Exercise 8. Put the verb into the correct form, present simple or past simple, active or passive

1 It's a big factory. Five hundred people are employed (employ) there.

2 Water……(cover) most of the Earth's surface.

3 Most of the Earth's surface……(cover) by water.

4 The park gates……(lock) at 6.30 p.m. every evening.

5 The letter……(post) a week ago and it……(arrive) yesterday.

6 The boat……(sink) quickly but fortunately everybody

……(rescue).

7 Ron's parents……(die) when he was very young. He and his sister

……(bring) up by their grandparents.

8 I was born in London but I……(grow) up in the north of England.

9 While I was on holiday, my camera……(steal) from my hotel room.

10 While I was on holiday, my camera……(disappear) from my hotel room.

11 Why……(Sue/resign) from her job? Didn't she enjoy it?

12 Why……(Bill/sack) from his job? What did he do wrong?

13 The company is not independent. It……(own) by a much larger company.

14 I saw an accident last night. Somebody……(call) an ambulance but

Nobody……(injure) so the ambulance……(not/need).

15 Where……(these photographs/take)? In London? …… (you/take) them?

Exercise 9. Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using 'somebody/they/people' etc. write a passive sentence.

1 Somebody cleans the room every day. The room is cleaned everyday.

2 They cancelled all flights because of fog. All……

3 People don't use this road very often……

4 Somebody accused me of stealing money. I……

5 How do people learn languages? How……

6 People advised us not to go out alone……

Exercise 10. What do these words mean? Use it can... or it can't.... Use a dictionary if necessary.

If something is

1 washable, it can be washed. 4........................................ unusable,……

2 unbreakable, it…… 5……invisible,……

3 edible, it…… 6……portable,……

Exercise 11. Complete these sentences with one of the following verbs (in the correct form):

carry cause do make repair send spend wake up

Sometimes you need have ('might have', 'could have' etc.).

1 The situation is serious. Something must be done before it's too late.

2 I haven't received the letter. It might have been sent to the wrong address.

3 A decision will not……until the next meeting.

4 I told the hotel receptionist that I wanted to……at 6.30 the next morning.

5 Do you think that less money should……on armaments?

6 This road is in very bad condition. It should……a long time ago.

7 The injured man couldn't walk and had to……

8 It's not certain how the fire started but it might……by an

electrical fault.

Exercise 12. Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using 'somebody' or 'they', write a passive sentence.

1 Somebody has cleaned the room. The room has been cleaned.

2 They have postponed the concert. The……

3 Somebody is using the computer at the moment. The computer……

4 I didn't realise that somebody was recording our conversation.

I didn't realise that……

5 When we got to the stadium we found that they had cancelled the game.

When we got to the stadium, we found that……

6 They are building a new ring road round the city.

……

7 They have built a new hospital near the airport.

……