2018-06-18 Grammar: passive overview

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework (optional): p., 159 exercise 10
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Passive Voice
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Form:
… + [be] + past participle
- Any tense can be passive. Change the last verb to [be] in the same form, then add the past participle of the main verb.
	His dad is going to punish him for that. -> He is going to be punished by his dad for that.
	People might have used this as a net. -> This might have been used (by people) as a net.
Meaning:
The subject of a passive sentence is the receiver (patient) of the action.
(In an active sentence, the subject is the doer (agent) of the action.)
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p. 50 exercise 3 - Change the active sentences to passive sentences with the same tense.
1 are spoken
2 have been mined
3 are considered
4 is eaten
5 is consumed
6 were worshiped
7 has been developed
8 were invented (“were both invented” is more correct)
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The agent can be included with a “by” phrase in a passive sentence.
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
p. 53 exercise 8 - Underline the agent and decide if it’s necessary in each sentence and why.
1 an unknown civilization - necessary, because it’s additional new information
2 the teacher - not necessary, because we expect things to be assigned by teachers
3 Picasso - not necessary in this sentence, because Picasso is named in the next clause
4 someone (both clauses) - not necessary, because we already know it’s a person, and there’s no additional information
5 friends or relatives - necessary, because it’s important additional information
6 children - necessary, because it’s surprising information
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Instead of [be], we can also use [get] for some passive sentences.
	I wasn’t paid last week. -> I didn’t get paid last week.
As in many sentences, “get” has a meaning like “become” when it’s used for a passive.
*The Mona Lisa got painted. (WRONG - The Mona Lisa didn’t exist before the action, so it didn’t “become” painted.)
OK (informal): The Mona Lisa got stolen in 1911. (Okay because this is a change that happened to the painting after it already existed.)
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Homework: p. 55 exercise 9 - decide whether “be” or “get” is more appropriate (sometimes both are fine), and write the correct form to complete the sentences.