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Unit 44. Passive 3.




Unit 44; Part A

galka.jpgI was offered ... /we were given ... etc.
44.1.jpg
So it is possible to make two passive sentences:
    The police were given the information.
or   The information was given to the police.

Other verbs which can have two objects are:

ask       offer       pay       show       teach       tell

When we use these verbs in the passive, most often we begin with the person:

    I was offered the job, but I refused it.  (= they offered me the job)
    You will be given plenty of time to decide. 
(= we will give you plenty of time)
    Have you been shown the new machine? 
(= has anybody shown you?)
    The men were paid £400 to do the work.
  (= somebody paid the men £400)

Unit 44; Part B

galka.jpgI don't like being ...

The passive of doing/seeing
etc. is being done / being seen etc. Compare:
active:      I don't like people telling me what to do.
passive:   I don't like being told what to do.


    I remember being taken to the zoo when I was a child. (= I remember somebody taking me to the zoo)
    Steve hates being kept waiting. 
(= he hates people keeping him waiting)
    We managed to climb over the wall without being seen
(= without anybody seeing us)

Unit 44; Part C

galka.jpgI was born ...
44.2.jpg

Unit 44; Part D

galka.jpgGet
You can use get instead of be in the passive:

    There was a fight at the party, but nobody got hurt.  (= nobody was hurt)
    I don't often get invited to parties.
  (= I'm not often invited)
    I'm surprised Liz didn't get offered the job.
  (= Liz wasn't offered the job)

You can use get only when things happen. For example, you cannot use get in the following sentences:

    Jill is liked by everybody.  (not gets liked - this is not a 'happening')
    He was a mystery man. Very little was known about him. 
(not got known)

We use get mainly in informal spoken English. You can use be in all situations.


We also use get in the following expressions
(which are nor passive in meaning):
      get married, get divorced   
      get lost (= not know where you are)
       get dressed (= put on your clothes)   
      get changed (= change your clothes)



Exercises

flag.jpgWrite these sentences in another way, beginning in the way shown.
Key.2    I was asked some difficult questions at the interview.
3    Linda was given a present by her colleagues when she retired.
4    I wasn't told about the meeting.
5    How much will you be paid for your work?
6    I think Tom should have been offered the job.
7    Have you been shown what to do?


1    They didn't give me the information I needed.
      I  wasn't given the information I needed.  
2    They asked me some difficult questions at the interview.
      I ______________________________________
3    Linda's colleagues gave her a present when she retired.
     Linda ______________________________________
4    Nobody told me about the meeting.
     I wasn't ______________________________________
5    How much will they pay you for your work?
      How much will you ______________________________________
6    I think they should have offered Tom the job.
     I think Tom ______________________________________
7    Has anybody shown you what to do?
     Have you ______________________________________
flag.jpgComplete the sentences using being + the following (in the correct form):
Key.2    being invited
3    being given
4    being knocked down
5    being treated
6    being stuck
 
give     invite       keep       knock down      stick       treat
 
1    Steve hates    being kept    waiting.
2    We went to the party without ______________
3    I like giving presents and I also like ______________ them.
4    It's a busy road and I don't like crossing it. I'm afraid of ______________.
5    I'm an adult. I don't like ______________ like a child.
6    You can't do anything about ______________ in a traffic jam.
flag.jpgWhen were they born? Choose five of these people and write a sentence for each.
(Two of them were born in the same year.)

Key.2-6 Beethoven was born in 1770.
Agatha Christie was born in 1890.
Galileo was born in 1564.
Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869.
MartinLuther King was born in 1929.
Elvis Presley was born in 1935.
William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
7   I was born in ...
 
 Beethoven
 Agatha Christie   
 Walt Disney 
Galileo
Mahatma Gandhi
Martin Luther King    
Elvis Presley
Leonardo da Vinci
William Shakespeare   
1452       1869       1929
1564       1890       1935
1770       1901 
 
1      Walt Disney was born in 1901.           
2   __________________________________ 
4   __________________________________     
5   __________________________________ 
6   __________________________________     
7  And you? I   ________________________
flag.jpgComplete the sentences using get/got + the following verbs (in the correct form):
Key.2    got stung
3    get used
4    got stolen
5    get paid
6    got stopped
7    get damaged
8    get asked
 
ask       damage       hurt       pay        steal       sting       stop       use
 
1    There was a fight at the party, but nobody   got hurt  .   
2    Alex ___________ by a bee while he was sitting in the garden.
3    These tennis courts don't ___________ very often. Not many people want to play.
4    I used to have a bicycle, but it ___________ a few months ago.
5    Rachel works hard but doesn't ___________ very much.
6    Last night I ___________ by the police as I was driving home. One of the lights on my car wasn't working.
7    Please pack these things very carefully. I don't want them to ___________.
8    People often want to know what my job is. I often ___________ that question.


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