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RULE 1 Use the passive to put the focus on the person or thing affected by the action start learning
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I've been given quite a few fines over the years.
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RULE 2 a) Use the passive when the person or thing that did the action: a) is obvious. start learning
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But we're being sent stuff all the time anyway.
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RULE 2 b) Use the passive when the person or thing that did the action: b) is unknown. start learning
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Not long ago a friend of mine was robbed at a bus stop.
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RULE 2 c) Use the passive when the person or thing that did the action: c) isn't important. start learning
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I don't want to be sent adverts from companies that I don't know.
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RULE 2 d) Use the passive when the person or thing that did the action: d) isn't the main focus. start learning
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I think statistically more crimes are solved because of CCTV than not.
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RULE 3 Use the passive to bring the object of the verb to the beginning of the sentence, start learning
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Money should be spent somewhere else to be honest.
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RULE 4 Use the passive to make certain written texts (e.g. academic) more impersonal or formal. start learning
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I think statistically more crimes are solved because of CCTV than not.
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Not long ago a friend of mine was robbed at a bus stop. start learning
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I think statistically more crimes are solved because of CCTV than not. start learning
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I don't want to be sent adverts from companies that I don't know. start learning
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But we're being sent stuff all the time anyway. start learning
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I've been given quite a few fines over the years. start learning
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Money should be spent somewhere else to be honest. start learning
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A friend of mine was robbed. start learning
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start learning
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I don't want to be sent adverts. start learning
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We're being sent stuff all the time. start learning
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Money should be spent somewhere else. start learning
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A cat's, operated, this, My, being, on, afternoon start learning
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My cat's being operated on this afternoon.
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be, He'll, later, or, sooner, caught start learning
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He'll be caught sooner or later.
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badly, in, fire, was, burnt, the, Kim start learning
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Kim was burnt badly/badly burnt in the fire.
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of, middle, the, in, up, woken, being, mind, don't, They, night, the start learning
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They don't mind being woken up in the middle of the night.
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is, the, catches, It, that, bird, worm, said, early, the start learning
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It is said that the early bird catches the worm.
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the, asked, whole, I've, give, been, to, speech, to, school, a start learning
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I've been asked to give a speech to the whole school
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at, by, She's, be, desk, day, to, her, 9 a.m., expected, every start learning
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She's expected to be at her desk by 9 a.m. every day.
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monitored, sometimes, emails, supervisor, by, their, are, Employees' start learning
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Employees' emails are sometimes monitored by their supervisor.
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hurt, you, care, Someone, get, if, could, take, don'y start learning
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Someone could get hurt if you don't take care.
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crash, nobody, It, has, is, survived, believed, the, that start learning
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It is believed that nobody has survived the crash.
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Google Street View (use) to help find a kidnapped child in rural Georgia. start learning
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Google Street View has been used to help find a kidnapped child in rural Georgia.
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Ten-year-old Maria Nadal, from Atlanta, Georgia, (find) safely at a motel on Tuesday. start learning
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Ten-year-old Maria Nadal, from Atlanta, Georgia, was found safely at a motel on Tuesday.
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She (discovered) by Police Officer Ned Beales and Deputy Fire Chief Louis Thomas. start learning
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She was discovered by Police Officer Ned Beales and Deputy Fire Chief Louis Thomas
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They (put) the coordinates from Maria's mobile phone into Google Street View and were able to identify one of the buildings as a motel. start learning
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They put the coordinates from Maria's mobile phone into Google Street View and were able to identify one of the buildings as a motel.
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start learning
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A woman has been arrested.
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She (believe) to be Maria's grandmother, start learning
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She's believed to be Maria's grandmother,
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and family friends said that the woman had complained about (separate) from the little girl. start learning
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and family friends said that the woman had complained about being separated from the little girl.
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Legal experts say she (might, give) a warning and a fine rather than go to prison because she is a family member. start learning
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Legal experts say she might be given a warning and a fine rather than go to prison because she is a family member.
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Read the text about microchips. Underline the best form, active or passive, so that it a) keeps the focus on the main ideas and b) is correct. start learning
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Microchips are everywhere...
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... and their uses range from the ordinary to the more worrying. For example, (?) in food packaging. companies can place them/they can be placed start learning
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... and their uses range from the ordinary to the more worrying. For example, they can be placed in food packaging. This keeps microchips as the main focus
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Then your fridge monitors your food so that (?) when it's time for they can remind you/you can be reminded start learning
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Then your fridge monitors your food so that you can be reminded when it's time for now the focus shifts to "you" and what "you" do, i.e., it's not focusing primarily on the microchips anymore
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you can be reminded when it's time for (?). you to buy something/a product to be bought. start learning
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you can be reminded when it's time for you to buy something.
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The medical world has suggested that (?) in newborn babies. Then the person's movements and habits can be tracked throughout their lives. doctors could implant microchips/microchips could be implanted start learning
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The medical world has suggested that microchips could be implanted in newborn babies. Then the person's movements and habits can be tracked throughout their lives. keep the focus on microchips, the main topic of the whole text
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Scientists could also implant/ Microchips could also be implanted start learning
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Microchips could also be implanted in criminals keep the focus on microchips
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so that police can (?) track of them, start learning
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so that police can keep track of them, "police" is the subject or agent of the verb, so it needs an active verb
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and possibly identify the whereabouts of known criminals at the time (?) someone commits a crime/a crime is committed. start learning
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and possibly identify the whereabouts of known criminals at the time a crime is committed. we don't know who commits the crime
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And if you're a kind of person who loses things easily, (?) you can buy a set of clip-on microchips/a set of clip-on microchips can be bought start learning
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And if you're a kind of person who loses things easily, you can buy a set of clip-on microchips the new focus is on "you", established at the beginning of this sentence
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which (?) to any object you want to keep track of - for example your handbag. you can attach/can be attached start learning
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which can be attached to any object you want to keep track of - for example your handbag. both answers are possible, but "can be attached" sounds better since the focus has just shifted to "a set of clip-on microchips"
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If the object gets lost, (?) to find it. you can use your phone/your phone can be used start learning
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If the object gets lost, your phone can be used to find it. both answers are possible, "you can use your phone" sounds slightly less formal
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