Passive

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3-6

Passives

What does 'passief' mean?

What makes a sentence passive?

'to be' + past participle (volt. dlw) makes a passive sentence

Active: The teacher teaches the student.

Passive: The student is taught (by the teacher).

Active: The dog bit the man.

Passive: The man was bitten (by the dog).

How to recognize a passive sentence...

- check if there is a form of 'to be' used (am, are, is, was, were, been)

- is it followed by a participle (voltooid deelwoord)?

- is it followed by 'by + noun or pronoun? If not, can it be followed by 'by zombies'?

Are all answers 'yes'? Congratulations, you have a passive sentence.

Turning an Active sentence into a Passive sentence

- Identify the direct object and place it in front of the sentence.

- Determine the verb tense, add a form of to be and change the verb into a past participle (if necessary).

- Add the subject from the active sentence (the agent) in the by-phrase (if relevant).

Verb tenses: active vs passive

Find the mistake...

ACTIVE= He steals a bike.

Steals = present simple

ACTIVE

ONDERWERP = WIE /WAT het doet staat vooraan de zin.

PASSIVE: The bike is stolen.

Is (form of 'to be') = present simple

stolen = voltooid deelwoord

PASSIVE

DE ACTIE  staat vooraan. NIET wie het doet

Boys like to play soccer.

1. passive
2. active

This room has been painted blue.

1. passive
2. active

Cricket is played in Australia.

1. passive
2. active

The friends have been looking forward to meeting her.

1. passive
2. active

The search will be stopped because of the storm.

1. passive
2. active

The Government is planning a new road near my house.

1. passive
2. active

Make a passive. Start with 'the oranges'...

Make a passive. Start with 'a goal'...

Make a passive. Start with 'the girl...'

What is wrong in this picture?

Drag and drop the passive sentence(s) into the box.

The man is eating his bread.

The thief was caught by the police.

The government was shut down.

H - Exercise 41 A & B

Do you understand the passive now?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Maybe
4. Sort of

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