Part III Active and Passive

Exercise 3.1

Rewrite the sentences in the Active.

1. The letter is going to be sent tomorrow.

They are going to send the letter tomorrow.

2. She was employed by an international company.

3. The exhibition will be opened by the mayor.

4. The company report is being written by Martin.

5. Fresh flowers are put in the hotel rooms every day.

6. The burglar has already been caught by the police.

7. The injured man had been taken to hospital.

8. He was chosen as the best actor of the year.

9. The bill will be brought by the waiter.

10. This plant should be watered daily.

11. The crystal vase has been broken.

12. The dishes haven’t been washed by the children.

13. Sarah was being interviewed for the job at that moment.

14. Smoking isn’t allowed in this part of the building.

15. I was told that fifty people were coming to the reception.

Exercise 3.2

Rewrite the sentences in the Passive.

1. Pete cleans the car every week. The car is cleaned every week.

2. The gardener has already planted some trees.

3. A famous designer will redecorate the hotel.

4. They are packing their suitcases.

5. You must leave the bathroom tidy.

6. Van Gogh painted “Sunflowers”.

7. The mechanic has repaired the car.

8. An expert is going to restore the antique car.

9. A million people visit the cathedral every year.

10. She had written the letter by 5 o’clock.

11. Three American astronauts are exploring space this month.

12. A nightmare woke Mary up.

13. They call the area the biggest city on earth.

14. Many reporters will meet the professor at the airport.

15. Someone has stolen Mike’s bicycle.

Exercise 3.3

Make sentences from the words in brackets. The verb is either active or passive.

1. There’s somebody behind us. (I think/we/follow)

I think we are being followed.

2. I was told lies yesterday. (you/ever/tell lies/ by any of your friends?)

3. We take the bus to work during the week. (the car/drive/only at weekends)

4. The bus has been stolen from outside the school. (the police/look for it)

5. What pretty houses! (they/own by a wealthy family?)

6. (the computer/use/at the moment?) – Yes, Kelly is using it.

7. Jack is happy. (his dog/find)

8. My cousin left our town five years ago. (I/not/see/him/since then)

9. They invited me to take part in a conference. (the conference/hold/London)

10. The company cut the water off. (Mr Dixon/not/pay/the bill)

11. I went to the doctor yesterday. (Dr Peterson/examine/me/give/me/a prescription)

12. I’m sorry, sir. (smoking/ban/ in here)

13. (rice/grow/in this area/for hundreds of years) but now the government is looking for an alternative crop because (rice/not make/much profit/last year).

Exercise 3.4

Rewrite the following active sentences using a passive form. Make the person the subject, not the thing. Omit the agent if it is not necessary.

1. He offered me a job at his company. I was offered a job at his company.

2. The company sent him a letter.

3. The Credit Bank lent me two thousand pounds in 1999.

4. They gave him a watch when he retired.

5. They showed us the sights of the city.

6. She will send you a fax.

7. I think they will introduce me to their new partner.

8. Someone has promised the client a discount.

9. The magician told them the secret.

10. Has anybody brought you winter clothes?

11. One of his uncles taught him about stocks and shares.

12. Someone gave the animal charity a lot of money.

13. They asked me some difficult questions at the exam.

14. When I entered the room, the teacher was still asking Richard questions.

Exercise 3.5

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form, active or passive.

Here is the local news for Thursday, March 20^th.

Last night in Norstock many trees (1) … (blow) down in the storm. One tree (2) … (fall) across the main road. It (3) … (take) away by the fire brigade two hours later. Heavy rain also (4) … (cause) problems on the roads. Some roads (5) … (cover) by about a metre of water. Many drivers (6) … (leave) their cars and (7) … (walk) home. The situation this afternoon is better. The water (8) … (disappear) from the roads, and the last few cars (9) … (just/remove) by the emergency services. And I can see the telephone engineers at work. The broken lines (10) … (repair). The traffic (11) … (now/move) in and out of the town along the roads.

Last night, a blue Ford (12) … (steal) from outside the house of Mr George Brown. Mr Brown (13) … (phone) the police. Later, the car (14) … (see) in Green Street by Mr Brown’s daughter. It was outside the Shepherd pub. The keys were in the car, so she (15) … (drive) it home. The police (16) … (look) for a careless thief.

And finally, some football news. Norstock Town footballers (17) … (just/become) champions for the third time! A few minutes ago the referee (18) … (blow) the whistle at the end of the game. Our reporter Thomas Hardy (19) … (wait) to talk to us at the stadium.

• Thomas, (20) … (it/be) a good game?

• Yes, excellent, very fast and exciting! Norstock’s star player, Bill Klein (21) … (send) off because he (22) … (kick) one of the players. And the goalkeeper (23) … (hurt) when he (24) … (crash) into the goalpost. He (25) … (carry) off the field with leg injuries, so both teams (26) … (play) with ten men for the last few minutes.

• Is everything all right with the goalkeeper?

• He (27) … (take) to hospital at the moment. The manager (28) … (think) it’s serious.

• And what (29) … (happen) at the stadium now?

• The Norstock players (30) … (present) with the Champions Cup.

Exercise 3.6

Complete the interview with the correct active or passive form of the verb.

Reporter: It’s wonderful to interview such a famous person as you.

Tracy: Yes, you are very lucky!

Reporter: I know that you (1) … (interview) many times before.

Tracy: Yes, it’s true.

Reporter: Also, I know that three books (2) … (write) about you.

Tracy: Yes, and another one (3) … (write) at the moment.

Reporter: A film (4) … (make) about your life two years ago.

Tracy: Oh, it was a brilliant film! The leading role (5) … (play) by a beautiful young actress.

Reporter: (6) … (more films/make) in the future?

Tracy: Certainly!

Reporter: Where (7) … (you/buy) your clothes from, Tracy?

Tracy: I (8) … (not buy) them! They (9) … (design) for me.

Reporter: And what about your beautiful yacht?

Tracy: It (10) … (bring) from Italy three years ago by my boyfriend, Josh.

Reporter: You must make a lot of money.

Tracy: I (11) … (make) lots of money and everybody (12) … (love) me. Flowers (13) … (send) to my house every day.

Reporter: Not by me, that’s certain.