Passive Voice

1. Fill in the blanks.

1. This aeroplane (fly) ……………….by .................. in ................ It (design)…………… by................ year 2. This car (drive)……………….by the famous sports car driver, ...................... It make………………by the ................ Company……………in ...............

year 3. These earrings (wear) ………………….by the famous actress, ...............................

They (give)……………………..to the museum by her grand­daughter. 4. This strange machine (invent)………………………… in ............ Unfortunately, it (ride)…………………year only two or three times because it was very dangerous. 5. These photographs (take) ………………………..

by ..................... when he/she was only 15 years old. They (leave) ……………………. in an old shoe box where they , (forget)…………………………………for many years.

6. This letter (write)……………………..by .................... to ..................... but it (send)……………………..never…………… It (find)……………………………..recently between the pages of an old book. 7. This is one of..................'s early operas. It (compose)………………

in ............ , and it (sing)………………………for the first time year in ............... year

8. This impressive bridge (build) ....................................... in ............... (city) more than 300 years ago. It (begin) ............... ................. in 1520, and it (finish) ........................ until 1600.

9. This portrait ..............................................

2. Write about the records in the passive.

1. In 1986 ... paid over 8 mln dollars for a used car. 2. ... bought a bottle of French wine for $31,000. 3. In 1984 ... sold a postcard for $4,400. 4. . . used 100 bottles of tomato ketchup for a 17 hour bath. 5. In 1986 ... made a 40,000-kilo cake in 32 hours. 6. In Ohio ... spent about $120,000 in the first two hours at a market. 7. In one of the Great Lakes ... found a 64-year-old message in a bottle. 8. At Easter 1985 ... hid over 70,000 boiled eggs in a park in Georgia.

3. Open the brackets.

A COLLEGE TOUR

I'm glad you've all come to visit our college. I hope that many of you will enroll next year.

First, let's visit some of our classrooms. In this room, stu­dents (teach) ......................................................................

French. Here at Greenville College, we believe that all students I (teach) should .................................to speak a foreign language. I The students in the next room are studying history. History fclasses are usually very lively, but today the students (give) ..................................................................... an examination. This room is a science classroom. You can stay for awhile and listen. I'm sure many interesting ideas (discuss) ..................

.......................................... right now. In a little while, we're going to see the cafeteria where all the school food (prepare) is...... We believe that young people (feed) should ......................................... good nutritious food. That's why we've planted the vegetable garden you see next to the cafe­teria. The vegetables that our students are eating today (grow) ........................................................ in our garden. The next stop on the tour will be the college hospital. It (build) ................................ last year and is the school's most modern building. Patients at the college hospital (take) are ....... care of by excellent nurses and doctors who (train) ................... .................................... at the best universities. Students from Greenville College are well prepared for life. Many of our former students (hire) ........................ by fine com­panies where they've (give) ................................ important jobs.

We hope you've enjoyed your tour of Greenville College.

4. Use the correct form of the passive.

1. More cars (build) in the Detroit area than anywhere else in the USA. 2. My mum (tell) she will get better wages next month. 3. I'm very sorry we couldn't repair your car today, but it (repair) tomorrow. 4. The bank robber didn't get far. He (catch) near London last night.

5. In 1921 Ireland (divide) into Northern Ireland and the Re­public of Ireland.6. Empty bottles shouldn't (throw away). 7. The car (look at) by five people so far, but nobody wants to buy it.

8. Every four years a new president (elect) in the USA.

5. Put in the correct verb forms.

1. The palace .................. by Sir Robert Fleming, (build) 2. It............completely ... by fire in 1745. (destroy) 3. Seven years later, it ............ as an exact copy of the original, (rebuild)

4. In the 18 th century it had 48 rooms, but it ......in the late 19th century, and now has 112 rooms, (enlarge) 5. In 1976 it .........to Leisuredesign Enterprises Ltd. (sell) 6. The house .................. into a fun palace, and the gardens ... into a safari park, (convert, turn)

6. Here are some of the notices in the fun palace and safari park. Can you fill in the gaps with passive verbs?

1. Visitors ...... into the house and grounds between 9.00 am and 5.30 pm. (allow) 2. A bell ........ fifteen minutes before closing time, (ring) 3. Visitors ......not to feed the animals, (request)

4. People ......... not to leave their cars while touring the sa­fari park, (advise) 5. Dogs ......... in the safari park, (not allow) 6. You ............ not to touch the furniture, (ask) 7. The staff.........to accept tips, (not permit) 8. Lunch ......... in the cafeteria from 11.00 to 2.30. (serve)

7. Rewrite the sentences using the passive form of the verbs in italics.

1. They gave up the search after three hours. 2. They ought to have pointed that out to me at the very beginning. 3. No one brought up that question at the meeting. 4. Somebody should look into the matter. 5. It was clear that the parents had brought the child up well. 6. We had to put off our visit until later. 7. I was shocked to hear that someone had broken into your house.

8. Don't speak until someone speaks to you. 9. His bank manager turned down his request for a loan. 10. You must account for every penny you spent. 11. Someone hasn't stuck this stamp on very firmly. 12. Events will bear out the truth of what I'm saying. 13. An official held us up at the Customs for half an hour. 14. How can we bring about the desired result? 15. He hates people making fun of him. (Passive Gerund)

8. Complete the sentences with a passive construction, using the verbs given, and in a suitable form.

1. The new washing machines (turn out) at the rate of ', fifty a day. 2. When her husband died, she naturally assumed that she (provide for). 3. We've had to move into a hotel while the house we've just bought (do up). 4. The employee was assured of his (take on) again as soon as work was available. 5. Richard always (tell off) for careless mistakes nowadays. 6. The agreement had to (draw up) in the presence of two witnesses. 7. Some Heads of Government now fear that negotiations, (break off) before a settlement is reached. 8. The chairman of the board of directors assured sharehold­ers that the matter of the deficiency (look into) by the time the next meeting was held. 9. He felt he (let down) badly by his best friend. 10. The search party had little idea where to start looking, the climber's tracks (blot out) by a recent snowstorm.

9. Rewrite the sentences in the passive, making the words in italics the subject of the sentence or clause in which they appear.

1. They gave the oldest councillor the freedom of the city. 2. They denied access to the secret documents to all but a few. 3. Someone showed the child how to use the telephone. 4. They declared him "persona non grata" and allowed him only forty-eight hours to leave the country. (2) 5. They gave him artificial respiration. 6. Why didn't they offer him the job? 7. Didn't they promise you a rise in salary at the beginning of the year? 8. Someone left him a legacy of £10,000. 9. When he looked at the stamps, he found they had sold him forgeries. 10. What did they pay you for doing the job? 11. Someone should tell him never to do that again. 12. They asked you to meet me here at 11 o'clock, not half-past. 13. Will someone send me the details?

14. We shall send you the goods as soon as they are available. 15. Someone must teach that boy a lesson!

10. Passive transforms using the infinitive. Rewrite the sentences in an alternative passive form, beginning your sentences with the words in italics.

1. It is said that he is an honest, hard-working man. 2. It is considered that this surgeon is a brilliant practitioner. 3. It is now thought that some redundancies in the Com pany are inevitable. 4. It was proved that the statements he had were false. 5. It was understood that the delegation was keen to meet the British Prime Minister. 6. It is believed that the Chancellor is thinking of imposing new taxes to raise extra revenue. 7. It is expected that the electricity supply industry will be running into surplus capacity by next year. 8. It is reported that several Japanese manufacturers are planning to set up plants overseas. 9. It is expected that the brewers will raise the price of beer in the near future. 10. It was claimed that the drug produced no undesirable side-effects. 11. It is said that the police acted with great restraint, de­spite provocation. 12. It was alleged that the Prime Minister had misled the House. 13. It is believed that the Government has had second thoughts on this problem. 14. It was believed that the explosion had been caused by a mine. 15. It is presumed that the ship's radio equipment was put out of action during the fire. 16. It is thought that the driver had both legs broken in the crash.