I.

THE PASSIVE VOICE

The passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb to be into the same tense as the
active verb and adding the past participle of the active verb. The subject of the active verb
becomes the ‘agent’ of the passive verb. The agent is very often not mentioned. When it is
mentioned it is preceded by ‘by’ and placed at the end of the clause.

Active: My grandfather planted this tree.

Passive: This tree was planted by my grandfather.

Active: The award-winning chef prepares each meal with loving care.

Passive: Each meal is prepared with loving care by the award-winning chef.

USE

The Passive is used:

1. When the agent (the person who does the action) is unknown, unimportant or obvious from
the context.

Jane was shot. (We don’t know who shot her.)

This church was built in 1815. (Unimportant agent)

He has been arrested. (Obviously by the police)

2. To make more polite or formal statements.

The car hasn’t been cleaned. (More polite)

You haven’t cleaned the car. (Less polite)

3. When the action is more important than the agent, as in processes, instructions, events,
reports, headlines, new items, and advertisements.

Example: 30 people were killed in the earthquake.

4. To put emphasis on the agent.

1|Page
Example: The new library will be opened by the Queen.

N. B. We usually only refer to the agent when it gives us some important information which
otherwise would be missing from the sentence.

Example: Our house was designed by a famous architect.

We don’t mention the agent:

1. If we don’t know who has done what we are talking about.

Our car was stolen last night. (We don’t know who stole it)
2. If we are not interested in who has done what we are talking about or it is not important to
mention it.

He has been taken to hospital. (What we are interested in is the fact that he has been taken to
hospital and not who has taken him.)

3. If it is easy to understand who did something without it being mentioned.

The murderer was arrested last night. (It is not necessary to mention that he has been
arrested by the police because it is self-evident.)

4. If the subject of the active voice sentence is something like somebody, people, they, you, etc.
Someone broke the window. → The window was broken.

ACTIVE TO PASSIVE

To change a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice:

 The object of the active voice sentence becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence.
Agatha Christie wrote this book. This book was written by Agatha Christie.
 We change the main verb of the active voice sentence into the passive voice using the
form ‘be+V3’. The tense remains unchanged.
 The subject of the active voice sentence becomes the agent of the passive sentence. It is
placed after the past participle and it is preceded by the preposition by.

Forms of ‘Be’ change according to the tense of the active sentence given.

2|Page
Tense of the active sentence The passive form ‘
Simple present  Is, am, are +V3
Example:
God created all humans equal. (Active)
All humans are created equal. (Passive)

Simple past  Was, were + V3

Example:
Ben stole the candy canes from the event.(Active)
The candy canes were stolen from the event by Ben. (passive)
continuous  being
Present continuous  is, am, are +being +V3
Example;
The students are learning Spanish. (Active)
Spanish is being learnt. (passive)

Past continuous  was, were + being +V3

Perfect  Been
Present perfect  has, have +been + V3
Example:
Mrs Saron has opened a language institute in Gondar.(Active)
A language institute has been opened in Gondar by Mrs Saron.
(Passive)
Past perfect  Had + been + V3
Modals  Modal verb + be + V3
Infinitives  To + be + V3
Example
 You have to do it now. (Active)
 It has to be done now. (Passive)
 I want your colleagues to treat your wound. (active)
 I want your wound to be treated by your colleagues.

3|Page
 (passive)

BY OR WITH?

In the passive voice, we use:

 ‘By’ with the agent to refer to by whom the action is being done.
E.g. The door was opened by Mr Black. (Mr Blak = agent)
 ‘With’ to refer to the instrument, object or material that was used for something to be done.
The door was opened with a key. (a key = the object that was used)

E.g. The omelette was made with eggs, cheese and peppers. (Eggs, cheese and peppers = the
materials used)

DOUBLE OBJECT VERBS

When we have verbs that take two objects like, for example, give somebody something, we can
convert the active sentence into a passive one in two ways:

A. By making the indirect (animate) object the subject of the passive voice sentence, which is
also the way that we usually prefer.
B. By making the direct (inanimate) object the subject of the passive voice.

Example:

 Rick gave me (indirect object) this book (direct object). active

 I was given this book by Rick. (Passive)
 This book was given to me by Rick. (Passive)

Some of the verbs that take two objects are: give, tell, send, show, bring, write, offer, pay, etc.
When the indirect object is alone after the verb in the passive voice sentence, it needs the
preposition ‘to’. If the indirect object of the active voice sentence is a personal pronoun it has to
be changed into a subject pronoun to be the subject of the passive voice sentence.

Fill in the gaps with the verbs in brackets in the correct passive voice form.

4|Page
1. I don’t like (tell) what to do.

2. The hotel was closed because it . (renovate)

3. I went to the doctor yesterday and I (prescribe) some medicine for my cough.

4. My car (not fix) yet, and I need it for tomorrow.

5. If she hadn’t insulted the police officer, she wouldn’t (arrest).

6. She is hoping (elect) president.

7. Last night’s fire might (cause) by lightning.

8. Our house (paint) so we are staying at my parents’.

9. The museum (visit) by millions of people next year.

10. The suspect (question) by the police at the moment.

Complete the text with the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets.

In the past, it 1_______________________ (not think / be) a problem if young people ate lots of
dairy products. Nowadays, though, such foods 2_______________________ (know / cause)
heart disease. Doctors say that sugar 3_______________________ (must / add) to food and
drink only in small quantities. Some believe that fizzy drinks 4_______________________
(should / ban) years ago. It’s all really annoying, and sometimes confusing. Let’s face it, most
people 5_______________________ (can’t stand / tell) what to eat. However, if we think about
it carefully, I guess that it’s more important to be healthy than to just eat or drink anything we
like.

Choose the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

Fiat was started (started/was started) by a group of Italian businessmen in 1899. In 1903, Fiat,
1_________________ (produced/was produced) 132 cars. Some of these cars
2_____________________ (exported/were exported) by the company to the United States and
Britain. In 1920, Fiat 3_________________ (started/was started) making cars at a new factory at
Lingotto, near Turin. There was a track on the roof where the cars 4____________________
(tested/were tested) by technicians. In 1936, Fiat launched the Fiat 500. This car
5|Page
5____________________ (called/was called) the Topolino – the Italian name for Mickey
Mouse. The company grew, and in 1963 Fiat 6_____________________ (exported/was
exported) more than 300,000 vehicles. Today, Fiat is based in Turin, and its cars
7_________________ (sold/are sold) all over the world.

II. Future tenses

The future is uncertain. We know the past. We know the present. We do not know the future. We
can be 100% sure or certain about the past and the present. But we can never be 100% certain
about the future. In English there are several structures and tenses to talk about the future. It is
usually the degree of certainty about the future that decides our choice of structure or tense.

We use different verb forms to talk about our plans for the future, depending on what kind of
plan it is: a spontaneous plan, a pre-decided plan or an arrangement.

A. Will

One of the most common ways to talk about the future is with ‘will’.

Unplanned future action

We use will when there is no prior plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make
the decision at the time of speaking.

 Oops, I forgot to phone Mum! I'll do it after dinner.

 I can't decide what to wear tonight. I know! I'll wear my green shirt.
 There's no milk. I'll buy some when I go to the shops.
 Hold on. I'll get a pen.
 We will see what we can do to help you.
 Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.
 If your friend is running a charity event and needs volunteers, you can say ‘I’ll come and
help you!’

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision was made at the time of
speaking.

6|Page
Prediction

We often use will to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are
saying what we think will happen. It expresses belief based predictions about the future.

 It will rain tomorrow.

 People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.

 Who do you think will get the job?

 It will be a nice day tomorrow.

 I think Brazil will win the World Cup.

 I'm sure you will enjoy the film.

Promises

Example:

 I won’t tell anyone your secrets.

 I won’t forget mom’s birth day.

Offers

Example: I’ll carry your bags for you.

Will Be

The verb ‘be’ is an exception with will. Even when we have a very firm plan, and we are not
speaking spontaneously, we can use will with be.

 I will be in London tomorrow.

 There will be 50 people at the party.

 The meeting will be at 9:30 am.

B. Be going to

7|Page
Intention

We use the special be + going to construction when we have the intention to do

something before we speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these
examples:

I have won $1,000. I am going to buy a new TV.

 We're not going to see my mother tomorrow.

 When are you going to go on holiday?

 I'm going to phone Mum after dinner. I told her I'd call at 8 o'clock.

 I'm going to wear my black dress tonight.

 I'm going to go to the supermarket after work. What do we need?

In the above examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made
before we spoke.

Prediction

We often use ‘be going to’ to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based
on evidence. We are saying what seems sure to happen. Here are some examples:

 The sky is very dark. It is going to snow.

 It's 8:30! You're going to miss the train!

 I crashed the company car. My boss isn't going to be very happy!

 Do you see him? He is going to a night club. This is his third night in night club in this
exam week. He is going to fell in some of the courses.

In these examples, the present situation (dark sky/the time/damaged car) gives us a good idea of
what is going to happen.

 We use will for prediction when we have no real evidence: "It will rain tomorrow." (It's
my feeling but I can't be sure.)

8|Page
  We use going to for prediction when there is some real evidence: "It's going to rain."
(There's a big, dark cloud in the sky and if it doesn't rain, I'll be very surprised.)

C. Present continuous

Plan

We often use the present continuous tense to talk about the future. Of course, we normally use
the present continuous to talk about action happening in the present, but if we add a future
word, we can use it to talk about the future. (By "future word" we mean words or expressions
like tomorrow, next week, in June. The future word may be clearly expressed or understood from
the context.)

Sometimes there is no real difference between an intention (going to) and a plan (present
continuous). In this case, it doesn't matter which we use.

 We're going to paint the bedroom tomorrow.

 We're painting the bedroom tomorrow.

We use the present continuous only when a plan exists before we speak. Look at these
examples:

 Mary is taking her music exam next year.

 They can't play tennis with you tomorrow. They're working.

 We're going to the theatre on Friday.

We usually use the present continuous when the plan is an arrangement – already confirmed with
at least one other person and we know the time and place.

 I'm meeting Jane at 8 o'clock on Saturday.

 We're having a party next Saturday. Would you like to come?
We often use the present continuous to ask about people's future plans.

 Are you doing anything interesting this weekend?

9|Page
D. Present simple

Schedule/time table

When an event is on a schedule or timetable (for example, the take-off time for a plane), we
often use the present simple to express the future. We usually also use a future phrase
(expressed or understood) like tomorrow, at 6.30pm, next week.

Only a few verbs are used in this way, for example:

 be, open, close, begin, start, end, finish, arrive, come, leave, return

Look at these sentences:

 The train leaves Detroit at 9pm tonight.

 John starts work next week.

 Tomorrow is Thursday.

 We have a lesson next Monday.

 The holidays start next week.

III. Modal Verbs

Modal verbs (modals) are verbs that add the meaning of logical possibility, ability, necessity, and
permission to verbs, which have a degree of strength from stronger to weaker. Modals come
before infinitive verbs and the “to” is removed. Modals do not need to match their subject in
plural agreement, so there is no need to add an “-s” or “-es” ending to a modal. Modals will often
be seen in sentences that are predicting a future possibility, describing ability, giving advice,
making requests, or asking for permission. The nine most common modals are can, could, shall,
should, will, would, may, might, and must.

Common Modals

Use modals examples

Logical Must (most certain)  The dark clouds mean rain today.
possiblity Will  Due to the news, the stock will go

10 | P a g e
 Would down.
Should  The chemical would help the
May experiment.
can  The case should prevent cracking.
Could  This change may improve the results.
Might (least certain)  Being careless can have bad
consequences.
 The charm could protect you.
 I might be tired tomorrow.
Ability Can (stronger ability)  He can type 34 words per minute.
Could (weaker ability)  I could assist by interpreting the
Shall (suggestion) results.
 Shall we dance?
Necessity Must (obligation)  They must go to work today.
Should (advice)  You should floss every day.
Permission May (most formal)  May I turn my paper in tomorrow?
Might, could, can (least  Might he have some more soup?
formal)  Could I buy the new model?
 Can I go to my friend’s house?

Logical Possibility

Logical possibility modals add a degree of possibility to an action. “Must” is the strongest modal
that implies a possibility will occur while “could” and “might” imply that the speaker is unsure
of the action happening.

Examples: The weather report showed a 99% chance of rain, so it must rain.

You might find an open store after 12:00 AM.

In the first example, the modal is “must.” It is placed before the verb “rain” and indicates that the
writer believes there is a strong possibility of rain.

11 | P a g e
In the second example, the modal is “might.” It is placed before the verb “find” and indicates
that the writer believes there is a low chance the reader will “find an open store after 12:00 AM.”

Ability

Ability modals add a degree to a subject's ability to do an action.

Examples: Pigeons have a special ability; they can recognize themselves in mirrors.
The editor could edit 70 pages in two days.

“Can” expresses a general ability which doesn’t depending on situations like time and place. As
it is shown in the above example pigeons have the ability to recognize themselves in front of
mirrors always anywhere, any time.

In the first example, the modal is “can.” It is placed before the verb “recognize” and indicates
that the writer knows that pigeons recognize themselves in mirrors.

In the second example, the modal is “could.” It is placed before the verb “edit” and indicates that
the writer knows to a weaker degree that the editor has the ability to edit “70 pages in two days”.

Could is also used to express past ability.

Example: I could read and write Arabic when I was 12 years old.

Be able to_ another modal verb of ability shows a onetime ability shown by a person or thing. It
doesn’t talk about general ability as “can”.

Example: I was able to carry 100kg of teff at age 20.

It is a onetime super capacity shown by the writer when he was 20 years old. It means he no
longer has the capacity to carry that amount now at the age of 36.

Necessity

Necessity modals add a degree of recommendation to an action.

Examples:

 The kids must drink water every day.

12 | P a g e
  My students should do their homework every night.

In the first example, the modal is “must.” It is placed before the verb “drink” and indicates a
strong recommendation that kids need to drink water every day.

In the second example, the modal is “should” indicates a weaker recommendation that students
do their homework every night.

Permission

Permission modals tend to be used in requests. The strength of the modal will determine how
formal a request is by adding a degree of formality to a question.

Examples:

May I go to the restroom?

Can you throw me the ball?

II. Direct and indirect/reported speech

There are two ways to convey a message of a person, or the words spoken by a person to other
person.

A. Direct speech

In Direct Speech…
(I) The exact words of the speaker are used.
(ii) The words quoted are put within Quotation Marks or Inverted Commas.
(iii) The first letter of the quotation begins with a capital letter.
(iv) There is always a comma or a colon after 'said' that introduces the spoken words.

B. Indirect speech

We may report what he said without quoting his exact words. This method is called indirect
speech or Reported Speech.

13 | P a g e
In indirect speech, the speech that is reported is not put within inverted commas and does not
begin with a capital letter.

Rules to consider in changing direct speech into indirect speech

To change a sentence of direct speech into indirect speech there are various factors that needs to
be considered such as reporting verbs, modals, time, place, pronoun, tense, etc.

1. In indirect speech tenses do not change if the words used within the quotes (“ ”) talk
of a habitual action or universal truth.

Example:

 Direct: He said, “We cannot live without air.”

 Indirect: He said that we cannot live without air.
 Direct: She said, “She always walks to office.”
 Indirect: She said that she always walks to office.
2. The tenses of direct speech do not change if the reporting verb is in future tense or
present tense.

Example:

● Direct: She says/will say, “she is going.”

● Indirect: She says/will say she is going.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion / tense changes

1. Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous

Example:

● Direct: “I am playing the guitar”, she explained.

● Indirect: She explained that she was playing the guitar.

2. Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect

Example:

14 | P a g e
● Direct: He said, “She has finished her homework”.
● Indirect: He said that she had finished her homework.

3. Simple Present Changes to Simple Past

Example:

● Direct: “I am unwell”, she said.

● Indirect: She said that she was unwell.

4. Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect

Example:
● Direct: She said, “Solomon arrived on Sunday.”
● Indirect: She said that Solomon had arrived on Sunday.

5. Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous

Example:

● Direct: “We were playing basketball”, they told me.

● Indirect: They told me that they had been playing basketball.

6. Future Changes to Present Conditional

Example:

● Direct: She said, “I will be in Scotland tomorrow.”

● Indirect: She said that she would be in Scotland the next day.

7. Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous

Example:

● Direct: He said, “I'll be disposing the old computer next Tuesday.”

● Indirect: He said that he would be disposing the old computer next Tuesday.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Interrogative Sentences

15 | P a g e
1. No conjunction (that) is used, if a sentence in direct speech begins with a question
(what/where/when) as the "question-word". Itself acts as a joining clause.

Example:

 Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the boy.

 Indirect: The boy enquired where I lived.
 Direct: “When has she come?” The man said.
 Indirect: The man asked when she had come.

2. If a direct speech sentence begins with auxiliary verb/helping verb, the joining clause
should be “if” or “whether”.

Example:

 Direct: She said, “Will you come for the party?”

 Indirect: She asked whether we would come for the party.
 Direct: “Do you work here?” she said.
 Indirect: She asked if I worked there.

3. Reporting verbs such as ‘said/ said to’ changes to enquired, asked, or demanded in
interrogative sentences.

Example:

● Direct: He said to me, “what are you wearing?”

● Indirect: He asked me what I was wearing.

Changes in Modals

1. While changing direct speech to indirect speech the modals used in the sentences change
like:

● Can becomes Could

● May becomes Might

● Must becomes had to /Would have to
16 | P a g e
Examples:

● Direct: She said, “She can dance.”

● Indirect: She said that she could dance.

● Direct: She said, “I may buy a dress.”
● Indirect: She said that she might buy a dress.
● Direct: Rama said, “I must complete the assignment.”
● Indirect: Rama said that he had to complete the assignment.

2. There are Modals that do not change like - Could, Would, Should, Might, Ought to.

Examples:

● Direct: She said, “I should clean the house.”

● Indirect: She said that she should clean the house.

Conversion in Pronoun

1. The first person in the direct speech changes as per the subject of the speech.

Examples:

● Direct: He said, “I am in class Twelfth.”

● Indirect: He said that he was in class Twelfth.

2. The second person of direct speech changes as per the object of reporting speech.

Examples:
● Direct: She says to them, “You have done your work.”
● Indirect: She tells them that they have done their work.

3. The third person of direct speech doesn't change.

Examples:

● Direct: He says, “She dances well.”

17 | P a g e
● Indirect: He says that she dances well.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion in- Request, Command, Wish, Exclamation
sentences

1. Indirect Speech is supported by some verbs like requested, ordered, suggested and
advised.

Forbid-forbade is used for the negative sentences. Therefore, the imperative mood in direct
speech changes into the infinitive in indirect speech.

Examples:
● Direct: She said to her, “Please complete it.”
● Indirect: She requested her to complete it.
● Direct: Hamid said to Ramid, “Sit down.”
● Indirect: Hamid ordered Ramid to sit down.

2. In Exclamatory sentences that express (grief, sorrow, happiness, applaud) Interjections

are removed and the sentence is changed to an assertive sentence.

Examples

 Direct : She said , "uff! I stop working with him."

 Indirect: She exclaimed sadly that she stopped working with him.
 Direct: She said, “Alas! I am undone.”
 Indirect: She exclaimed sadly that she was broke.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Punctuations

1. In direct speech the words actually spoken should be in (“ ”) quotes and always begin
with a capital letter.

Example: She said, “I am the Best.”

2. Full stop, Comma, exclamation or question mark, are placed inside the closing inverted
commas.

18 | P a g e
Example: They asked, “Can we sing with you?”

3. If direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, comma is used to
introduce the speech, placed before the first inverted comma.

Direct speech example: He shouted, “Shut up!”

Direct speech example: “Thinking back,” he said, “she didn't expect to win.” (Comma is used to
separate the two direct speeches and no capital letter to begin the second sentence).

Change of Time

1. In direct speeches, the words that express nearness in time or place are changed to words
that express distance in indirect speech. Such as:

 Now becomes then, at that time

 Here becomes there
 Ago becomes before
 Today becomes that day, on Sunday, yesterday
 Tomorrow becomes the next /following day
 Tonight becomes that night, last night, Sunday/Monday…night
 Last night becomes the night before, the previous night
 Two minutes ago becomes two minutes before
● This becomes that
● Yesterday becomes the day before
● These becomes those
● Come becomes go
● Hence becomes thence
● Next week or month becomes following week/month

Examples:

● Direct: He said, “His girlfriend came yesterday.”

● Indirect: He said that his girlfriend had come the day before.

19 | P a g e
2. The time expression does not change if the reporting verb is in present tense or future
tense.

Direct: The man says, “I will try everything I can to make it happen by tomorrow.”

Indirect: the man says that he will try everything he can to make it happen by tomorrow.

Relative clauses

Defining Relative clauses

Clauses Relative clauses are like independent clauses because they contain subjects and verbs.
However, relative clauses are unlike independent clauses because they cannot stand on their own
as sentences. Relative clauses act adjectivally, and we attach them to independent clauses.

Example

“I feel like eating a vegan pizza that is really, really spicy,” said Ines.

In this sentence, the relative clause “that is really, really spicy” is attached to the independent
clause “I feel like eating a vegan pizza.” The relative clause cannot stand on its own because it is
describing the pizza Ines feels like eating.

The woman whom Sebsibe loves works in Ethiopian football federation.

“The woman works in Ethiopian football federation.” Is a main lause and “whom sebsibe loves
is a dependent clause modifying the noun “the woman”.

20 | P a g e