Active sentence: Jet Li bought the house

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Theodore Hodges
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1 Read the following sentences and answer the questions below. Then discuss your observations and check them with the notes below. 1a. An earthquake damaged the old building. 1b. The old building was damaged by an earthquake. 2a. The state inspected the old building last year. 2b. The old building was inspected by the state last year. 1. Do the sentences in each pair have about the same meaning or different meanings? 2. Which sentences focus more on a noun that is performing an action or causing something to happen? 3. Which sentences focus more on a noun that receives the action? Notes: The passive form changes the usual order of the subject and object of an active sentence. The object of an active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Active sentence: Jet Li bought the house. Passive sentence: The house was bought by Jet Li. In active sentences, the do-er of the action, that is the agent, is in the subject position. In passive sentences, the receiver (the noun that receives or is the result of the action) is in the subject position. Passive sentences often do not mention the agent at all. agent receiver Active sentence: Jet Li bought the house receiver agent Passive sentence: The house was bought by Jet Li. The house was bought. Choosing active or passive voice does not change the meaning, but it does change the way you think about the information in the sentence. Use an active sentence to focus on who or what performs the action. Use a passive sentence to focus on the receiver or the result of an action. Active sentence We tried to get help after the earthquake, but we couldn t get through on the phone, so we waited until later. (The focus is on us the speakers and what we did during the earthquake.) Passive sentence The next morning, our house was damaged, and the driveway was cracked. Next door, the roof was ruined, and most of the windows were broken. (The focus is on the results of the earthquake. The sentences describe the damage caused by the earthquake.) Passive sentences do not mention the agent when the agent is unimportant, unknown, or obvious. The agentless passive allows us to avoid very general subjects such as people, someone, we, one, and impersonal you and they. Sometimes it is also used to avoid taking responsibility for an action or to avoid blaming someone else. Which reason can explain the omission of the agent in these examples? - Some computers were developed to solve complex problems. - The package was left on my desk. Do you know who left it? - The mail is delivered at noon. - Calcium is needed for strong bones. - Reservations are required. - A serious error was made in the payroll. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 1

2 Change the following active verb forms into the corresponding passive verb forms. Active Passive is studying is being studied gave was/were given is making had left built produces can read will send was planning might have needed Change the following passive verb forms into the corresponding active verb forms. Passive Active is being constructed had been forgotten was established is manufactured can be obtained will be required were being duplicated might have been discovered Restate these active sentences as passive sentences. Change the subject of the active sentence into a place adverb. Example: The Chinese invented gunpowder. >> Gunpowder was invented in China. 1. Pakistanis speak Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi, Pashtu and English. 2. The people of Sri Lanka have mined gems for centuries. 3. The French consider snails a great delicacy. 4. People throughout Asia eat rice. 5. Argentineans eat more beef per capita than in any other country. 6. Ancient Egyptians worshiped cats. 7. The Japanese have developed a new system of high resolution television. 8. Americans invented the games of baseball and basketball. Now with a partner make up five additional passive sentences about products or accomplishments of a cultural group you are familiar with. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 2

3 Create meaningful active or passive sentences in the simple past. Use the words given. The first words in each item must be the subject of your sentence. 1. the medicine / take / the patient 2. the patient / take / the medicine 3. the window / break / the child 4. the concert / attend / many people 5. she / make / the cake 6. we / cancel / the appointment 7. the car / repair / two mechanics Decide whether active or passive forms should be used in these sentences, and write the correct form in the blank. There may be more than one correct choice. The movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo Hu, Cang Long, 2000) (1) (direct) by Taiwan-born director Ang Lee. Lee and his team (2) (choose) the Wu Xia style, or warrior/sword-fighting style, because it is extremely popular in Hong Kong, and because Lee (3) (want) to make a martial arts film for many years. The movie (4) (film) in almost every part of China, and its rich colors and dramatic scenery (5) (demonstrate) the skill of the director. The music, which (6) (record) in Shanghai, included several musical pieces that (7) (perform) by the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The leading roles, those of Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien, (8) (play) by wellknown actors Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh. Initially, a Taiwanese actress, Qi Shu, (9) (choose) to play the part of Jen Yu, but when her agent (10) (pull) her from the film to do a Pepsi commercial in Japan, she (11) (replace) by Zhang Ziyi, a young actress from China. To add to the dream-like quality of the movie, Lee (12) (work) with martial arts master Yuen Wo-Ping to make the fighting in the movie look like dancing. Yuen (13) (choreograph) the fight scenes in many famous movies, such as Jackie Chan s Drunken Master and in The Matrix. In the movie, Lee successfully (14) (blend) an action/adventure with drama, producing characters with depth and realism. As a result, the movie (15) (receive) four Oscars and numerous other awards. Decide whether active or passive forms should be used in these sentences, and write the correct form in the blank. There may be more than one correct choice Bend It Like Beckham (2002), which (1) (direct) by Kenyan-born and British-raised Gurinder Chadha, is a charming story of a young girl s coming of age in 21st century England. Jessminder Jess Bharma (Parminder Nagra) is a young Sikh girl, who (2) (dream) of becoming a world-class soccer player. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 3

4 However, Jess also comes from a very traditional Indian family and (3) (restrict) by their beliefs that a girl should not play around with boys, show her legs in public, or hope to do anything more than marry a good Indian boy and raise a family. Jess (4) (push) to study to get into university and become a lawyer by her first-generation Punjabi immigrant parents. They also hope to (5) (arrange) a marriage for her when she gets older. Jess, on the other hand, (6) (inspire) by one of England's most famous players, David Beckham and dreams of soccer. She (7) (display) unusual talent for the game in park matches with the local boys, skillfully beating them at the game. While playing in the park Jess (8) (spot) by Juliette "Jules" Paxton (Keira Knightley), the star player at the Hounslow Harriers, a local amateur women's soccer club. She (9) (invite) to join the club, and she happily accepts the invitation, even though she knows her parents would (10) (disapprove). Jess becomes a key member of the side and Jules's best friend. A special bond also (11) (develop) between Jess and the team's coach (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a young man whose dreams of becoming a soccer star (12) (shatter) when his knee (13) (injure). Meanwhile, there are rumors that a scout from Santa Clara University in the U.S. is looking for players for the school's women's team. The resulting situation (14) (set up) a number of culture clashes as Jess, her friends, and her family try to manage the expectations of two cultures and their own dreams and desires. Chadha s Bend It Like Beckham is a warm, quick-paced film that never becomes too serious. The movie also (15) (show) that immigrant families are not unique in their adherence to tradition. Jules (16) (pressure) by her mother, who has very conventional views of femininity, to dress and act in a more feminine way. In the movie, the traditional roles of parents (17) (reverse), with Jules father having the wisdom to let his daughter fulfill her dreams and the mother clinging to her ideas and traditions. In Jess's case, her father (Anupam Kher) (18) (decide) to let her play in the soccer tournament even though it means leaving her sister's wedding early. Although the movie (19) (present) traditional cultures trying to adapt to a new world, Bend It Like Beckham is still easygoing, uplifting and more or less traditional film that (20) (delight) viewers of all ages. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 4

5 Sentence Transformation For each of the following active and passive sentences, decide if active sentences can be made passive or passive sentences can be made active. If possible, change active sentences to passive and passive sentences to active, writing the new sentence on the lines provided. If no change is possible, write NO CHANGE. (1) The Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. (2) He designed it to serve as the tomb for his beloved wife. (3) The Taj is considered by many architects to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. (4) Shah Jahan originally wanted to build a second Taj across the river from the first one. (5) The second Taj was planned to be the burial place for Shah Jahan. (6) The second Taj was supposed to consist of black marble and semiprecious stones. (7) Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his own son before the second Taj could be built. (8) Shah Jahan never realized his vision of two twin Taj Mahals, one white and one black. (9) The age of pyramid building in Egypt began around 2900 B.C. (10) The great pyramids were intended to serve as the burial places for the Pharaohs. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 5

6 (11) Khufu, the King of the Fourth Dynasty, started construction on the largest pyramid around 2800 B.C. (12) Greek historians referred to Khufu as Cheops. (13) The pyramids as a group were considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. (14) The other six wonders were destroyed either by invading armies or natural disasters. (15) People wrote descriptions of them at the time they still existed. (16) Today we know about these wonders only through these descriptions. (17) Stonehenge, a circle of giant stones in southern England, is located far away from anything else. (18) The giant stones were transported from a great distance from an unknown place. (19) The stones are too heavy to be lifted upright or to be placed on top of each other. (20) Stonehenge was already considered to be a mysterious place when Britain was occupied by the Romans in the first century B.C. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 6

7 Beyond the Sentence: Keeping the Focus You can choose between an active or passive sentence in order to keep the focus on a noun that was mentioned in a previous sentence. To keep the focus, make the noun the subject of the next sentence. Sometimes you will need an active sentence to do this; sometimes you will need a passive sentence. It is easier to follow ideas from sentence to sentence when the focus is understood. Active sentence, followed by passive sentence Yesterday, the old man lost his wallet. Fortunately, it was found by a police officer a few hours later. Active sentence, followed by an active sentence Yesterday, the old man lost his wallet. Fortunately, it had no money inside. Choose the active or passive sentence that best completes each item. Your answer will depend on the underlined focus. 1. Charlotte opened the door,. a. and she was greeted by a strange dog. b. and a strange dog greeted her. 2. When we lived in that house,. a. a garden was never planted. b. we never planted a garden. 3. Golf is one of the most popular sports in the United States. a. It is played by people of all ages. b. People of all ages play it. 4. My uncle got a new car. a. It was purchased in Nevada. b. He purchased it in Nevada. 5. In 1994, she wrote a best-selling novel. a. After that, many offers were received to write more fiction. b. After that, she received many offers to write more fiction. 6. Tibet and Nepal have many mountains. a. In those countries, transportation is difficult. b. They make transportation difficult in those countries. 7. As soon as the robber tried to leave the bank,. a. He was arrested by a detective waiting outside. b. A detective waiting outside arrested him. Each of these sentences has an underlined noun indicating focus. For each noun, write an appropriate active or passive sentence that gives additional information about the focus. Use nouns or pronouns. 1. Sushi is a rice delicacy in Japan. It is often topped with raw fish. Sushi is a rice delicacy in Japan. Another popular delicacy is sashimi. 2. Antibiotics kill certain bacteria. Antibiotics kill certain bacteria. 3. French is a Romance language. French is a Romance language. 4. Music used to be recorded on vinyl records. Music used to be recorded on vinyl records. 5. Rice is a staple in many countries around the world Rice is a staple in many countries around the world R. Frank: ESL 33A: 7

8 Some of the verb phrases in the following paragraph contain incorrect active/passive forms. Find and underline 12 errors in active/passive voice and participle modifiers. Find the errors and write the correction above each. Use single line to delete words and/or punctuation, and use a caret ( ) to show where you will add words. At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was return to China, after 155 years as a British Colony. Britain had first gotten control of Hong Kong in the 1800s because of a series of wars between Britain and China. At that time, large quantities of opium, the most important source of income for Britain, were importing into China, and Chinese attempts to end the use of opium resulted in humiliation. China forced to sign a series of treaties with Britain, and as a result Hong Kong leased to the British for 99 years, beginning on July 1, China received nothing in return for its loss of property. Over the following decades, China made various attempts to regain control of Hong Kong, but the British government was refused to negotiate. In 1979, Deng Xiaoping came to power in China and clearly stated that China wanted to regain control of Hong Kong but that Hong Kong s economic system would maintain. Soon after that, the British and Chinese governments were begun discussions over the future of Hong Kong. In 1981, the British government was passed the Nationalities Act, which prevented Hong Kong residents from switching their permanent residence to Britain. Then, from 1982 to 1984, serious talks between the British and Chinese governments led to the Joint Declaration between the People s Republic of China and Britain on December 19, This agreement was promised the people of Hong Kong 50 years of a high degree of autonomy under the one country, two systems principle. The celebration in Hong Kong on July 1st was watch by people throughout the world, but especially by those in Taiwan and the rest of Asia, who wanted to see what would be happen to Hong Kong in the next few years. But on July 1st, the people of Hong Kong and China joined by the whole world in an excited time of celebration as China regained an important part of its history. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 8

9 Some of the verb phrases in the following paragraph contain errors in active voice and passive voice. Find and underline 12 errors in active/passive voice. Then write the corrections above the errors. Note: underline the whole verb phrase, and write the correct verb phrase. Some people say that one can never know who his true friends are nor who can trust. However, I disagree; a true friend can recognize by what s/he is willing to sacrifice for the other. An example of true friends is that of Pythius and Damon, who were lived in the fourth century B.C. in the Greek colony of Syracus, on the island of Sicily. Pythius and Damon became friends during their youth when Pythius saved Damon s life. After that, they taught each other much and grew to be deep friends. Pythius and Damon, like the other citizens of Syracus, oppressed greatly by their king, Dyonisius. Pythius finally decided to take action to end the suffering. He began to speak out against the king and for democracy. Finally he arrested by the king s soldier and sentenced to be execute. The king granted Pythius one last request before his execution, and Pythius said that he wanted to tell his family goodbye. The king was unwilling to let Pythius go until Damon offered to take Pythius place in prison and to die if Pythius did not return within three days. After three days, Pythius had not returned and the king was about to execute Damon. Still, Damon believed that Pythius would return. At the last minute before Damon was to die, Pythius was appeared. He said that his ship had wrecked in a storm but that he knew he had to return to save his friend Damon. He then took his place for execution. When the king saw the great friendship and trust that shared between Damon and Pythius, he decided to set Pythius free, and he asked the two friends to teach him the meaning of true friendship. The story of Damon and Pythius teaches that true friends care, love, and sacrifice for one another, even though a high cost may pay. Personally, I have never been in a situation where I was ask to give up my life for my friend, nor have I ever needed a friend to make that big of a sacrifice for me. However, I can demonstrate my friendship by helping and giving to my friends when they are need it, and my friends show their love by being there when I need them, too. R. Frank: ESL 33A: 9

Weekly Homework A LEVEL

Weekly Homework A LEVEL Weekly Homework SUBJECT: ENGLISH STAGE: PREP 2 A LEVEL Tense Present simple Past simple Present cont. Passive am/is/are+ p.p was/were + p.p am/is/are + being + p.p Examples -He writes the reports every