NOTEBOOK

PASSIVE VOICE

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.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

• the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
• the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
• the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

Examples of Passive 

Tense		Subject	Verb	Object
Simple Present	Active:	Rita	writes	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	is written	by Rita.
Simple Past	Active:	Rita	wrote	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	was written	by Rita.
Present Perfect	Active:	Rita	has written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	has been written	by Rita.
Future I	Active:	Rita	will write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	will be written	by Rita.
Hilfsverben	Active:	Rita	can write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	can be written	by Rita.

Examples of Passive 

Tense		Subject	Verb	Object
Present Progressive	Active:	Rita	is writing	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	is being written	by Rita.
Past Progressive	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.

"The Past Simple Tense:

Here's when we use it:

1  Finished events in the past with no connection to the present:

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.
The Vikings invaded Britain.

2  With a finished time word (yesterday, last week, at 2 o’clock, in 2003):

I went to the cinema yesterday.
We visited Japan in 2007.

3  For stories / lists of events:

He went to a café, sat down and lit a cigarette.
Yesterday I went to the library, met a friend for lunch, and played tennis.

4  Details of news:

I’ve hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my bedroom.
I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.
5  As part of the second conditional:

If I won the lottery, I would buy a house in Chelsea.
If she knew his number, she would call him.

We use the past perfect tense fairly often in English.

1: A completed action before something else in the past.

    When we arrived, the film had started. (= first the film started, then later we arrived)

2: To explain or give a reason for something in the past.

    I'd eaten dinner so I wasn't hungry.
    It had snowed in the night, so the bus didn't arrive.

3: Stative verbs only: something that started in the past and continued up to another action in the past.

    When he graduated, he had been in London for six years.

    (= he arrived in London six years before he graduated and lived there continuously until he graduated, or even longer)

4: As part of the third conditional.

    If I had known you were ill, I would have visited you."

Simple Present Tense

English Grammar Rules

The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.

We use the present tense:

1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

• I take the train to the office.
• The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
• John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts.

• The President of The USA lives in The White House.
• A dog has four legs.
• We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits.

• I get up early every day.
• Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
• They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. For things that are always / generally true.

• It rains a lot in winter.
• The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
• They speak English at work.

Verb Conjugation & Spelling

We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).

In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

Subject	Verb	The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they	speak / learn	English at home
he / she / it	speaks / learns	English at home

The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:

1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.

• go – goes
• catch – catches
• wash – washes
• kiss – kisses
• fix – fixes
• buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

• marry – marries
• study – studies
• carry – carries
• worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

• play – plays
• enjoy – enjoys
• say – says

Negative Contractions

Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not

I don't like meat = I do not like meat.

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

Do/Does	Subject	Verb*	The Rest of the sentence
Do	I / you / we / they	have / need want etc.	a new bike?
Does	he / she / it

Present Progressive

1.1. actions happening at the moment of speaking

Peter is reading a book now.

1.2. fixed plans in the near future

We are going to Basel on Saturday.

1.3. temporary actions

I am working in Rome this month.

1.4. actions happening around the moment of speaking (longer actions)

My friend is preparing for his exams.

1.5. trends

More and more people are using their computers to listen to music.

1.6. repeated actions which are irritating to the speaker (with always, constantly,forever)

Andrew is always coming late.

2. Signal words

• now
• at the moment
• Look!
• Listen!

3. Form

to be (am, are, is) + Infinitiv + -ing

4. Examples

4.1. Affirmative sentences in the Present Progressive

Long forms	Contracted forms
I am playing football.	I'm playing football.
You are playing football.	You're playing football.
He is playing football.	He's playing football.

4.2. Negative sentences in the Present Progressive

Long forms	Contracted forms
I am not playing football.	I'm not playing football.
You are not playing football.	You're not playing football.
	You aren't playing football.
He is not playing football.	He's not playing football.
	He isn't playing football.

4.3. Questions in the Present Progressive

Long forms	Contracted forms
Am I playing football?	not possible
Are you playing football?
Is he playing football?