Crime and justice - grammar and exercises

Crime and justice - grammar and exercises

Grammar

passive voice

 

The form


The Passive Voice is formed by: Subject +  form of to be + Past Participle.
Example: A letter was written.

Note the differences between Dutch and English:

Dutch   English  
o.t.t. Het boek wordt gelezen present simple The book is read
o.v.t. Het boek werd gelezen past simple The book was read
v.t.t. Het boek is gelezen present perfect The book has been read
v.v.t. Het boek was gelezen past perfect The book had been read

 

The use

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.

Example:

My bike was stolen.
Fact: my bike was stolen.
I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes  the passive voice is more polite than the active voice:

Example:

A mistake was made.
The fact is that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone

Click on the links to do the exercises by making passive sentences.

Toets:Simple Present

Toets:Simple Past

Toets:Present Perfect

Toets:Future tense 'will'

Toets:Auxiliary Verbs

Passive voice - extra

 

 

Passive voice - extra

The examples

Tense   Subject Verbs (prepositional) Object
Present Continuous Active: Rita is writing a letter
  Passive: A letter is being written by Rita
Past Continuous Active: Rita was writing a letter
  Passive: A letter was being written by Rita
Past Perfect Active: Rita had written a letter
  Passive: A letter had been written by Rita
Future Perfect Active: Rita will have written a letter
  Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita

Toets:Present Continuous

Toets:Past Continuous

Toets:Past Perfect

Passive voice - overview all tenses

Tense

Form of to be & past participle (voltooid deelwoord

Examples

Present simple

am, is, are + made

Wine is made from grapes.
Many cars are made in Japan.

Present progressive

am, is, are + being + sent

The document is being sent right now.
I am being sent to work in the London office.

Past simple

was, were + invited

John was invited to speak at the conference.
We were invited to Daniel and Mary’s wedding.

Past progressive

was, were + being + washed

The dog was being washed when I got home.
Their cars were being washed while they were in the mall shopping.

Future (will)

will be + signed

The contract will be signed tomorrow.
The documents will all be signed by next week.

Future (going to)

am, is, are + going to be + built

A bridge is going to be built within the next two years.
New houses are going to be built in our neighbourhood.

Present perfect

has, have + been + sold

That start-up has been sold for $5 million.
The rights to his book have been sold for $250,000.

Past perfect

had + been + hired

The new manager had been hired before John left the company.
All the employees had been  hired before the store opened.

Future* perfect

will + have been + finished

The car will have been loaded by the time he gets home.
The crates will have been loaded by then.

Modals: can/could

can, could + be + issued

A passport can only be issued at the embassy.
He said the documents could be issued within the week.

Modal: have to

have to, has to, had to + be + arranged

A babysitter has to be arranged for this evening.
Joan’s travel plans have to be arranged by December.

Modal: must

must + be + stopped

Criminals must be stopped before they commit crimes.

 

From active to passive voice - exercises

Change the active phrases into passive ones, using the Single Present Tense.
Example: Cennet plays the guitar. ➨ The guitar is played by Cennet.
Do exercise 7.

Toets:exercise 7

Change the active phrases into passive ones, using the Single Past Tense.
Example: Cennet played the guitar. ➨ The guitar was played by Cennet.
Do exercise 8

Toets:exercise 8

After that change the active phrases into passive ones, using the Present Perfect Tense.
Example: Cennet has played the guitar. ➨ The guitar has been played by Cennet.
Do exercise 9.

Toets:exercise 9

And change the active phrases into passive ones, using the Past Perfect Tense.
Example: Cennet had played the guitar. ➨ The guitar had been played by Cennet.
Do exercise 10.

Toets:exercise 10

extra exercises on passive forms

Active or passive?

passive extra exercise 1

passive extra exercise 2

passive extra exercise 3