7.
7. Make the sentences passive. Mind the tenses. Use the Grammar Reference on p. 168 if necessary. 1) Someone was repairing their bikes. 2) Who is checking the passports? 3) We were fixing the satellite dish at 7p.m. yesterday. 4) One of the cable TV channels is presenting a new quiz show. 5) Newton discovered the law of gravity. 6) A building team was building the house when we returned to the town. 7) Cole Porter composed some nice musicals. 8) Someone was turning off TV while I came in the room. 9) Students handed out fliers last week. 10. At this very moment we are watching the soap opera on TV. 11. Journalists usually interview a variety of people.
Quick Grammar Aid – Passive Voice Choose the active voice whenever possible. Choose the passive voice if you have a good reason to do so. Consider passive voice when: 1. The performer is unknown or obvious.
The first edition of Freud's earliest writings on dreams was published in 1899.
2. The performer is less important than the action.
The solution was heated to 90°C for approximately 30 minutes and then allowed to cool.
3. The recipient is the main topic.
Cotton is grown in Egypt.
The object in the active construction becomes the subject in the passive construction and receives more attention.
Stephen King wrote The Green Mile in 1996. (ACTIVE: The Green Mile – object) The Green Mile was written by Stephen King in 1996. (PASSIVE: The Green Mile – subject)
As a rule, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous, and Future Continuous are not used in the passive. (See other Passive forms in the GRAMMAR REFERENCE) PRESENT CONTINUOUS: am / is / are + being + V3 We normally use Present Continuous when something is being done by someone at the moment.
A new road is being built now. They are being expected at the moment.
PAST CONTINUOUS: was / were + being + V3 We normally use Past Continuous when something was being done by someone at sometime in the past for a while.
When I returned home, Tom was being examined by the doctor. The new programmes were being tested at three o'clock yesterday.
The Past Continuous in the passive is often replaced by the active form in everyday speech. For example:
When I returned home, the doctor was examining Tom.
Ex. 1 Keys: sitcom, talk show, flier, paparazzi, soap opera, network, advert, audience
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UNIT 4