THE PASSIVE

THE PASSIVE

is formed
1. to be + past participle
  1. present simple
    1. In the USA a major crime is committed every twenty-seconds
  2. present continuous
    1. The bank robbery is being investigated
  3. past continuous
    1. He realised that he was being watched
  4. present perfect
    1. Ninety-eight precent of this year’s murder cases have been solved
  5. past perfect
    1. She had been arrested twice before
  6. future (will)
    1. He will be released from prison next month
  7. modals
    1. They may be called in for questioning later today
  8. past simple
    1. The thief was arrested in his home
2. use by + person/thing (agent)
  1. to show how does the action if this information is important
    1. The robber was seen by the police officer
      1. = The officer saw the robber
we use when...
1. we don't know who or what did something
  1. My bicycle's been stolen. (= Someone has stolen my bicycle
2. the action is more important than who did it
  1. Income tax was introduced in England in 1798
3. it is obvious who or what did something
  1. The thief's been arrested
Verbs with two objects
1. A witness gave some information to the police
  1. The police were given some information by witness
  2. Some information was given to the police by a witness
to have sth done, when we ask someone else to do something for us
1. formal
  1. The president had the car taken to the airport
  2. I had my hair cut
  3. I'm having my kitchen painted
  4. They want to have their car fixed
2. informal
  1. I got my hair cut

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	Created by Andrés Francisco Ramírez Naharro about 8 years ago