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Level 8 (CEFR B1)

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  1. Lesson 1 | Movies
    6 Temas
  2. Lesson 2 | Passive Voice 1
    7 Temas
    |
    3 Cuestionarios
  3. Lesson 3 | Passive Voice 2
    7 Temas
    |
    5 Cuestionarios
  4. Lesson 4 | Lilly Might Have to Burp
    7 Temas
    |
    2 Cuestionarios
  5. Lesson 5 | WRITING AN EMAIL OF COMPLAINT
    6 Temas
  6. Lesson 6 | First Conditional
    7 Temas
    |
    6 Cuestionarios
  7. Lesson 7 | Second Conditional
    6 Temas
    |
    6 Cuestionarios
  8. Lesson 8 | Third Conditional
    7 Temas
    |
    5 Cuestionarios
Level 8 (CEFR B1) Lesson 2 | Passive Voice 1 Lesson 2 – Step 3 – Passive Voice 1
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Lección 2, Tema 3
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Lesson 2 – Step 3 – Passive Voice 1

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Goal

It’s time to learn about the passive voice Look at the examples to see how it’s used!

Once you’ve finished, you can move to step 4.


Language Discovery

Look at the phrases in blue in the text in step 1. What do they have in common?

  1. They use this structure: be + past participle 

The most tragic news is given the most media attention.

  1. We don’t mention who caused the action. It’s not important.

Look at the phrases in green in the text in step 1. What do they have in common?

  1.  They are also use the same structure, but they add by:

be + past participle  + by

The movie was directed by Joel Souza and was led by star actor Alec Baldwin.

  1. We mention who caused the action.

General Notions

The movie was directed by Joel Souza. 

It was led by star actor Alec Baldwin. 

Halyna had been killed on set by a live bullet. 

The director was also injured. 

  • We use this structure to bring the focus to the object in a sentence instead of the subject. We can omit the subject or include it at the end using the word by. 

  • We can use the passive voice in different tenses by changing the verb be:

We can use the passive voice in different tenses by changing the verb be:

You will be asked many questions in the interview.
Mail is delivered every day by the postal office.
Your request is being processed.
A man has been accused of robbery.
The band was arrested yesterday.
The Beatles had not been given permission to play on the rooftop.

ACTIVE v PASSIVE

ACTIVE
subject + verb + objectfocuses on the subject		PASSIVE
object + be + ppvfocuses on the object
Someone stole my walletMy wallet was stolen (by someone)
The police have found the childThe child has been found (by the police)
COVID is affecting many peopleMany people are being affected (by COVID)

Dig a little deeper

You´ll notice a lot of passive voice when reading or watching the news in English!

It’s also used to describe processes. 

The eggs are boiled for 7 minutes, then removed from the heat¨

What about Spanish?

We use the passive voice (voz pasiva) in Spanish too.

América fue descubierta en 1492 por Cristóbal Colón.

America was discovered in 1492 by Cristopher Columbus.

Conclusion

Ready? Terrific! Let’s move on to step 4 to practise what you’ve learnt in this step.