Our class 12. Passive Voice.

 

Passive Voice in English Language

The passive voice is a specific grammatical construction; it is used to switch attention from the performer of the action to the action itself. We use passive form when we don’t have the information about the subject or when we want to keep it secret. Quite often this grammatical category is used due to the style, for example, a newspaper article or some scientific material. The passive voice is also frequently used in polite and formal communication.

Please, take multicoloured pens, paper and watch a video about the Passive Voice.

 

 

And now, please, do the following exercises:

1. Coffee Quiz – true or false?

In this exercise you should fill in the gaps using correct forms of the verbs in brackets. After that you need to guess if these statements are true or false.

1. Coffee is ________ from the leaves of the coffee plant. (make)

2. Until around 1,000 AD, coffee was mainly ________ as a medicine. (use)

3. More than half of the world’s coffee is ________ in South and Central America. (grow)

4. In decaffeinated coffee, the caffeine is ________by freezing the beans. (remove)

5. In the middle ages coffee was ________ by many priests to be the drink of the devil (believe)

6. Until the 1870, coffee was usually ________ as fresh beans which were then ________ at home. (collect, roast)

7. In the USA, 37% of coffee is ________ with artificial sweetener. (sweeten)

 

2. Complete the questions using the verb in brackets in passive. Then answer the questions.

1. When ______ America ______ (discover)?

2. In what year ______ the Olympic Games ______ (hold) in Barcelona?

3. In what century ______ William Shakespeare ______ (bear)?

4. Where ______ Coca-Cola ______ (invent)?

5. What ______ ______ (consider) the highest mountain in the world?

6. Where ______ rubles1 ______ (use)?

7. In what country ______ Kiev ______ (locate)?

8. In what country ______ Thai ______ (speak) by 92% of the population?

9. How many Harry Potter´s novels have ______ ______ (write)?

10. When ______ Halloween ______ (celebrate)?

 

3. Change the sentences from the active into passive.

1. Do they make cars in Korea?

2. Do the hounds kill the fox?

3. Will the King inaugurate the new bridge?

4. Is a doctor going to examine you?

5. Did the bull kill the matador?

6. Did they catch the thief?

 

4. Read the news report, choose the correct verb form.

1. Millions of dollars’ worth of damage has been caused by a storm which (swept/was swept) across the north of the United States last night.

2. The River Reiner (burst/was burst) its banks after heavy rain.

3. Many people (rescued/were rescued) from the floods by fire-fighters.

4. Firefighters (received/were received) hundreds of calls for help.

5. Wind speeds (reached/were reached) ninety miles an hour in some places.

6. Roads (blocked/were blocked) by fallen trees.

7. Electricity lines (brought/were brought) down, leaving thousands of homes without electricity.

8. “Everything possible (is doing/is being done) to get things back to normal,” a spokesman said.

9. One young girl (took/was taken) to hospital after she broke her leg.

10. She has now (sent/been sent) home.

Before practicing the patterns let’s talk about this lesson’s vocabulary topic.

Today we talk about crime and punishment. It a very important subject in many conversations, as we don’t only discuss the good thing in our lives but also we tend to talk about issues that make us worry. No doubt, we want to be safe and secure, that’s why we talk about crimes and criminals, law and police, etc.

Please, study the vocabulary on today’s vocabulary topic.

 

And now, please, do some exercises.

1. Your task is to match the numbers on the picture with the words below and after that match them with the descriptions under the picture. Remember that one number is missing. Check yourself after finishing the task.

the accused/ court reporter/ witness/ policeman/ jury/judge/ defence lawyer/ prosecutor/ junior defence lawyer

a. Someone who has been charged with committing a crime

b. A professional who decides how the criminal should be punished

c. A professional who speaks for the accused and advises him/ her in court

d. Someone who has seen a crime happen

e. A proffesional who assists the lawyer of the accused

f. A group of people in the court who decide whether someone is giulty or innocent

g. Someone whose job is to deter people from commiting crimes and to arrest those who break the law

h. A proffesional who represents state in court

i. Someone who notes down what is said in court

Match the criminals with the descriptions

a. thief
b. robber
c. burglar
d. mugger
e. murderer
f. kidnapper
g. arsonist
h. shoplifter
i. vandal
j. hijacker

1. someone who kills somebody else on purpose
2. someone who steals things from shops
3. someone who takes a person by force and demands ransom in order to set them free
4. someone who steals something from a bank, post office, shop. etc.. often using threats or force
5. someone who uses force to take control of an aeroplane, train etc
6. someone who takes things which do not belong to them
7. someone who damages other people’s property on purpose
8. someone who attacks people in the street in order to steal something
9. someone who sets fire to property on purpose
10. someone who breaks into people’s houses to steal things

Crime rates cause concerns in being safe, that’s why many people prefer to be able to protect themselves as well as their property. The desire to posses a gun has been discussed a lot in the US and all over the world. Here is a video with comparison statistics that shows us the difference in crime rates between the UK and the US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEpVLBYfTT0