Not using the passive Changing the subject without using the Passive

With some transitive verbs the subject of a sentence can be changed without using the passive. The active transitive verb becomes intransitive.

e.g. The dog opened the door (active).

The door was opened by the dog (passive).

The door opened. – Дверь открылась.

Detective stories sell well. – Детективные рассказы хорошо продаются.

change

close

wash

dry

begin

read

break

turn

wear

Increase

stop

crease

vary

fill

record

bake

boil

melt

cook

expand

Exercise 1. Translate into Russian.

1. This cloth washes and wears well. 2. The pie is still baking. 3. The book reads well. 4. The commodity sells well. 5. She photographs very well. (She is photogenic). 6. Her voice records well. 7. Will this stain wash out? 8. The skirt creases so easily. 9. The movie watches easily. 10. The software loads quickly. 11. His life changed completely when he moved to France. 12. Their clothes had dried by the time they got home. 13. Her pencil broke. 14. Black jeans are selling well. 15. The car crashed into a post. 16. The soup thickened.

Exercise 2. Rewrite the sentences in the passive, where possible.

e.g. Her mother drives her to school every day.

She is driven to school by her mother every day.

Paul drives to work every day. It cannot be changed

1. I woke up late on Sunday morning. 2. Her mother woke her up at seven o’clock. 3. Sue asked the waiter to bring some water. 4. David asked for some help. 5. Simon is moving house next month. 6. Michael moved the boxes out of the way. 7. Sandra walks on the beach regularly. 8. The boys walk the dog every day. 9. Mary hasn’t written the postcards yet. 10. Paul goes bowling with his friends on Fridays. 11. The mechanic will repair our car on Saturday. 12. Susan enjoys cooking oriental food. 13. Had Jack ordered the pizza? 14. They saw a man running out of the bank. 15. I have a shower every morning. 16. Mum is making dinner at the moment. 17. The Smiths will be cruising in the Caribbean next week. 18. The children walk to school every day. 19. He didn’t collect the dry cleaning yesterday. 20. The shop won’t deliver our furniture until Monday. 21. This dress fits you perfectly.

* Exercise 3. Fill each of the gaps with an appropriate word from the list.

grown explained fallen

contracted widened intensified

folded changed dried

increased

1. The amount we can spend on technical equipment has _________.

2. It is said that the number of students considering a career in teaching has ________ off a lot.

3. Consequently, the teacher training faculty has ________ by 25 per cent.

4. Attitudes towards the teaching profession have ________ considerably.

5. However, in other departments options have ________ greatly.

6. Inevitably some departments have ________ completely.

7. Interest in Latin, for example, has _________ up.

8. And competition with other colleges has, it must be admitted, ________.

9. But the curriculum has ________ into new areas such as media studies.

10. Interest in computer studies has ________ beyond all expectations.

* Exercise 4. For each of the following sentences write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence, but using the word given.

e.g. The first act of your play is very well written. – READS

The first act of your play reads very well.

1. Initially, I think you develop the plot very convincingly. – UNFOLDS

2. You step up the tension in the third scene. – INCREASES

3. But then everything seems different. – CHANGE

4. You put in melodrama instead of real drama, don’t you? – REPLACES

5. Why do you close the first act with only a vague suspicion of murder in the air? – DOES

6. Why don’t you open the second act with the actual killing? – DOESN’T

7. And why does the third act end on such an anticlimax? – DO

Exercise 5. Each of the following sentences contains at least one active verb; however, some of the verbs should be passive. Underline the verbs twice. Then indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).

1. The car parked in a no-parking zone. 2. The coffee turned bitter when it was left on the stove for so long. 3. Everything to organize the picnic has already done. 4. The police investigated him because of his unusual actions. 5. The package containing the necessary samples has just sent. 6. The vacation to Europe will carefully plan before the scheduled departure date. 7. The physics exam began just a few minutes ago. 8. The soccer game won in the closing minutes. 9. The clothes made to rival the latest fashions of the season. 10. When the roads are icy, the buses do not drive. 11. Inflation has increased over the last six months. 12. Metals expand when heated.