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22

Unit 22: Beyond the planets
Present and past passive

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  2. 2What to wear
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  5. 5Christmas every day
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  22. 22Beyond the planets
  23. 23Great expectations!
  24. 24Eco-tourism
  25. 25Moving house
  26. 26It must be love
  27. 27Job hunting success... and failure
  28. 28Speeding into the future
  29. 29Lost arts
  30. 30Tales of survival

Session 2

The first rockets were launched into space in the 1960s. Pretty amazing. Another thing that’s interesting is the passive voice. Find out how to make passive sentences and when to use them.

Sessions in this unit

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Session 2 score

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    Activity 1
  • 0 / 6
    Activity 2
  • 0 / 0
    Activity 3
  1. Activity 1
  2. Activity 2
  3. Activity 3

Activity 2

Making the passive voice

Rockets are still launched into space these days

So far you've seen some examples of sentences in the passive voice. You've looked at why we use passive voice sometimes in English, when we are more interested in the action, or when the agent/doer of the action is unimportant, unknown or obvious.

How do we form passive sentences? Read the grammar explanation and then try our quiz.

Read the text and complete the activity

Here are some of the passive sentences we've seen so far. Pay close attention to the verb form.

  • The final shuttle flight was launched in 2011.
  • The first reusable space shuttles were sent into space in 1981.
  • The bank robbers were arrested.

Those sentences are all in the past simple. Here are some examples in the present simple.

  • English is spoken by millions of people around the world.
  • Millions of photographs are taken every day.

Form

The passive is made with subject + to be + past participle. When we want to include the agent/doer of the action, we use by.

Positive

  • The internet is used by people all over the world.
  • Millions of babies are born every day.
  • The rocket was launched successfully.
  • The survivors were eventually found unharmed.

Negative

  • Japanese isn't widely spoken outside Japan.
  • Rockets aren't launched into space every day.
  • Our new washing machine wasn't delivered on time.
  • The suspects weren't charged due to lack of evidence.

Questions

  • Is your form filled out correctly?
  • Are these materialswritten by the BBC Learning English team?
  • Was the rocket launched successfully?
  • Were you given an ID card when you arrived?

To do

Do you feel confident about identifying words in passive sentences now? Have a go at this gap fill activity! Remember the main verb in the passive is in the past participle form and we introduce the agent with the word by.

Fill in the gaps

6 Questions

Choose the correct word to complete the sentences.

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Next

Now you've learnt when and why we use the passive, and you've looked at the form of passive sentences. It must be time for 6 Minute Grammar! Listen to Rob and Neil as they help you understand the passive voice.

Session Grammar

  • In English we can talk about when 'A' does something to 'B' in two different ways. In this example, NASA is 'A' and the final shuttle is 'B'

    Active voice
    NASA     launched the final shuttle in 2011.

    Passive voice
    The final shuttle     was launched by NASA in 2011.

    We use the passive voice when...

    • we are more interested in the action than the agent
    • we are more interested in the receiver of the action than the agent
    • the agent (or doer) is unimportant, unknown or obvious

    The passive is made with subject + to be + past participle:

    • The shuttle was launched in 2011.
    • The bank robbers were arrested.
    • English is spoken by many people around the world.

    We use by to talk about the agent in passive sentences.

    • The Colombia shuttle was launched by NASA over 30 years ago.
    • The missing watch was found by a ten-year-old boy.
View full grammar reference

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