Put the verb into the correct form, present simple or past simple, active or passive.

1. It's a big factory. Five hundred people _are employed_ (employ) there.

2. Water --- (cover) most of the Earth's surface.

3. Most of the Earth's surface --- (cover) by water.

4. The park gates --- (lock) at 6.30 p.m. every evening.

5. The letter --- (post) a week ago and it --- (arrive) yesterday.

6. The boat --- (sink) quickly but fortunately everybody --- (rescue).

7. Ron's parents --- (die) when he was very young. He and his sister --- (bring) up by their grandparents.

8. I was born in London but I --- (grow) up in the north of England.

9. While I was on holiday, my camera --- (steal) from my hotel room.

10. While I was on holiday, my camera --- (disappear) from my hotel room.

11. Why --- (Sue/resign) from her job? Didn't she enjoy it?

12. Why --- (Bill/sack) from his job? What did he do wrong?

13. The company is not independent. It --- (own) by a much larger company.

14. I saw an accident last night. Somebody --- (call) an ambulance but nobody --- (injure) so the ambulance --- (not/need).

15. Where --- (these photographs/take)? In London? --- (you/take) them?

41.4 Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using 'somebody/they/people' etc. write a passive sentence.

1. Somebody cleans the room every day. _The room is cleaned every day._

2. They cancelled all flights because of fog. All ---

3. People don't use this road very often. ---

4. Somebody accused me of stealing money. I ---

5. How do people learn languages? How ---

6. People advised us not to go out alone. ---

UNIT 42. Passive (2) (be/been/being done)

Study the following active and passive forms:

A. Infinitive

active: (to) do/clean/see etc. Somebody will clean the room later.

passive: (to) be done/cleaned/seen etc. The room will be clean later.

* The situation is serious. Something must be done before it's too late.

* A mystery is something that can't be explained.

* The music was very loud and could be heard from a long way away.

* A new supermarket is going to be built next year.

* Please go away. I want to be left alone.

B. Perfect infinitive

active: have done/cleaned/seen etc. Somebody should have cleaned the room.

passive: have been done/cleaned/seen etc. The room should have been cleaned.

* I haven't received the letter yet. It might have been sent to the wrong address.

* If you hadn't left the car unlocked, it wouldn't have been stolen.

* There were some problems at first but they seem to have been solved.

C. Present perfect

active: have/has (done) The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it.

passive: have/has been (done) The room looks nice. It has been clean.

* Have you heard the news? The President has been shot!

* Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

* 'Are you going to the party? ' 'No, I haven't been invited.'

Past perfect

active: had(done) The room looked nice. Somebody had clean it.

passive: had been (done) The room looked nice. It had been clean.

* The vegetables didn't taste very good. They had been cooked for too long.

* The car was three years old but hadn't been used very much.

D. Present continuous

active: am/is/are (do)ing Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment.

passive: am/is/are being (done) The room is being cleaned at the moment.

* There's somebody walking behind us. I think we are being followed.

* (in a shop) 'Can I help you, madam? ' 'No, thank you. I'm being served.'

Past continuous

active: was/were (do)ing Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived.

passive: was/were being (done) The room was being cleaned when I arrived.

* There was somebody walking behind us. We were being followed.