English Grammar Exercises for B1 B2 – The passive 1

A. Underline the correct option.

1   Shellfish open / are opened with a knife.

2   Who invented / was invented the Internet?

3   This metal is calling / is called steel.

4   People have known / have been known about these metals for years.

5   The money was collecting / was being collected when we arrived.

6   That old coat should throw away / should be thrown away.

7   How are you made / do you make bread?

8   She has not invited / was not invited to the party.

B. Rewrite these sentences using the passive.

1    QUIET AREA. We do not allow mobile phones.

      QUIET AREA. Mobile phones are not allowed.

2    Someone may request ID.

      …………………………………………

3    You must show tickets at the door.

      …………………………………………

4    If you leave a bag in the station, someone will take it away and someone may destroy it.

      …………………………………………

5    We do not accept credit cards.

      …………………………………………

6    Please do not make too much noise, or we will ask you to leave.

      …………………………………………

7    You must wear hard hats.

      …………………………………………

8    You should carry ID at all times.

      …………………………………………

C. Complete the text, using the words in brackets in an appropriate from of the passive.

Today, aluminium 1……is…… so widely ……used…… (use) that it is hard to imagine a world without it. It is a strong but light metal which 2……………………… (can / shape) into drinks cans and window frames. It is a common metal for building cars and aeroplanes. NASA’s space shuttles 3……………………… (could not / build) without it – each space shuttle is 90% aluminium.

Large amounts of aluminium 4……………………… (only / produce) for around 100 years, but the metal 5……………………… (discover) a long time before that, possibly as much as 2,000 years before. Aluminium comes from bauxite, a rock which 6……………………… (find) in hot places such as rainforests. The bauxite 7……………………… (take) to a factory where it 8……………………… (heat) to produce aluminium. It took many years to find a process for getting the metal out of the bauxite. As a result, when aluminium 9……………………… (first / produce), the price of the metal was higher than that of gold.

It is an expensive process because large amounts of electricity 10……………………… (need). For this reason, a lot of aluminium 11……………………… (reuse). Never throw a drinks can away – it 12……………………… (can / recycle) easily.

D. What is being done in each picture? Complete the sentences using the verbs from the box and a passive form.

3   The floor ………………………………

6   She ………………………………

E. Complete these short newspaper reports using the verbs in brackets in the active or passive form. Then write a suitable headline for each report using the passive. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

NEWS IN BRIEF

……INCREASE BLAMED ON INTERNET SHOPPING……

There 1……has been…… (be) an increase in the number of city centre shops which 2………………… (close) recently. The increase 3………………… (blame) on Internet shopping.

…………………………………………..

Drivers in Newport 4………………… (waste) petrol when they wait in traffic jams. Plans 5………………… (put forward) to encourage drivers to turn off their engines. Drivers 6………………… (could / ask) to pay up to £100 for keeping their engines on.

…………………………………………..

A man 7………………… (arrest) in Newport city centre yesterday. He 8………………… (try) to steal a CCTV camera from outside a car park. The man 9………………… currently ………………… (question) by police.

…………………………………………..

Twenty-eight-year-old film director, Max Tobin, 10………………… (get) married in secret last week. The well-known director 11………………… (born) and 12………………… (bring up) in Newport. He recently 13………………… (make) a film about local boy, Tom Lewis.

F. Write six sentences about this film using the facts below. Use the passive where appropriate.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 1980

Director: Irvin Kershner

Story for the first six Star Wars films by: George Lucas Mark Hamill (actor) = Luke Skywalker

OSCAR ® for best sound

Filming: in Norway and the Elstree Studios in London

Following film: Return of the Jedi

Example: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was made in 1980.

1   ………………………………………………………

2   ………………………………………………………

3   ………………………………………………………

4   ………………………………………………………

5   ………………………………………………………

6   ………………………………………………………

G. What can (not) or should (not) be done with these things? Write two sentences for each item, using both modal verbs.

1   a rusty spoon.

      ………………………………………………………

2   a plastic fork

      ………………………………………………………

3    an old shoe

      ………………………………………………………

4    a copper pan

      ………………………………………………………

5    a used toothbrush

      ………………………………………………………

6    bitter chocolate

      ………………………………………………………

7    dry bread

      ………………………………………………………

8    an old-fashioned mobile phone

      ………………………………………………………

Example: 1   It can be cleaned. It should not be used for eating.

H. Circle the correct option.

1    Your request is ………… considered.

      a being     b been     c be

2    When …………?

      a discovered penicillin?

      b was penicillin be discovered?

      c was penicillin discovered?

3    I could see that a lot of work ………… on the house.

      a had done

      b had been done

      c has been doing

4    She looked round to see if she ………… followed.

      a was be     b was been     c was being

5    When will the results …………?

      a be announced

      b announce

      c being announced?