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Language 2
the simple past passive
As you can see we form the passive with the verb to be in the past simple was, were and the past participle of the main verb. e.g. The book was written in 1999. e.g. The students were taken to the library yesterday. G14,15 67
1 When, why , what, and how? a) Read the information telling you about the history of vehicles. A. A horse and buggy (in American English) or horse and carriage (in British English and American English) refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. It was drawn usually by one or sometimes by two horses. It was also called a roadster. It was made with two wheels in England and the United States, and with four wheels in the United States as well. It had a folding or falling top. B. The early type of electric motor was invented by a Hungarian in 1828. He created a tiny model car that was powered by his new motor. In 1834, the first electric motor was invented in the USA. This motor was installed in a small model car. The Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888 by German inventor Andreas Flocken was regarded and is still regarded as the first real electric car of the world. C. The famous poet, Lord Byron, had a daughter, Ada Lovelace. She was considered to be a mathematical genius and one of the world’s first computer inventors. She was introduced to inventor Charles Babbage in 1843. At age 20, Lovelace collaborated with the inventor to invent a prototype of a computer. Credit for developing the algorithms and an equal contribution in the invention was given to Ada by Babbage’s own memoirs. The early programming language Ada was named for her, and the second Tuesday in October has become Ada Lovelace Day, on which the contributions of women to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are honoured. D. Who was the first to fly an airplane? Credit for being the first to fly an airplane was given to Wilbur (1867–1912) and Orville Wright (1871–1948). Four controlled flights were made in a powered vehicle on Dec. 17, 1903. The unique feature of the Wright brothers’ aircraft was that the wings were rolled right or left, the nose was pitched up or down, and yawed from side to side. b) Find the sentences with the past simple passive and write them in your notebook.
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