Reported speech and passive voice

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Grammar

Reported speech and passive voice

1. Reported or indirect speech

= we report what someone says

     - without speech marks '...' 

     - without necessarily using the same words

Direct speech: 'We're quite cold in here.'

-> indirect: They said (that) they were cold.

Rule: 

- reporting verb = present or when you report a general fact: you only have to change the subject

               They say: 'We are cold.'

                     -> They say they are cold.

- reporting verb = past: change the tense and the subject

               They said: 'We are cold'

                     -> They said they were cold.

+ need, would, ought to, had better, past perfect continuous

present perfect  continuous > past perfect continuous

Questions in the reported speech

 1. yes/no questions: 

     - use 'if'

     - eliminate the auxiliary verb

e.g. 'Do they live here?' -> They asked if they lived here.

2. open questions starting with a question word:

     - use the question word (instead of 'if')

     - change from interrogative form to affirmative form

e.g. 'Where do they live?'-> They asked where they lived.

Reporting orders

     - use 'tell' as reporting verb

     - followed by an infinitive

e.g. 'Call me back later.' -> You told her to call you back later.

Reporting requests

      - use 'ask' 

      - followed by an infinitive

e.g. 'Could you call me back?'-> You asked to call you back later.

To do: exercise 1-3

Exercise 1

1.  was
2. he had replied
3. had met - the day before
4. she couldn't come
5. she could fall 
6. would pay - the next day
7. are
8. he might lend me
9. she had been watching

• 10. had to rest
• 11. I hadn't done the shopping that day
• 12. he had been
• 13. she had been - the previous week
• 14. needn't change
• 15. was calling 
• 16. would finish - the next day
• 17. she would buy
• 18. had used to be

Exercise 2

1. have never met you 
2. will start 
3. are walking
4. work
5. have been trying
6. have been doing
7. have closed down - last year
8. could be/can be
9. had better accept

• 10. has screamed
• 11. would rather stay

Exercise 3

• what she was doing there
• he hadn't seen her
• she had just come
• she had enjoyed
• loved
• had been
• if she had gone
• had been her
• could show him

• if he was doing anything the next day
• had to arrange 
• was 
• might come to her
• they would meet 
• would be
• if that was 

To do: 

Exercise 4

+ English quiz direct and indirect speech

(Links: Teams > posts)

https://www.wallstreetenglish.com/exercises/direct-and-indirect-speech-exercises 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUjxsuGwTA8  

The Passive Voice 

Often used in formal and academic writing.

EXAMPLE 1:

EXAMPLE 2 Landmark Moment at UN Climate Change Conference Dec 1-2 2023

Source: bbc.co.uk 

A large delegation of Commissioners and Commission President von der Leyen was sent by the European Commission to the COP28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai.

All Parties at the conference will be called upon by the EU to take urgent action to bring down greenhouse gas emissions this decade and respect the commitments made under the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to below 2°C, and to aim for 1.5°C.

A number of high-level events on Friday and Saturday were attended by von der Leyen herself. Among others, the Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency was launched by her, together with the COP28 Presidency, aiming to triple installed renewables capacity and double energy efficiency measures by 2030.

These targets will be supported by the transition to a decarbonized energy system and will help to phase out unabated fossil fuels, according to the Commission.

The transition to a decarbonized energy system and the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels are supported by delivering these targets, according to the Commission.

A broad and strong coalition of countries committed to the clean energy transition, big and small, north and south, heavy emitters, developing nations, and small island states, has been built with this Global Pledge, President von der Leyen stated.

2. Passive voice

Active sentence: focuses on the subject doing the action

e.g. This company employs 2000 people.

Passive sentence: focuses on the object receiving the action

e.g. 2000 people are employed by this company.

In order to make passive sentences, the verb must be transitive = it is always followed by an object.

How to form a passive voice

1. object of active sentence = subject passive sentence

2. change the active tense into the corresponding passive form

3. add rest of the sentence

4. put 'by' before the old subject or omit when irrelevant

e.g. The thief stole the book from the library.

-> The book was stolen from the library (by the thief).

Active or passive?

Can you add 'by ....' to the sentence or can you already find it in the sentence?

Yes: sentence is probably passive.

Attention: beware of 'by ...' as a location in indicator! This is not necessarily a passive sentence!

                         e.g. by the lake

To do:

exercise 1-5 ( p 14-18)

+ English quiz The passive form

(Link: Teams > posts)

https://www.wallstreetenglish.com/exercises/the-passive-form

Exercise 1 - p 14

1. are delivered (presen simple > every)
2. was found (pa simple > yesterday)
3. cannot be washed (modal verb)
4. Has - been repaired (pr perf > yet)
5. will be sent (future simple > promise)
6. are being cleaned ( pres. cont > now)
7. wouldn't have been finished (past unreal conditional)
8. has - been turned on (pr perfect > visible in present)
9.  hasn't been reconstructed (pr. perfect > since)

• 10. must be left (modal)
• 11. had just been tested (pa perfect > just)
• 12. were sold (pa simple > in the morning)
• 13. wouldn't be allowed (present unreal conditional)
• 14. is going to be announced (future plan)
• 15. are being painted (pres. cont. > at the moment)
• 16. were being interviewed (pa cont > long action)
• 17. was replaced (pa simple > action completely over)

Exercise 2 - p 14

1. these cars are made
2. Litter mustn't be dropped
3. Our window was smashed
4. The TV set has already been mended
5. More public transport will be needed
6. The walls are being decorated
7. The roof should not be replaced
8. Less money is being spent
9. The meal had been cooked

• 10. The wall was being built
• 11. this food is sold
• 12. More parcels were delivered
• 13. The wheels have not been replaced

Exercise 3 - p 15

1. A bus has been stolen from outside the school. The thief was seen by some children. The bus is now being searched for by the police. The children's descriptions will be used to catch the thief.
2. A UFO was seen in the sky above London last night. It was reported to the police. A helicopter was sent to look at it more closer. The helicopter was shot down by the UFO and both men were killed.  Photographs of the UFO have been given to the police.  They are being looked at now by experts.

• 3. A local jewellery was broken into yesterday. The shop had just been locked up by the owner when a he was threatened by a robber with a gun. He was told to unlock the shop and give him all the diamonds in the safe. He was then tied up by the robber. A search for the robber has been organized by the police. They hope he will be found in a few days. The owner of the shop is being treated for shock by doctors.

4. This picture was painted by my uncle. He has been offered a lot of money for it. The painting will be delivered by him tomorrow. When he is given the money, they will be told the truth by him. It was painted one night while he was sleepwalking!

5. A contest is being organized by our school. The best project about... will be chosen by the teachers. Pictures and drawings must be included by the students in their projects. All the writing will also have to be done by the students themselves.  The winner will be given a set of encyclopaedias. 

Exercise 4 - p 17

1. I was given a present. - A present was given to me.
2. We will be brought the bill. - The bill will be brought to us (by the waiter).
3. Mary was brought some sweets by her mother. - Some sweets were brought to Mary by her mother.
4. Ted has been sold a second-hand car by Bob. - A second-hand car has been sold to Ted by Bob.
5. A letter is going to be sent to Tom by Larry. - Tom is going to be sent a letter by Larry.

Exercise 5 - p 17

1. Lightning struck the school.
2. The police arrested the burglar this morning.
3. Hydrocarbons cause one type of air pollution.
4. Mr. Patel and his children prepared an elaborate....
5. The Mad Hatter stole the cookies.
6. F.L. Olmsted and ... designed New York City's Central Park in 1857.
7. The court decided that the contract was invalid.
8. A janitor who was allergic to dust invented the first...

• 9. King Francis I of France purchased the Mona Lisa after Leonardo Da Vinci's death.
• 10. British author George Orwell wrote the allegorical novel Animal Farm during World War II.

To do: exercise 6 p 18-20

p 19 

1. Toronto is named as ....
2. T.S. wins the top prize at the American Music Awards.
3. World's Biggest Bookstore is sold to a developer.
4. Two baby baboons were born at Brooklyn Zoo.
5. Mothers are asked nearly 300 questions a day.
6. 2000 workers were laid off by Ford motor company last month.

p 19 (part 2)

• 1. Ecce Homo mural damaged by amateur art restorer.                                                                                 Ecce Homo mural was damaged by an amateur....
• 2. King Charles accused of conflict of interest.                       King Charles has been accused ...
• 3. G.T. nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.                      G.T. has been nominated for the N.P.P.
• 4. Royal baby named Archie Harrison.                                The Royal baby has been named A.H.

• 5. Oxford student given a suspended sentence for... An Oxford student has been given a suspended sentence .....                                                                                     A suspended sentence has been given to an Oxford ....
• 6. Russian citizen investigated for his political ...            A Russian citizen is being investigated for his political involvement with Donald Trump.