Part II Tenses in the PASSive voice
Страдательный залог употребляется в тех случаях, когда не само лицо или предмет, являющиеся подлежащим предложения, выполняют действия, а наоборот, являются объектами этого действия, т.е. действия направлены на них.
В английском языке страдательный залог употребляется гораздо чаще, чем в русском. Исполнитель действия, как правило, не указывается: English is spoken all over the world. Мы часто употребляем страдательный залог в тех случаях, когда исполнитель действия либо неизвестен, либо нас больше интересует сам факт совершения действия, а не его исполнитель:
My car was stolen last night. (I don’t know, who stole the car).
Sarah has been invited to the party. (In this sentence we are interested in Sarah, not who invited her).
Образование страдательного залога.
Страдательный залог образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to be в соответствующем времени и формы причастия прошедшего времени (Past Participle) смыслового глагола. Времена страдательного залога употребляются согласно тем же правилам, что и соответствующие им формы действительного залога.
| Present simple | am / are / is + past participle The office is locked every evening |
| Present continuous | am / are / is + being + past participle The house is being painted at the moment |
| Past simple | was / were + past participle My car was stolen last night |
| Past continuous | was / were + being + past participle The bridge was being repaired last week |
| Present perfect | have / has + been + past participle Sarah has been invited to the party |
| Past perfect | had + been + past participle I thought that you had been told the news |
| Future simple | will + be + past participle She will be looked after properly there |
| Future perfect | will + have been + past participle The bridge will have been repaired by spring |
В страдательном залоге нет формы Future Continuous. Отсутствуют в страдательном залоге также все формы времён группы Perfect Continuous. Вместо Present Perfect Continuous и Past Perfect Continuous употребляются Present Perfect и Past Perfect Passive.
The question has been discussed for 2 hours.
План обсуждается уже 2 часа.
I was told that the stadium had been built for 2 years.
Мне сказали, что стадион строится уже 2 года.
При сравнении параллельных предложений в действительном и страдательном залогах видно, что дополнение предложения в действительном залоге становится подлежащим в страдательном.
Active: Someone locks the office every evening.
Passive: The office is locked every evening.
Active: Someone has invited Sarah to the party.
Passive: Sarah has been invited to the party.
Exercise 1. Complete the sentences.
- Use the present simple passive of the verbs in the box.
use play destroy speak export make
Example: Bread is made from wheat.
- Football ____ all over the world.
- Millions of cars ____ from Japan every year.
- A compass _____ for showing direction.
- How many languages _____ in Switzerland?
- Millions of trees _____ by pollution every year.
- Use the past simple passive of the verbs in the box.
discover invent play assassinate paint build
Example: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.
- The 1990 World Cup for soccer _____ in Italy
- When _____ television _____?
- The first pyramids of Egypt _____ around 3000 BC.
- Penicillin _____ by Alexander Fleming in 1928.
- The Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) ___ by Leonardo da Vinci.
- Use the present continuous or present perfect passive of the verbs in the box.
not sign examine still prepare question redecorate decide
Example: Wait a little, your food is still being prepared.
- Where is Harry? He _____ by the police about the accident.
- A lot of meetings have been held, but nothing _____ yet.
- For the past few days I have been working in Jack’s office, as my own office _____.
- The last two students _____ now.
- I’m afraid you’ll have to come tomorrow. The document _____ by the president of the board.
d) Use the past continuous or past perfect passive of the verbs in the box.
not invite clean sell repair interview steal
Example: I couldn’t wear my suit last Saturday. It was being cleaned.
- When I got back to the car park my car wasn’t there. It _____.
- We couldn’t use the photocopier this morning. It _____.
- By the time I arrived at the concert hall, there were no tickets left. They _____.
- We didn’t go to the party on Saturday because we _____.
- The man admitted stealing the money while he _____ by the police.
Exercise 2. Choose the most suitable tense.
- The new house hasn’t been finished / wasn’t finished yet.
- The robbers were arrested / have been arrested as soon as they left the bank.
- Sue told us her baby is born / had been born two weeks earlier than expected.
- If there is too much snow, the match has been cancelled / will be cancelled.
- By the time we got there, the rain had stopped / had been stopped.
- When were you told / have you been told about the new rules?
- Most of the passengers were rescuing / were rescued.
- He will have undergone / will undergo surgery by Tuesday this week.
- The winning horse was ridden / was riding by Pat Murphy.
- I looked again for the old man, but he was vanished / had vanished.
- I don’t think that you will be asked / are being asked to show your passport.
- The baby has been looked after / had been looked after by Dr. Young before he retired.
Exercise 3. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable passive tense.
Example: I’m sorry, madam, but this carpet (already sell) has already been sold.
- The old house on the corner (knock down) _____ last year.
- Good news! I (ask) _____ to take over as the new managing director.
- All complaints about products (deal with) _____ by our customer services department.
- You (not send) _____ any money until next month.
- She arrived an hour late but it was all right as the meeting (cancel) _____.
- Several new halls of residence now (put up) _____ on our campus.
- It (announce) _____ yesterday that the government had decided not to raise income tax.
- The economic improvement (feel) _____ in the country by this time next year.
- I’m afraid that nothing (hear) _____ from Jane since she left two months ago.
- The Government says, that tax reforms (introduce) ______ in the new year.
- He was getting the best treatment in the hospital, and he (monitor) _____ day and night.
- The news (broadcast) _____ every day from 6 am to midnight.
- When we got home we realized the house (burgle) _____.
- Most people agree that America (not discover) _____ by Christopher Columbus.
- The staff meeting (just postpone) _____ as the principle has fallen ill.
- By November 30 a new government (elect) _____.
- A new security system (install) _____ in all our offices in the next few weeks.
- At this very moment the suspect (interview) _____ by the police.
Exercise 4. Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using “they”, “we”, “people”, “somebody”, “nobody” write a corresponding passive sentence.
1. They have already frozen all new applications for car loans.
2. We will send successful candidates a letter inviting them to attend a second interview.
3. People were watching the game outside the stadium on a huge screen.
4. Nobody informed the college that there had been a mistake.
5. They provide over one hundred scholarships for students every year.
6. Somebody has described Keith Jones as the world’s greatest guitarist.
7. We will refund your money if you are not satisfied.
8. They demolished the building in only two days.
9. They will have completed the renovations to the house by the end of the month.
10. They are making a film about Indian tigers.
11. People have accused the local council of corruption.
12. They discuss important subjects every lunchtime.
13. Somebody left this purse in the classroom yesterday.
14. They will move your car if your leave it there.
15. Nobody has painted this house for ten years.
16. By the time we arrive they had solved the problem.
17. People are drinking more coffee than tea these days.
18. They questioned the suspect until she broke down and confessed.
Exercise 5. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first, using the word in bold and other words. Use between two and five words.
- William the Conqueror built the castle in the 11th century.
By
The castle _____ William the Conqueror in the 11th century.
- The police were following the suspects.
Were
The suspects _____ police.
- No one has seen Peter since the day of the party.
Been
Peter _____ the day of the party.
- She was wearing leather gloves.
Of
The gloves she was wearing _____ leather.
- Mark’s main rival beat him in the final.
Beaten
Mark _____ by his main rival.
- A mechanical breakdown caused the delay.
By
The delay _____ a mechanical breakdown.
- Why did nobody tell me about the accident?
Not
Why _____ about the accident?
- Who invented the mobile phone?
Was
Who ______ by?
- Mr. Hopkins is the owner of that blue Toyota.
By
That blue Toyota _____ Mr. Hopkins.
- Smith Ltd. supply our company with furniture.
Supplied
Our company ______ by Smith Ltd.
11. They ordered a new photocopier last Tuesday.
Was
A new ______ last Tuesday.
12. The Mayor is opening the new sports centre at 11 am tomorrow.
Being
The new sports centre ______ the Mayor at 11 am tomorrow.
13. Have you checked the prices of the items yet.
Been
Have the prices ______ yet?
14. The court ordered him to pay a fine of $100.
Was
He _______ a fine of $100 by the court.
15. They are painting the doors at the moment.
Are
The doors ______ at the moment.
16. They have redecorated their house twice already.
Has
Their house ______ twice already.
Exercise 6. Fill in the gaps in this letter with an appropriate active or passive form of the verbs in brackets.
Dear Julie,
Well, I arrived safely … but my luggage didn’t! After many enquiries I found that it ………… (send) to Finland instead of England! Apparently, it ………… (label) wrongly at check-in. Anyway, it finally ………… (arrive) three days ago, and other than that, I ……… (have) a great time ever since I arrived.
The people I am staying with are very nice and I ………… (already/show) all the local tourist sites. I ………… (treat) exactly like one of the family and I ………… (introduce) to all their friends. I share a room with Penny, the daughter in the family, who is my age. It’s amazing … every morning we …………. (wake up) by her mother with a cup of tea! Yesterday (Sunday), we ………… (even/give) breakfast in bed!
Today was my first day at my new language school. When I arrived, I ………… (take) to a special room where we ………… (welcome) by the Director. He ………… (explain) what was going to happen and who all the staff were. Then we ………… (go) to a large room where we ……… (give) a test to do. It was quite difficult, but it was soon over and then we ………… (have) an interview with a teacher who ………… (check) our spoken English. As we ………… (leave) we ………… (hand) a form to fill in with all our personal details and we ………… (tell) to arrive early tomorrow to give us time to find our new classes. In the afternoon we ………… (take) on a guided tour of the city by bus which was very interesting.
I’m really looking forward to tomorrow when we ………… (put) in our new classes.
I don’t know yet what level I’ll be in – apparently we ………… (tell) when we arrive tomorrow. At the same time we ………… (give) the various books that we need for the course. It’s all quite exciting! I just hope I like my teacher!
Love,
Rosario
