2. Verbs with two objects in the Passive.

a) Some verbs (give, ask, offer, pay, show, teach, tell) can have two objects. In such cases we can make two different passive sentences:

▪ Jimmy was given the money. The money was given to Jimmy. (In general it’s more usual for passive sentences with these verbs to begin with the person.)

▪ I was offered the job, but I refused it.

▪ Have you been shown the new machine?

3. The Passive with – by – with -

a) We use – by – to introduce the agent in the passive when it’s important to say who or what is responsible for something:

▪ Marconi invented the radio. The radio was invented by Marconi.

▪ The strong winds blew down a number of trees. A number of trees were blown down by the strong winds.

▪ Two hundred people are employed by the company.

b) We use – with – to talk about an instrument which is used by the agent to do something. We also use – with – to talk about materials or ingredients.

▪ I was hit with an umbrella.

▪ The room was filled with smoke.

▪ Irish coffee is made with whiskey.

4. Using – get – instead of – be – in the passive.

a) We can use – get – instead of – be – to make passive verbs. We do this when we talk about things that happen by accident or unexpectedly ( but mainly in informal spoken English):

▪ I don’t often get invited to parties. (I am not often invited.)

▪ My flat got burgled when I was on holiday.

b) 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 lost (not know where you are), get changed (change your clothes).

5. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

a) A transitive verb is a verb that is followed by an object (noun or pronoun). Only transitive verb can be used in the passive:

▪ Bob mailed the letter. The letter was mailed by Bob.

b) An intransitive verb is a verb that is not followed by an object. An intransitive verb is not used in the passive:

▪ An accident happened.

▪ Kate came to our house.

▪ I slept well last night.

c) Common intransitive verbs:

- agree – appear – arrive

- be – become (идти, быть к лицу) – belong

- come – consist

- die – exist

- fall – fit - flow - fly

- go

– happen - have– hold

- lack - laugh – live

- occur – possess (иметь, владеть)

– rain – rise – resemble

- seem – sit – sleep – sneeze – stand – stay – suit

- talk – wait – walk

▪ The hall holds (вмещать) 500 people.

▪ They have a nice house.

▪ My shoes don’t fit (подходить, быть впору)me.

▪ She resembles (быть похожей) a Greek goddess.

▪ He lacks (не хватать, недоставать)tact.

But! Some of these verbs can be formed in the passive when they have other meanings:

▪ The conference was held on Sunday. – Конференция была проведена в воскресенье.

▪ The device will be fitted on the wall. – Это устройство будет смонтировано на стене.

Practice

Exercise 1 – ORAL. Identify if the sentence is active or passive. Underline the verb.

1.People have used sundials since ancient times. 2. Sundials have been used for almost three thousand years. 3. Clocks and watches are used to tell time. Some watches show the date as well as the time. 4.On digital watches, the time is shown by lighted numbers. 5. The first watches were made in Europe six hundred years ago. 6. The earliest watches were worn around a person’s neck. 7. Pocket watches became popular in the 1600s. 8. Close to seventy million watches are sold in the United States each year. 9. Somewhere in the world, a watch is being sold at this very moment. 10. Many different styles of watches can be bought today. 11. Some watches can be worn underwater.

Exercise 2 – ORAL. Read the sentences and comment on the use of the Passive voice. Translate them.

1.Things are done fast in California. 2. He is being brought to Berlin at the moment. 3. He has been kidnapped 4. We were left with the car. 5. The secret was well guarded.. 6. He didn’t know that his fate was being decided. 7. As lunch went on I began to realize why I had been invited. 8. The official announcement will be made in the next few days.

Exercise 3. Change the active to the passive by writing the correct form of – be – in the blanks. Use the same tense for – be – in the passive sentence that is used in the active sentence.

Present Simple:

Authors write books. Books……………………………………………………by authors.

Present Continuous:

Mr. Brown is writing that book. That book………………………………….by Mr. Brown.

Present Perfect:

Ms. Lee has written the report. The report………………………………….by Ms. Lee.

Past Simple:

Bob wrote that letter. That letter……………………………………………...by Bob.

Past Continuous:

A student was writing the report. The report…………………………………by a student.

Past Perfect:

Lucy had written a message. A message………………………………………by Lucy.

Future Simple:

Your teacher will write a report. A report ……………………………………by your teacher.

Be going to:

Tom is going to write the letter. The letter…………………………………….by Tom.

Future Perfect:

Alice will have written the report. The report………………………………….by Alice.