Curs Engleza PSH An I Sem II
Curs Engleza PSH An I Sem II
GRAMMAR
- PART II-
Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
UNIT ONE: THE PRONOUN..........................................................................................7
I.1. Introduction.....................................................................................................7
I.2. Competences...................................................................................................7
I.3.1. Personal Pronouns........................................................................................6
I.3.2. Relative Pronouns........................................................................................7
I.3.3. Interrogative Pronouns ................................................................................8
I.3.4. Possessive Pronouns ....................................................................................8
I.3.5. Reflexive Pronouns .....................................................................................9
I.3.6. Demonstrative Pronouns ...........................................................................10
I.4. Exercises .......................................................................................................10
I.5. End of unit test .............................................................................................12
UNIT TWO: THE NUMERAL......................................................................................14
II.1. Introduction..................................................................................................14
II.2. Competences................................................................................................14
II.3.1. The Cardinal Numeral ..............................................................................14
II.3.2. The Ordinal Numeral................................................................................15
II.3.3. Other Types of Numerals .........................................................................16
II.4. Exercises......................................................................................................17
II.5. End of unit test.............................................................................................18
UNIT THREE: THE ADVERB......................................................................................20
III.1. Introduction................................................................................................20
III.2. Competences...............................................................................................20
III.3.1. Definition ................................................................................................20
III.3.2. Classification of adverbs in point of meaning.........................................21
III.3.3. Classification of adverbs in point of form...............................................21
III.3.4. Spelling ...................................................................................................21
III.3.5. Degrees of comparison ...........................................................................22
III.3.6. Position of adverbs .................................................................................23
III.4. Exercises ....................................................................................................25
III.5. End of unit test............................................................................................27
UNIT FOUR: MODAL VERBS................................................................................….29
IV.1. Introduction................................................................................................29
IV.2. Competences..............................................................................................29
IV.3.1. Characteristics.........................................................................................29
IV.3.2. Specific usage of modal verbs ................................................................30
IV.4. Exercises ....................................................................................................32
IV.5. End of unit test ..........................................................................................34
UNIT FIVE. THE CONDITIONAL CLAUSE..............................................................37
V.1. Introduction..................................................................................................37
V.2. Competences................................................................................................37
V.3.1. Conditional Types.....................................................................................37
V.3.2. Conjunctions of Condition........................................................................38
V.3.3. Mixed Conditionals..................................................................................38
V.4. Exercises .....................................................................................................39
V.5. End of unit test ............................................................................................42
UNIT SIX: THE PASSIVE VOICE...............................................................................44
VI.1. Introduction................................................................................................44
VI.2. Competences..............................................................................................44
VI.3.1. Definition and use...................................................................................44
VI.3.2. Form .......................................................................................................45
VI.3.3. The Agent................................................................................................46
VI.3.4. The Object...............................................................................................46
VI.3.5.Verbs with limited use in the passive ......................................................46
VI.3.6. Impersonal passive constructions............................................................47
VI.4. Exercises ....................................................................................................48
VI.5. End of unit test ..........................................................................................49
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................51
Introduction
Course objectives
Resources
Apart from the printed material, the course also requires the use of
monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. Areas from the course which might
be found problematic can be further studied using the bibliography provided
by the tutor.
Course structure
The course is structured in 6 units, each of them including objectives, a
theoretical part with examples, followed by exercise and an end of unit test.
Preliminary requirements
Being designed at intermediate level, the course requires students to have
knowledge of English at pre-intermediate level.
The average time for individual study
Each unit of this course requires no more than 4-5 hours of individual study.
Assessment
At the end of the semester, each student will receive a grade which will
reflect the results of a written test meant to assess the students’ acquired
knowledge (100% of the final grade). A bonus of 0.5 p/ class will be given to
all students attending the courses.
UNIT ONE. THE PRONOUN
Content
I.1. Introduction.....................................................................................................7
I.2. Competences...................................................................................................7
I.3.1. Personal Pronouns........................................................................................6
I.3.2. Relative Pronouns........................................................................................7
I.3.3. Interrogative Pronouns ................................................................................8
I.3.4. Possessive Pronouns ....................................................................................8
I.3.5. Reflexive Pronouns .....................................................................................9
I.3.6. Demonstrative Pronouns ...........................................................................10
I.4. Exercises .......................................................................................................10
I.5. End of unit test .............................................................................................12
I.1. Introduction
This unit introduces essential elements regarding the category of
pronouns in English.
I.2. Competences
On completion of UNIT ONE, students will be able to recognize and
use correctly the main types of pronouns in English.
Use:
It is used in the following situations:
o to refer to a thing or an animal: I don’t like that cat. It looks
aggressive.
o to refer to a baby or small child: Mary is having her 2nd baby. It’s
going to be a girl.
o in expressions of time, distance, temperature, weather: It’s 10 pm./ It’s
100kn to Leeds./ It’s 10 degrees today./ It’s quite windy.
o with impersonal verbs: It seems that everybody is here.
o followed by adjectives: it is advisable/ recommended/ compulsory etc.
Personal Object Pronouns to refer to the one whom/ which the action of the
verbs affects. An objective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is
acting as an object of a verb, compound verb, preposition, or infinitive phrase.
EXAMPLE
Pronoun Use
1. WHO - replaces a subject noun for a person.
2. WHOSE - indicates possession both for people and things, but of
which would be more common in the latter case.
3. WHOM - is the object form of who;
- replaces an object noun for a person, with or without
preposition
4. WHICH - replaces a subject/ object noun for things only.
5. THAT - replaces a subject/ object noun for things;
- replaces a subject/ object noun for a person in everyday
speech.
EXAMPLE
The book which you lent me is really good./ The book you lent me.
The person whom I talked to was Mary./ The person I talked to was Mary.
BUT
The book, which I haven’t read, was still on the shelf. (Non-defining relative clause,
so the relative pronoun cannot be omitted).
Pronoun Use
1. WHO always used to refer to people
2. WHOSE always used to refer to possession
3. WHOM always used to refer to people; appears in object position
with or without preposition
4. WHICH can have both personal and non-personal reference, if
used as determiner (it implies a selection from a limited
group)
5. WHAT can have both personal and non-personal reference, if
used as determiner.
EXAMPLE
Use:
Possessive adjectives/ pronouns have specific forms according to the number
of owners, but disregards the number of possessed objects: my pen/ pens; my
pen/ our pen;
Possessive adjectives are also used with parts of the body.
EXAMPLE
I myself
You yourself
He himself
She herself
It itself
We ourselves
You yourselves
They themselves
Use:
with verbs such as: hurt, consider, ask, pride, care etc.
as the object of a preposition, when the subject and the object are the same;
to emphasize the subject.
sometimes are omitted.
EXAMPLE
Near Far
Singular THIS THAT
EXAMPLE
I.4.5. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate demonstrative pronoun/ adjective:
1. He can't understand ……………..problem. Could you help him?
2. “Hello, ………………is Rachel speaking.” “Hello. How are you, Rachel?”
3. Hey, Jim, is ……………….your glove? I've just found it on the floor.
4. Look at …………woman over there. She's a Spanish teacher.
5. “Jane, ……………is my friend, Mary.” “Nice to meet you, Mary.”
6. Look at ………………..painting over there. What fabulous colours!
7. Don't take ……………….mug, it's broken. Take this one.
8. Listen! …………………….awful dog next door is barking again.
9. His uncle, who fought in world war II, told him that in ……………..days they didn't
have enough food.
10. …………………….mountains in the distance are the Alps.
Content
II.1. Introduction..............................................................................................................14
II.2. Competences............................................................................................................14
II.3.1. The Cardinal Numeral ..........................................................................................14
II.3.2. The Ordinal Numeral............................................................................................15
II.3.3. Other Types of Numerals .....................................................................................16
II.4. Exercises..................................................................................................................17
II.5. End of unit test.......................................................................................................18
II.1. Introduction
This unit introduces essential elements regarding the numeral in English.
II.2. Competences
On completion of UNIT TWO, students will be able to differentiate
between cardinal and ordinal numerals and use them appropriately in given
contexts.
decimals are indicated by ·, which is read “point”. After the point, each number is read
separately; the zero after the decimal point is usually read “nought”(Br.E.), but “o”
and “zero”(Am.E.) are also possible.
EXAMPLE
Ordinal numerals are formed with the suffix –th, except for the first three;
The article the normally precedes the ordinal numerals: e.g. the second student;
The final y at the end of the tens turns into ie;
When written in figures the last two letters of the word must be added;
EXAMPLE
first= 1st
second= 2nd
twenty-fifth=25th
Titles of kings are written in Roman figures, but are read using ordinal numerals
preceded by the:
EXAMPLE
Dates are expressed by ordinal numerals and can be written in a variety of ways:
EXAMPLE
May 12/ May the 12th /May 12th / 12 May/ 12th of May
Let’s remember...
when reading a number made of three or more figures we place and before
the word denoting tens or units: e.g. 634 (six hundred and thirty four);
the words hundred, thousand, million, billion, dozen do not make the
agreement with the plural if preceded by a quantity: e.g. two hundred people;
a couple million. But we say hundreds / thousands/ millions/ dozens of
people;
in telephone numbers, each figure is spoken separately, except for double or
treble figures: e.g. 0268 355 499 oh two six eight three double five four
double nine.
II.4. EXERCISES
Content
III.1. Introduction...................................................................................................20
III.2. Competences..................................................................................................20
III.3.1. Definition ...................................................................................................20
III.3.2. Classification of adverbs in point of meaning............................................21
III.3.3. Classification of adverbs in point of form..................................................21
III.3.4. Spelling ......................................................................................................21
III.3.5. Degrees of comparison ..............................................................................22
III.3.6. Position of adverbs ....................................................................................23
III.4. Exercises .......................................................................................................25
III.5. End of unit test...............................................................................................27
III.1. Introduction
This unit introduces essential elements regarding the category of
adjective in English.
III.2. Competences
On completion of UNIT THREE, students will be able to make up
adverbs from given words, form the degrees of comparison both for regular
and irregular adverbs and make the difference between the different forms of
a given adverb.
III.3.1. DEFINITION
Adverbs are usually used with verbs to give more information about the action – to
say how, where or when it is done, but they can also modify adjectives, other adverbs,
and, less frequently, prepositional phrases, pronouns, numerals, nouns or a whole
sentence.
EXAMPLE
adverbs of time: e.g. after, afterwards, already, before, lately, early, ever,
first, immediately, late, meanwhile, never, rarely, presently, once, since, soon,
then, weekly, yet, when, yesterday, tomorrow, today, etc.
adverbs of manner: e.g. badly, certainly, easily, fast, kindly, slowly, so,
somehow, surely, thus, well, etc.
adverbs of place: e.g. above, away, before, behind, between, near, hence,
near, far, under, over, outside, upwards, downwards, wherever, anywhere,
nowhere, somewhere, everywhere, etc.
adverbs of cause, reason, or result: e.g. consequently, hence, for that, for that
reason/purpose, on purpose, so, so that, that is why, therefore, etc.
concession adverbs: e.g. however, still, yet, etc.
adverbs of frequency and repetition: e.g. once, twice, three times, firstly,
secondly, thirdly, lastly, again, etc.
interrogative adverbs: e.g. how, when, where, why, etc.
III.3.4. Spelling
Sometimes when we turn adjectives into adverbs, by adding the suffix “-ly”, there
may be spelling variations.
final “-le” preceded by a consonant is dropped: probable – probably
when final ”-le” is preceded by a vowel , silent “-e” is not dropped: sole –
solely
final “-e” in adjectives ending in “-ue” is dropped: due – duly, true – truly
final ”-l” in adjectives ending in “-ll” is dropped: full – fully
final “-y” is turned into “-i” irrespective of the preceding sound: day – daily,
merry – merrily
pretty – prettily
adjectives ending in “-ly” such as friendly, lonely, timely, etc. cannot be
turned into adverbs by adding the suffix “-ly” . Therefore they may become be
turned into adverbs by adding a word: in a friendly way
a. Comparative of Equality
b. Comparative of Inferiority
one – syllable adverbs as well as the adverb “early” form the comparative
with -er and the superlative with –est:
EXAMPLE
adverbs ending in “-ly” as well as the adverb “seldom” form the comparative
with more and the superlative with most:
EXAMPLE
there are adverbs in English which form the comparative and the superlative
irregularly:
EXAMPLE
Adverbs and adverbial phrases usually go at the end of the sentence, and
normally the order is MANNER, PLACE, TIME: They were talking quietly
in the garden last night.
We can sometimes move one of these adverbs to the beginning of the sentence
for emphasis or focus: Last night they were talking quietly in the garden. /
In the garden, they were all talking quietly.
Not all adverbs can be used in all three positions: initial, mid, end.
when a verb has several parts, the most common position is after the first
auxiliary verb.
I have always liked rock music.
in emphatic sentences, many adverbs are placed before the first auxiliary verb.
I certainly want to join you.
Let’s remember...
there are adverbs whose form coincides with that of adjectives: first, low,
daily, weekly, friendly, deadly, likely, lively
certain adverbs have two forms, sometimes with different meanings: one
ending in -ly and one which looks like an adjective: right/ rightly, wrong/
wrongly, hard/ hardly, easy/ easily, late/ lately, direct/ directly.
EXAMPLE
III.4. EXERCISES
III.4.1. Fill in the gaps either with an adjective or an adverb, starting from the
word given:
EXAMPLE
III.4.3. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the adverb:
1. I speak English ……………………now than last year. (fluent)
2. She greeted me …………………of all. (polite)
3. She smiled ………………………than before. (happy)
4. This girl dances ………………………….of all. (graceful)
5. Could you write ……………………? (clear)
6. Planes can fly …………………….than birds. (high)
7. He had an accident last year. Now, he drives …………………….than before.
(careful)
8. Jim can run …………………….than John. (fast)
9. Our team played ……………………of all. (bad)
10. He worked …………………….than ever before. (hard)
III.4.4. Find the adjective in the first sentence and fill the gap with the adverb.
1. Joanne is happy. She smiles ……………………….
2. The boy is loud. He shouts ……………………..
3. Her English is fluent. She speaks English ……………………..
4. Our mum was angry. She spoke to us ………………………….
5. My neighbour is a careless driver. He drives …………………….
6. The painter is awful. He paints ………………………….
7. Jim is a wonderful piano player. He plays the piano ……………………….
8. This girl is very quiet. She often sneaks out of the house
………………………….
9. She is a good dancer. She dances really ………………………..
10. This exercise is simple. You ………………..have to put one word in each
space.
III.5.1. Fill in the gaps either with an adjective or an adverb, starting from the
word given:
Content
IV.1. Introduction............................................................................................................29
IV.2. Competences..........................................................................................................29
IV.3.1. Characteristics.....................................................................................................29
IV.3.2. Specific usage of modal verbs ............................................................................30
IV.4. Exercises ................................................................................................................32
IV.5. End of unit test ......................................................................................................34
IV.1. Introduction
This unit introduces essential elements regarding modal verbs in English.
IV.2. Competences
On completion of UNIT FOUR, students will be able to use modal verbs
appropriately, to make a clear difference between the types of action expressed by
each modal verb.
IV.3.1. CHARACTERISTICS
EXAMPLE
Let’s remember...
IV.4. EXERCISES
1. could
1. d
1. You……………………………told them that! I asked you to keep quiet!
a. mustn't have; b. mightn't have; c. wouldn't have; d. shouldn't have.
2. He……………………..it; he was with me all the time.
a. can’t have done; b. mightn’t have done; c. won’t do; d. can’t do.
3. It…………………….have been a good idea to asked her before you just
jumped in.
a. should; b. could; c. may; d. might.
4. I can't imagine that you ……………………….to do something so stupid.
a. can have thought; b. couldn’t have thought; c. could have thought; d. may
not have thinking.
5. ……………………you have left the keys in the car?
a. may; b. could; c. must; d. mustn’t.
6. You ………………………..have helped me a little more - you weren't doing
anything.
a. may; b. could; c. must; d. can.
7. I ……………………………say this much for him: he's very generous.
a. might; b. will; c. may; d. could.
8. You …………………….have posted my letters for me while you were in the
post office.
a. mustn’t; b. might; c. can; d. won’t
9. He…………………….., though I warned him not to.
a. would go; b. must go; c. can have gone; d. would have gone.
10. Well, you ………………………..have sold him the car if you didn't think he
would pay you.
a. can’t; b. may not; c. mustn’t; d. should not.
11. That house is too expensive for us. We …………..it.
a. shouldn’t buy; b. shouldn’t have bought; c. don’t have to buy; d. can buy.
12. The police officer says that the injured victims of the car crash……………..
be removed before the ambulance arrives.
a. needn’t; b. haven’t to; c. couldn’t; d. mustn’t.
13. There was an explosion in the coal mine but all colliers ……………..escape.
a. could; b. can; c. couldn’t; d. may not.
14. Jean looked really sad after Jimmy had turned her down. She …………….be
still in love with him.
a. can; b. mustn’t; c. may not; d. should.
15. Yesterday Tony Blair defended an intervention in Iraq. He ……………..it.
a. must have done; b. mustn’t have done; c. shouldn’t have done; d. shouldn’t
do.
16. My baby has a skin infection. The doctor says that …………….give him a
bath.
a. mustn’t; b. couldn’t; c. would; d. shall.
17. Even for a great champion like Roger de Vlaeminck winning Paris-Roubaix
four times wasn't a piece of cake but at last he ……………………do it.
a. was able to; b. must; c. may; d. was to.
18. Mrs. Wilson is suspected of having strangled her husband despite her age and
blindness. She …………………………him.
a. can’t have killed; b. must have killed; c. should have killed; d. could kill.
19. Our teacher says that this novel has an incredible plot. Therefore we…….read
it.
a. may not; b. can’t; d. should; d. may.
IV.5.2. Fill in the gaps with one of the following modal verbs:
can could have to must might should
Content
V.1. Introduction..................................................................................................37
V.2. Competences................................................................................................37
V.3.1. Conditional Types.....................................................................................37
V.3.2. Conjunctions of Condition........................................................................38
V.3.3. Mixed Conditionals..................................................................................38
V.4. Exercises .....................................................................................................39
V.5. End of unit test ............................................................................................42
V.1. Introduction
This unit introduces essential elements regarding THE Conditional
Clause in the English language.
V.2. Competences
On completion of UNIT FIVE, students will be able to differentiate
between the three patterns of conditional clauses and use them
appropriately in given contexts.
EXAMPLE
Types II and III conditionals can sometimes be mixed. The most frequent
combination is that between Type III in the conditional clause and type I in the
main clause:
EXAMPLE
we usually use were for all persons in the subordinate clause of Conditional II
for the verb to be:
e.g. I wouldn’t go f I were you.
not all if sentences are conditional sentences. In this situation, it is possible to use
Future or Conditional after if:
e.g. I don’t know if he will come or not.
it is also possible to use will/ would in conditional clauses in polite requests:
e.g. I’d be very glad if you would/ will be so kind as to help me.
it is also possible to use should in conditional clauses to refer to something that
is possible, but still improbable:
e.g. Tell him the news if you should come across him.
V.4. EXERCISES
1. would
1. If you were rich, you …………(buy) a house.
2. If you had invited me to the event, I …………….(accept) with pleasure.
3. Your car will go faster, if you ……………….(use) this type of oil.
4. If I were you, I ……………(stop talking).
5. If you buy two pens, we ………………..(give) you one free.
6. If we had married, we ……………………(be) very happy.
7. If I had enough money, I ……………….(go) to the seaside for my summer
holiday.
8. If you look carefully, you …………………(see) all the animals in the park.
9. If you had lent me your car, I ……………(be) delighted.
10. If they …………. (accept) my invitation, I would be really happy.
V.4.2. Fill in the gaps with the right form of the verb:
Once upon a time the cat bit the mouse's tail off. “Give me back my tail,” said
the mouse. And the cat said, “Well, I (give) ………1….….you back your tail if you
fetched me some milk. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.” The
mouse, however, went to the cow. “The cat (give / only) …………..2………….me
back my tail if I fetch her some milk.” And the cow said, “Well, I would give you
milk if you (get) ……………….3…………………me some hay. But that's
impossible to do for a little mouse like you.” The mouse, however, went to the farmer.
“The cat will only give me back my tail if the cow (give) ……………4……………
me some milk. And the cow (only / give) ……………5……………me milk if I get
her some hay.” And the farmer said, “Well, I would give you hay if you (bring)
………….6………….me some meat. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse
like you.” The mouse, however, went to the butcher. “The cat will only give me back
my tail if the cow (give) ………….7……….me milk. And the cow will only give me
milk if she (get) ……………8…………some hay. And the farmer (only / give)
…………….9……………..me hay if I get him some meat.” And the butcher said,
“Well, I would give you meat if you (make) ……………10……………the baker
bake me a bread. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.” The mouse,
however, went to the baker. “The cat (give / only) ……………….11………….me
back my tail if I fetch her some milk. And the cow (give / not)
………………..12……………me milk if I don't get her hay. And the farmer will only
give me hay if the butcher (have) …………..13……………some meat for him. And
the butcher will not give me meat if you (bake / not) ……………..14………….him a
bread.” And the baker said, “Well, I (give) ………………….15………….you bread
if you promise never to steal my corn or meal.” The mouse promised not to steal, and
so the baker gave the mouse bread, the mouse gave the butcher bread. The butcher
gave the mouse meat, the mouse gave the farmer meat. The farmer gave the mouse
hay, the mouse gave the cow hay. The cow gave the mouse milk, the mouse gave the
cat milk. And the cat gave the mouse her tail back.
But imagine what would have happened otherwise. If the mouse (promised /
not) ………………16……………never to steal corn or meal, the baker (not/give)
……………17……………the mouse bread. If the baker (not / give)
…………..18……….the mouse bread, the butcher (refuse) …………….19………..to
give her meat for the farmer. If the butcher (refuse) ……………20…………..her any
meat, the farmer (not / be) …………..21………….willing to give the mouse hay. If
the farmer (not / be) …………….22…………willing to give the mouse hay, the
mouse (not / receive) ………………..23………………milk from the cow. If the
mouse (not / receive) ……………….24…………..milk from the cow, she (not / get)
…………..25………… back her tail.
1. would be
1. It ……………………………..silly if we tried to walk there.
2. I ……………………………..the film only if the reviews are good.
3. She'd have taken me to the station if her car ……………………….down.
4. If you ……………………………., he won't help you.
5. If it …………………………yesterday, we would have gone sailing.
6. …………………………..after their dog again if they go on holiday this year?
7. Would you mind if I …………………………….your mobile?
8. I ………………………….the mail if it had contained a virus.
9. Even if I …………………………a wet-suit, I wouldn't go scuba-diving.
10. …………………………that strict if you'd known the truth?
11. If I had more time, I ………………….to your party yesterday.
12. Give the book to Jane if you ………………………..it.
13. If you hadn't lost our flight tickets, we ………………….on our way to the
Caribbean now.
14. If you ……………………………dinner right now, I'll come back later.
15. If we ………………………….off earlier, we wouldn't be in this traffic jam
now.
16. What would you do if you ……………………………..of murder?
17. If I hadn't eaten that much, I ……………………………so sick now.
18. We would take another route if they ……………………………..the road.
19. She only ……………………………….if she's in a good mood.
20. If she were sensible, she ……………………that question, by which she
offended him so much.
If Mary should ring, tell her to stay at home./ Should Mary ring, tell her to stay at
home.
1. If I were you I would make a little more effort to save some money.
Were……………………………………………………….
2.If they had known the truth, they wouldn’t have been so upset.
Had………………………………………………………….
3. If you should happen to be in town, call on us.
Should……………………………………………………...
4. If I were you, I’d take up German lessons.
Were………………………………………………………..
5. If the tourists need further information, they can ask the receptionist.
Should……………………………………………………...
6. If the weather is fine, we shall go swimming.
Should……………………………………………………...
7. If someone had phoned the police earlier, the thief would have been caught.
Had…………………………………………………………
8. If you had been more careful, you wouldn’t have lost your credit card.
Had………………………………………………………...
9. If you had told me about your debt, I could have helped you.
Had…………………………………………………………
10.If you change your mind, we’ll go together to the party.
Should……………………………………………………..
1. If the students don’t write their homework, they will get bad marks.
2. If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the train.
3. If I don’t take my umbrella, I’ll get wet.
4. If it isn’t fine tomorrow, we won’t go for a ride.
5. If the employer doesn’t give him a pay rise, he will resign.
6. If he hadn’t got bad news, he wouldn’t be so upset.
7. He wouldn’t have gone to the party if they hadn’t invited him.
8. She could become a famous singer if she took music lessons.
9. They wouldn’t invest their money if they weren’t sure about the profit.
10. I wouldn’t have invited you at the cinema if I had seen the film before.
V.5.2. Consider the following text and then provide the right form of the verbs
given:
New Orleans was founded by the French. It first had a French name, Nouvelle-
Orléans, in honour of the Duke of Orleans, King of France. The city lies on the river
Mississippi and a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi is an unforgettable experience.
New Orleans is also an important centre for music, especially for jazz and rhythm and
blues.
1. Do you like jazz music? Because if you (like) ……………. jazz, you (love)
……………………..New Orleans.
2. Vanessa hates boat trips. But if she (hate / not) ……………..boat trips, she
(enjoy) …………………… a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi.
3. I (do) ………………….a course in jazz dancing if I (have)
………………..more time. But unfortunately I don't have time.
4. If the founders of the city (hate) ……………….the King of France, they (call /
not) ……………………..the place Nouvelle-Orléans in honour of him.
Content
VI.1. Introduction................................................................................................44
VI.2. Competences..............................................................................................44
VI.3.1. Definition and use...................................................................................44
VI.3.2. Form .......................................................................................................45
VI.3.3. The Agent................................................................................................46
VI.3.4. The Object...............................................................................................46
VI.3.5.Verbs with limited use in the passive ......................................................46
VI.3.6. Impersonal passive constructions............................................................47
VI.4. Exercises ....................................................................................................48
VI.5. End of unit test ..........................................................................................49
VI.1. Introduction
This unit introduces essential elements regarding the use of the
passive voice in English.
VI.2. Competences
On completion of UNIT SIX, students will be able to make changes
from active into passive constructions and choose the correct voice in a
given context.
EXAMPLE
They have solved the situation./ The situation has been solved.
Someone stole my bike./ My bike was stolen.
VI.3.2. FORM
When rewriting active sentences into passive voice, one should consider 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).
The agent in a passive sentence is the same person or thing as the subject of an
active sentence. It is usually introduced by “by”.
The student learned the lesson well.
The lesson was learned well by the student.
EXAMPLE
The agent is only expressed when it is important to say who or what something is
done by. In most passive sentences there is no agent as we have no interest in who
or what performs the action.
EXAMPLE
There are verbs (give, tell, send, show, lend, get, bring, buy, hand, offer, pay, teach,
write) which can be followed by two objects, a Direct Object and an Indirect one.
These verbs can have two passive forms because either of the objects can become
subjects.
EXAMPLE
( IO) ( DO )
Active = He sent her a letter.
Passive = A letter was sent to her.
Passive = She was sent a letter.
( DO) ( IO )
Active = They gave the award to a famous actor.
Passive = The award was given to a famous actor.
Passive = A famous actor was given the award.
the verbs “to suggest” and “to explain” cannot change the indirect object to
subject:
Active = We explained him the procedure.
Passive = The procedure was explained to him.
* Passive = He was explained the procedure.
after some verbs, the Direct Object can be followed by a noun or adjective
which describes the object:
Active = They elected him President.
Passive = He was elected President.
Active = We considered him a genius.
Passive = He was considered a genius.
After verbs referring to mental processes, such as think, say, believe, feel, presume,
understand, know or reporting verbs , such as claim, mention, request, point out,
rumour the passive can be formed in two ways:
a) It + passive verb + “that” Clause
b) Subject + passive verb + Present/Perfect Infinitive.
The latter construction is generally used in written English. It is often used in
newspaper reports to avoid mentioning the source of the information. Consider the
following examples:
EXAMPLE
In spoken English we sometimes use the verb “to get” instead of “to be” in
he passive:
e.g. They got punished for making too much noise.
Note that Present perfect Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous are not
used in the passive voice;
passive forms can be used for Present infinitive, perfect infinitive, present
gerund, perfect gerund;
e.g. He wants to be taken seriously all the time.
He was pleased to have been awarded the first prize.
I enjoy being given flowers.
Having been informed, she can now consider the matter.
VI.4. EXERCISES
VI.4.3. Complete the text using the active or passive forms of the verbs from the
box:
load set return forget go lock take pick
Mickey made some purchases at Sears Roebuck and Company – that the was to pick
up at the store loading deck. While…1… the goods into his car, he …2… his briefcase
containing 589,71 dollars on the loading dock and …3… it. The briefcase …4… by a
Sears employee and …5… inside. The next day the briefcase …6… to Mickey, but the
money …7… Mickey contended that the defendant was liable because, as a bailee, the
briefcase …8…. . In a safe place.