Reasons for using the passive voice

Situation	Example
when the person who carries out the action is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context	My purse was stolen on the train. (unknown) Rolls Royce cars are made in England. (unimportant) The cows are milked once a day. (obvious)
when the action itself is more important than the person who does it, as in news headlines, newspaper articles, formal notices, advertisements, instructions, processes	Two teenagers were seriously injured in a car accident last night. (news headline) The Fine Arts Museum will be opened to the public on November, 14^th.(formal notice) The beans are separated from the shells and then they are put into sacks. (process)
personal and impersonal constructions with the verbs think, believe, say, report, know, expect, consider, understand, etc.	It is thought that he left the country last night. (impersonal construction) He is thought to have left the country last night. (personal construction)
when we want to make statements more polite	My new blouse is ruined. (more polite than saying You’ve ruined my new blouse)

Tenses in the passive voice the present simple passive

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

1. Two hundred people (employ) by the company.

2. This room (clean) every day.

3. Many accidents (cause) by careless driving.

4. I (not often, invite) to parties.

5. How (this word, pronounce)?

6. Cheese (make) from milk.

7. There's no need to leave a tip. Service (include) in the bill.

8. A cinema is a place where films (show).

9. In the Russian Federation, elections for President (hold) every four years.

10. It's a big factory. Five hundred cars (produce) there every day.

Exercise 2. Make up sentences using the Passive Voice.

e.g. books / sell / bookshop Books are sold in that bookshop.

1	we/pay/twice a month	6	tickets/usually/book/in advance
2	coffee/serve/in the morning	7	news/announce/every day
3	meetings/hold/in that hall	8	these tape recorders/use/ by our students
4	he/often/send/abroad	9	important problems/discuss/
5	newspapers/publish/here		at our meeting

Exercise 3. Look at the prompts and make up sentences using the Present Simple Passive as in the example.

e.g. Volkswagen cars / make/ Germany Volkswagen cars are made in Germany.

1.	A lot of rice / eat / India	9.	Tea / import / India
2.	Snails / eat / France	10.	Whisky / export / Scotland
3.	Coca Cola / produce / the USA	11.	Tobacco / grow / the USA
4.	Coffee / grow / Brazil	12.	Wheat / grow / Canada
5.	Beer / produce / Germany	13.	Ships / build / the UK
6.	Wine / produce / France	14.	Bicycles / make / China
7.	Gold / mine / South Africa	15.	A lot of electronic goods / manufacture / Japan
8.	Clothes / design / Paris

Exercise 4. Write general questions, as in the example.

e.g. Mr. Smith is often sent to London (Mr. White)

Is Mr. White often sent to London, too?

1. We are given a lot of work to do. (you) 2. We are allowed to use this laboratory. (you) 3. They are taught Spanish. (French) 4. Bags are repaired there. (umbrellas) 5. Footwear is sold in this shop. (clothes) 6. Dinner is served in this café. (breakfast) 7. English is spoken here. (German) 8. This journal is published in London. (Belfast) 9. The library is closed late. (the shop) 10. The documents are signed by the chief engineer. (the manager)

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

e.g. Mr. White isn’t often sent to London.

Exercise 8. Write questions and answers, as in the example.

e.g. Where / meals / to cook? Where are meals cooked?

They are cooked in the kitchen.

1	Where / patients / to operate on?	8	Where / books / to sell?
2	When / exams / to take?	9	Where / newspapers / to print?
3	Where / English / to speak?	10	What / bottles / to make of?
4	Where / English / to teach?	11	Where / concerts / to hold?
5	When / children / to put to bed?	12	What / bags / to make of?
6	Where / bread / to keep?	13	When / tests / to write?
7	When / dinner / usually / to eat?	14	What / furniture / to make of?

Exercise 6. Change the following sentences, as in the example.

e.g. They speak only English here. Only English is spoken here.

1. They grow rice in this area. 2. They deliver mail in the morning. 3. They produce butter on farms. 4. They often send us letters. 5. They don’t allow us to smoke here. 6. They teach English, French and German at the courses. 7. They build a lot of houses in our town every year. 8. They hold conferences in the assembly hall. 9. They don’t tell us about their work. 10. They make lorries at that plant.

Exercise 7. Translate into English.

1. Какой иностранный язык преподают в вашем институте? 2. Я думаю, что эти книги продаются во всех магазинах. 3. Что производится на этой фабрике? 4. Эти статьи рекомендуются для вашей работы. 5. В котором часу закрывается библиотека? 6. Нам не разрешается выносить книги из читального зала. 7. Почту доставляют сюда самолетом? 8. Сегодня ожидается много гостей. 9. Ему часто присылают письма. 10. Что продается в этом магазине? 11. Сколько вам здесь платят? 12. Где хранятся документы?