Mastering the Passive Voice and Tenses

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

Mastering the Passive Voice and Tenses

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson you should be able to use the passive voice and apply the correct tenses.

Introduce the objective and explain the importance of mastering the passive voice and tenses.

What do you already know about the passive voice and tenses?

Passive Voice

The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action rather than the subject. It is formed by using 'to be' + past participle.

Explain the concept of passive voice and give examples.

Active vs Passive Voice

In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action.

I eat an apple every day. 

An apple is eaten every day.  

Compare and contrast active and passive voice with examples.

Present Simple Passive

The present simple passive is formed by using 'am/is/are' + past participle. 

Active: John washes the car.             

Passive: The car is washed by John. 

Explain the structure and usage of present simple passive with examples.

In present simple passive, what comes after 'am/is/are'?

1. present participle
2. past participle
3. infinitive
4. gerund

Which of the following is an example of present simple passive?

1. The cake was baking by the chef.
2. The chef is baking the cake.
3. The chef bakes the cake.
4. The cake is baked by the chef.

What is the formula for present simple passive?

1. past participle + am/is/are
2. past participle + present participle
3. am/is/are + past participle
4. am/is/are + present participle

Past Simple Passive

The past simple passive is formed by using 'was/were' + past participle. 

Active: Mary wrote a letter.                         

Passive:  The letter was written by Mary.

Explain the structure and usage of past simple passive with examples.

What is an example of the past simple passive?

1. The car was repaired by a mechanic.
2. A mechanic repaired the car.
3. The car is being repaired by a mechanic.
4. The car had been repaired by a mechanic.

Which sentence is in the past simple passive?

1. The book has been written by a famous author.
2. The book was written by a famous author.
3. The author wrote the book.
4. A famous author will write the book.

Which of the following is an example of the past simple passive?

1. The cake is being baked by Mary.
2. The cake was baked by Mary.
3. Mary baked the cake.
4. The cake had been baked by Mary.

Present Perfect Passive

The present perfect passive is formed by using 'have/has been' + past participle. 

Active: Many people have read the book.                 

Passive: The book has been read by many people.

Explain the structure and usage of present perfect passive with examples.

What is the present perfect passive form of 'They have built a new bridge across the river'?

1. They have been building a new bridge across the river.
2. A new bridge has been built across the river by them.
3. A new bridge was built across the river by them.
4. They have built a new bridge across the river.

What is the present perfect passive form of 'John has eaten the pizza'?

1. John has been eating the pizza.
2. The pizza has been eaten by John.
3. The pizza has eaten by John.
4. The pizza was eaten by John.

Past Perfect Passive

The past perfect passive is formed by using 'had been' + past participle. 

Active: They  had eaten the cake by the time we arrived. 

Passive: The cake had been eaten by the time we arrived. 

Explain the structure and usage of past perfect passive with examples.

Future Simple Passive

The future simple passive is formed by using 'will be' + past participle. 

Active: I/We will complete the project by the end of the week. 

Passive: The project will be completed by the end of the week. 

Explain the structure and usage of future simple passive with examples.

Modal Verbs in the Passive Voice

Modal verbs are used in the passive voice to express possibility or necessity. 

Active: The mechanic can fix the car.                  

Passive: The car can be fixed by the mechanic.

Modals

ex.: can, could, will, would, might, may, should....

Explain the usage of modal verbs in the passive voice with examples.

Practice Exercise

Rewrite the following sentences in passive voice: 

1) John ate the pizza. 

2) The teacher will grade the papers. 

3) They have built the house.

Provide an exercise for the students to practice using the passive voice and tenses.

1) John ate the pizza.
(no by John needed)

2) The teacher will grade the papers.

3) They have built the house.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.