UNIT
GRAMMAR
9 Passive, Causative Forms
RULES
The active voice is used to say what people and things do.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
They paid the bill. (focus on they)
A. Choose the correct answer.
When we want to emphasise what happens to people and things, we often use the passive voice.
1. When I saw Professor Bright, he was ...... shown
around the university campus.
a.
being
b.
been
2. She is supposed ...... giving a speech on prize day.
9. The ancient stones are believed to ...... moved
to their present site in 4,000 BC.
a.
be
b.
have been
that she is
a.
based
b.
to be
b.
based on
3. That old building should ...... down.
a.
be pulled
b.
to be pulled
11. At that time, the company was ...... financial
problems.
4. In the rush hour, the underground station was
crowded ...... passengers.
a.
with
b.
by
PA S S I V E F O R M S (See Appendix for passive tenses and passive modals, page 217.)
10. Which novel did you say the film was ...... ?
a.
5. I will always remember ...... taken to the theatre
for the first time.
a.
facing
b.
faced
12. ...... thought to be 5,000 homeless people in
that city.
2.
Not all verbs take an object, therefore they cannot be used in the passive. Examples of such verbs include:
arrive, come, die, disappear, go, happen, have, live, occur, sleep.
3.
When using a phrasal verb or verb + preposition in the passive, don’t forget the particle (adverb / preposition).
His grandmother brought him up.
We think highly of her.
➝ He was brought up by his grandmother.
➝ She is highly thought of.
4.
When a verb has two objects, there are two possible passive forms. When the first object is a person, this usually becomes
the subject of the passive. Examples of such verbs include: give, send, show, lend, pay, tell, promise, refuse, offer, award.
They awarded our company the contract.
They gave Julie a salary rise.
➝ The contract was awarded to our company.
➝ Julie was given a salary rise. (more common)
➝ Our company was awarded the contract.
➝ A salary rise was given to Julie. (less common)
5.
The verbs agree, believe, consider, expect, know, say, rumour, think and suppose can be expressed in the passive in
two ways:
14. I sometimes have a neighbour ...... the children
from school.
7. Entrance to the building had been ...... .
refused to Charles
allowed
b.
let
a.
collect
b.
collected
15. I must have ...... this weekend!
8. Their dog was never ...... to run free in the garden.
a.
I recall Sue having told me the news. (active)
I recall having been told the news. (passive)
Passive forms of Future Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous are
not used in English. For these tenses, we use the active voice or find an alternative way of expressing the same meaning.
By the time it’s finished, they will have been building the stadium for almost a decade.
By the time it’s finished, the stadium will have been under construction for almost a decade.
the wedding invitations posted
to Charles refused
Perfect gerund
having been + past participle
1.
posted the wedding invitations
b.
I hate people shouting at me. (active)
I hate being shouted at. (passive)
13. We really must get ...... .
b.
a.
Gerund
being + past participle
Notes
a.
cooked by someone
I am pleased they have invited me to the wedding. (active)
I am pleased to have been invited to the wedding. (passive)
It is
being
cooked
Perfect infinitive
to have been + past participle
There are
be
b.
I didn’t expect them to contact me so soon. (active)
I didn’t expect to be contacted so soon. (passive)
b.
b.
a.
Infinitive
to be + past participle
a.
a.
6. The meal was expertly ...... .
The bill was paid. (focus on the bill)
a.
dyed my hair
b.
my hair dyed
B. Circle the correct answer.
• passive form + full infinitive They say he is a millionaire. ➝ He is said to be a millionaire.
• It as the subject + passive + that + clause It is said that he is a millionaire.
Continuous or perfect infinitives are used with these structures to indicate tense.
I believe she is living in France. ➝ She is believed to be living in France.
6.
1.
We must get the roof mended /
get the roof to mend soon.
4.
2.
She had her teeth cleaned /
had cleaned her teeth.
Sue had somebody steal her purse /
had her purse stolen while she was out
shopping.
5.
3.
In no time I’ll have you dance /
have you dancing the samba!
He is going to have tested his eyes /
is having his eyes tested this morning.
Score: ....... / 20
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With verbs like say, think and feel, the passive can be used with there as a subject.
There are thought to be hundreds of new species in the rainforest. (Scientists think there are ...)
There was felt to be no reason to continue the investigation. (They felt there was no reason …)
STYLE AND USAGE
We generally omit by + the agent when:
• the agent is unknown
• the agent is obvious
• we refer to people in general
• the agent is not important
• we don’t want to name the person responsible
My car has been stolen. (we don’t say by somebody)
Paul was arrested. (obviously by the police)
Spanish is spoken widely in South America.
She was advised to book her flights early.
His father was injured in an accident.
We mention by + agent:
• when it is important to stress the agent
• to introduce new information not previously mentioned
• to refer to a method or course of action with by + -ing
The building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
We were stopped in the street by a policeman.
Our house can be improved by building an extension.
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UNIT 9
Passives are sometimes followed by with:
• when talking about materials or instruments
•
after participles such as packed, filled, crowded,
crammed, covered, surrounded, decorated
The passive is commonly used in:
• formal / impersonal written English
•
•
formal academic writing
headlines and newspaper reports
In signs and headlines, the verb to be is often omitted.
In spoken English, get can sometimes replace be in the
passive.
GRAMMAR
PRACTICE
Chilli is made with beans.
The cut is made with a scalpel.
The stadium was packed with supporters.
The room was decorated with flowers.
A. Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verb in brackets.
was being repaired
1. We couldn’t drive up to the hotel because the access road .......................................................
(repair).
to be given
2. Surely everyone deserves .......................................................
(give) the same opportunities in life.
being made
3. I’ll never forget .......................................................
(make) to stand in front of the whole class and recite a poem.
We must choose a title for the article. (spoken English)
A title must be chosen for the article. (more formal)
The blood is pumped around the body by the heart.
The team was defeated in the final minutes.
Beckham (was) saved from kidnap attempt!
Stella got promoted to assistant manager. (= was promoted)
has been achieved
4. Remarkable progress .......................................................
(achieve) in the field of genetic engineering in the last
decade.
is not approved
5. Receiving private emails .......................................................
(not approve) of in the workplace.
be offended
6. The newspaper has to be careful not to print comments that their readers might .......................................................
(offend) by.
will be succeeded
7. The company chairman .......................................................
(succeed) by his son next year.
is / was / has been estimated (estimate) at over $60 million.
8. The cost of flood damage .......................................................
be changed
9. Shouldn’t the water in the goldfish bowl .......................................................
(change) more often?
being sent
10. Jack was afraid of .......................................................
(send) to prison.
T H E C A U S AT I V E A N D R E L AT E D F O R M S
The causative is used when we employ someone or arrange for someone (an agent) to do something for us.
have / get + object + past participle
when we employ / arrange for someone to do something
I will have the report typed tomorrow.
We are having an extension built on the house.
I got the car repaired.
I must get my eyes tested soon.
have + agent + bare infinitive
when we mention the agent / person
I had Susan type the report.
have + object + bare infinitive
when something happens to a person
The chef had someone complain about the soup last night.
get + agent + to + bare infinitive
when we persuade someone to do something for us
I got Susan to type the report.
have + object + verb -ing
I’ll have you playing the piano in no time.
(I’ll teach you to play in a short time.)
Within minutes, he had us laughing at his jokes.
•
•
when somebody causes somebody / something to do
something
when consequences are implied
•
when someone won’t allow an action
You’ll have dozens of people phoning at all hours if you
put an ad in the paper.
I won’t have you walking into the house in muddy boots.
Note
The word order must be preserved in order to give a causative meaning.
Compare: I had my hair cut. (causative: someone else cut my hair)
I had cut my hair. (active verb: I cut my hair myself)
S P E C I A L S T R U C T U R E S with have / get
have + object + verb -ing
have something happening – referring to an experience
you did not cause to happen
It’s nice to have the family eating together at Sunday lunch.
We got home and found we had water dripping from the
ceiling because a pipe had burst.
have + object + past participle
have something happen to you – sometimes used instead
of the passive when referring to an experience or a
misfortune the subject had; here, the subject did not
cause the action
She had her house broken into last night. (Her house was
broken into.)
The house had its roof blown off in a gale. (The roof was
blown off the house.)
get + object + past participle
when the subject of the sentence does something himself /
herself intentionally or accidentally
It will be another hour before I can get the washing done.
(intentional)
She got her trousers caught in the fence. (accidental)
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won’t have been installed
11. The air conditioning units .......................................................
(not install) by the time the hotel’s first guests
arrive next week.
was composed
12. The soundtrack for The Lion King .......................................................
(compose) by Elton John and Tim Rice.
B. Complete the leaflet using a passive form of one of the following verbs. Use each verb only once.
make • raise • destroy • design • pull down
erect • slow down • purchase • hold • prevent
HISTORIC
LONDON
THE MONUMENT
was
The old city (1) .......................
almost
destroyed by fire in 1666.
completely .......................
Eleven years later, a 62-metre-high
was erected to
monument (2) ............................
commemorate the event exactly 62 metres
away from the place where the fire began.
Climb the 311 steps to the top to admire
the view of the present-day city.
TOWER BRIDGE
Probably the most recognisable bridge in the
was designed so
world, Tower Bridge (3) ............................
be raised
that its central section can (4) ............................
to allow ships to pass through it. Still in working
order today, it is opened 900 times a year, at
is prevented from
which times traffic (5) ............................
crossing the bridge.
A joint ticket for admission to the Tower Bridge
Experience and The Monument can
be purchased for just £7 per adult.
(6) ............................
LONDON BRIDGE
The first London Bridge was built in 80 AD, though this
was pulled down by an invading Viking army in 1014.
(7) ................................
was made of stone. It had so
The first bridge (8) ............................
slowed down
many arches that the flow of the river (9) was
............................
considerably, causing it to freeze over every winter enabling
to be held
fairs (10) ............................
on the frozen ice.
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UNIT 9
GRAMMAR
C. Rewrite the following active sentences using passive verb forms where possible. Some sentences
CANNOT be made passive.
1. They are going to pull down the tower blocks.
The tower blocks are going to be pulled down.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
2. The car disappeared around a corner.
_____
......................................................................................................................................................................................
3. Critics have seriously underrated the new Jim Carrey movie.
The new Jim Carrey movie has been seriously underrated (by critics).
......................................................................................................................................................................................
4. They think a new vaccine could prevent AIDS.
A new vaccine is thought to be able to prevent AIDS. / It is thought that a new vaccine could prevent AIDS.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
5. We’ll need to alter the costume so that it fits him.
The
costume will need to be altered so that it fits him.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
6. We will provide all tour participants with a detailed itinerary free of charge.
All tour participants will be provided with a detailed itinerary free of charge.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
7. The hikers arrived at the foot of the mountain just before sunset.
_____
......................................................................................................................................................................................
8. We were furious that they made us wait in the airport lounge all night.
We were furious that we were made / at being made to wait in the airport lounge all night.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
9. Doctors generally prescribe antibiotics for chest infections.
Antibiotics are generally prescribed for chest infections.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
10. The studio was planning a sequel but they never made it because of budget issues.
A sequel was being planned (by the studio) but it was never made because of budget issues.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
EXAM PRACTICE
A. KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and six words,
including the word given.
1. I asked Joe to use the dictionary to find out what the word meant. HAD
had Joe look the word
I ...................................................................................................................................................
up in the dictionary.
2. We hope they will do the renovations earlier than expected. COMPLETED
will be / are completed ahead of
We hope the renovations ............................................................................................................................
schedule.
3. Nobody felt the board members needed to know about the problem. REASON
to be no reason to tell / inform
There was felt .............................................................................................
the board members about the problem.
4. A wedding planner might make all the plans for their wedding. ORGANISED
of having their wedding organised by
They are thinking .........................................................................................................................
a wedding planner.
5. The police had been watching the suspect closely. OBSERVATION
had been under close observation
The suspect ..........................................................................................................................................
by the police.
6. Perhaps Joe intended booking a hotel room online. PLANNING
have been planning to book
Joe might ...................................................................................................................................
a hotel room online.
7. There’s no way I can get through this work before five o’clock. DONE
never get this work done
I will ..............................................................................................................................................
before five o’clock.
8. The new sports centre is to have something for everyone. GOING
is going to have something
Everyone ..................................................................................................................
to do at the new sports centre.
B. OPEN CLOZE
in each gap.
Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word
D. Complete the sentences using the correct phrase below.
had us doing
•
had it coming • had it stolen
get it all done • have them going
NEW CAMERA CAN SEE THROUGH WALLS – AND MAY SAVE LIVES
• had anyone tell • get a firm to do
• have somebody send
1.
get a firm to do
We’ll never manage to move this furniture ourselves. We’d better ....................................................
it for us.
2.
had it coming
The flood water was so deep we ....................................................
in through the window.
3.
get it all done
Look at this pile of ironing! How am I going to ....................................................
?
4.
have them going
I make my children have breakfast every day. I won’t ....................................................
to school on an empty stomach.
5.
had anyone tell
I’ve never ....................................................
me I’m talented before. It was such a nice compliment.
had us doing
6. The judo teacher ....................................................
throws and kicks from the very first session.
had it stolen
7. Did you hear about Carl’s car stereo? He ....................................................
last night.
have somebody send
8. If you leave us your address, I’ll ....................................................
you our brochure.
E. Rewrite the sentences using the words given. Then mark each one I (informal) or F (formal).
has
A camera that can see through clothes, skin and even walls without X-rays (1) ..............................
been developed in what
being
is (2) ..............................
called one of the first great technological breakthroughs of the 21st century. The “terahertz”
to
camera, still in prototype form, is under rapid development by scientists in Oxfordshire. It is likely (3) ..............................
from
have many applications, ranging (4) ..............................
medical scanning to identifying concealed weapons on airline
not
passengers. Unlike with X-rays, patients are (5) ..............................
exposed to potentially harmful radiation.
by
Instead
(6) ..............................
, the camera detects a form of energy waves which are naturally emitted (7) ..............................
all
these / such waves has been recognised for a long time, but the technology needed
objects. The existence of (8) ..............................
far
to capture them on camera has so (9) ..............................
been too complex and expensive. Now a team of scientists has
in
succeeded in building a prototype (10) ..............................
just three months. The first image which was captured by the
device revealed the outline of a human hand, clearly visible despite being hidden under a thick book. If such a device
could
(11) ..............................
be mass produced, there could be one in every doctor’s surgery, offering a completely safe new
I 1. They won’t let you into the club without a jacket. enter
......
earlier
window into the human body. Disease or tissue damage could be detected at a much (12) ..............................
stage,
F
allowed / permitted to enter the club without a jacket.
......
No one is ................................................................................................................................................................
.
I 2. It’s best not to leave gardenias in direct sunlight. should
......
F
should not be left in direct sunlight
......
Gardenias ...............................................................................................................................................................
.
without
camera could reveal body shape beneath clothing (14) ..............................
the subject’s permission, or even knowledge.
F 3. There are said to be rare birds in that forest. are
......
I
......
however
increasing the chances of successful treatment. The technology will be controversial, (13) ..............................
, as the
being
Civil liberties groups will, therefore, probably object to its (15) ..............................
used on the grounds that it invades the
individual’s privacy.
say there are rare birds in that forest
They .......................................................................................................................................................................
.
I 4. Lots of people think the design is old-fashioned. felt
......
F
......
F 5.
......
I
......
I 6.
......
F
......
is felt that the design is old-fashioned
It .............................................................................................................................................................................
.
I was angered by the council’s decision. made
council’s decision made me angry
The .........................................................................................................................................................................
.
Don’t give him any details of the project. not
not to be given any details of the project
He is .......................................................................................................................................................................
.
F 7. Why wasn’t Annie chosen for the team? get
......
I
......
didn’t Annie get chosen for the team
Why .......................................................................................................................................................................
?
I 8. Use a small brush to clean the machinery. with
......
76
F
......
be / is / can be cleaned with a small brush
The machinery should
.......................................................................................................................................................
.
77