Transcript English for Lawyers 1

The Passive
The Passive
 Used when the subject of the sentence is
not the doer of the action, but rather what
the action is directed at
Compare:
 The secretary typed the report. – the person doing the
action (the secretary) is the subject

The report was typed (by the secretary). – the
subject is what the action is directed at (the report)
The Passive
 Sometimes the doer of the action is
unknown, irrelevant or understood.
My book was stolen. (I don’t know who did it)
The window is broken. (It does not matter who broke
it.)
It has been decided. (It is more important that it was
decided than who decided it or it is known who
decided it)
The topic
 Sentences with the same meaning, but different
topics:
 J. J. Thomson discovered the electron.
 The electron was discovered by J. J. Thomson.
 The topic is the starting-point of the sentence and is
usually the subject
 When the subject is the agent the verb is active;
when the subject is not the agent, the verb is passive
Empty subjects
 You can’t do anything about it.
 Nothing can be done about it.
 People say crazy things.
 Crazy things are being said.
 The passive is often used in an official,
impersonal style – language of the law
 It is used to describe scientific, historical and
social processes, as well as official rules and
procedures
The Passive
 The Passive is not a grammatical tense.
 It simply denotes a different point of view
of the participants in a given action.
 The Passive can be used in most tenses of
the English language
Forming the passive
the auxiliary verb ‘to BE’ + past participle
The case will be heard in July.
It has been shown that his theory is correct.
We were kept waiting for half an hour.
Active to passive:
They haven't stamped the letter.
They did not pay me for my work; they expected me to do it for nothing.
He escaped when they were moving him from one prison to another.
She didn't introduce me to her mother.
A frightful crash wakened me at 4 a.m.
A Japanese firm makes television sets.
We cannot exchange articles which customers have bought during the sale.
The police shouldn't allow people to park there.
We had to give the books back; they didn't allow us to take them home.
You shouldn't leave these documents on the desk. You should lock them up.
Active to passive (with phrasal verbs); omit the
agent when possible
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The government has called out troops.
They didn't look after the children properly.
Everyone looked up to him.
All the ministers will see him off at the airport.
He hasn't slept in his bed.
We can build on more rooms.
Her story didn't take them in.
People often take him for his brother.
Burglars broke into the house.
The manufacturers are giving away small plastic toys with each
packet of cereal.
Turn the following sentences into the passive; use
two patterns when possible
1. They proved that the rumour was true.
2. People fear that the Government might increase
taxes.
3. They hoped taxes would be cut.
4. They consider him the greatest scientist of our
time.
5. The officials decided to go ahead with the plan.
6. We’ll find you a place to stay.
The rumour was proved to be true. / It was proved that the
rumour was true.
It is feared that the Government might increase taxes./ It is
feared that the taxes might be increased.
It was hoped that taxes would be cut.
He is considered to be the greatest scientist of our time./It is
considered that he is the greatest scientist of our time.
It was decided to go ahead with the plan.
You will be found a place to stay. / A place to stay will be
found for you.