5DF - U3 - The passive voice through fairy tales

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The Passive Voice with Fairy Tales

What is the Passive Voice?

Active sentence: "A witch cursed the princess."

Passive sentence: "The princess was cursed (by a witch)."

Key features:

Focus is on what happens, not on who does it.

Use of 'to be' + past participle.

the subject -> undergoes the action

form of 'to be' - here in the past

past participle (inf - to + ed)

preposition

agent -> performs the action

When do we use the Passive Voice?

To put focus on the person/thing experiencing the action

When the agent is unknown/unimportant

Common in academic/formal writing

DO NOT OVERUSE THE PASSIVE => HARDER TO READ

The journalist was murdered by a spy to prevent him from publishing a potentially damaging story.

No evidence has been discovered that supports James' claim.

Planets have been swallowed by a black hole.

Examples from Fairy Tales

Little Red Riding Hood:

• "A wolf ate the grandmother." 
• → "The grandmother was eaten by a wolf."

Cinderella:

• "The fairy godmother transformed the dress." 
• → "The dress was transformed by the fairy godmother."

Snow White:

• "The prince kissed Snow White." 
• → "Snow White was kissed by the prince."

Exercise 1 – Convert the sentences to passive voice

The hunter saved her life.

An evil queen gave Snow White a poisoned apple.

The dwarfs built a glass coffin.

The king invited everyone to the ball.

Exercise 1: Convert active sentences to the passive voice

Rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice. Use ‘by…’ where necessary.

An evil queen gave Snow White a poisoned apple.

A hunter saved Snow White’s life.

A prince woke Snow White with a kiss.

The dwarfs built a glass coffin for Snow White.

A fairy godmother transformed Cinderella’s dress.

• Snow White was given a poisoned apple by an evil queen.

• Snow White’s life was saved by a hunter.

• Snow White was woken up with a kiss by a prince.

• A glass coffin was built for Snow White by the dwarfs.

• Cinderella’s dress was transformed by a fairy godmother.

The prince found Cinderella’s shoe.

The stepsisters tore Cinderella’s dress apart.

The king invited all the women in the kingdom to the ball.

A wolf ate Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother.

A hunter killed the wolf.

• Cinderella’s shoe was found by the prince.

• Cinderella’s dress was torn apart by the stepsisters.
  

• All the women in the kingdom were invited to the ball by the king.

• Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother was eaten by a wolf.

• The wolf was killed by a hunter.

Exercise 2 – Create your own passive fairy tale!

Write a short story using at least 5 passive sentences.

Example:

• A young girl was cursed by a witch...
• but a magic potion was given to her by a fairy.
• This potion was made from rhubarb.
• In the end, the spell was broken by a brave knight...
• the kingdom was saved from the witch’s magic.

Creative twist: 

• What if Little Red Riding Hood was a hacker? 
• Or if Sleeping Beauty woke up from a smartphone notification?

Quiz – Active or Passive?

"A dragon was defeated by the knight." (Active / Passive?)

1. active
2. passive

"The prince kissed the princess." (Active / Passive?)

1. active
2. passive

"The witch cast a spell on the kingdom." (Active / Passive?)

1. active
2. passive

"A glass slipper was found by the prince." (Active / Passive?)

1. active
2. passive

Exercise 3: active or passive?

Choose active or passive for the sentences below. Write the correct answer in the blank space.

The castle ______ (attack) by an army.

• The castle was attacked by an army.

The prince ______ (kiss) the princess.

• The prince kissed the princess / The prince was kissed by the princess.

A glass slipper ______ (find) by the prince.

• A glass slipper was found by the prince.

The evil stepmother ______ (lock) Cinderella in her room.

• The evil stepmother locked Cinderella in her room / Cinderella was locked in her room by her evil stepmother.

The kingdom ______ (rule) by a fair king.

• The kingdom was ruled by a fair king.

The dragon ______ (defeat) by the knight.

• The dragon defeated the knight / The dragon was defeated by the knight.

Correction game in pairs

Step 1: Write an active sentence from a fairy tale.

Step 2: Swap your sentence with a classmate.

Step 3: Convert your partner’s sentence into the passive voice.

Step 4: Check and discuss each other’s work!

🎉 Well done! Time for the fairy tale presentations! 🎭📖

Extra: name three...

1. Students take turns picking up a card and making a 'Name three' question by completing the gap with the past or present passive form of the verb in brackets.
   
2. The student then reads out the question to the group members, who race to answer by naming three things belonging to the category.
   
3. The first student to do this successfully keeps the card.
   
4. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
   

Evaluation and conclusion

Do you understand the passive voice better?

Yes, totally!

I'm not sure.

No, I still don't get it

Can you recognize and correctly use the passive voice?

Yes, totally!

I'm not sure.

No, I still don't get it