Passive (all tenses)
Passive (all tenses)
A lot of films are shot on location.
When is our car being repaired?
Andy's bike has been stolen.
The director died when the film was being made.
You'll be picked up at the airport by one of our staff.
This bill must be paid tomorrow.
I love being given a massage.
The new concert hall will be opened by the Queen.
Gladiator was directed by Ridley Scott.
We often use the passive (be + past participle) when it isn't said, known, or important who does an action.
In passive sentences, the object of the verb becomes the new subject.
If we want to say did the action, we use by.
Gladiator was directed by Ridley Scott.
(= we want to focus more on the director)
Ridley Scott directed Gladiator.
(= we want to focus more on the director)
We form negatives and questions in the same way as in active sentences.
Some films aren't shot on locations.
Is your car being repaired today?
We often use the passive to talk about processes, for example, scientific processes, and in formal language, such as news reposts.
Then the water is heated to 100 degrees...
Many buildings in the city have been damaged by the earthquake.
Exercise
They shot the film in Poland.
The film was shot in Poland.
They speak English here.
English is spoken here.
They didn’t employ me.
I wasn’t employed.
He wrote his first book when he was 20.
His first book was written when he was 20.
They do the work by hand.
The work is done by hand.
He drew this picture in the 15th century.
This picture was drawn in the 15th century.
They record the music in a studio.
The music is recorded in a studio.
They don’t use this office any more.
This office isn’t used any more.
Exercise a
The college was built in the 16th century.
The costumes for the show are being made by hand.
The story inspired him to make a film.
The castle hasn't been inhabited for nearly a century.
His latest film is set in France in the 1960s.
The film will be shot in the autumn.
The actors aren't recording the dialogue until next week.
The house wasn't being used by the owners during the winter.
The make-up artist has transformed the actor into a monster.
They hadn't owned the company for very long before they went bankrupt.
The photo was taken by my husband on the balcony of our hotel.
Exercise b
People don't use this room very often.
This room isn't used very often.
They subtitle a lot of fo foreign films.
A lot of foreign films are subtitled.
Gasrcia Márquez wrote Love in the Time of Cholera in 1985.
Love in the Time of Cholera was written in 1985.
Someone is repairing my laptop at the moment.
My laptop is being repaired at the moment.
The haven't released the DVD of the film yet.
The DVD of the film hasn't been released.
They wo't finish the film until the spring.
The film won't be filmed until the spring.
You have to collect the tickets from the box office.
The tickets have to be collected from the box office.
They hadn't told the actor about the changes in the script.
The actor hadn't been told about the changes in the script.
Damien Chazelle directed La La Land.
La La Land was directed by DAmien Chazelle.
They've already recorded the soundtrack.
The soundtrack has already been recorded.
They were interviewing the director about the film.
The director was being interviewed about the film.