Passive voice of verb
One of the grammar mistakes that I often make is the passive voice of verbs.
Let us kook at the corre0ct usages.
First, there is a simple example:
Many people speak English. English is spoken by many people.
The basic structure of passive voice is the verb "be" followed by past participle.. For example, My bike is broken.
Second, let us learn how to change the active voice sentences into passive voice sentences.
The first step is thaht we shpuld change the subject and object.
The second step is replace the original verb with be followed by its past participle.
Third, If there is modal verbin the sentence, we should place it before be.
The third step is that we should put a proper preposition after the prepsition, which depends on the object and the verb.
Is it seems easy? Acutally , when it is used in complex sentence with diffeent verb tenses, it will become very hard.
Besides, there are also some special usages.
Here are some examples:
The flower smells sweet.
The music sounds reansonable.
The food tastes decilious.
Form these examples, we can draw the conclusion that there is no need to change the form of the words "taste, sound, smell" to convey the passive meaning.
Similarly,we usually use the active voice of the verb following the word "worth" to diliver passive meaning.
Following is some exercise.
Section: Getting A Grip
The following is a selection from a news article. Some of the active and passive verbs in it have been removed. Insert the correct form of the verb or verb phrase in parentheses, using either the active or passive voice and correct tense/aspect as appropriate.
1)
Getting a Grip on Lost Luggage
By Paul Simao
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (Reuters) - Ever wondered what happened to the golf clubs that went missing on that flight to Florida or the leather jacket you______ (leave) behind on the plane last Thanksgiving? It''s more than likely that both______ (end up) for sale in the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. ?
The allure of potential bargains______ (draw) approximately 800,000 people each year into the store, making it one of Alabama''s biggest tourist attractions.
Each year, the store ______ (buy) sight unseen more than one million items, ranging from precious gemstones to half-empty cans of shaving cream, through exclusive contracts with major airlines, air freight carriers and ground package deliverers. ?/p>
The majority of the goods come from bags that, for one reason or another, ______ (never claim) by passengers. Airlines, which usually ______ (compensate) passengers for lost checked luggage, wait about 100 days before selling the bags.
Although Unclaimed Baggage______ (contractually bar) from disclosing how much it pays for bags or who it buys from, Bryan Owens, the Chief Executive of parent company Owens Company South Inc., says the business ______ (face) scant competition. ?/p>
About one out of every 200 passengers on domestic flights on the 10 largest U.S. airlines______ (file) a lost baggage report, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Two percent of those travelers never see their luggage again.
Bags______ (usually lose) because personal identification tags fall off and the contents inside fail to identify the owner.
2)
LIKE A TREASURE HUNT
Unclaimed Baggage uses its own fleet of trucks to haul its prospective merchandise to a sorting facility in Scottsboro. Prescription drugs, perishable food and other items deemed unfit for sale ______ (dicard) or______ (give) to charity. What remains ______ (clean), ______ (price) and ______ (place) in the store´s 33,000-square foot showroom.
Clothes, which ______ (launder) and ______ (press) before resale, make up the majority of the inventory, all of which (sell) at between 50 and 80 percent below the manufacturer´s suggested retail price. Fine jewelry______ (discount) by about 50 percent.
The company´s appraisers and trained employees set prices to______ (move) inventory quickly -- because it keeps coming in.
Since many travelers ______ (pack) their nicest clothes for vacations and business trips, it is not uncommon for shoppers to ______ (find) a Versace evening gown or an Armani suit hanging on the showroom racks. Earlier this month, a hand-stitched Japanese kimono was selling for $2,500. Less fancy wedding dresses, if you were so inclined, ______ (could have) for about $100. An emerald to go with the outfit would run you $14,750. Occasionally, priceless items make their way to the warehouse. Rare finds over the years have included ancient Egyptian artifacts, which______ (donate) to a museum, and a violin dating back to 1770.
"It´s like a treasure hunt here," says Shirley Johnson, a regular customer from Scottsboro. "You never know what you´re going to find, but when you do find something it costs a fraction what it would in other places." A second, smaller store ______ (locate) in nearby Boaz, Ala. ?/p>
Although he refuses to disclose specific financial results, Owens says the business has made a profit every year since it ______ (found) by his parents, Doyle and Sue Owens, in 1970. ?/p>
The Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, however, temporarily______ (cut) the number of store visitors and ______ (lead) to a drop in the flow of bags received from airlines in step with a sharp fall in air travelers and the implementation of more stringent baggage screening procedures.
But Owens shrugs away concerns that the business could shrink as airlines and airports attempt to improve their monitoring and tracking of bags in the new era of heightened aviation security.
"There are so many moving parts to baggage handling. Some bags are just going to get lost," he says. "We have only hit the tip of the iceberg of what we can do."
Answer 1:
leftwill end up;ended updrawsbuyswere never claimed;are never claimedcompensateis contractually barredfaces;is facing;has facedwill file;filesare usually lost
Answer 2:
are discardedgivenwill be cleaned;is cleanedpricedplacedwill be laundered;are launderedpressedis sold;will sell;will be soldis discountedmovepackfindcould be hadwere donatedis locatedwas foundedhave cut;cuthave led;led
(ITSELF：http://courses.nus.edu.sg/courseware/ITSELF/)
1. If city noises ____ from increasing，people ____ shout
to be heard even at dinner．
A． are not kept；will have to B． are not kept；have C． do not keep；will have to D． do not keep；have to
2. The fifth generation computers, ____and
perfected now.
A. developed B. have developed C. are being developed D. will have been developed
3. --- ____ the sports meet might be put off． --- Yes，it all depends on the weather． A． I've been told B． I've told C． I'm told D． I told
4. I need one more stamp before my collection ___.
A. has completed B. completes C. has been completed D. is completed
5. Rainforests ___ and burned at such a speed that they will disappear from the earth in the near future.
A. cut B. are cut C. are being cut D. had been cut
6. The new bridge ___ by the end of last month.
A. has been designed B. had been designed C. was designed D. would be designed
7. When part of a pencil is in a glass of water, it looks as if it ____.
A. breaks B. has broken C. was broken D. had been broken
8. Great changes ___ in the city, and a lot of factories ___.
A. have been taken place; have been set up
B. have taken place; have been set up
C. have taken place; have set up
D. were taken place; were set up
9. That suit __ over 60 dollars.
A. had costed B. costed C. is costed D. cost
10. --- Look! Everything here is under construction. --- What’s the pretty small house that __ for?
A. is being built B. has been built C. is built D. is building
11.--- Do you like the cloth? --- Yes, it ___ very soft.
A. is feeling B. felt C. feels D. is felt
12. It is difficult for a foreigner ____ Chinese．
A． write B． to write C． to be written D． written
13. I have no more letters ____ ，thank you．
A． to type B． typing C． to be typed D． typed
14. Take care! Don’t drop the ink on your shirt,
for it __ easily.
A. won’t wash out B. won’t be washed out C. isn’t washed out D. isn’t washing out
15. Nobody noticed the thief slip into the house because
the lights happened to ___.
A. be put up B. give in C. be turned on D. go out
16. The computers on the table ___ Professor Smith.
A. belongs B. are belonged to C. belongs to D. belong to
17. --- What do you think of the book? ---Oh, excellent. It’s worth ___ a second time.
A. to read B. to be read C. reading D. being read
18. The squirrel was lucky that it just missed ___.
A. catching B. to be caught C. being caught D. to catch
19. This page needed ___ again.
A. being checked B. checked C. to check D. to be checked
20. ___ many times, the boy still didn’t know how to do it.
A. Having taught B. Having been taught C. taught D. Teaching
KEY:ACADC BCBDA CBCAD DCCDB
