1. Complete the sentences below with the present simple passive form of the verbs in brackets.
1 Millions of mobile phones ………………………….. every year. (sell)
2 American football ………………………….. very much in the UK. (not play)
3 ………………………….. tablets ………………………….. in your school? (use)
4 Most crimes ………………………….. in big cities. (commit)
5 Rubber trees ………………………….. in cold countries. (not grow)
6 ………………………….. Samsung televisions ………………………….. in Korea? (make)
Answer
1 are sold 2 isn’t played 3 are … used
4 are committed 5 aren’t grown 6 are … made
2. Make the active sentences passive. Include the word by.
1 Millions of people watched the 2014 World Cup Final on TV.
The 2014 World Cup Final was watched by millions of people on TV.
2 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.
……………………………………………………..
3 Rafa Nadal didn’t win the watch.
……………………………………………………..
4 Robots made that car.
……………………………………………………..
5 Did Suzanne Collins write the Hunger Games books?
……………………………………………………..
6 Peter Jackson directed the Hobbit films.
……………………………………………………..
Answer
2 Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming.
3 The match wasn’t won by Rafa Nadal.
4 That car was made by robots.
5 Were the Hunger Games books written by Suzanne Collins?
6 The Hobbit films were directed by Peter Jackson.
3. Put the words below in the correct order. (Remember where to put the adverb.)
1 satnavs. / are / Phones / used as / sometimes.
……………………………………………………..
2 Was / Bob Dylan? / Make you feel my love / first / by / sung
……………………………………………………..
3 invented / The wheel / about 5,000 years ago. / probably / was
……………………………………………………..
4 quickly / was / The suspect / arrested.
……………………………………………………..
5 the missing jewellery / ever / found? / Was
……………………………………………………..
Answer
1 Phones are sometimes used as satnavs.
2 Was Make you feel my love first sung by Bob Dylan?
3 The wheel was probably invented about 5,000 years ago.
4 The suspect was quickly arrested.
5 Was the missing jewellery ever found?
4. Complete the fact file below with the past simple passive form of the verbs in brackets.
COMPUTERS: a short history
– The first computer 1…………………………… (invent) by Charles Babbage in the early 19th century. It 2…………………………… (not power) by electricity – it was mechanical.
– The first electronic digital computer 3…………………………… (build) in 1943 in Britain. It 4…………………………… (call) ‘Colossus’ and it 5…………………………… (use) for decoding enemy messages in the war.
– Businesses began to use computers in the 1950s, but computers 6…………………………… (not sell) in shops until the early 1970s.
– The first desktop computers 7…………………………… (develop) in the late 1970s.
– Internet access via a modem 8…………………………… (add) in the 1990s, but wireless access 9…………………………… (not add) to most computers until about 2000.
– For the first time, in 2015, more tablets and smartphones 10…………………………… (sell) than laptops and desktops. Will computers eventually disappear from our homes and schools?
Answer
1 was invented 2 wasn’t powered 3 was built
4 was called 5 was used 6 weren’t sold
7 were developed 8 was added 9 wasn’t added
10 were sold
5. Rewrite the active sentences in the passive. Make any necessary changes. Use the present simple or the past simple.
1 Every year, my school holds a competition for ‘best inventor’.
……………………………………………….
2 They give you materials and ask you to design something.
……………………………………………….
3 My school encouraged me to take part this year.
……………………………………………….
4 A group of five teachers make the final decision.
……………………………………………….
5 They test the inventions for usefulness.
……………………………………………….
6 They give a prize for the best invention.
……………………………………………….
7 They gave the prize for the ‘best inventor’ to my friend Jo.
……………………………………………….
8 They present the prize at the end of school ceremony.
……………………………………………….
Answer
1 Every year, a competition for ‘best inventor’ is held by my school.
2 Materials are given to you and you are asked to design something.
3 I was encouraged by my school to take part this year.
4 The final decision is made by a group of five teachers.
5 The inventions are tested (by them) for usefulness.
6 A prize is given (by them) for the best invention.
7 The prize for the ‘best inventor’ was given (by them) to my best friend Jo.
8 The prize is presented at the end of school ceremony.
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