PASSIVE VOICE:

FELTAP
Passive Voice
The passive voice is less
usual than the active voice.
The active voice is the
"normal" voice. But
sometimes we need the
passive voice. In this lesson
we look at how to construct
the passive voice, when to
use it and how to conjugate
it.
Construction of the Passive
Voice
The structure of the passive
voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) +
main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in
its past participle form.
Look at these examples:
subject
auxiliary verb (to be)
main verb (past participle)
Water
is
drunk
by everyone.
100 people
are
employed
by this company.
I
am
paid
in euro.
We
are
not
paid
in dollars.
Are
they
paid
in yen?
Use of the Passive Voice
We use the passive when:
we want to make the
active object more
important
we do not know the
active subject
subject
verb
object
give importance to active
object (President Kennedy)
President Kennedy
was killed
by Lee Harvey Oswald.
active subject unknown
My wallet
has been stolen.
?
Note that we always use by
to introduce the passive
object (Fish are eaten by
cats).
Look at this sentence:
He was killed with a gun.
Normally we use by to
introduce the passive object.
But the gun is not the active
subject. The gun did not kill
him. He was killed by
somebody with a gun. In the
active voice, it would be:
Somebody killed him with a
gun. The gun is the
instrument. Somebody is the
"agent" or "doer".
Conjugation for the
Passive Voice
We can form the passive in
any tense. In fact,
conjugation of verbs in the
passive tense is rather easy,
as the main verb is always in
past participle form and the
auxiliary verb is always be .
To form the required tense,
we conjugate the auxiliary
verb. So, for example:
present simple: It is
made
present continuous: It is
being made
present perfect: It has
been made
Here are some examples
with most of the possible
tenses:
infinitive
to be washed
simple
present
It is washed.
past
It was washed.
future
It will be washed.
conditional
It would be washed.
continuous
present
It is being washed.
past
It was being washed.
future
It will be being washed.
conditional
It would be being washed.
perfect simple
present
It has been washed.
past
It had been washed.
future
It will have been washed.
conditional
It would have been washed.
perfect continuous
present
It has been being washed.
past
It had been being washed.
future
It will have been being
washed.
conditional
It would have been being
washed.

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Use of 'TO'

To V or Not To V
Click for Audio
The word "to" is often
confusing in English. It can be
used as part of a modal
expression, infinitive or as a
preposition.
Note the usage of "to" in
the following sentences.
To V
I used to live in Utah.
I am supposed to go.
I hope to see you.
To V ing
I am used to living in Utah.
I am opposed to going.
I look forward to seeing you.
Modal expressions are
always followed by the
base form of the verb.
ought to
have to
have got to
used to
be to
be able to
be supposed to
be going to
Similar expressions are
followed by infinitives (to +
V)
need to V
want to V
hope to V
happen to V
mean to V
tend to V
care to V
wish to V
would like to V
be allowed to V
be inclined to V
be reluctant to V
be willing to V
be happy to V
be afraid to V
be required to V
be delighted to V
be compelled to V
Many prepositional
combinations using "to"
are followed by gerunds.
look forward to V ing
resort to V ing
submit to V ing
confess to V ing
give in to V ing
admit to V ing
with regards to V ing
be accustomed to V ing
be addicted to V ing
be opposed to V ing
be limited to V ing
be dedicated to V ing
be commited to V ing
be used to V ing.

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EXPRESSIONS WITH THE WORD CAT

Cats are the most popular
pets among Americans. So it
is not surprising that there are
many expressions about cats.
Some cats like to catch small
birds, like canaries. If
someone looks very proud or
satisfied with himself, we say
he looks like the cat that
ate the canary .
Sometimes, a cat likes to play
with a small animal it catches.
So if you play cat and
mouse with someone,you
change between different
kinds of behavior when
dealing with another person.
For example, a child might
offer something sweet to her
little brother and then take it
away when he reaches for it.
A cat will often catch a small
animal and present it to its
owner. The saying that looks
like something the cat
dragged in describes
something in bad condition.
Two old and funny
expressions describe
something that is the best or
finest. Americans might say
that something is the cat's
meow and the cat's
pajamas.
Children might call a child who
is easily frightened a fraidy
cat or a scaredy cat . A
copycat is someone who acts
just like someone else or
copies another person's work.
A fat cat is a person with a
lot of money.
You may have known that cats
spend most of their time
sleeping. Sometimes people
sleep for a short time during
the day. This is called a cat
nap.
If you tell about something
that was supposed to be a
secret, we say you let the cat
out of the bag. If you are not
able to speak or answer a
question someone might ask
if the cat has got your
tongue.
Have you ever watched
children in a classroom when
their teacher leaves for a few
minutes? When the cat's
away, the mice will play
means people sometimes
misbehave when there is no
supervision.
You may have heard this
expression: curiosity killed
the cat.This means being too
concerned about things that
are not your business might
cause problems.
If your home is very small,
you might say there is not
enough room to swing a
cat. But you probably should
not try this at home!
If you ever had cats as pets,
you know it is difficult to train
them or to get them to do
something. Cats are not like
sheep or cows that can be
moved in a group. So we say
a difficult or impossible job is
like herding cats.
We leave you with a song
from the musical play, "Cats."

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PANAGRAMS:

Panagrams are sentences
or phrases that use every
letter in the alphebet at
least once. Check for
yourself!


Brick quiz whangs jumpy veldt
fox!
Quick wafting zephyrs vex
bold Jim.
The five boxing wizards jump
quickly.
B, C, F, G, H, I, J, K, M, O, P,
Q, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z are
letters.
Jackdaws love my sphinx of
black quartz.
The five boxing wizards
jumped quickly.
Five big quacking zephyrs jolt
my wax bed.
Hick Jed wins quiz for extra
blimp voyage.
Sympathizing would fix
Quaker objectives.
Mix Zapf with Veljovic and get
quirky Beziers.
Brawny gods just flocked up
to quiz and vex him.
Jim just quit and packed extra
bags for Liz Owen.
Turgid saxophones blew over
Mick's jazzy quaff.
Dumpy kibitzer jingles as
exchequer overflows.
Puzzled women bequeath
jerks very exotic gifts.
Playing jazz vibe chords
quickly excites my wife.
A boy, Max, felt quick during
his hazy weaving jumps.
A large fawn jumped quickly
over white zinc boxes.
Viewing quizzical abstracts
mixed up hefty jocks.
Five wine experts jokingly
quizzed sample Chablis.
William Jex quickly caught five
dozen Republicans.
The vixen jumped quickly on
her foe barking with zeal.
Harry, jogging quickly, axed
zen monks with beef vapor.
Five or six big jet planes
zoomed quickly by the tower.
Six big devils from Japan
quickly forgot how to waltz.
Big July earthquakes confound
zany experimental vow.
Exquisite farm wench gives
body jolt to prize stinker.
My grandfather picks up
quartz and valuable onyx
jewels.
Six crazy kings vowed to
abolish my quite pitiful jousts.
Jack amazed a few girls by
dropping the antique onyx
vase!
We have just quoted on nine
dozen boxes of gray lamp
wicks.
Jay visited back home and
gazed upon a brown fox and
quail.
May Jo equal the fine record
by solving six puzzles a week?
Fred specialized in the job of
making very quaint wax toys.
Freight to me sixty dozen
quart jars and twelve black
pans.
Jeb quickly drove a few extra
miles on the glazed
pavement.
Grumpy wizards make toxic
brew for the evil Queen and
Jack.
Verily the dark ex-Jew quit
Zionism, preferring the
cabala.
The job of waxing linoleum
frequently peeves chintzy
kids.
West quickly gave Bert
handsome prizes for six juicy
plums.
Just keep examining every low
bid quoted for zinc etchings.
A quick movement of the
enemy will jeopardize six
gunboats.
All questions asked by five
watch experts amazed the
judge.

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EXPRESSIONS ABOUT BIRDS:

Today we explain some
expressions about birds. For
example, if something is for
the birds , it is worthless or
not very interesting. Someone
who eats like a bird eats
very little. And a birds-eye
view is a general look at an
area from above.
Did you know that if you tell a
young person about the birds
and the bees you are
explaining about sex and
birth? Have you ever observed
that birds of a feather flock
together? In other words,
people who are similar
become friends or do things
together. Here is some good
advice: a bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush . This
means you should not risk
losing something you have by
trying to get more of
something you do not have.
Sometimes I can do two
things by performing only one
action. This is called killing
two birds with one stone .
But I would never really kill
any birds. I love all kinds of
animals. This is a real feather
in my cap. It is something to
be proud of.
Most of the people I work
with are early birds. They
believe that the early bird
catches the worm. They think
that a person who gets up
early in the morning for work
has the best chance of
success. Everyone in my
office works hard, but some
people have had their wings
clipped . Their jobs have been
limited. This is because the
office is organized by pecking
order . People with more
years and experience are
given more responsibility.
Some bird expressions are
about crows, chickens and
ducks. For example, when I
am driving, I always travel as
the crow flies. I go the most
direct way. Anyone who eats
crow has to admit a mistake
or defeat.
Now let's talk about my
sister. She is not very young.
She is no spring chicken. She
will work any job for chicken
feed -- a small amount of
money. She is easily
frightened. For example, she
is too chicken-livered to
walk down a dark street alone
at night. Often she will
chicken out – she will not go
out alone at night.
My sister was an ugly
duckling. She looked strange
when she was a child, but she
grew up to be a beautiful
woman. Sometimes she
thinks too much about having
something in the future
before she really has it. She
counts her chickens before
they are hatched.
Sometimes her chickens
come home to roost. That
means her actions or words
cause trouble for her.
However, my sister does not
worry about what people say
about her. Criticism falls off
her like water off a duck's
back .
Politicians are sometimes
considered lame ducks after
losing an election. They have
little time left in office and
not much power. Congress
holds a lame duck session
after an election. Important
laws are not passed during
this period.

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