Active and Passive

Show by means of sentences whether these verbs can be used both in active and also in passive constructions.

Introduction

In the sentence ‘John repairs clocks’ John is the cause of the repairs; we say that this sentence is in the active voice. But in the sentence ‘The clock has been repaired’ the clock is not the cause of the repair; we call this a passive sentence. For each verb below, try to write one active sentence and one passive sentence. For which verbs is this awkward or not possible?

1. Apologize. 2. Bus. 3. Criticize. 4. Dare. 5. Explore. 6. Film. 7. Finance. 8. Grade. 9. Join. 10. Mark. 11. Perform. 12. Possess. 13. Print. 14. Reference. 15. Season. 16. Site. 17. Taste. 18. Think. 19. Value. 20. Wave.

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For example

Beat

‘We will beat them in the final’ (active).

‘United were beaten five-nil last night’ (passive).

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Homophones

Show you can distinguish these similar-sounding words.

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Choose one of these words and use it metaphorically, not literally.

Tag Questions

Complete each of these statements with a little request for confirmation.