Passive (past simple)

Past simple tense of verb to be (was, were) + past participle

Active: They sold heir house very quickly. Passive: Their house was sold very quickly.

Ex. 125. Krakatoa. Put the verbs in brackets in past passive simple.

Did you know that the greatest explosion in the world

__was caused__(cause) by a volcano? Krakatoa, an island in Indonesia, erupted in 1883. More than half the island

1________________(destroy). The explosion 2__________

(hear) in India and Australia. Rocks 3 _________________

(throw) more than 55 kilometres high into the air. Surprisingly, only a few people 4_____________(kill), but a huge wave, 35 metres high, 5_________________(create)

by the explosion. Several small islands 6_______________

(cover) by the wave. 163 villages 7 ___________________

(destroy) and 36,000 people 8 _________________(drown).

Dust 9 _______________(carry) all round the world, and the weather everywhere 10 ____________________(affect)

for many years afterwards.

Ex. 126. Famous people quiz. Choose the correct answer. Use past passive and by.

Leonardo da Vinci the Ancient Greeks Alexander Graham Bell

Lewis Carroll Walt Disney Marconi

The Ancient Egyptians John Lennon Christopher Columbus

Shakespeare

Example: Was “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” written by Shakespeare?

No, it wasn’t. It was written by Lewis Carroll.

1. Was the “Mona Lisa” painted by Picasso?

2. Was the radio invented by Alfred Nobel?

3. Were the Pyramids built by Chinese?

4. Was America discovered by Marco Polo?

5 Was the telephone invented by Siemens?

6. Was the song “Imagine” written by Elvis Presley?

7. Was Mickey Mouse created by Goscinny and Uderzo?

8. Was “Romeo and Juliet” written by Agatha Christie?

9. Was the Parthenon built by the Ancient Romans?

Ex. 127. Fill in the blanks with the prepositions by or with.

1. The boat was carried ____________ the waves into the open sea.

2. The teacher was pleased ___________ our work.

3. America was discovered _____________ Columbus.

4. “Hamlet” was written ___________ Shakespeare.

5. Soup is eaten ___________ a spoon.

6. He was killed __________ a knife.

7. He was killed __________the robber.

8. He was knocked down __________ a big stick.

9. He was knocked down __________ a car.

10. He was taken to hospital ___________ an ambulance.

11. He was treated ___________ very effective drugs.

12. He was cured __________ a very skillful doctor.

13. The letter was written __________ a pencil.

14. He was scolded __________ his mother.

Ex. 128. Write these sentences in another way, beginning in the way shown.

1. They didn’t give me the information I needed.

I __wasn’t given the information I needed.__________________________

2. They asked me some difficult questions at the interview.

_________________________________________________________________

3. Linda’s colleagues gave her a present when she retired.

_________________________________________________________________

4. Nobody told me about the meeting.

_________________________________________________________________

5. They paid him only part of the money.

__________________________________________________________________

6. The doctor prescribed me a lot of medicine.

__________________________________________________________________

7. They promised us seats in the first row.

___________________________________________________________________

Ex. 129. Put the verbs in correct form, present simple or past simple, active or passive.

1. Water __________________(cover) most of the earth’s surface.

2. How much of the earth’s surface _____________________(cover) by water?

3. The park gates _________________(lock) at 6.30 p.m. every evening.

4. The letter _________________(post) a week ago and it ______________(arrive) yesterday.

5. The boat hit a rock and _____________(sink) quickly. Fortunately everybody_____________

(rescue).

6. Richard’s parents __________________(die) when he was very young. He and his sister

______________________(bring up) by their grandparents.

7. While I was on holiday, my camera _______________________ (steal) from my hotel room.

8. While I was on holiday, my camera ____ ______________(disappear) from my hotel room.

9. I saw an accident last night. Somebody ________________(call) an ambulance but nobody

____________________(injure), so the ambulance ___________________(not / need).

10.______________________(somebody / clean) this room yesterday?