Passive sentences (1) (It is made)

B1-B1+
Grammar
Active and passive forms

These two sentences describe the same event:

Active
	OBJECT
Jane ate	the chocolate cake.

Passive
The chocolate cake	was eaten by Jane.
SUBJECT

The object (the chocolate cake) in the active sentence corresponds to the subject in the passive sentence. The subject (Jane) in the active sentence corresponds to the phrase with by in the passive sentence (by Jane).

Here are some passive tenses:

subject + be + past participle

Present Simple:	it is eaten, they are eaten
Past Simple:	it was directed, they were eaten
Present Perfect:	it has been eaten, they have been eaten
will (Future):	it will be eaten, they will be eaten

We use the passive when we do not know who did the action or when it is not important to say who did it:

My phone was made in Japan.
The report will be finished

We also use the passive to make the topic of a conversation into the subject of the sentence. For example, if a cat caught a mouse, we can say:

A: What did the cat do? (topic: the cat)
B: It caught a mouse. (active)

Or:

A: What happened to the mouse? (topic: the mouse)
B: It was caught by a cat. (passive)

Some verbs, like give, have two objects:

Active
	OBJECTS
	+ person	+ thing
They gave	Mary	a necklace.

We usually make the person (e.g. Mary) the subject of a passive sentence:

Passive
*Mary* was given a necklace

Other verbs that have two objects are:

ask	pay	sell	offer	tell
bring	send	lend	promise

PRACTICE

Now it is time to practise what you have learned.

For each Practice Test, read the instructions carefully.
Complete the exercise and press 'Check' to get your results.

Practice Test A

Practice Test B

Practice Test C

Nigel Bailey

Nigel is a qualified Teacher of English as a Foreign Language and has been teaching in Poland since 2003. He has been teaching over the Internet since 2008 and has taught more than 1,000 students in this way.

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