The Passive Voice The Passive: Indefinite Tenses

Exercise 1

British facts

Use the Present Indefinite Passive of the verb in brackets ().

Example:

• 70 billion cups of tea ___(drink) in Britain every year.

• 70 billion cups of tea are drunk in Britain every year.

1. A billion liters of fruit juice _____ (buy) by the British every year.

2. 20 million liters of milk _____ (drink) every day.

3. 9 million chickens and turkeys _____ (kill) every week.

4. Not everybody eats meat. Meat _____ (not eat) by three per cent of British people.

5. 3.500 liters of water _____ (use) by the average British family every week.

6. In Britain over 15 million newspapers _____ (read) every day.

7. Over 30 million television sets _____ (own) by British families.

8. Every day enough rubbish _____ (produce) to fill Trafalgar Square – up to the top of Nelson’s Column!

Exercise 2

Nick is doing a project on rainforests. He has made notes. Put his notes into sentences like this.

Example:

• rainforests – find – along the equator

• Rainforests are found along the equator.

1.thousands of square kilometers of rainforests – destroy – every year

____________________________________________________

2. 6.000 trees – cut down – every hour

____________________________________________________

3. wood – sell – to many countries

____________________________________________________

3. wood – make into – furniture

____________________________________________________

3. rainforests – burn down – by farmers

____________________________________________________

3. animals – kill – by the fires

____________________________________________________

3. houses – destroy – by the fires

____________________________________________________

3. many kinds of animals and plants – lose - when the rainforests disappear

____________________________________________________

3. some medicines – make from – rainforest plants

____________________________________________________

3. weather – change – by the destruction of the rainforests

____________________________________________________

Exercise 3 Language quiz

Do you know which languages are spoken where? Or can you guess? Be careful! In some countries two or more languages are spoken. Score one point for each language that you name correctly. You can score fifteen points altogether.

Example:

• In Saudi Arabia

• Arabic is spoken in Saudi Arabia

Arabic Italian

English French

Portuguese Spanish

German Hindi

in Argentina in Australia in Canada in Brazil in Egypt

in Luxembourg in Mexico in Switzerland in India 10.in Austria

Exercise 4

Write what happens when you go to the doctor’s. Use the Present Indefinite Passive.

Example:

• He tests your eyes.

• Your eyes are tested.

1. looks at your throat

2. He takes your pulse.

3. He weighs you.

4. He checks your blood pressure.

5. He examines your chest.

6. He X-rays your lungs.

7. He takes a blood sample.

8. He measures your height.

9. He tests your hearing.

10. He listens to your heart.