The past simple passive

Exercise 1. Use the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. This house (build) in 1930.

2. A lot of money (steal) from the bank.

3. This room (clean) yesterday.

4. All flights (cancel) because of fog.

5. Where (these photographs, take)?

6. How much money (borrow)?

7. The roof of the building (damage) in a storm a few days ago.

8. Originally the book (write) in Spanish. A few years ago it (translate) into English.

9. The letter (post) a week ago. It (deliver) only yesterday.

10. My camera (lose).

Exercise 2. Match the achievements (A) and the people (B).

e.g. The wireless was invented by Marconi.

Use the following verbs in the Past Simple Passive:

to discover, to invent, to write, to make, to sing, to compose, to design, to name, to build, to paint, to shoot

A	Mickey Mouse	Oliver Twist		Lord of the Flies
	Greenland	gravity		Lord of the Rings
	penicillin	the telephone		Yesterday
	A Farewell to Arms	Aida		the safety razor
	St. Paul’s Cathedral	Porgy and Bess		the Statue of Liberty
	America	Guernica		1984
	the light bulb	Psycho
B	Thomas Edison		King Camp Gillette		George Orwell
	Alfred Hitchcock		Picasso		Dickens
	Sir Christopher Wren		Eric the Red		Alexander Bell
	Walt Disney		Alexander Fleming		J.R.R. Tolkien
	Gustav Eiffel		Ernest Hemingway		Columbus
	The Beatles		George Gershwin		William Golding
	Verdi		Isaak Newton

Exercise 3. How much do you know about entertainment and the media? Choose answers for the quiz. Use the passive form in the correct tense.

e.g. The James Bond books were written by Ian Fleming.

a)	Who directed the film ET?	1	The Beatles
b)	Who wrote the play Hamlet?	2	Eddie Murphy
c)	Who sang Heartbreak Hotel?	3	Leo Tolstoy
d)	Who played James Bond in Goldfinger?	4	Steven Spielberg
e)	Who wrote the novel War and Peace?	5	William Shakespeare
f)	Who first recorded the song Help?	6	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
g)	Who played the ‘Beverley Hills Cop’?	7	W.A. Mozart
h)	Who composed The Magic Flute?	8	Elvis Presley
i)	Who invented the character Sherlock Holmes?	9	Sean Connery

Exercise 4. Rewrite each sentence, so that the meaning remains the same.

e.g. Oswald shot Kennedy. – Kennedy was shot by Oswald.

1. The Ancient Egyptians built the Pyramids. – The Pyramids_______. 2. Plutonium was discovered by Glenn Seaborg in 1940. – Glenn Seaborg_______. 3. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. – Romeo and Juliet _______. 4. La Dolce Vita was directed by Fellini. – Fellini_______. 5. Paul McCartney sang Yesterday. – Yesterday_______. 6. The police shot Bonnie and Clyde. – Bonnie and Clyde_______. 7. The picture was painted by Picasso. – Picasso_______. 8. Daimler invented the motorcycle in 1885. – The motorcycle_______. 9. Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in 1988. – The Nobel Prize_______.

Exercise 5. Write general questions, as in the example.

e.g. Mary was given a ten days’ leave. (John)

Was John given a ten days’ leave?

1. Mr. Black was sent a visa. (Mr. Green) 2. The letter was brought in the evening. (the telegram) 3. The article was typed by the secretary. (the letter) 4. The documents were left in the drawer. (the money) 5. Mary was promised help. (Dick) 6. The parcel was sent by Jane. (the letter) 7. John was invited to the picnic. (Alec) 8. I was informed about her arrival. (you) 9. I was allowed to use his dictionary. (you) 10. The key was lost yesterday. (the book)

Exercise 6. Write negative answers to the questions in Exercise 5, as in the example.

e.g. John wasn’t given a ten days’ leave.

Exercise 7. Ask your partner:

when the parcel was brought; what mark he was given at his last English exam; when he was sent abroad; when he was last sent a letter; what foreign languages he was taught at school; when the documents were photo-copied; when the tickets were booked; when dinner was served.

Exercise 8. Answer the following questions, as in the model.

Model:	(I think)	it was		made in (England)
		they were
	I don’t know		where	it was	made
	I’m not sure			they were

1. Where was your watch (pen / pencil / shirt / dress / jacket / tie) made?

   2. Where were your shoes (socks / jeans / glasses / trousers) made?

   3. In your house, is there a television? (cooker / refrigerator / washing machine / clock / camera / cassette-player / vacuum cleaner / hair-dryer / electric fire / computer) Where was it made? Ask your partner 1) if he (she) has the things and 2) where they were made.

Exercise 9. Do you know the answers?

The first book was printed in	a) France; b) Germany; c) England
Jaguar cars are made in	a) England; b) the USA; c) Italy
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in	a) Houston; b) New York; c) Dallas
Mount Everest was climbed for	a) 1953; b) 1961; c) 1957
the first time in
The Eiffel Tower was built in	a) 1976; b) 1889; c) 1901
The motor car was invented in	a) 1850; b) 1885; c) 1903
Christopher Columbus was born in	a) Spain; b) Italy; c) Portugal
Uranium was discovered in	a) 1932; b) 1798; c) 1944
Coffee is produced in	a) Colombia; b) Scotland; c) Canada

Exercise 10. Translate into English.

1. В прошлом году его не посылали за границу. 2. Когда заказали билеты? 3. Соглашение было подписано вчера. 4. Где проходила конференция? 5. Сколько писем было получено вчера? 6. Нас не пригласили на вечер. 7. Гостям показали лаборатории. 8. Этот вопрос обсуждался на нашем последнем собрании. 9. Документы были подписаны вчера. 10. Письмо было написано моим секретарем два дня назад.