Passive tense and could, can and able to

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

Passive Tense

The passive tense 

Wanneer: Om aan te geven wat er is gebeurd. Wie het heeft gedaan is niet zo belangrijk. 

Hoe: Lijdend voorwerp + to be + voltooid deelwoord

Alle tijden van de passive 

Tense                    Active                                  Passive

Present Simple	I write a letter	A letter is written
Present Continuous	I am writing a letter	A letter is being written
Past Simple	I wrote a letter	A letter was written
Past Continuous	I was writing a letter	A letter was being written
Present Perfect	I have written a letter	A letter has been written
Past Perfect	I had written a letter	A letter had been written
Future Simple	I will write a letter	A letter will be written
Modal	I must write a letter	A letter must be written
Modal Perfect	I should have written a letter	A letter should have been written

Example:

1. Active: I kick the llama.

1.  Place the direct object (lijd. vw.) of the ‘active’ sentence at the beginning of the ‘passive’ sentence.                                                                   The llama
2. Change the verb tense from ‘active’ to ‘passive’. ‘kick’ = present simple =                                                                                                        ‘is kicked’
3.  Complete the sentence.                                                   The llama is kicked.

This is an active sentence. Rewrite it into a passive sentence. Make sure you use the correct tense: Present Simple or Past Simple.

Newcastle won the match.

This is an active sentence. Rewrite it into a passive sentence. Make sure you use the correct tense: Present Simple or Past Simple.

Melanie eats a biscuit.

This is an active sentence. Rewrite it into a passive sentence. Make sure you use the correct tense: Present Simple or Past Simple.

The birds build a nest.

This is an active sentence. Rewrite it into a passive sentence. Make sure you use the correct tense: Present Simple or Past Simple.

The police arrested the criminal.

This is an active sentence. Rewrite it into a passive sentence. Make sure you use the correct tense: Present Simple or Past Simple.

Somebody made a mistake.

This is an active sentence. Rewrite it into a passive sentence. Make sure you use the correct tense: Present Simple or Past Simple.

Aidan writes a message.

This is an active sentence. Rewrite it into a passive sentence. Make sure you use the correct tense: Present Simple or Past Simple.

Anouar rides the motorbike.

Can, Could, To be able to

Can, could & Be able to

1. Als je wilt zeggen dat iemand iets kan kun je can of be able to gebruiken.

2. Als je praat over vaardigheden dan gebruik je can, cannot en can't

3. Verleden tijd van can is could, gebruik je dus in de verleden tijd of in de betekenis van 'zou kunnen'/ 'zou mogen'. (couldn't is ontkennend)

4. Als je wilt zeggen dat iemand in staat is om iets te doen bijvoorbeeld naar een feestje gaan.

Zinnen met be able to zijn formeler dan can

5. als je wilt zeggen dat iemand iets kon gebruik je was / were able to + hele werkwoord.

be able to + hele werkwoord

• kunnen (in staat zijn om, er is wel/geen belemmering)
  
• I wasn't able to come home because my bike was stolen.
• I was able to finish it.

can + hele werkwoord:

• kunnen (vaardigheid, talent, geleerd)
• I can speak 3 languages
• I can't speak 4 languages

• He almost drowned because he couldn't swim.

Kunnen: can / am-is-are able to

            could / was-were able to

Present / Past

For example: 

Can you pass me the salt --> hier vraag je om iemand de mogelijkheid heeft om je het zout door te geven. 

Luckily, I was able to help. --> hier geef je aan dat je in staat was om te helpen (je was niet verhinderd) 

Could you repeat that please? --> hierin vraag je op een nette manier of iemand dat wil herhalen waarschijnlijk tegen iemand die ouders is dan jij of een andere functie bekleed. 

She has not ....... sleep very well the last few days.

1. can
2. could
3. been able to
4. was able to

Samenvattend 

• Can / to be able to = kunnen

• Als je wilt zeggen dat iemand iets kan, dan kun je can/could + hele werkwoord of to be able to + hele werkwoord gebruiken. 

• Can/could = gebruik je bij vaardigheden
• Be able to = gebruik je als je wilt zeggen dat iemand in staat is om iets te doen.