Understanding Grammar: Using the passive

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Understanding Grammar - Using the passive

Learning goals

Skills: Listening

Language: Revise the passive voice

Language: Present continuous passive

Task: Write about a city in your country

Understanding Grammar: Using the passive

In this week's Premier Skills English podcast, Jack visits Cambridge and talks about an important event in the history of football. He also shows us a little bit of Cambridge and the famous university that is in the city. The language focus is on the passive. Jack and Rich give some general examples and explanations of when and how to use the passive and then focus on one specific example - the present continuous passive. Jack talks about Cambridge and connects the city to football. Your task is to talk about a city in your country and connect it to the Premier League or a Premier League club in a similar way.

You can watch Jack's report from Cambridge here.

If you find the podcast difficult to understand, you can read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Cambridge & Passives

Introduction:

Jack: What’s that noise? What’s all that banging?

Rich: I’m not sure. I think something’s being done on the roof or something.

Jack: Can you go and have a word, Rich? We can’t do the podcast with all that noise.

…

Rich: Alright. Hold on …

Rich: Some new windows are being put in upstairs. The builders said they’re having a tea break in a minute. We’ll be able to start the podcast then.

Jack: I hope so, I want to get home for kick off. The match starts at three.

Welcome - Passives

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich

Jack: and I’m Jack

Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: What’s happening this week, Rich?

Rich: In this week’s podcast, we have a special report from Cambridge.

Jack: That’s right. Last week I visited Cambridge so I decided to record a little report that should help you with this week’s language focus.

Rich: This week the focus is on the passive. First we want to make sure that you’re using the passive correctly and then we’re going to talk more about one specific way that the passive is used when we are speaking which is very common but often not seen in textbooks.

Jack: And we’ve got a task for you to do too. In the report, I’m in Cambridge and I talk about the city a bit and it’s connection to football. When I talk I use the passive quite a lot.

Rich: We want you to talk about a city in your country, use the passive and connect your city to football in a similar way.

Jack: Don’t forget, there is more information about the language we use on the page below and activities to help you understand.

Rich: Make sure you listen to the end of the podcast because we’ve got another football phrase for you as well.

Topic Focus

Rich: As I mentioned earlier, Jack was in Cambridge and he made a report from the city for you. There’s a video on the page too.

Jack: While you are listening, we want you to listen for three things that you learn about Cambridge.

Rich: One, what is Cambridge famous for?

Jack: Two, who was the most famous professor?

Rich: Three, what’s the link between Cambridge and football? Are you ready Jack?

Jack: What do you mean, Rich? I’m not in Cambridge now. I only have to press play.

Rich: Yes, yes you know what I mean … that’s what I mean ... press play!

Jack: Alright here it is.

Cambridge

University

Jack: Cambridge is probably most famous for its university. The University of Cambridge is one of the most famous and prestigious in the world. The university was founded in 1209, over 800 years ago, and university buildings or colleges have been built and added to the university from the 13th century. Most of these buildings are still used today.

…

Jack: Over the centuries, many wonderful things have been discovered and invented at the University of Cambridge. The first ever computer game, noughts and crosses, was created here in the 1950s and the webcam was also invented here in the 1990s. But, Isaac Newton is probably the most well-known employee at Cambridge. He was an amazing mathematician and inventor - he discovered and invented many things but his most famous discovery was probably Newton’s law of universal gravitation … you probably know the story … an apple falls on Newton’s head from a tree and the rest ... is history!

…

Park

Jack: So, if you kick a football up in the air, it must come down again because of gravity. We know that because of Isaac Newton. But, what connects Cambridge and football? Well, I’m now in a park called Parker’s Piece in the centre of Cambridge. In this park, in 1848, the first ever football rules were written down. The rules were actually pinned to this tree I’m looking at now. I’ll take a photo of this plaque and put it on the website for you to look at when we get this podcast on the website. The plaque is very small but there is a plan for a big sculpture in the park. I’ve been told that it’s being built this year and it’s going to be put right in the middle of the park so everybody who comes to Cambridge will know this is where modern football began.

…

Jack: Right, that’s all from me. I need to get a cup of tea. Are you there Rich?

Language Focus

Rich: Thanks for that Jack. It was really interesting.

Jack: Did you answer the questions we gave you?

Rich: The answers are: Cambridge is famous for its university, Cambridge University’s most famous professor was Isaac Newton and the link between Cambridge and football is that Cambridge is the place where the first ever football rules were written down. I had no idea that football originated in Cambridge.

Jack: No, I don’t think many people know about that football link. What we want to focus on now is the language that I used in the last section.

Rich: Yes, you used the passive a lot - was founded, are used today, were written down, have been discovered.

Jack: We use the passive a lot when we are talking about discoveries and inventions; especially when we are not interested in who did the discovering or the inventing, or we don’t know, or it is obvious.

Rich: For example, Jack said the webcam was invented here. He was talking about Cambridge University and inventions and it wasn’t important to speak about who invented the webcam.

Jack: But, when I was talking about Isaac Newton I didn’t use the passive because he was the subject and the person who did the action. I wanted to talk about him. For example, I said he discovered many things.

Rich: We create the passive by using the verb to be + the 3rd form of the verb. You can use the passive in the present, past or future or in the continuous form.

Jack: We use the passive to talk about football a lot too. Let’s look at an example.

Rich: Liverpool were given a penalty.

Jack: Here we are more interested in Liverpool getting a penalty. We’re not that interested in who gave the penalty. And anyway, we know who gave the penalty - it was the referee - we know it, it’s obvious. It would be strange to say ‘the referee gave Liverpool a penalty’ if you were telling someone about what happened in a match.

Rich: We’re going to give you five sentences and we want you to think why the passive is being used, is being used - that’s the passive too!

Jack: Number 1: An Arsenal player was sent off.

Rich: Number 2: The shot was brilliantly saved by De Gea.

Jack: Number 3: The first football rules were written down in Cambridge.

Rich: Number 4: Most of the buildings are still used today.

Jack: Number 5: Many wonderful things have been discovered at Cambridge University.

…

Rich: In Cambridge, Jack used the passive in one other form that we didn’t look at in the last section. Jack said the sculpture ‘is being built this year’.

Jack: Using the present continuous passive is a common way to talk about something that is being done but you have no control over it or it’s being done by someone else.

Rich: We use the present continuous passive to talk about an action that is happening now or a process that is in progress.

Jack: At the beginning of the podcast, we had some problems with noise. There were some builders upstairs putting some new windows in.

Rich: I said ‘something’s being done on the roof or something’ and ‘some new windows are being put in upstairs’.

Jack: Rich used the present continuous passive because it was happening at that moment but when I said ‘the sculpture is being built’ that was about something that is in progress, but I don’t know if it is being built right now or not.

Rich: Some examples could be phrases like lots of new stadiums are being built for the World Cup in Qatar or my visa application is being processed at the embassy.

Jack: Don’t forget, there is more information about the language we use on the page below and activities to help you understand.

TASK

Rich: Jack connected Cambridge to football in the report and our task for you this week is a simple one.

Jack: We want you to connect a city in your country to the Premier League or a Premier League club.

Rich: We also, like Jack did, want you to use the passive a lot when you are telling us about your city.

Jack: Tell us a little about a city in your country, its history and maybe something that was discovered or built there ..

Rich: Then tell us how the city connects to the Premier League. It could be something like a player from the city who plays or played in the Premier League, a time a team visited your city, clubs that wear the same kit or something more complicated.

Jack: What’s the task again?

Rich: First, choose a city in your country. Second, write a little about the city. Third, write about the connection the city has with the Premier League and fourth, remember to use the passive.

Jack: Got it! Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page and don’t forget to respond to other people’s comments too. It’s another way to practise your English skills - building conversations!

Can you work out this week’s football phrase?

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week?

Jack: Yes, I have, but first, last week’s football phrase. The phrase was to chip the keeper. This phrase is what a striker often does when he is one on one with the keeper. He runs towards the goal and chips the keeper. The ball goes over the head of the keeper and into the net.

Rich: Well done to everyone who got it right. What’s this week’s football phrase?

Jack: This week’s football phrase is a *** ***. This is a type of pass on the football pitch. One player passes to a teammate then runs forward to receive the ball immediately from that teammate. This type of pass is used to go past defenders.

Rich: If you can count in English you should be able to get this phrase …

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below.

Rich: And don’t forget to listen to our round-up show called ‘This Week’. All the action from Matchweek 8 will be on the Premier Skills homepage on Monday.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!

How much did you understand?

In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. Do you know the words in bold?

There is a small plaque in the park to show where the first ever football rules rules were written down.

There are plans for a big sculpture in the park so everybody will know where modern football began.

There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Do you know what they all mean? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words.

Activity 1: In this activity, try to match the words and phrases to their definitions. All of the words were in this week's podcast.

A 19th century football match being played in Cambridge.

The Passive - A review

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about the passive. The structure of the passive is the verb to be + the past participle. You can use the passive in all tenses; you just need to change the verb to be. There were different examples in the podcast:

The first ever football rules were written down in 1848. = The past simple passive

A sculpture is going to be put in the middle of the park. = Going to future passive

Many wonderful things have been invented at Cambridge University. = Present perfect passive

It's important to know when to use the passive and not to use it too much. One important thing is to think about is the person or thing that does the action in the sentence. We can call this person or thing the actor in the sentence. A passive sentence doesn't include the actor unless it's at the end of a sentence; often after the preposition by. Let's look at an example:

People wrote down football rules for the first ever time in Cambridge in 1848.

Football rules were written down for the first ever time in Cambridge in 1848 ~~(by people)~~.

In this example, we can see that the actor is people. In the first sentence, the actor is also the subject of the verb. The sentence is active. In the second sentence, there is no actor and the subject of the sentence is football rules, here the sentence is passive. We use the passive because the actor is obvious and not important.

Why do we use the passive?

When we don't care or don't know who did the action

We often use the passive when the thing or person who does the action is obvious, not important or we don't know the actor. In the example above, the actor was obvious so we didn't add 'people'. Here are some other examples:

Manchester Utd were given a penalty.

Lots of hamburgers are eaten in the USA.

My bike was stolen last night.

When we want to hide or not talk about who did the action

People often use the passive so they don't have to talk about the person who did something. Sometimes it is used if you don't want to say that you did something yourself! Some examples are:

We are sorry to announce that your flight has been delayed.

Mistakes were made and the government is going to do something about it.

Your package seems to have been lost.

When we are using more formal English

You will often see the passive used in more academic books, especially when describing procedures. Here are some examples:

The liquid is placed into the jar and is then heated to 200 degrees.

It has been discovered that some foods contain dangerous chemicals.

In the activity below, take a look at some sentences that use the passive and decide why the passive is being used. There could be more than one correct answer!

Activity 2: Read each sentence and decide which words to put in each gap.

Cambridge is more famous for the annual Cambridge - Oxford boat race than football.

Present Continuous Passive

Using the present continuous is one example of the passive that is often used in more informal conversations and its construction often causes learners some problems. Take a look at these examples from the podcast:

I've been told that the sculpture's being done this year.

Lots of new stadiums are being built for the World Cup in Qatar.

My visa application is being processed at the embassy.

The present continuous passive is used to show that something is happening now or a process is in progress.

In this activity, take a look at some sentences which use the present continuous passive and decide which past participle to use.

Activity 3: Look at these examples of the present continuous passive and decide which past participle is most appropriate to use.

The Burnley midfielder WAS GIVEN a red card.

Connecting Cities

In this week's podcast, Jack visited Cambridge and spoke about the city and its connection to football. Your task this week is to write about a city in your country and try to find a connection to the Premier League or a Premier League club. This might be easier than you think - 106 FIFA affiliated nations have been represented in the Premier League - from Albania to Zimbabwe! The connection doesn't have to be a specific player; it could be a match, a club tour, team colours, a nickname or anything you could think of.

Here is what you have to do.

Choose a city in your country
Write a little about the city's history, famous places or geography
Tell us about football in the city and its connection to the Premier League or a Premier League club
Use the passive where appropriate
Write your answers in the comments section below.

What do you think?

In this week’s podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about Cambridge and the passive.

Would you like to visit Cambridge? Have you ever visited the UK? Which cities would you like to visit?

Do you know about the history of football in your country? Where was it first played?

Look at the task above and write your answers. Don't forget to reply to other listeners too.

Remember to write your guess at this week's football phrase, too!

If you want us to correct your English, just write 'correct me' at the beginning of your comment.