Passive Voice 3:

PASSIVE VOICE WITH TWO OBJECTS:

Passive voice also known as passive sentences with two objects are active sentences that
contains a direct and indirect object.
When there are two objects in an active sentence, there are two possible active sentences and
two possible passive sentences.
Sentence 1: The professor gave the students the books.

Sentence 2: The professor gave the books to the students.

There are two objects in each of the following sentences:

Normally the indirect object is a person, were the direct object are things.
Object 1 = indirect object the students

Object 2 = direct object the books

In case that a direct object is followed by an indirect one, we put to in front of the indirect
object.
Like in the examples

Subject

Verb direct Object indirect Object with to

The professor gave the books

to the students.

When rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the
two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform
into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Subject
Active: Rita
Passive: A letter
Passive: I

Verb
wrote
was written
was written

Object 1
Object 2
a letter
to me.
to me
by Rita.
a letter
by Rita.

Note: As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very
elegant. Thats why it is usually dropped.

Passive Voice:
PASSIVE GERUNDS.
In the passive gerunds, we use the words being and the past participle, passive gerunds are
often used with like, hate, enjoy remember.
Examples:
1. He doesnt like being told what to do.
He hates people telling him what to do
2. He enjoyed being read to.
He enjoys people reading to him
3. They dont like being watched.
They dont like people watching them.
4. Do you remember being paid?
Do you remember somebody paying you?
5. He hates being photographed
He hates people photographing him.
Gerunds are often confused with verbs. Because gerunds take an "ing" ending, some students
mistake them for verbs in the continuous form. If you don't see the verb "be" in front of a
word with an "ing" ending, it's probably a gerund.
Example: which sentences have a gerund?
1. He thinks that learning English is important for his career.

2. I like listening to the radio.

3.

This morning, they're meeting their friends at the airport.

If you picked the first two sentences, you're correct! The third sentence is in the present
continuous tense.
More Examples:
1. She enjoys being photographed.
2. He hates being photographed.

3. Her baby loves being held.

4. Poodles like being pampered.

5. Most film stars hate being interviewed.
Passive with to be born
There are certain events in life, in which the receiver of the action cannot perform the action,
and therefore it does not have both an active and passive verb that can be used to describe
them.
Passive Voice: He was born in China.
Active Voice: His mother bore him in China.

The sentence in the passive voice sounds good. The second sentence in the active voice
sounds really, really bad. Sometimes only the passive voice is used when speaking or writing,
and this is why it's so important to understand.
EXAMPLES:
I was born in 1976.
Where were you born?
He was born at eight oclock in the morning.
I was born in Mexico City.
"To be born" is a passive training and is usually used in past. However, in some cases,
present or future are appropriate.
Examples:
Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.
They say that in China a new baby is born every five minutes.
GET
GET + PAST PARTICIPLE

Get is often used instead of be in the passive voice in informal spoken English
Examples:
1. He and his girlfriend are going to get married this summer.
2. When did that old building get built?
3. I got picked up by my brother at the airport.
4. The dog gets fed every morning.
5. She got hired by the company in 2003.
6. My dinner got burned.
When you use "get" to make the passive voice and the verb is negative, don't forget to add
"do" or "did" for the present tense and the past tense:
1. He gets paid on Friday. / He doesn't get paid on Monday.
2. She got hired for that job. / She didn't get hired until last week.
3. They get fed at noon. / They don't get fed in the afternoon.

4. The window got fixed. / The window didn't get fixed until I called about it.
to refer to an action that happens by accident or unexpectedly:
EXAMPLES:
Their car got stolen in front of their house last night.
Jerry got fired because he was always late for work.
Get expresses action and change and is only used with action verbs, not state verbs:
EXAMPLES:
Jerry was fired because he was always late for work.
Jerry got fired because he was always late for work. (fire is an action verb)
Nothing is known about the thief.
Nothing gets known about the thief. (know is a state verb) INCORRECT
As get in the passive voice expresses action, it makes it possible to differentiate between
an action and a state if it is not otherwise clear:
EXAMPLES:
The living room window was broken. (state or action)
The living room window got broken. (action)
The passive with be and the agent mentioned also makes the distinction clear:
The living room window was broken by the burglar. (action)
A reflexive pronoun after get indicates that the recipient of the action is in some way involved
in or responsible for what happened:
He got injured while playing football. (it was an accident)
He got himself injured while trying bike stunts. (it was partly his fault)
The get passive is also used in certain idiomatic expressions:
Idiomatic expressions with the get passive ( which are not passive in meaning)
get dressed
get washed
get engaged
get married
get lost

get divorced

get mixed up
get started
EXAMPLES:
I took a shower and got dressed.
When did they get married?
Have you ever got lost while travelling?

Bibliografy:
eslgold.com. (s.f.). Obtenido de
http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/passive_get.html
grammaring.com. (s.f.). Obtenido de The passive voice with get :
http://www.grammaring.com/the-passive-with-get
Learn american english . (s.f.). Obtenido de
http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Green
%20Level/G1%20Passive%20Voice.html

Class Activities:
1. Rachel will give you some advice.
Some advice will be given to you.
2. I sent him a letter.
A letter was sent to him.
3. The police officer showed us the way.
The way was shown to us.
4. Our neighbour gave me a lift.
A lift was given to me.
5. We have asked him a favour.
A favour has been asked of him.
6. The baby likes being held by her mother. (hold)
7. They're afraid of being attacked because the neighbourhood is dangerous. (attack)
8. The students don't look forward to being tested on their math skills. (test)
9. Being forced to live in solitary confinement was very difficult. (force)
10. Rabbits live in fear of being eaten alive by a fox or a large bird. (eat)
11. Getting paid (pay) for a job you enjoy doing must be the definition of a happy life!
12. How did the house get built so fast? ( build)
13. Is Samantha pregnant? Yes, she is. The doctor says that the baby will be born in late
July.
14. .- Both my mother and my father were born the same year, in December.
15.- Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.

Test
Objectives: Know the different uses of the passive voice.
Instruction; Read carefully each question, dont copy each other and avoid
making any errors.
Time: 10 minutes
Score: (1point each)
PASSIVE WITH TWO OBJECTS
This time there are two answers:
1. John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill.
a:_______________________________________________________________
b:______________________________________________________________
2. I lent a pencil to Graham.
a:_______________________________________________________________
b:______________________________________________________________
PASSIVE WITH GERUND
3. __________ ___________ to live in solitary confinement was very difficult.
(force)

4. Rabbits live in fear of __________ ___________ alive by a fox or a large

bird. (eat)

5. The customer insists on _________ ___________ a refund for his purchase.

(give)

2.- Complete the following sentences with is/are born, was/were born or will be born .
6.- Around 100 babies __________ in this hospital every week.

7.- My son Robert ___________ on board the plane as I was flying to New
York two years ago.
8.- How many children ______________ in 2016?

For each sentence, use the passive with "get" whenever possible.

9.- How _____ the house _______ so fast? ( build)

10.- My garbage ________________this morning, and now it's still outside. (collect negative)

Test Questions: Answers

This time there are two answers:
1. John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill.
a: Jill was given a bar of chocolate (by John).
b: A bar of chocolate was given to Jill (by John).
2. I lent a pencil to Graham.
a: Graham was lent a pencil (by me).
b: A pencil was lent to Graham (by me).
3. Being forced to live in solitary confinement was very difficult. (force)
4. Rabbits live in fear of being eaten alive by a fox or a large bird. (eat)

5. The customer insists on being given a refund for his purchase. (give)
6. Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
7. My son Robert was born on board the plane as I was flying to New York
two years ago.
8. How many children will be born in 2016?
9. - How did the house get built so fast? ( build)

10. My garbage didnt get collected this morning, and now it's still outside. (collect negative)