PASSIVES C1

The Passive VOICE

A C1.1 QUICK REVISION

Index

1. The basics2. When to use the passive & when to avoid it 3. Two objects 4. By or with? 5. Impersonal passive 6. Causative have / get 7. Need + -ing

The basics

What we already know...

THE BASICS

• tenses
• practice exercises: 1, 2, 3

When touse it & when to avoid it

WHEN TO AVOID IT

WHEN TO USE IT

1. When we don't know who did something.

1. In more informal spoken English: use 'you' or 'they'

2. When it is obvious who does/did something.

2. With some verbs.

VS

3. To avoid starting clauses with long expresions.

3. With some tenses.

4. To produce a formal style.

Direct and indirectobject

"Michael gave the plane tickets to Jill"

CHECK

2 OBJECTS

"The professor gave the students the books."

CHECK

By or with?

BY OR WITH?

The model was created by Honda. The cake is made with brown sugar.

Impersonal passive

IMPERSONAL PASSIVE

NOUN+PASSIVE+ INF

IT + PASSIVE + THAT

WHEN?

It is thought that the new railway will provide employment opportunities for local people.

Tourism is expected to become a major part of the country's economy.

We use it in academic writing and in journalism.

Causative 'have' 'get'

CAUSATIVE HAVE

FORMS

TO FINISH

USES

• Actions we arrange for other people to do for us.
• Things we experience (usually negative)

In general get is more informal than have.

HAVE /GET + OBJ + PARTICIPLE Did you have you car fixed? I got my bike stolen.

NEED + ING

NEED + ING

MORE...

USES

FORMS

We can use this form when we want to talk about something that is necessary for someone to do. We don't have to say who is going to do it.

We can use need / have to be done instead.

This is a passive structure where the usual subject + verb + object form changes to object + need + verb+ing.