Unit

21 is done was done (passive 1)

The office is cleaned every day.

The office was cleaned yesterday.

Compare active and passive:

Somebody cleans the office everyday. (active)

I
"The office is cleaned every day. (passive)

Somebody cleaned the office yesterday. (active)

The office was cleaned yesterday. (passive)

The passive is:

past participle

cleaned done
present simple am/is/are
(not) invented built
past simple was/were
injured taken etc.

The past participle of regular verbs is -ed (cleaned/damaged etc.).

For a list of irregular past participles (done/built/taken etc.), see Appendix 2-3.

□ Butter is made from milk.

O Oranges are im ported into Britain.
O How often are these rooms cleaned?
O I am never invited to parties.

O This house was built 100 years ago.

O These houses were built 100 years ago.
O When was the telephone invented?
O We weren’t invited to the party last week.
O 'Was anybody injured in the accident?' 'Yes, two people were taken to hospital.’

was/were born
O I was born in Berlin in 1993. t(Iam born)
o
n
O 'Where were you born?' 'In Cairo.'

passive + by ...
O The telephone was invented by Alexander Bell in 1876. (= Alexander Bell invented it)
O I was bitten by a dog a few days ago.
O Do you like these paintings? They were painted by a friend of mine.

is being done / has been done Unit 22 irregular verbs *♦ Unit 24, Appendix 2 -3 by Unit 111
52 active and passive ^ Appendix 1
 Exercises
ja m Write sentences from these words. Some of the sentences are questions.
Sentences 1-7 are present.
1 (the office / clean / every day).............................. ....T h e o jfic e je cleaned e v e ry d a y ,.................
2 (how often / these rooms / clean?)........................How o fte n .are t h e s e .roo m s c\eaned?.
3 (glass / make / from sand) G lass..................................................................................
4 (the windows / clean / every two weeks) .............................................................................................
5 (this room / not / use / very m uch).................. .............................................................................................
6 (we / allow / to park here?)..........................................................................................................................
7 (how / this word / pronounce?)................................................................................................................

Sentences 8-15 are past.

8 (the office / clean / yesterday) The o f f i c e

9 (the house / paint / last m onth) The ho use............................................................
10 (m y phone / steal / a few days ago) .....................................................................................
11 (three people / injure / in the accident) .....................................................................................
12 (when / this bridge / build?) .....................................................................................
13 (I / not / wake up / by the noise) .....................................................................................
14 (how / these windows / break?) .....................................................................................
15 (you / invite / to Jon's party last week?) .....................................................................................

g n ti These sentences are not correct. Correct them.

1 Th ish o u se ^ b ^ 100 years ago..............................................................This.housa was. built
2 Football plays in most countries of the world..................................................................................
3 W hy did the letter send to the wrong address?.................... ..........................................................
4 A film studio is a place where films make................................. ..........................................................
5 Where are you born?........................................................................................................................................
6 How many languages are speaking in Switzerland? ..........................................................
7 Somebody broke into our house, but nothing stolen.................................................................
8 W hen was invented the bicycle?.................................................... ..........................................................

IT K l Complete the sentences. Use the passive (present or past) of these verbs:
-dearh damage find give invite make make show steal take

1 The ro o m te.deaned every day.

2 I saw an accident yesterday. Two people Wjsre.tak.an to hospital.
3 Paper.............................................................. from wood.
4 There was a fire at the hotel last week. Two of the ro om s................................................................
5 'Where did you get this picture?' 'It ................................................................to me by a friend of mine.'
6 M any American program mes...............................................................on British TV.
7 'Did James and Sue go to the wedding?' 'No. T h e y ............................................................ , but they didn't go.'
8 'How old is this film?' 'It in 1985.'
9 M y c a r ............................................................last week, but the next day i t .....................................................................by
the police.

|I K | Where were they born?

1 (Ian / Edinburgh) ......................................................................................................
2 (Sarah / Manchester) Sarah...........................................................................................................................................................
3 (her parents / Ireland) H e r...............................................................................................................................................................
4 (you / ???) I ......................................................................................................................................................................
5 (your mother / ???) ........................................................................................................................................................................

53
Unit
42 Passive 1 (is done / was done)
A Study this example:

This house was built in 1981.

‘This house was built’ is passive.
Compare active and passive:
Somebody built this house in 1981. (active)
subject object

This house was built in 1981. (passive)

subject

When we use an active verb, we say what the subject does:

My grandfather was a builder. He built this house in 1981.
It’s a big company. It employs two hundred people.
When we use a passive verb, we say what happens to the subject:
‘How old is this house?’ ‘It was built in 1981.’
Two hundred people are employed by the company.

B When we use the passive, who or what causes the action is often unknown or unimportant:
A lot of money was stolen in the robbery. (somebody stole it, but we don’t know who)
Is this room cleaned every day? (does somebody clean it? – it’s not important who)
If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use by:
This house was built by my grandfather.
Two hundred people are employed by the company.

C The passive is be (is/was etc.) + past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.):

(be) done (be) cleaned (be) damaged (be) built (be) seen etc.
The past participle often ends in -ed (cleaned/damaged etc.), but many important verbs are
irregular (built/done/stolen etc.). See Appendix 1.
Compare active and passive, present simple and past simple:

Present simple
Somebody cleans this room every day.
active: clean(s) / see(s) etc.

passive: am/is/are + cleaned/seen etc. This room is cleaned every day.

Many accidents are caused by careless driving.

I’m not invited to parties very often.
How is this word pronounced?

Past simple
Somebody cleaned this room yesterday.
active: cleaned/saw etc.

passive: was/were + cleaned/seen etc. This room was cleaned yesterday.

We were woken up by a loud noise during the night.

‘Did you go to the party?’ ‘No, I wasn’t invited.’
How much money was stolen in the robbery?

84 Passive 2–3 ➜ Units 43–44 by ➜ Unit 128

 Unit
Exercises 42
42.1 Complete the sentences. Use these verbs in the correct form, present or past:
cause damage find hold injure invite
make overtake own send show surround

1 Many accidents are caused by careless driving.

2 Cheese from milk.
3 The roof of the building in a storm a few days ago.
4 A cinema is a place where films .
5 You to the party. Why didn’t you go?
6 This plant is very rare. It in very few places.
7 Although we were driving fast, we by a lot of other cars.
8 In the US, elections for president every four years.
9 There was an accident last night, but fortunately nobody .
10 You can’t see the house from the road. It by trees.
11 I never received the letter. It to the wrong address.
12 The company I work for by a much larger company.
42.2 Write questions using the passive. Some are present and some are past.
1 Ask about glass. (how / make?) How is glass made?
2 Ask about television. (when / invent?) When
3 Ask about mountains. (how / form?)
4 Ask about DNA. (when / discover?)
5 Ask about silver. (what / use for?)
42.3 Put the verb into the correct form, present or past, active or passive.
1 a Two hundred people are employed (employ) by the company.
b The company employs (employ) 200 people.
2 a Water (cover) most of the earth’s surface.
b How much of the earth’s surface (cover) by water?
3 a While I was on holiday, my camera (steal) from my hotel room.
b While I was on holiday, my camera (disappear) from my hotel room.
4 a Robert’s parents (die) when he was very young.
b Robert and his sister (bring up) by their grandparents.
5 a The boat hit a rock and (sink) quickly.
b Fortunately everybody (rescue).
6 a Bill (fire) from his job. He wasn’t very good at it.
b Sue (resign) from her job because she didn’t enjoy it any more.
7 a It can be noisy living here, but it (not / bother) me.
b It can be noisy living here, but I (not / bother) by it.
8 a Maria had an accident. She (knock) off her bike.
b Maria had an accident. She (fall) off her bike.
9 a I haven’t seen these flowers before. What (they / call)?
b I haven’t seen these flowers before. What (you / call) them?
42.4 Instead of using somebody, they, people etc., write a passive sentence.
1 Somebody cleans the room every day. The room is cleaned every day .
2 They cancelled all flights because of fog. All .
3 Somebody accused me of stealing money. money.
4 How do you use this word? How used?
5 The price includes all taxes. All in the price.
6 People warned us not to go out alone. We .
7 We don’t use this office any more. This .
8 They invited five hundred people to the Five hundred
wedding. .
85
Unit
12 for and since when … ? and how long … ?
A We use for and since to say how long something has been happening.

We use for + a period of time: We use since + the start of a period:

We’ve been waiting for two hours. We’ve been waiting since 8 o’clock.

for two hours since 8 o’clock

two hours ago now 8 o’clock now

for since
two hours a long time a week 8 o’clock April lunchtime
20 minutes six months ages Monday 2001 we arrived
five days 50 years years 12 May Christmas I got up
Sally has been working here for six Sally has been working here since
months. (not since six months) April. (= from April until now)
I haven’t seen Tom for three days. I haven’t seen Tom since Monday.

B We often leave out for (but not usually in negative sentences):

They’ve been married for ten years. or They’ve been married ten years.
They haven’t had a holiday for ten years. (you need for)
You can use in instead of for in negative sentences (I haven’t … etc.):
They haven’t had a holiday in ten years. (= for ten years)
We do not use for + all … (all day / all my life etc.):
I’ve lived here all my life. (not for all my life)

C Compare when … ? (+ past simple) and how long … ? (+ present perfect):

a: When did it start raining?

b: It started raining an hour ago / at 1 o’clock.
a: How long has it been raining?
b: It’s been raining for an hour / since 1 o’clock.

a: When did Joe and Kate first meet?

⎧ a long time ago.
b: They first met ⎨
⎩ when they were at school.
a: How long have they known each other?
⎧
b: They’ve known each other ⎨ for a long time.
⎩ since they were at school.

D We say: it’s (= it is) a long time

since something happened
or it’s been (= it has been) six months (etc.)

It’s two years since I last saw Joe. or It’s been two years since …
(= I haven’t seen Joe for two years)
It’s ages since we went to the cinema. or It’s been ages since …
(= We haven’t been to the cinema for ages)
How long is it since Mrs Hill died? or How long has it been since …
(= when did she die?)

24 How long have you (been) … ? ➜ Unit 11

 Unit
Exercises 12
12.1 Write for or since.
1 It’s been raining since lunchtime.
2 Paul has lived in Brazil ten years.
3 I’m tired of waiting. We’ve been sitting here an hour.
4 Kevin has been looking for a job he left school.
5 I haven’t been to a party ages.
6 I wonder where Joe is. I haven’t seen him last week.
7 Jane is away on holiday. She’s been away Friday.
8 The weather is dry. It hasn’t rained a few weeks.
12.2 Look at each answer and choose the right question.
1 How long have they been married ?
Ten years ago.
When did they get married?
(When did they get married? is correct)
2 How long have you had this car?
About five years.
When did you buy this car?

3 How long have you been waiting?

Only a few minutes.
When did you get here?

4 How long have you been doing your course?

September.
When did your course start?

5 How long has Anna been in London?

Last week.
When did Anna arrive in London?

6 How long have you known each other?

A long time.
When did you first meet each other?

12.3 Read the situations and complete the sentences.

1 It’s raining. It’s been raining since lunchtime. It started raining at lunchtime.
2 Ann and Jess are friends. They first met years ago. They’ve known each other for years.
3 Mark is unwell. He became ill on Sunday. He has Sunday.
4 Sarah is married. She’s been married for a year. She got .
5 You have a headache. It started when you woke up.
I’ve I woke up.
6 Sue is in a meeting at work. It’s been going on since 9 o’clock.
The meeting at 9 o’clock.
7 You’re working in a hotel. You started working there six months ago.
I’ve been .
8 Kate is learning Japanese. She’s been doing this for a long time.
Kate started .
12.4 Complete B’s sentences.
A B

1 Do you often go on holiday? No, I haven’t had a holiday for five years.
2 Have you seen Lisa recently? No, I about a month.
3 Do you still go swimming regularly? No, I a long time.
4 Do you still ride a bike these days? No, I ages.

Now write B’s answers again. This time use It’s . . . since . . . .
5 (1) No, it’s five years since I last had a holiday.
6 (2) No, it’s
7 (3) No,
8 (4)
25