English Test Preparation (Collegeboard Review)

English Test Preparation (Collegeboard Review)

English 12

Ms. Flores

Active Voice and Passive Voice

• The term voice refers to the form of a verb indicating whether the subject performs an action ( active voice) or receives the action ( passive voice).

• Marcy smashed the ball over the net. (active voice)

  The ball was smashed over the net by Marcy. (passive voice)

• *Use the active voice whenever you can because it conveys more energy than the passive voice and results in more concise writing.*

Active Voice and Passive Voice

• *Use the passive voice when you don't know who is taking the action (actor), when you don't want to name the actor, or when you want to emphasize the person or thing acted upon rather than the one taking the action. The passive voice is often appropriate in scientific writing.

• When we returned, the car had been towed.

  I regret that a mistake was made.

  Gold was discovered in California.

  His mother was rushed to the hospital.

  A change in structure was found in the experimental group.

Practice

Answer the following questions.

Multiple Choice

Choose the TRUE statement.

• Passive voice emphasizes the person or thing receiving the action.

• Passive voice conveys more action than active voice.

• Passive voice emphasizes the person or thing taking the action.

Multiple Choice

Complete this sentence: You should use the active voice in writing because

• active voice is more impressive to the reader than passive voice.

• active voice results in more energetic, concise writing.

• active voice is appropriate for writing about abstract ideas.

Multiple Choice

In which situation should PASSIVE voice be used

• when you don't know who is taking the action

• when you are writing a scientific paper

• Both a and b

Multiple Choice

Choose the example of a sentence written in ACTIVE voice.

• The new dishes had been washed, dried, and put away.

• She washed, dried, and put away the new dishes.

• The new dishes had been washed, dried, and put away by the maid.

Multiple Choice

Choose the example of a sentence written in PASSIVE voice.

• The researcher noted an increase in bacteria.

• The researcher noted how much the bacteria increased.

• The increase in bacteria was noted by the researcher.

Verbals: Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles

• The three verbals— gerunds, infinitives, and participles—are formed from verbs, but are never used alone as action words in sentences. Instead, verbals function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. These verbals are important in phrases.

  The gerund ends in -ing and functions as a noun.

• Jumping is fun.

  He liked skiing.

  He had a unique way of whistling.

Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles

• The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to. Usually it functions as a noun, although it can also function as an adjective or adverb.

• To jump is fun. (noun; subject of the verb is)

  I like to ski. (noun; direct object of the verb like)

  She had a suggestion to offer. (adjective modifying suggestion)

  He called to warn her. (adverb modifying the verb called)

Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles

• A participle is a verb that ends in -ing (present participle) or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n (past participle). Participles may function as adjectives, describing or modifying nouns.

• The dancing parrots entertained the crowd.

  The wrecked sailboat washed up on shore.

• But participles have another function. When used with helping verbs such as to be and to have, they are action verbs and form several verb tenses.

• She is thinking of the children.

  The conference room had been cleaned before they arrived.

Practice

Answer the following questions.

Multiple Choice

Complete this sentence: Gerunds, infinitives, and participles are formed from

• prepositions.

• adjectives.

• verbs.

Multiple Choice

Choose the TRUE statement.

• A gerund is always an object in a sentence.

• A gerund is the action word in a sentence.

• A gerund functions as a noun in a sentence.

Multiple Choice

Choose the TRUE statement.

• An infinitive consists of the word "to" followed by the main form of a verb.

• An infinitive is followed by the word "too" and is used as an adverb.

• An infinitive can be used as a noun or an adverb.

Multiple Choice

She truly enjoyed growing her own organic vegetables.

The underlined word in the sentence above is ________

• a gerund.

• an infinitive phrase.

• a participial phrase.

Multiple Choice

She recommended her grandson learn to grow vegetables.

The underlined phrase in the sentence above is ________

• a gerund.

• an infinitive.

• a participial phrase.

Multiple Choice

Growing enough vegetables for the whole neighborhood, she works many hours in her garden.

The underlined phrase in the sentence above is ________

• a gerund prepositional phrase.

• an infinitive phrase.

• a participial phrase.

Multiple Choice

Identify the underlined phrase and how it is used in the sentence below.

Growing your own vegetables is rewarding and delicious.

• a gerund phrase used as a subject

• an infinitive phrase used as an adjective

• a participial phrase used as an adjective

Using the Tenses

• Tense indicates when the action or state of being occurs. Forming tenses can be simple or complicated.

• Present, past, and future

• The present, past, and future tenses are part of our everyday language, and as writers we should be able to use these forms with ease. The present tense indicates an action occurring now.

  He calls her on his cell phone every hour.

Using the Tenses

• Sometimes, the present tense is used to indicate future action.

  Her plane arrives on Friday.

• The past tense indicates action completed in the past.

  He called her on his cell phone yesterday.

• The future tense is used for action that will occur at a future time.

  He will call her on his cell phone next week.

Using the Tenses

• Present perfect

• The present perfect tense, formed with has or have and the past participle of the verb, indicates an action that occurred in the past and has continued into the present.

  I have called you for a week. (And I am still calling you.)

  
  

• This contrasts with the simple past tense, which suggests an action that both began and ended in the past.

  I called you for a week. (But I am no longer calling you.)

Using the Tenses

• Past perfect

• The past perfect tense, formed with had and the past participle of the verb, indicates an action completed in the past before another action completed in the past.

  After I had called you ten times, I checked your phone number.

  (Had called is a past action that was completed before checking the phone number, another completed past action.)

• In the following example, his being sober for a year preceded the accident: past before past.

  He had been sober for a year when the accident happened.

Using the Tenses

• Future perfect

• The future perfect tense, formed with will have and the past participle of the verb, is used for an action that will be completed in the future before another future action.

  By next week, I will have texted you more than a hundred times.

  (Texting more than a hundred times will take place before next week.)

• In the following example, his achieving sobriety for a year will precede the future arrival of his baby daughter.

  He will have been sober for a year by the time his new daughter is born.

Practice

Answer the following questions.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows the verb in PRESENT tense?

• He checked his messages during class

• He used to check his messages during class.

• He checks his messages during class.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows the verb in PAST tense?

• His phone bill will go up because of the new messaging plan.

• His phone bill went up because of the new messaging plan.

• His phone bill won't go up because of the new messaging plan.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows the verb in FUTURE tense?

• His phone bill will double after the first of the year.

• His phone bill doubled after the first of the year.

• His phone bill was doubled the first of the year.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows the verb in PRESENT PERFECT tense?

• I will check my messages about fifty times.

• I will have checked my messages about fifty times.

• I have checked my messages about fifty times.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows the verb in PAST PERFECT tense?

• She had sent him a text message before our lunch meeting.

• She will send him a text message before our lunch meeting.

• She sends him text messages before our lunch meetings.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows the verb in FUTURE PERFECT tense?

• He arrived from Alaska after midnight.

• He will have arrived from Alaska by midnight.

• He will arrive from Alaska after midnight.

Questions or doubts?

Good luck on your Collegeboard exam!

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows the verb in PRESENT tense?

• He checked his messages during class

• He used to check his messages during class.

• He checks his messages during class.