The passive voice - past tenses

The passive voice - past tenses

English V

Multiple Choice

QUICK TRIVIA:

The Mona Lisa was painted by...

• Leonardo Davinci

• Michelangelo

• Salvador Dali

• Vincent Van Gogh

Multiple Choice

QUICK TRIVIA:

Amazon was created by...

• Bill Gates

• Jeff Bezos

• Elon Musk

Multiple Choice

QUICK TRIVIA:

The Lord of the Rings was written by...

• J. R. R. Tolkien

• Percy Jackson

• J.K Rowling

• Suzanne Collins

Fill in the Blanks

​FIRST, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE AGENT.

​The agent is the person who does the action in the sentence.

​BY + AGENT

​Note: The agent can be omitted.

​When do we use the passive voice?

We use the passive voice when...

When the agent is unkown, unimportant or obvious from the context.

Raul was hurt (by someone). (we don’t know who or what hurt him.)

The school was built in 1987 (by someone). (we don’t really care who built it).

She has been arrested. (It is obvious that it was the police.)

We use the passive voice when...

​

To make a statement nicer, more polite or formal.

​

​The trash hasn’t been taken out.

(“You haven’t taken out the trash” sounds a bit less polite.)

We use the passive voice when...

​

When the action is more important than the agent, such as news, ads, events, instructions.

​

More than 50 people were killed in the accident.

​

Many are still being affected.

We use the passive voice when...

​

To make an emphisis on the agent.

​

The Oscars will be hosted by Leonardo Dicaprio.

​

The child will be babtized by the queen herself.

​how can I identify the passive voice?

Multiple Choice

Choose the sentence that is in passive voice:

• Anna painted the house.

• The house was painted by Anna.

Multiple Choice

Choose the sentence that is in passive voice:

• Emma was writing a letter.

• A letter was being written by Emma.

Multiple Choice

Choose the sentence that is in passive voice:

• I had read an interesting novel.

• An interesting novel had been read.

Multiple Choice

Choose the sentence that is in passive voice:

• The salesman was helping the customer.

• The customer was being helped by the salesman.

Open Ended

Complete the sentence with an agent:

My purse was stolen by...

Open Ended

Complete the sentence with an agent:

The phone was anwered by...

Open Ended

Complete the sentence with an agent:

The pizza was being eaten by...

​how can I form the passive voice?

​Step 1: Identify the tense of the sentence in active voice.

​I baked a cake. Simple past

​

​I was baking a cake. Past continuous

​

​I had baked a cake. Past perfect

Multiple Choice

Which past tense is this active sentence in?

My mom fed the dog yesterday.

• past perfect

• simple past

• past continuous

​Step 2: Know the verb to be in the tense of the sentence.

​I baked a cake. Simple past (was)

​

​I was baking a cake. Past continuous (was being)

​

​I had baked a cake. Past perfect (had been)

​

​Note: The verb be is irregular. It has eight different forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been.

Multiple Choice

Which is the form of the verb to be in simple past?

• had been

• was

• was being

​Step 3: Identify the object and the agent.

​I baked a cake. Simple past

​

​I was baking a cake. Past continuous

​

​I had baked a cake. Past perfect

​Step 4: Follow the formula

​I baked a cake.

​A cake was baked by me.

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Select

Choose all of the sentences that are in the Passive voice:

• She was bit by a dog. 

• The door was being fixed by my dad.

• The project was organized by the government.

• The exam had been checked.

Poll

POLL:

How well did you understand the Passive voice?

• Very well

• I understand it, but I need to practice more. 

• I did not understand, so I will review the topic on my own and ask questions.