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Question
Look at the picture below. At present this room is in a terrible state. Suggest what should be done to make it fit for a student to live and work in. Use different modals in the Passive voice, as in the example.
| The Walls | should/ ought to/ must | be painted. |
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Solution
The electricity must be connected. The furniture should be repaired. New book-racks or book-shelves should be arranged for the books. The room in general ought to be tidied up. The windows must be cleaned. The walls should be white washed or painted.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Complete the following sentences using the correct form or the verbs
given in brackets.
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- The hostel gates ______ (lock} at 8.00 pm everyday.
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• Did you use the same type of construction in your answers?
What are the two types of construction called?
- ____________________________________
- ____________________________________
When do we use the passive voice?
Example: Look at the following sentences:
a) My grandfather established this steel factory in 1940.
b) This steel factory was established in 1940 by my grandfather.
We use the passive voice when we are more interested in the action than the
person who does it or when we do not know the active subject .
Read the following sentences and, using the given clues, find out the reason for
the use of the passive construction as in the Example above.
1. He was killed in the World War II.
Clue: Who must have killed him? Is it obvious?
______________________________
2. The Bank was looted last night.
Clue: Have the police caught the culprits?
_______________________________
3. Sachin Tendulkar is looked upon as a sport icon.
Clue: Bywhom?
_______________________________
4. This sort of road-side restaurants can be seen everywhere in this city.
Clue: How will you write it in active voice?
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5. When he arrived at the airport, he was arrested.
Clue: Rewrite the sentence in active voice. Is it a little awkward?
_________________________________
6. Employer: On account of tight financial condition, bonus will not be paid this
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Clue: If it is some good news, what voice will the employer use?
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7. I got my hair cut.
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We must remember that all active constructions cannot/ should not be transformed Example: a) He is drinking water. Though sentence (b) is grammatically correct, we do not write or speak such a Hence it is necessary to keep in mind that the passive voice has certain legitimate |
Read the following excerpt from a news story and answer the questions
given below the excerpt.
74 killed in Myanmar quake.
MAESAI (THAILAND). At least 7 4 people were killed in a strong earthquake that struck Myanmar, state media said on Friday, while a series of aftershocks have caused panic but only limited damage in Thailand and Laos. The death toll from Thursday's 6.8 magnitude tremor was expected to rise slightly in Myanmar after 225 homes and nine government buildings were destroyed. Over 100 people were injured, according to state television.
The quake sparked panic, but no major damage in other countries across southeast Asia has been reported. An aftershock of an estimated magnitude of 5.5 rattled Thailand on Friday but caused limited damage, although residents living in properties close to the epicentre were advised to leave their homes.
- Hindustan Times - March 26, 2011
1. Are all the verbs in the passage in passive voice? What do you infer from this?
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2. Underline the passive constructions in the passage and comment on why the
passive is more appropriate than the active in these.
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3. Rewrite the second paragraph, keeping all the verbs in active voice. Begin like
this ...... .
Authorities expect the death toll_____________
_____________________________
_____________________________
4. Does the re-written paragraph read well or is it a little awkward? Give reasons
for your answer.
_______________________________
_______________________________
Now read the following extracts from a passage about a diamond:
a. The Jacob Diamond is believed to have been mined in Africa and was
bought in London by Shimla-based trader called A.M. Jacob, after whom it is
named.
b. Weighing 184.75 carats, it was reckoned to be the world's seventh largest
diamond.
c. The Jacob Diamond was bought by the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mah bub Ali
Khan.
d. It was considered to be such a lucky stone that when the Nizam was offered
Rs. 1 million by the Agha Khan, he spurned the offer.
e. The famous diamond was later purchased by the Indian Government for Rs. 40
crore.
1. Give the article a title (use not more than three words) _________________________
_____________________________
2. Underline all the verb forms in the extracts above. What is the most common
verb form in the passage called? _______________________________
3. Write the appropriate newspaper headline for extract c. above. Use the jumbled
words given in the box below:
| bought - diamond - sixth - Jacob-Hyderabad - by - of - Nizam |
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4. Now write a headline for extract e. above.
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5. Compare your answers with your partner and then the rest of the class. Your
teacher will then discuss the possible answers.
6. Now read the extract again. You want to write a headline based on this extract. You also want to focus attention on the Nizam of Hyderabad, not the Agha Khan. Write a headline to summarise this extract in not more than five words.
Now practise writing a few headlines based on the following cues.
a. e.g. Police - received anonymous tip/ complaint - managed to catch culprits -
produced in court
| CULPRITS CAUGHT AND PRODUCED IN COURT |
Expansion : The culprits were caught and prosecuted by the police.
b. Young Sikkimese - succeeds - scales steepest face - Mt. Kanchenjunga
Expansion : __________________________________________
a : Government- passed legislation - ban smoking in state ofTamil Nadu - people
not received it well.
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b ; The ruling party - excessive election spending - no proper accounts kept - no
convincing answer to opposition questioning.
Expansion :
c ; SIEMENS, Germany has appointed new Managing Director - J. Shubert after
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Read the set of instructions below and underline the main verb in each
sentence.
|
HOW TO MAGNETISE A SCREWDRIVER USING A COIL 1. Place a screwdriver inside a coil carrying a direct current. |
When we write a description of this experiment, which tense do we use?
Complete the description of the experiment using the information in B 1, by writing the verbs in the correct form. One example has been done for you
A screwdriver (place) is placed inside a coil carrying a direct current. The
screwdriver (become)____________ magnetised. It (removed) _____________carefully and
(place)_______________- in iron filings. It (attract) _____________the fillings.
As illustrated in India Today, September 1996, Ponniah Ramar, 34, an amiable individual from a Tamil Nadu village, claims to be able to convert a bucket of water into half a bucket of volatile fuel by adding a secret herb or so he says! Here is the illustration of the process of preparing the fuel. Write a report for the Junior Science Digest. You may use a combination of active and passive voice in your report, depending on what you wish to focus attention on.
MYSTERY FUEL
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Think back to when you were a small child. For each year, from the ages of five to ten, write a sentence in the simple past passive.
When I was five, I was called Bug Bunny by my sister.
When I was six, I wasn't allowed to ..... .
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Show your writing to your partner. Do you share any experience?
(Correct each other's work, as necessary').
An architect is speaking at a special meeting of the Town Council. She is presenting her proposals for improving one area of the town. Using the notes below, write down what she will say to the Town Council. You may start the report as given below.
"Firstly, the polluted slum settlements will be cleared and replaced with lowcost
housing ... "
Now Future
slum settlement/ people build low cost housing
sleeping on streets
six cinemas/ no theatre turn one cinema into a theatre
open sewers cover sewers
only one old primary setup/ establish two more
school (overcrowded) primary schools, and one
secondary school
no parks or open spaces create small parks between
low-cost housing blocks
Complete the following sentences appropriately by using the passive form of the given verbs.
1. There's somebody behind us. I think we _____________(follow)
2. A mystery is something that_____________(cannot/ explain}
3. We didn't play volleyball yesterday.The match _________(cancel)
4. The minaret ____________ (restore). The work is almost
finished.
5. Every time I travel by plane, my plane_____________--
(delay)
6. I left some papers on the desk last night and I can't find them now.
They_______________-(might/ throw) away.
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Rewrite the paragraph below by changing these sentences into the passive; include the agent only if necessary.
Last year Mckiney Company built two new apartment buildings in the city centre. Recently one of the buildings was damaged by an earthquake. The earthquake also destroyed the company offices in the other building. The owners of the apartments of the buildings will receive the insurance money to fix the damages. Nobody will lose the money paid for the apartments.
Two new apartment ___________Recently one of the buildings was damaged by an earthquake. The company offices in__________The insurance_______Money.
Look at the following newspaper article. It has two versions. Version 'A' is written in the active and version 'B' is written in the passive voice. For each piece of information, decide whether Version 'A' or Version 'B' is more appropriate. Then rewrite the passage using a combination of the two versions.
Version A
Thieves stole the famous NorY Koh emerald from the City Museum last night.
Police believe the thieves must have forced the locks on the windows and
disabled the alarms before the museum attendants had closed the museum for
the night. Police have arrested a man whom someone saw acting suspiciously
outside the museum.
Version B
The Famous Nor Y Koh emerald was stolen from the museum last night. It is
believed that the window-locks had been forced and the alarms disabled before
the museum was closed for the night. A man who was seen acting suspiciously
outside the museum has been arrested.
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Shahin, a newspaper reporter, visited the World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan. Suddenly he saw a stall in flames. He jotted down a few notes in his notepad. Using the cues and your own ideas, write a newspaper report in the space provided. Use Active or Passive, depending on what you wish to focus on.
|
-Pragati Maidan -controlled by noon |
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