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Introduction

What possession was stolen from Neil, and who stole it? Neil and Pippa talk about crime, and Beth and Phil discuss the passive, e.g. 'was stolen', with our grammar guru Georgie.

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Grammar explanation

When should I use the passive?

Use the passive when it's more important to emphasise the action than the person who did the action. This is often because the person who did the action isn't important or we don't know who did the action.

Examples:

When I was a student, my house was burgled.
The shop was being broken into.

If you want to say who did the action, add by + person at the end of the passive structure.

Examples:

When I was a student, my house was burgled by children.
The shop was being broken into by a robber.

How can I form the passive?

'be' + the past participle

The past participle is the third form of the verb, for example 'stolen' – steal, stole, stolen. The verb 'be' changes depending on the tense.

Examples:

Present simple: Animals are banned from the cafe.
Present continuous: Look! The shop is being broken into.
Present perfect: The criminal has been sent to jail for ten years.
Past simple: Neil's guitar was stolen.
Past continuous: The class were being taught by a new teacher.
Past perfect: The thief had been arrested twice before!

To do

Test yourself using the quiz.

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