Grammar Focus. The Passive Voice

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action, eg: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows, eg: A mistake was made.In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

I. The Present Simple

Form:

Am/is/are + -ed (past participle).

Positive	Negative	Question
English is spoken all over the world.	Coffee isn’t grown in England.	Where is rice grown?

Ex. 1 Give the following Infinitives in the Passive Voice:

To divide into, to wash by, to separate from, to engage in, to situate, to speak, to concentrate in, to write.

Ex. 2 Insert the verb in the correct form of the Passive Voice.

1. Russia (to wash) by three oceans.

2. The territory of Russia (to divide into) 11 climatic zones.

3. Asia (to separate from) Europe by the Ural Mountains.

4. Many people (to engage in) agriculture.

5. Many regions of Siberia and Far East (to be situated) in permafrost zone.

6. More than one hundred languages (to speak) in the country.

7. Russian (to write) in the Cyrillic script.

8. Natural resources (to concentrate) in Siberia and the Far East.

9. Most of the defense industrial base (to inherit) from the Soviet Union.

10. Grain, meat and milk (to produce) in Russia.

Text 2

Did you know?

• Russia is on two continents – Europe and Asia. But only 20% of Russia is in Europe.

• Russia has a population of 147 million people. 75% of the population live in the Eastern part.

•Almost four times as many people live in cities as in villages. The 12 biggest cities have a population of over 1 million people each.

• Russian people are not always a Slavic type. They do not all have blue eyes and fair hair. Russian people may look like Spaniards, Greeks, Jews, Turks, Koreans or Mongolians.

• Russian people are part of a big community of more than 100 nations and ethnic groups. There are Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Chuvash, Bashkir, Belarusians and Mordovins.

• Everyone in Russia speaks Russian as the official language. Local languages are very important too. Children study them at school.

• There are five main religions in Russia. Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists live side by side all over the country.

Ex. 1 Continue the sentences about Russia.

1. The official name of the country is…

2. The Russian federation is the … in the world.

3. In the south Russia borders on …

4. In the west it borders on …

5. There is hardly a country in the world where …

Ex. 2 Say if it is true or false. If it is wrong, correct the sentence:

1. Russia has 12 time zones.

2. Russia stretches from the Baltic Sea in the East to the Atlantic Ocean.

3. Russia has a wide range of scenery and climate.

4. Taiga is a thick forest with a lot of oaks.

5. Steppes cover the north of Russia.