed of the body. 
6. I must insist that you keep to the rules. 
7. We are looking into this allegation. 
8. We will frown upon any attempts to cheat in the exam. 
9. The youngest student complained that people were picking on him. 
10. You haven’t paid for the second pizza. 
11. I think they have made up the whole story. 
V. Complete each sentence with a preposition. 
1. The tree had been decorated with coloured balls. 
2. The answers have been included.............the book. 
3. After the rugby match, Jim’s shorts were covered........... mud. 
4. The victim was struck from behind.............a heavy object. 
5. The house was built..............money that David borrowed from the bank. 
6. The cat narrowly escaped being run over.............a car. 
7. When the accident happened, Sue was struck..............flying glass. 
8. The turkey was stuffed................chestnuts, and was very tasty. 
9. No one knew that Peter had been involved.................. the investigation. 
10. When I left the casino, my pockets were crammed..................money. 
11. All the presents were wrapped.................yellow paper. 
12. It turned out that the bridge had been damaged...............a lorry. 
VI. Complete the text with the phrases from the list below. 
was seen - were made to - was brought - was obliged to 
are believed to have been - is known to have experienced - is not known 
are thought to be - was packed - is thought to have been 
 A plane carrying 15 members of the government to a conference in Brussels (1) is 
nown to have experienced a small-scale fire earlier this morning. The plane 
(2)...........................about 20 minutes into its journey when the fire occurred in the 
luggage area. It (3)........................how the plane caught fire, but initial eye-witness 
accounts confirm that a trail of smoke (4).........................coming from the undercarnage. 
The fire (5).....................rapidly under control, but the pilot (6).........................make an 
emergency landing. Five people (7)........................treated for shock. The plane 
(8)............................with business people flying to Belgium. All 209 passengers 
(9)..............................stay behind for questioning after landing at a military airport in 
northern France. Police (10).........................treating the incident as suspicious. 
 Thẩm Tâm Vy, November 23rd, 2018 GRAMMAR FOR ADVANCED ~ PASSIVE VOICE 
VII. Rewrite the text using the passive where possible. Do not use the underlined 
words. 
 Nobody knows exactly when someone invented gunpowder. People know for a fact 
that the Chinese made rockets and fireworks long before people used gunpowder in 
Europe, which was around the beginning of the thirteenth century. We generally believe 
that gunpowder brought to an end the ‘Age of Chivalry’, since anyone with a firearm 
could bring down a mounted knight. In fact, people did not develop efficient firearms 
until the sixteenth century. They used gunpowder mainly in siege cannon when people 
first introduced it. Later they used it in engineering work and in mining, but they found 
that it was extremely dangerous. Modern explosives have now replaced gunpowder, but 
we still use it for making fireworks, just as the Chinese did. 
 It is not known exactly..................................................................................................... 
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