sábado, 26 de novembro de 2011

Active x Passive

First of all, let's talk about the difference between Active and Passive Voice:
Active voice = the subject is acting, doing something
Passive vocie = the subject is “receiving” an action; someone or something does something to the subject


example:
Journalists write articles. - Active voice
Journalists” is the subject here; Who writes? Journalists.
articles” is the object here – What do journalist write? Artciles.

So when turning Active Voice into Passive – the subject and the object change places.

Articles are written by journalists. - Passive Voice
Articles” is the subject here. What is written? Articles.
Journalists” is the object here. By whom are they written? By Journalists.

(1) FORM:
1.1
We form the passive using the Object (I, you , he, somebody or something etc) + form of the verb “BE” (depending on the tense) + past participle. That is, we just change the form of the verb 'be' according to the tense and we add the past participle.

Notice how the verb 'be' changes in the different tenses followed by the past participle:

PRESENT:
He does the job. - Active, Present Simple
The job is done by him. - Passive, Present Simple

The jury is making a decision. - Active, Present Progressive
A decision is being made by the jury. - Passive, Present Progressive

My father has painted this picture. - Active, Present Perfect
This picture has been painted by my father. - Passive, Present Perfect.

PAST:
He did the job. - Active, Past Simple
The job was done by him. - Passive, Past Simple

The jury was making a decision. - Active, Past Progressive
A decision was being made by the jury. - Passive, Past Progressive

My father had painted this picture. - Active, Past Perfect
This picture had been painted by my father. - Passive, Past Perfect.

FUTURE:
He will do the job. - Active, Future Simple
The job will be done by him. - Passive, Future Simple

My father will have painted this picture. - Active, Future Perfect
This picture will have been painted by my father. - Passive, Future Perfect.
 
NOTE:
You cannot construct passive sentences in the Present Perfect Progressive, Future Progressive and Past Perfect Progressive:

The contract had been being revised.

1.2
SPECIAL FORMS:

Just like we change the verb 'to be' according to the tense, it can also take all the other possible verb forms:

INFINITIVE – 'to do something' is changed to 'something to be done'
You are to refuse the deal. - The deal is to be refused.
You have to refuse the deal. - The deal has to be refused.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE – 'doing something' is changed to 'being done'
He likes others challenging him. - He likes being challenged by others.

PERFECT -ING FORM – 'having done something' is changed to 'something having been done'
Having addressed the issue, they went on with the schedule for the meeting. - The issue having been addressed, they went on with the schedule for the meeting.

MODALS + be + past participle – 'should not have done something' is changed to 'should not have been done'
I'm sorry, we should not have left you alone. - I'm sorry, you should not have been left alone.
(2) USAGE:
The Passive Voice is often used in formal or scientific texts. We use it in formal talks, essays etc to make our speech more official or sophisticated.
We use the passive to construct sentences in which

2. 1

    (a) the agent (the person or thing performing an action) is known, unimportant or obvious.)The candidate's resume was examined, and he was called in for an interview.(It is obvious that a prospective employer performed this action.)All customer complaints must be dealt with immediately.(It doesn't matter who deals with them as long as they are dealt with.)
    (b) the agent must not be mentioned (often to avoid being impolite, or to avoid mentioning who is responsible for the action). Perhaps the report should be studied in more detail. (more polite than saying 'you should study the report in more detail') These invoices should have been sent yesterday. (avoids mentioning who should have sent them.)

2.2
Although the passive allows us to omit the agent, sometimes we construct a passive sentence because we want to use a more formal style and not for any of the reason stated above. In such cases, we might want to mention the agent. This is mostly done by using the word by.

The machinery was serviced by a team of experienced technicians.

2.3.
When the agent is not a person or thing that acts, but rather a means through which something is done, we use the word with.
The door was opened with a crowbar.

2.4.
In relative clauses, the relative pronoun and 'BE' can be omitted.
Candidates who are selected for a second interview will be tested on their writing skills.
Candidates selected for a second interview will be tested on their writing skills.

The Agreement, which is signed by both parties, is not to be broken.
The Agreement, signed by both parties, is not to be broken.

2.5.
Adverbs in passive sentences are usually inserted between the “BE” and the Past Participle.
They were heavily penalized.

domingo, 20 de novembro de 2011

Past Perfect Forms


PositiveNegativeQuestion
  • I had finished.
  • You had finished.
  • We had finished.
  • They had finished.
  • He had finished.
  • She had finished.
  • It had finished.
  • I had not finished.
  • You had not finished.
  • We had not finished.
  • They had not finished.
  • He had not finished.
  • She had not finished.
  • It had not finished.
  • Had I finished?
  • Had you finished?
  • Had we finished?
  • Had they finished?
  • Had he finished?
  • Had she finished?
  • Had it finished?

Past Perfect Simple and Continuous

Past Perfect

FORM

[had + past participle]
Examples:
  • You had studied English before you moved to New York.
  • Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
  • You had not studied English before you moved to New York.

USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past


The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.
Examples:
  • I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
  • I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
  • Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
  • Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
  • She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
  • Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
  • We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
  • A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
    B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.

USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)


With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.
Examples:
  • We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
  • By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
  • They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect


Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.
Example:
  • She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

MOREOVER

If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct.
Examples:
  • She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
  • She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

HOWEVER


If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.
Examples:
  • She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
  • She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
  • You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
  • Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:
  • George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active
  • Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license. Passive

Adjectives

An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people
Opinion may not agree with you).
Examples: silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult
A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is.
Size

Examples: large, tiny, enormous, little
An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is.
Age

Examples: ancient, new, young, old
A shape adjective describes the shape of something.
Shape

Examples: square, round, flat, rectangular
A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something.
Colour

Examples: blue, pink, reddish, grey
An origin adjective describes where something comes from.
Origin

Examples: French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek
A material adjective describes what something is made from.
Material

Examples: wooden, metal, cotton, paper
A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives
Purpose often end with “-ing”.
Examples: sleeping (as in “sleeping bag”), roasting (as in “roasting tin”)

quarta-feira, 19 de outubro de 2011

Tabela dos Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verbs
          Infinitive                 Simple Past           Past Participle
Be                          Was/Were             Been
Blow                       Blew                     Blown
Break                     Broke                    Broken
                   Bring                      Brought                  Brought                    
Buy                        Bought                   Bought
Come                    Came                     Come
Do                         Did                         Done
Drink                     Drank                     Drunk
Drive                     Drove                     Driven
Eat                         Ate                         Eaten
Feel                       Felt                          Felt
Find                      Found                     Found
Fly                         Flew                      Flown
Forget                  Forgot                    Forgotten
            Get                        Got                      Got/Gotten(AmE)
Give                     Gave                       Given
Go                       Went                       Gone
Have                     Had                         Had
Hear                     Heard                     Heard
Keep                    Kept                       Kept
Know                   Knew                     Known
Leave                   Left                         Left
Lie                       Lay                         Lain
Lose                    Lost                        Lost
Make                  Made                       Made
Mean                  Meant                      Meant
Meet                   Met                         Met
Pay                     Paid                         Paid
Put                      Put                          Put
Read                   Read                        Read
Run                     Ran                          Run
Say                     Said                          Said
See                     Saw                         Seen
Sell                     Sold                          Sold
Send                   Sent                          Sent
         Show                  Showed                Shown/Showed
Sing                     Sang                         Sung
Sit                       Sat                           Sat
Sleep                  Slept                        Slept
Speak                Spoke                      Spoken
Spend                Spent                       Spent
Stand                 Stood                       Stood
Swim                 Swam                      Swum
Take                  Took                       Taken
Teach                 Taught                     Taught
Tell                     Told                         Told
Think                  Thought                    Tought
Throw                 Threw                     Thrown
Understand         Understood             Understood    
Wake                   Woke                      Woken
Wear                    Wore                       Worn
Win                      Won                        Won
Write                   Wrote                     Written

terça-feira, 11 de outubro de 2011

Exercises:
1. Rewrite the sentences using There is or There are:
Example: The United States has approximately 135 million people employed.
There are approximately 135 people employed in the Unites States.
a) The United States has almost one millon university professors.
b) Dibbs' Supermaket has one vacancy for a cleaner.
c) Do you have a psychologist working in your school?
d) Fortaleza has  excellent hotel.

2. Choose between there is/ are or have/has:
a) There is/ Has a nurse working in our school.
b) The new secretary there is/ has a lot of experience.
c) I suppose there are/ have more students in our class than in the other.
d) Are there/ have many beaches in Florianopolis?