Form - cpiaintermediate.files.wordpress.com file · Web viewof the active sentence becomes "agent"...

CPIA Nord Est 2 – MILANO A.s. 2016-2017

How to form PASSIVE

We start from a positive sentence:


Peter builds houses


Then we turn it into passive:


Houses are built by Peter


What happened?

Change in subject:


The object of the active sentence becomes subject in the passive one:

ActiveSubject Verb ObjectPeter builds houses

PassiveSubject Verb ObjectHouses are built by Peter

Passive subject Active subjectHouses Peter


From subject to agentThe subject of the active sentence becomes "agent" in the passive one and it’s introduced by ‘by’.

Active subject AgentPeter by Peter

Change in verbThe verb construction is:


to be + past participle of the verb↓

Active construction Passive constructionbuilds are built

The verb to be keeps the tense of the verb in the active sentence.

Active Tense Passivebuilds Simple Present are built

Other examples:


Present Continuous:Peter is building houses ↓Houses are being built by Peter

Simple Past:


Peter built houses ↓ Houses were built by Peter.

Present Perfect:Peter has built houses ↓Houses have been built by Peter

Simple Future:Peter will build houses


↓Houses will be built by Peter

Modals:Peter can build houses. ↓Houses can be built by Peter.

Summing up:


Subj. To be Past Part. AgentHouses ARE built by PeterHouses ARE BEING built by PeterHouses WERE built by PeterHouses HAVE BEEN built by PeterHouses WILL BE built by PeterHouses CAN BE built by Peter


BUT IT’S NOT OVER...

Turn the following sentence from active to passive:


My mother never gives me moneySubject verb object

↓

Money (from object to ‘new’ subject)

is (never) given (Simple Present Active ‘gives’ ↓ Simple Present Passive‘is’ + Past Participle of give > ‘given’)


to me

by my mother (from Subject to Agent)

but the question is...


DOES IT SOUND GOOD?!?!


Maybe this one is better:

I’m never given money by my mother

Let’s re-start from the beginning:


My mother never gives me moneySubject verb object1 object2

↓I’m never given money by mother


WHAT HAPPENED?!

I (from ‘receiver’ to Subject)


am (never) given (Simple Present Active ‘gives’ ↓ Simple Present Passive‘am’ + Past Participle of give > ‘given’)

money (it remains the object)

by mother (from active subject to agent)


This construction is very common in English with verbs like:

tell, say, give, offer... ↓SOMEONE > ‘receiver’ in the active form subject in the passive↓SOMETHING > Object in both forms


Some examples:

Sarah told me an interesting gossip↓I was told an interesting gossip by Sarah

Jake offered me a good job position↓I was offered a good job position by Jake


Meaning of use:Passive and active don’t express the same meaning. We choose the passive or the active depending on what we focus on:

These amazing photos were taken by Jake(Passive: I’m more interested on the photos)

Jake took some amazing wildlife pictures(Active: I’m focusing on the photographer)

Form - cpiaintermediate.files.wordpress.com file · Web viewof the active sentence becomes "agent"...

Documents

Transcript of Form - cpiaintermediate.files.wordpress.com file · Web viewof the active sentence becomes "agent"...