The topic explained
LESSON 5A GRAMMAR
- I can use the Passive to focus on the action and be more objective.
Read the extract from an online article. Why do you think this was the outcome of the experiment?
The Passive
Same structure, six reasons to use it
Look at the underlined phrases in the text in Exercise 1 and answer the questions.
What do all three phrases have in common grammatically?
How are they grammatically different?
PRONUNCIATION Listen to six sentences and write down how many words you hear in each sentence (contractions such as I’ve count as two words). What do you notice about the pronunciation of the verb to be?
- We are more interested in the action than who does it.
- The agent is unknown, irrelevant or so obvious we don’t need to express it.
- We want to avoid personal responsibility or blame.
- We want to sound more objective or talk about general opinions.
- We often put information that we know about at the beginning of a sentence and new information at the end of it.
- It is better not to start a sentence with a long complex subject.
Practice: complete the Economics text
VERSATILE CAREER OPTIONS
Meet your older self: who saves more?
A recent experiment asked participants how much of their income should be put aside for retirement.
LESSON 5A GRAMMAR
Rewrite it: can it be passive?
Not every sentence can become passive. Which ones can?
WATCH OUT!
Two objects: which one goes first?
Last check: pick the natural option
Choose between active and passive in a whole text.
Unit 3, Lesson 5A The Passive
The Passive in every tense
| Present Simple | The power is provided by hydrogen fuel-cells. Behavioural Economics is used for making good decisions in all areas of life. |
| Present Continuous | The documents are being prepared for you. A new role is being created in my department. |
| Past Simple | The first fully electric vehicle was developed in 2013. The participants were shown photos of themselves. |
| Past Continuous | Too much water was being wasted. The goods were being flown in from the other side of the world. |
| Present Perfect | All of your suggestions have been taken into account. My brother has just been awarded a promotion. |
| Past Perfect | Rescuers set up tents for people whose homes had been washed away in floods. A bigger pay rise had been promised to Saeed. |
| Modal verbs | The energy can only be stored for a short time. The skills that can be developed from studying economics may be transferred to numerous industries. |
| will | The job will probably be given to Adnan. How much will I be charged for the service? |
| going to | They are going to be given wonderful presents. The customers are going to be served the chef’s finest dishes. |
| The Passive infinitive | A difficult decision had to be made. Issa is expecting to be given a pay rise. |
| The Passive gerund | The crisis will result in more and more shops being closed down. I’d appreciate the concept being explained once again. |
We use the Passive when
When the Passive is the better choice
- we emphasise the action more than the agent: Florida was destroyed.
- (We’re only concerned with what happened to Florida, not the cause.)
- the agent is unknown or unimportant: A fully electric vehicle was developed.
- (We don’t know or don’t care who developed it, the important thing is the fact that it happened.)
- the agent is ‘people in general’: Much less energy was consumed.
- (Logically, it was everyone or people in general who consumed the energy.)
- the agent is so obvious we don’t need to express it: Aviation fuel is taxed.
- (Logically we can deduct that the agent must be the government.)
- when we want to be tactful and not mention the agent: All the biscuits have been eaten.
- (instead of: You’ve eaten all the biscuits!)
The Passive with get
In speech, get can replace be
- In spoken English, the Passive form is often replaced with an active form with the verb get.
