PASSIVE VOICE

FUNCTIONS OF THE PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action. In other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject of the sentence.

EXAMPLES

• The passive voice is used frequently. (= we are interested in the passive voice, not in who uses it.)
• The house was built in 1654. (= we are interested in the house, not in who built it.)
• The road is being repaired. (= we are interested in the road, not in the people who are doing the repairs.)

Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to express who performed the action.

EXAMPLES

• I noticed that a window had been left open.
• Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.
• All the cookies have been eaten.
• My car has been stolen!

The passive voice is often used in formal texts. Switching to the active voice will make your writing clearer and easier to read.

Passive	Active
A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few well-chosen words.	A few well-chosen words convey a great deal of meaning.
Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases.	A mass of gases wrap around our planet.
Waste materials are disposed of in a variety of ways.	The city disposes of waste materials in a variety of ways.

If we want to say who or what performs the action while using the passive voice, we use the preposition by. When we know who performed the action and are interested in him, it is always better to switch to the active voice instead.

Passive	Active
"A Hard Day's Night" was written by the Beatles.	The Beatles wrote "A Hard Day's Night".
The movie ET was directed by Spielberg.	Spielberg directed the movie ET.
This house was built by my father.	My father built this house.

Read more about the passive voice and active equivalents for all English verb tenses.

FORMING THE PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements:
the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Negative Interrogative
The house was built in 1899.	The house wasn't built in 1899.	Was the house built in 1899?	Wasn't the house built in 1899?
These houses were built in 1899.	These houses weren't built in 1899.	Were these houses built in 1899?	Weren't these houses built in 1899?

TO CLEAN, PASSIVE VOICE

Subject	+ to be (conjugated)	+ past participle	+ rest of sentence
Simple present
The house	is	cleaned	every day.
Present continuous
The house	is being	cleaned	at the moment.
Simple past
The house	was	cleaned	yesterday.
Past continuous
The house	was being	cleaned	last week.
Present perfect
The house	has been	cleaned	since you left.
Past perfect
The house	had been	cleaned	before they arrived.
Future
The house	will be	cleaned	next week.
Future continuous
The house	will be being	cleaned	tomorrow.
Present conditional
The house	would be	cleaned	if they had visitors.
Past conditional
The house	would have been	cleaned	if it had been dirty.
Inifinitive
The house	must be	cleaned	before we arrive.

PASSIVE VOICE WITH INFINITIVES

The infinitive passive voice is used after modal verbs and other most verbs normally followed by an infinitive.

EXAMPLES

• You have to be tested on your English grammar.
• John might be promoted next year.
• She wants to be invited to the party.
• I expect to be surprised on my birthday.
• You may be disappointed.

PASSIVE VOICE WITH GERUNDS

Gerunds are used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund.

EXAMPLES

• I remember being taught to drive.
• The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
• The children are excited to be taken to the zoo.
• Most film stars hate being interviewed.
• Most film stars hate to be interviewed.
• Poodles like to be pampered.
• Poodles like being pampered.

USING "TO BE BORN"

"To be born" is an passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense. However, in some cases, the present or future tense is appropriate.

EXAMPLES

• I was born in 1976.
• Where were you born?
• Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
• We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.

Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get or to have instead of the verb to be. A separate page deals with these alternative ways to form the passive voice.

 sumber:http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/passive-voice/

Read More

INFINITIVE

FORMING THE INFINITIVE

The infinitive is the base form of a verb. In English, when we talk about the infinitive we are usually referring to the present infinitive, which is the most common. There are, however, four other forms of the infinititive: the perfect infinitive, the perfect continuous infinitive, the continuous infinitive, & the passive infinitive.

The infinitive has two forms:

• the to-infinitive = to + base
• the zero infinitive = base

The present infinitive base is the verb form you will find in a dictionary.

To-infinitive	Zero infinitive
to sit	sit
to eat	eat
to have	have
to remember	remember

The negative infinitive is formed by putting not in front of any form of the infinitive.

EXAMPLES

• I decided not to go to London.
• He asked me not to be late.
• I'd like you not to sing so loudly.
• I'd rather not eat meat.
• I might not come.

FUNCTIONS OF THE TO-INFINITIVE

The to-infinitive is used in many sentence constructions, often expressing the purpose of something or someone's opinion about something. The to-infinitive is used following a large collection of different verbs as well. See this page about verbs followed by infinitives.

THE TO-INFINITIVE TO INDICATE THE PURPOSE OR INTENTION OF AN ACTION

In this case to has the same meaning as in order to or so as to.

EXAMPLES

• She came to collect her pay cheque.
• The three bears went to find firewood.
• I am calling to ask you about dad.
• You sister has gone to finish her homework.

THE TO-INFINITIVE AS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE

This is a formal usage and is far more common in written English than spoken

EXAMPLES

• To be or not to be, that is the question.
• To know her is to love her.
• To visit the Grand Canyon is my life-long dream.
• To understand statistics, that is our aim.

THE TO-INFINITIVE TO INDICATE WHAT SOMETHING CAN OR WILL BE USED FOR

In this pattern, the to-infinitive follows a noun or pronoun.

EXAMPLES

• The children need a garden to play in.
• I would like a sandwich to eat.
• I don't have anything to wear.
• Would you like something to drink?

THE TO-INFINITIVE AFTER ADJECTIVES

There is a common pattern using the to-infinitive with an adjective. These phrases are formed:
subject + to be + adjective + (for/of someone) + to-infinitive + (rest of sentence)

Subject	+ to be	+ adjective	(+ for/of someone)	+ to-infinitive	(+ rest of sentence)
It	is	good		to talk.
It	is	good	of you	to talk	to me.
It	is	important		to be patient.
It	is	important	for Jake	to be patient	with his little brother.
I	am	happy		to be	here.
The dog	is	naughty		to destroy	our couch.

THE TO-INFINITIVE TO MAKE A COMMENT OR JUDGEMENT

To use the to-infinitive when making a comment or judgement about a noun, the pattern is:
Subject + to be + noun phrase + to-infinitive

Subject	+ to be	+ noun phrase	+ to-infinitive
It	was	a stupid place	to park.
That	is	a dangerous way	to behave.
What you said	was	a rude thing	to say.
This	is	the right thing	to do.
Those	were	the wrong kind of eggs	to buy.
Jim	is	the best person	to hire.

THE TO-INFINITIVE WITH ADVERBS

The to-infinitive is used frequently with the adverbs too and enough to express the reasoning behind our satisfaction or insatisfaction. The pattern is that too and enough are placed before or after the adjective, adverb, or noun that they modify in the same way they would be without the to-infinitive. We then follow them by the to-infinitive to explain the reason why the quantity is excessive, sufficient, or insufficient. Normally the to-infinitive and everything that follows can be removed, leaving a sentence that still functions grammatically.

EXAMPLES

• There's too much sugar to put in this bowl.
• I had too many books to carry.
• This soup is too hot to eat.
• She was too tired to work.
• He arrived too late to see the actors.
• I've had enough food to eat.
• She's old enough to make up her own mind.
• There isn't enough snow to ski on.
• You're not old enough to have grand-children!

THE TO-INFINITIVE WITH QUESTION WORDS

The verbs ask, decide, explain, forget, know, show, tell, & understand can be followed by a question word such as where, how, what, who, & when + the to-infinitive.

EXAMPLES

• She asked me how to use the washing machine.
• Do you understand what to do?
• Tell me when to press the button.
• I've forgotten where to put this little screw.
• I'm not sure I know who to call.

FUNCTIONS OF THE ZERO INFINITIVE

THE ZERO INFINITIVE AFTER AUXILIARIES

EXAMPLES

• She can't speak to you.
• He should give her some money.
• Shall I talk to him?
• Would you like a cup of coffee?
• I might stay another night in the hotel.
• They must leave before 10.00 a.m.

THE ZERO INFINITIVE AFTER VERBS OF PERCEPTION

With verbs of perception, the pattern is verb + object + zero infinitive.

EXAMPLES

• He saw her fall from the cliff.
• We heard them close the door.
• They saw us walk toward the lake.
• She felt the spider crawl up her leg.

THE ZERO INFINITIVE AFTER THE VERBS 'MAKE' AND 'LET'

EXAMPLES

• Her parents let her stay out late.
• Let's go to the cinema tonight.
• You made me come with you.
• Don't make me study that boring grammar book!

THE ZERO INFINITIVE AFTER THE EXPRESSION 'HAD BETTER'

EXAMPLES

• We had better take some warm clothing.
• She had better ask him not to come.
• We had better reserve a room in the hotel.
• You'd better give me your address.
• They had better work harder on their homework.

THE ZERO INFINITIVE WITH "WHY"

The question word why is followed by the zero infinitive when making suggestions.

EXAMPLES

• Why wait until tomorrow?
• Why not ask him now?
• Why leave before the end of the game?
• Why walk when we can go in the car?
• Why not buy a new bed?

 sumber:http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/infinitive/

Read More

THE -ING FORMS

A verb ending in -ing is either a present participle or a gerund. These two forms look identical. The difference is in their functions in a sentence.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES

A present participle is most commonly used as part of the continuous form of a verb, after verbs of perception, after verbs of movement, or as an adjective.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AS PART OF THE CONTINUOUS FORM OF A VERB

Present participles are an element in all continuous verb forms (past, present, future, conditional, etc.). The helping verb will indicate the tense, while the present participle remains unchanging.

EXAMPLES

• He is painting.
• She was waiting.
• They will be coming.
• We would be staying.
• I would have been leaving.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AFTER VERBS OF PERCEPTION

Present participles can be used after verbs of perception in the pattern verb + object + present participle to indicate the action being perceived.

EXAMPLES

• We saw him swimming across the pond.
• I watched her painting Sarah's portrait.
• I couldn't hear her singing because of the noise.
• I would like to see you knitting sometime.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AFTER VERBS OF MOVEMENT, ACTION, OR POSITION, TO INDICATE PARALLEL ACTIVITY.

EXAMPLES

• She sat looking at the sea.
• He walks reading his newspaper.
• I cook listening to the radio.
• Sally lay listening to the bugs in the grass.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AS ADJECTIVES

EXAMPLES

• Did you read that amazing book?
• This movie is so exciting!
• His economics class is boring.

Read more about using present participles.

GERUNDS

The gerund always has the same function as a noun, although it looks like a verb. It can be used in the same way as a noun.

A GERUND AS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE

EXAMPLES

• Eating people is wrong.
• Driving too fast is dangerous.
• Walking is good for you.
• Your knitting it beautiful.

A GERUND AFTER PREPOSITIONS

EXAMPLES

• Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
• She is good at painting.
• I was the fastest at climbing the rope.
• He learns music by listening to the chords.

A GERUND AFTER CERTAIN SPECIFIC VERBS

EXAMPLES

• I like cooking.
• He enjoys walking.
• They hate milking cows.
• I can imagine drifting away in a balloon.

A GERUND IN COMPOUND NOUNS

EXAMPLES

• I took her to her driving lessons.
• We are going to the swimming pool.
• My uncle does a lot of bird-watching.
• I found this pie by dumpster-diving.

sumber:http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/ing-forms/

Read More