EXÁMENES FINALES DE MAYO

GRUPO NA1A ( DE 19:00 A 21:00 DE LA TARDE):

-EXÁMENES ORALES: 15 Y 27 DE MAYO.

- EXÁMENES ESCRITOS: 20 Y 22 DE MAYO.

 ENTREGA DE NOTAS: 29 DE MAYO.

PASSIVE VOICE

Use of Passive

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

• the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
• the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
• the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

Examples of Passive

Tense		Subject	Verb	Object
Simple Present	Active:	Rita	writes	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	is written	by Rita.
Simple Past	Active:	Rita	wrote	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	was written	by Rita.
Present Perfect	Active:	Rita	has written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	has been written	by Rita.
Future I	Active:	Rita	will write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	will be written	by Rita.
Hilfsverben	Active:	Rita	can write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	can be written	by Rita.

Examples of Passive

Tense		Subject	Verb	Object
Present Progressive	Active:	Rita	is writing	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	is being written	by Rita.
Past Progressive	Active:	Rita	was writing	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	was being written	by Rita.
Past Perfect	Active:	Rita	had written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	had been written	by Rita.
Future II	Active:	Rita	will have written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	will have been written	by Rita.
Conditional I	Active:	Rita	would write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	would be written	by Rita.
Conditional II	Active:	Rita	would have written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	would have been written	by Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

	Subject	Verb	Object 1	Object 2
Active:	Rita	wrote	a letter	to me.
Passive:	A letter	was written	to me	by Rita.
Passive:	I	was written	a letter	by Rita.

. As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.

Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.

Example: he says – it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).

Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

Copyright: English Grammar for you on-line.com

Exercises:

EXERCISE 1 

EXERCISE 2

EXERCISE 3 

WISH

Wish

Let's start off with the easy part. ' I wish to' can mean the same as 'I want to' but it is much, much more formal and much, much less common.

• I wish to make a complaint.
• I wish to see the manager.

You can also use 'wish' with a noun to 'offer good wishes'.

• I wish you all the best in your new job.
• We wish you a merry Christmas.

Notice that when you want to offer good wishes using a verb, you must use 'hope ' and not 'wish'.

• We wish you the best of luck.
• We hope you have the best of luck.
• I wish you a safe and pleasant journey.
• I hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.

However, the main use of 'wish' is to say that we would like things to be different from what they are, that we have regrets about the present situation.

• I wish I was rich.
• He wishes he lived in Paris.
• They wish they'd chosen a different leader.

Notice that the verb tense which follows 'I wish' is 'more in the past' than the tense corresponding to its meaning.

• I'm too fat. I wish I was thin.
• I never get invited to parties. I wish I got invited to parties.
• It's raining. I wish it wasn't raining.
• I went to see the latest Star Wars film. I wish I hadn't gone.
• I've eaten too much. I wish I hadn't eaten so much.
• I'm going to visit her later. I wish I wasn't going to visit her later.

In the case of 'will' , where 'will' means 'show willingness' we use 'would'.

• He won't help me. I wish he would help me.
• You're making too much noise. I wish you would be quiet.
• You keep interrupting me. I wish you wouldn't do that.

Where 'will' means a future event, we cannot use 'wish' and must use 'hope'.

• There's a strike tomorrow. I hope some buses will still be running.
• I hope everything will be fine in your new job.

In more formal English, we use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was' after 'wish'.

• I wish I were taller.
• I wish it were Saturday today.
• I wish he were here.

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

VERB TENSES REVIEW

TO REVIEW THE DIFFERENT VERB TENSES CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW: