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Passive form (1)

Passive 1 (is done/was done)

We use an active verb to say what the subject does:

• My grandfather was a builder. He built this house in 1930.    

• It's a big company. It employs two hundred people.     
We use a passive verb to say what happens to the subject:                 

• This house is quite old. It was built in 1930.       

• Two hundred people are employed by the company.

B When we use the passive, who or what causes the action is often unknown or unimportant:

• A lot of money was stolen in the robbery, (somebody stole it but we don't know who)

• Is this room cleaned every day? (does somebody clean it? - it's not important who)

If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use by...:

• This house was built by my grandfather.

• Two hundred people are employed by the company.

C The passive is be (is/was/have been etc.) + the past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.):

(be) done/ (be) cleaned/ (be) seen/ (be) damaged /(be) built etc.

For irregular past participles (done/known/seen etc.),

Study the active and passive forms of the present simple and past simple :

Present simple

Active:   clean(s)/see(s) etc.                         

Somebody cleans this room every day.

Passive: am/is/are cleaned/seen etc.    

This room is cleaned every day.

• Many accidents are caused by careless driving.   

• I'm not often invited to parties. 

• How is this word pronounced?

Past simple

Active:   cleaned/saw etc. 

Somebody cleaned this room yesterday.

Passive: was/were cleaned/seen etc.

This room was cleaned yesterday.

• We were woken up by a loud noise during the night.

•'Did you go to the party?' 'No, I wasn't invited.'

• How much money was stolen?

Put the verb into the correct form, present simple or past simple, active or passive.

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English exercise "Passive form (1)" created by felin with The test builder. [More lessons & exercises from felin]
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1. It's a big factory. Five hundred people (employ) there.

2. Water (cover) most of the Earth's surface.

3. Most of the Earth's surface (cover) by water.

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

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

6. While I was on holiday, my camera (disappear) from my hotel room.

7. Why (Sue/resign) from her job? Didn't she enjoy it?

8. Why (Bill/sack) from his job? What did he do wrong?

9. The company is not independent. It (own) by a much larger company.

10. Many accidents (cause) by dangerous drivers.

11. A cleaning lady (clean) this room every day.

12. Cheese (make) from milk.

13. There's no need to leave a tip. Service (include) in the bill.

14. A cinema is a place where films (show).