IELTS

ENGLISH FOR IELTS

UNIT 3

Grammar: The passive voice

In English, all sentences are in either “active” or “passive” voice.

What is the passive voice?

The passive voice is a style of writing where what would be the object of a sentence and becomes
the subject of the sentence.

What does passive voice mean?

The passive writing voice occurs when something that is ordinarily “done by” the subject of a
sentence is “done by” the object of a sentence.

In the passive writing voice, whatever is doing the action of the sentence is not the grammatical
subject of the sentence.

Examples: The work was completed by Jaime.

The ball was hit by Johnny.

When do we use the passive?

In English, all sentences are in either active or passive voice; however, it is much more common to
use the active than the passive. In some sentences, passive voice can be perfectly acceptable. You
might use it in the following cases:

1. The actor is unknown:

The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old Stone Age.

2. The actor is irrelevant:

An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian desert.

3. You want to be vague about who is responsible:

Mistakes were made.

4. You are talking about a general truth:

Rules are made to be broken.

5. You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on. For example, it may be your main
topic:
Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the University of Toronto. It is
still the only treatment available for diabetes.

1
 6. In formal writing to make it less personal or when you are writing for certain genres,
such as science reports or for academic journals.
Several conclusions can be drawn from the results.
You are advised to return the application form within three days.

7. When we describe a process.

The union is run by seven executive officers who are elected by students.

NOTE:
We do not generally use the passive for natural or biological processes, where people are not
involved (e.g. the carbon cycle).
Plants take up carbon dioxide from the air as part of photosynthesis.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

We do not use the passive with intransitive verbs (verbs which cannot have an object).

 Transitive verbs have to take an object.

For example,
you cannot say "He discovered".
This is a transitive verb so it needs an object: "He discovered a cure".
So this can be made passive: "A cure was discovered".

 Intransitive verbs are not followed by an object.

For example,
He arrived (not he was arrived)
you can say "He died". Or it could be followed by an adverb: "He died yesterday".
But we cannot say: "He was died" or "Yesterday was died he".

Passive Voice Examples

These are examples of how we form it with different tenses (without the object in the passive):

Tense Active Passive

Present I eat the food The food is eaten
Present Continuous I am eating the food The food is being eaten
Present Perfect I have eaten the food The food has been eaten
Past I ate the food The food was eaten
Past Continuous I was eating the food The food was being eaten
Past Perfect I had eaten the food The food had been eaten
Future I will eat the food The food will be eaten
Future Perfect I will have eaten the food The food will have been eaten
I can eat the food The food can be eaten
Present Modal I should eat the food The food should be eaten
I may eat the food The food may be eaten
I could have eaten the food The food could have been eaten
Past Modals I should have eaten the food The food should have been eaten
I may have eaten the food The food may have been eaten

2
How to Change Voice from Passive to Active

In order to change passive voice to active voice, you need to recognize what the subject of the
sentence is and then rewrite the sentence so the subject is performing the action.

Extensive training on the new safety procedures was required to be attended by the
maintenance staff.

In order to correct the sentence:

Step One: Identify the subject of the sentence - who is doing an action?

Step Two: Rewrite the sentence so the subject is performing the action.

This sentence could be rewritten to active voice as follows:

The maintenance staff had to attend extensive training on the new safety procedures.

Why is this useful for IELTS?

You can use the passive voice in both writing tasks in the IELTS exam, particularly in reports
where a more formal tone is needed.

• Some writing tasks require you to describe processes, and the passive is necessary to describe
many stages.
• Being able to distinguish when to use the passive in writing and in speech is a sign of high
proficiency in English.
• On the other hand, not using the passive correctly may lead to confusion and disruption of
communication.

Exercises

A. When the active verb is in the simple past tense

Sentences in the simple past tense are formed with the second form of the verb.

Active verb form: second form of the verb

Passive verb form: was/were + past participle form of the verb

Change the following sentences into the passive voice.

1. She made a third attempt. ______________________________________________________

2. The boy asked a difficult question. ______________________________________________________
3. She wrote an award-winning novel. ______________________________________________________
4. The terrorists blew up the bridge. ______________________________________________________
5. The police caught the thief. ______________________________________________________

3
Reporting with passive verbs

- With reporting verbs and verbs of thinking or feeling we can use:

 it + passive verb + that (e.g. agree, announce, argue, believe, claim, decide, disclose,
expect, feel, hope, know, predict, recognise, report, say, suggest, think, understand)
Example: It was felt that the facilities were in need of renovation.

 subject + passive verb + to-infinitive (e.g. ask, believe, consider, estimate, expect, feel,
know, mean, report, say, see, suppose, think, understand)
Examples: Our sports facilities are said to be among the best in the country.
This building is believed to be the oldest in the town.

Have something done - To show that someone performs a paid service for us we use:
Have + object + past participle.
Example: He’ll need to have his photo taken.

In informal English get + past participle can be used in the same way.
Example: I got my photo taken yesterday.

Need + ing - We can sometimes use need + ing as an alternative to the passive to say that it is
necesssary to do something without stating who will do it.
Example: Some facilities need improving around the campus.

Passive reporting structures

Verbs used like this include: agree, announce, believe, calculate, claim, consider, discover,
estimate, expect, feel, hope, know, report, say, show, suggest, think, understand.

Pattern: It + passive reporting verb + that + clause

It is said that... It was thought that... It has been suggested that ... etc

- In informal language we often use impersonal expressions like:

• People say that the minister is likely to resign.
• They expect him to announce his resignation this week.
• They think that there are two possible candidates for his job.

- In newspapers, reports and other more formal writing, this idea is often expressed with a
structure based on a passive reporting verb.
• It is said that the minister is likely to resign.
• He is expected to announce his resignation this week.
• There are thought to be two possible candidates for his job.

4
Exercises

A. Rewrite the sentences starting with It plus a passive structure. Pay attention to tense, but don't
add any punctuation. Don't use any contractions.

1. They felt that the cost was too high.

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Forecasters have predicted that the weekend will be very cold.

___________________________________________________________________________

3. They don't think that the government will call an early election.
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Experts are suggesting that inflation will remain steady.
___________________________________________________________________________

5. We had understood that the hostages would be released yesterday.

___________________________________________________________________________

6. Officials have announced that the princess will leave hospital next week.
___________________________________________________________________________

Passive reporting structures - putting it all together

Exercises
A. Make passive sentences starting with the words in italics. Don't use contractions and don't add
any punctuation.

1. It is felt that the project is too expensive.

___________________________________________________________________________

2. It was said that the tax changes helped poorer people.

___________________________________________________________________________

3. It is alleged that a fight between rival fans broke out after the match.
___________________________________________________________________________

4. It has been reported that more bad weather is on the way.

___________________________________________________________________________

5. It was believed that the company were about to announce redundancies.

___________________________________________________________________________

6. It was later considered that his behaviour had been unacceptable.

___________________________________________________________________________

5
Sharks (adapted from Wikipedia)
B. Make sentences with passive reporting structures starting with the words in given in brackets.
Don't use contractions and don't add any punctuation.

1. Biologists say that sharks share a class with rays and skates. (Sharks)
___________________________________________________________________________
2. It is said that sharks have 5 to 15 rows of teeth in each jaw. (They)
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Experts estimate that sharks' teeth fall out after only a week. (It)
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Experts believe that these whale sharks can live for more than 100 years. (It)
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Experts consider that the danger has been exaggerated (The danger)
___________________________________________________________________________
6. They consider that only ten shark species are dangerous to humans. (Only)
___________________________________________________________________________

IELTS Writing Task 1: using the passive

Using the passive voice for IELTS

You may use it at any point in the speaking or writing; we’ll start with Writing Task 1.

When we describe an IELTS process, the focus is on the activities, NOT the person doing
them. When this is the case, we use the passive voice, not the active.

What is a process?
A process will have a number of stages that are in time order. So, you should start at the
beginning, and describe each stage through to the last one.

Using the passive to describe a process

Most sentences use this structure:

 Subject + Verb + Object

 A large digger digs up the clay in the ground.

When we use the passive voice, we make the object (the clay) the subject and make the subject (the
digger) the object. We also add in the verb ‘to be’ and the past participle (or Verb 3).

 (S) The clay in the ground (V) is dug up (O) by the digger.

Also, as you will see from the description, it is more usual to comment on who or what is doing the
action so the 'by...." phrase is excluded.

6
The Brick Manufacturing Process

The diagram illustrates the process that is used to manufacture bricks for the building industry.

Underline the verbs that are in the passive voice:

The diagram explains the way in which bricks are made for the building industry. Overall, there are
seven stages in the process, beginning with the digging up of clay and culminating in delivery.

To begin, the clay (which) is used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large
digger. This clay is then placed onto a metal grid which is used to break up the clay into smaller
pieces. A roller assists in this process.

Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, and this mixture is turned into bricks by
either placing it into a mould or using a wire cutter. Next, these bricks are placed in an oven to dry
for 24 – 48 hours.

In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process. They are heated in a
kiln at a moderate and then a high temperature (ranging from 200c to 1300c), followed by a cooling
process in a chamber for 2 – 3 days. Finally, the bricks are packed and delivered to their
destinations.

7
IELTS Process - Tea Production
Writing sample answer - Put the verbs in the correct tense and if required in the passive voice.

The diagram shows how tea leaves are

processed into five tea types.
The diagram ____________________ (present) the
manufacture of five different types of tea. It
____________________ (be) immediately apparent that
although all the teas ____________________ (produce)
from the same leaf, the differences in the
manufacturing process ____________________ (result) in
five different types of tea.

The first three stages of manufacture

____________________ (be) the same for all of the five
teas. The leaves ____________________ (grow), they
____________________ then ____________________
(pluck), and following this withering of the leaves
____________________(occur). The final stage
____________________ (be) also the same, which
____________________ (see) all the leaves dried in an
oven. However, in the stages in between this, differing
methods of production ____________________ (employ).

To begin, white tea ____________________ (be) unique

as it ____________________ (involve) no other
processing. In contrast, green, oolong and large leaf
black tea ____________________ (be) all rolled as part of
the process. However, while green tea
____________________ (steam) before
____________________ (roll) but ____________________
(not/ferment), the other two teas ____________________
(first/roll) and then both ____________________ (oolong
only slightly but large leaf black completely). Finally,
small leaf black tea ____________________
(neither/steam) nor ____________________ (roll), but
____________________ (crush) before
____________________ (fully/ferment).

8
VOCABULARY - Crime

One of the core topics for IELTS is crime and justice. It is a tricky area as there are a number of
quite technical words that need to be learnt. So what you will find here is not so much as a list of
words, but more useful phrases that you can use in context. You will also find language notes and
exercises to help you use this crime vocabulary.

Types of crime

Rather than learn lists of very specific words for names of individual crimes, it is almost certainly
more useful to learn phrases that describe different categories of crime:

*Financial crimes may involve fraud; theft; scams or confidence tricks; tax evasion; bribery;
embezzlement; identity theft; money laundering; and forgery and counterfeiting, including the
production of Counterfeit money and consumer goods. Financial crimes may involve additional
criminal acts, such as computer crime, elder abuse, burglary, armed robbery, and even violent
crime such as robbery or murder. Financial crimes may be carried out by individuals,
corporations, or by organized crime groups. Victims may include individuals, corporations,
governments, and entire economies.

9
Punishments

10
The justice process

Useful phrases

11
The vocabulary of fraud, business crime, and scams

This post is about fraud of one type or another. Through several exercises we look first at the
vocabulary of business crime, also known as white-collar or financial crime, and then at the world
of scams.

Some explanations

Embezzle - steal or misappropriate (money placed in one's trust or belonging to the organization
for which one works).

Defraud - illegally obtain money from (someone) by deception.

He used a false identity to defraud the bank of thousands of dollars.

Swindle - use deception to deprive (someone) of money or possessions.

A businessman swindled investors out of millions of dollars.
- obtain (money) fraudulently.
He was said to have swindled $62.5 million from the pension fund.

Bribery and corruption - These two words are often used together - "bribery and corruption are
rife (very common) in this country"
corruption - dishonest or illegal behaviour, especially involving people in authority
bribery - abstract noun for the activity of giving bribes
bribe (n) - an amount of money or a gift given on a specific occasion to buy favour
bribe (v) - to give an amount of money or a gift to buy favour

Fake, forgery and counterfeit - These words have very similar meanings
fake - used to describe something or a situation which is not genuine or real
She was wearing a fake fur coat
He faked his own death
He knew that at £25 it was obviously a fake Rollex
Do you think he's really ill, or just faking
forge - relates especially to the copying of things which are printed or in writing -
documents, passports, signatures etc.
counterfeit - used especially for money and branded goods

Confidence trick - it's a con! - In informal English we often use the word con. Notice the different
ways it can be used as a verb:
To con somebody out of something
He conned her out of her life's savings.
To con somebody into doing something
She conned me into buying her old car.
To con your way into something
He conned his way into the job.

It can also be used as a noun and as an adjective

It was a con / a con trick.
He's a con man / con artis / con merchant

12
Whistleblower, to blow the whistle

A whistleblower is somebody who tells people in authority or the public that the company or
organisation they work for is doing something immoral, dishonest or illegal.

In the most famous cases, the whistleblowers make their information public via the media or the
Internet. But in the vast majority of cases, whistleblowers tell their superiors within their
organisation and the matter is dealt with internally.

While in the past whistleblowers have often been badly treated by their employers, organisations
are increasingly seeing their value, and many have set up internal whistle-blowing procedures.

Exercises

Young offenders
Fill in all the gaps.

It is sadly true that more and more _______________________are being committed by minors. One
problem is that custodial _______________________ are inappropriate for people under 18 on the
grounds that they are very likely to become _______________________ offenders if they are sent to
prison. So rather than send them to a place where they will mix with hardened criminals, it seems
sensible to ask them to try and reform them by asking them to _______________________the
community in some way.

The death penalty

It is unquestionably true that there are strong arguments in favour of the death penalty for the
most _______________________categories of crime. The principal argument is that the punishment
should _______________________ the crime and if someone has taken someone's life, then they
should pay for that with their own. It can also be argued that _______________________ punishment
is a very strong _______________________against murder.

The causes of crime

Crime is a highly complex issue and it is no easy matter to explain what causes it. The first step is
to distinguish the different categories of crime, as there is a great difference between white-collar
crime such as _______________________, _______________________ crimes such as shoplifting
and _______________________ behaviour such as public drunkenness. It seems probable that greed
is one possible motive _______________________financial crimes, although poverty and a low level of
education may also play a part in other types of offences.

13
Verbs exercise - Match the verbs with their definitions

counterfeit defraud swindle bribe embezzle forge fake

1. bribe A to make an illegal copy of something, especially a document or

something in writing or a painting
2. embezzle B to get money illegally from a person or an organization by tricking
them (more formal)
3. forge C to make a nearly exact copy of something valuable, so that people will
think they are getting the real thing.
4. defraud D to make something false appear to be genuine, or a false situation
appear to be real.
5. fake E to cheat somebody so as to to get money or something valuable from
them (more informal)
6. counterfeit F to steal money from your employer or money that you are responsible for
7. swindle G to give somebody money or something valuable in order to persuade
them to help you, especially by doing something dishonest

Some odds and ends

Exercise – Study the words below.

avoidance the act of keeping away from or preventing from happening; the act of annulling or
making void.
The company is understood to deny that its 43 scheme constituted avoidance.
corporation A corporation is a large business or company.
dodge
If you dodge, you move suddenly, often to avoid being hit, caught, or seen.
He dodged amongst the seething crowds of men.
evasion
to avoid or attempt to avoid (a blow, discovery, etc), as by moving suddenly;
to evade (questions, etc) by cleverness or trickery
The proposal would apply to accountants, tax planners and advisers involved
in failed schemes to dodge tax.
exile He is now living in exile in Egypt.
haven
A haven is a place where people or animals feel safe, secure, and happy.
It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.
income A person's or organization's income is the money that they earn or receive,
as opposed to the money that they have to spend or pay out.
Many families on low incomes will be unable to afford to buy their own home.
To cover its costs, the company will need an annual income of £15 million.
poll (tax) A tax required as a qualification for voting.

14
Now use them to complete these expressions related to tax.

1. Companies in the UK pay __________________________tax.

2. Most individuals pay __________________________tax.
3. A trick for not paying tax, legally or illegally, is a tax __________________________.
4. Legally paying as little tax as possible is called tax __________________________.
5. A __________________________tax is paid at the same rate by everybody.
6. Illegally not paying tax due is known as tax __________________________.
7. Companies are often registered in a tax __________________________, where taxes are low.
8. Somebody who lives abroad so as to pay less tax is a tax __________________________.

Scams
Now we will move to an area which affects us all. Most of us, at one time or another, will have had
an email offering us huge amounts of money in exchange for some sort of upfront or advance
payment. Or playing on our emotions to try and get us to help somebody in apparently tragic
circumstances.

Scam = a dishonest scheme; a fraud, a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation

Exercise
Fill the gaps using the words in the box.

cowboy · cures · dating · donations · draw · pyramid · racket · ripped · sums · vulnerable

1. A scam or __________________________is a plan for fraudulently getting money from people.

2. A __________________________outfit is a company that overcharges for work that is not up to
normal professional standards, or one that "takes the money and runs".
3. If you get __________________________off, you are cheated or made to pay too much for
something.
4. In psychic or clairvoyant scams, the victims are often __________________________because they
have recently lost a loved one.
5. Lottery and prize __________________________scams tell you that you have won a prize – but first
you must pay an "administration fee".
6. In the so-called Nigerian scam, you are often offered huge __________________________to help
somebody get money out of Africa or set up business in your country.
7. In online __________________________scams the person you have struck up a relationship with
might ask you for money to help them come to your country.
8. Health scams include so-called miracle __________________________and slimming products.
9. A particularly nasty scam involves asking for ____________ to fake disaster relief charities.
10. A ___________scheme is a bit like a chain letter: you send a small amount of money to
somebody, and find a number of other people to join who send money to you

15
Phrasal verbs, prepositions etc,
See if you can spot any patterns in the following exercise.

Exercise
Fill the gaps using the words in the box.

for · from · in · into · of · off · out · up

1. He embezzled thousands __________________________his employers.

2. She talked him __________________________lending her his car.
3. He conned her __________________________of all her money.
4. He was duped __________________________investing in a non-existent holiday venture.
5. A lot of companies go to great lengths to get __________________________of paying tax.
6. They lured him __________________________giving them his bank account details.
7. I told the boss I was ill, and I think he fell __________________________it.
8. She was taken __________________________by his charm.
9. They defrauded their 'customers' out ______________ millions of pounds.
10. The fraudsters took their victims ________________ everything they'd got.
11. He was totally ripped ___________________ when he bought that car.
12. She was just leading him ___________________the garden path. She had no intention of marrying
him.

READING
Exercise – Crime

Put the following into order from least to most serious. Which do you think are considered to be
crimes?

arson dumping toxic waste fraud vandalism kidnapping

murder pick pocketing smuggling burglary swearing

Now read the text and decide whether statements 1-7 are true or false. Write the words from the text
which mean the same as or the opposite of the words in italics.

Crime

Crime is defined by society and relative to the society defining it. Traditionally, crime is considered
an offence, a violation of public rules or laws. Crime is defined within each society by specific
criminal laws on a national state and local level. Actions that are offensive to an individual or
group of people, but do not violate laws are not crimes. Punishment or other sanctions result from
the violation of these laws, and the social system for monitoring and enforcing public rules or laws
is put into action. The social system generally consists of an administrative authority that formally
deals with crime and a force of representative officers to enforce the laws and act on behalf of
society. Being guilty of a criminal act usually involves some form of conscious evil intent or
recklessness. In unintentional cases, such as crimes committed by children or the insane, the
criminal is not usually punished in the same manner as is intentional crime.

16
Theories of crime and criminal activity are numerous and varied, but the reasons behind crime
remain elusive. Theories suggest many possible causes. One theory suggests that property crime
depends on criminal motive and opportunities to perpetrate crime. It also contends that crime is
influenced by the degree to which others guard over neighbourhoods and other people. This
particular theory relates an increase in crime rate to an increase in crime opportunity and a
decrease in protection. Research also shows that income inequality correlates to property crime.

Questions

1. Offence is another word for crime.

2. The word offensive is related to crime.
3. It is the duty of the police to violate the law.
4. Generally, people who are guilty of a crime are aware of what they are doing.
5. The explanations for crime are difficult to find.
6. Crime can increase if people protect their property less.

Source: Get Ready for IELTS Writing

Authors: Jo Tomlinson, Fiona Aish
Published in: Scotland, UK
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Date of Publication: 2 November 2012
Pages: 66
Adapted by: Marcela Chavez

Source: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS

Author: University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
Published in: Cambridge, UK
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Date of Publication: 5 Oct 2006
Pages: 192, 193, 196
Adapted by: Marcela Chavez

Source: Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS

Author: Pauline Cullen
Published in: Cambridge, England
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Edición de circulación restringida sustentada en la
Date of Publication: 27 Mar 2008, 1st edition Legislación sobre Derechos de Autor
Page: 29 DECRETO LEGISLATIVO 822
Adapted by: Marcela Chavez “Artículo 43ª.- Respecto de las obras ya divulgadas lícitamente, es
permitida sin autorización del autor.
a. La reproducción por medios reprográficos, para la enseñanza o la
Source: Achieve IELTS 2, Student Book realización de exámenes en instituciones educativas, siempre que
Authors: Louis Harrison, Caroline Cushen, no haya fines de lucro y en la medida justificada por el objetivo
perseguido, de artículos o breves extractos de obras lícitamente
Susan Hutchison publicadas, a condición de que tal utilización se haga conforme a
Published in: London, UK los usos honrados y que la misma no sea objeto de venta u otra
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Ltd. transacción a título oneroso, ni tenga directa o indirectamente
Date of Publication: 18 May 2006 fines de lucro.”
............
Pages: 129, 132, 134
Adapted by: Marcela Chavez
17