English Grammar

Passive voice

Form
Tense Passive
Present simple The car is repaired.
Present continuous The car is being repaired.
Past simple The car was repaired.
Past continuous The car was being repaired.
Present perfect The car has just been repaired.
Past perfect The car had been repaired.
Future simple The car will be repaired.
Present conditional The car would be repaired.
Perfect conditional The car would have been repaired.
-The passive voice in English is formed with the verb to be and the past participle,
which is different for regular verbs (translated, mended) and irregular verbs (taken,
thrown).
Statement: The letter is written. This shop has been opened.
Question: Is the letter written? Has the shop been opened?
Negative: The letter is not written. The shop has not been opened.
-The passive continuous forms of the present and past tense are as follows. (Other
tenses are not normally used in the continuous.)
Present: A new house is being built in our street.
Past: A new house was being built in our street.
-In all the examples above the agent is not mentioned and so we do not know it.
Similarly: Flowers were planted in the garden. (We do not know who did it).
If we want to say who planted the flowers we mention the agent at the end of the
sentence and use the preposition by.
The flowers were planted by my mother.
But: The window was smashed with a stone. (The stone is not the agent. We do not
know who smashed the window. We only know how he or she did it).
Passive voice with direct and indirect objects
If there are both the direct and indirect objects in the sentence, the indirect object
becomes the subject.
Active: My friend sent me a letter.
Passive: I was sent a letter by my friend. (Not: A letter was sent to me by my friend.
This sentence does not sound natural in English.)
Similarly: They offer Trevor a place. - Trevor is offered a place.

Passive with verbs followed by the infinitive without to

In the active some verbs are followed by the infinitive without to. In the passive we
use most such verbs with the infinitive with to.
Active: We saw them come. She made him do it.
Passive: They were seen to come. He was made to do it.
But: They let us go. - We were let go.

Use
The passive voice is used:
1. If the action is more important then the agent.
A demonstration has been held. This theatre was built in 1868.
The important thing is what happened, not who did it.
2. If the agent is not known.
He was offered a job. (someone offered him the job)
They are supposed to be good students. (some teachers suppose that)

The difference in meaning between the passive of simple and continuous tenses.
-A new house is built in our street. (The house is finished.)
A new house is being built in our street. (They are building it these days, it is not
finished.)
-I was being introduced to Mrs. Jones when her husband arrived. (Her husband arrived
in the middle of the introduction.)
When her husband arrived I was introduced to Mrs. Jones. (Her husband arrived first
and then she introduced me. )
Notes
-The passive voice is typical of an impersonal and formal style, that is why you can
often find it in public notices, announcements, instructions or scientific articles.
English is spoken in this shop. Visitors are not allowed to smoke. The seal must be
removed.
-In a less formal style the active is more usual.
English is spoken in this shop. - We speak English in this shop.
He was seen in Dover. - They saw him in Dover.
The seal must be removed. - You must remove the seal.
-In the English language the passive is more frequent than in many other languages.
Moreover, you can find some structures in English which are not possible in some
languages.
I am told that you are going to have a baby. It is thought that the crises will end soon.

Modal verbs can, may, must

We use the modal verbs can, may, must in the English language to express various
meanings - ability, possibility, permission, attitudes, opinions, etc.
Modal (auxiliary) verb CAN
1. Can is used to describe the ability to do something.
I can swim very well.
Can he can speak English fluently? - No, he can't.
We cannot sing at all!
2. Can expresses the possibility to do something.
We can go to the seaside at last. Our holidays start next week.
3. We use can to say that something is probable.
It can be John. He has blond hair and he is wearing glasses.
4. Can expresses the permission to do something.
Why not? You can marry her. She is a nice girl.

Modal (auxiliary) verb MAY

1. May is used for permissions.
You may borrow my car. I won't need it.
May I smoke here? - No, you can't, I'm sorry.
2. May is used for expressing probability or prediction.
They may call tomorrow. I hope so.
The main difference between may and can is in style. May is more formal than can.
Can is typical of spoken English.
3. The opposite of may is must not or may not.
May I smoke here?
- You mustn't smoke here. (strong prohibition)
- You may not smoke here. (more polite, very formal)
- You can't smoke here. (informal spoken English)
Modal (auxiliary) verb MUST
1. Must is used for strong obligations. It is personal, because it shows the speaker's
opinion or will.
I must clean my teeth. I want to be healthy.
You must go there. And do it right now!
2. Must expresses strong recommendation.
You must see it. It's the best film I've ever seen.
3. We use must to express certainty of the speaker.
They must be at school by now. It's already 9 o'clock.
4. The opposite of must is need not.
Mum, must I wash up? - No, you needn't. I've already done it.

Must not has a different meaning. It is used to express prohibition that involves the
speaker's will.
We mustn't come late today. Or the teacher will be very angry.
He mustn't enter this room. It is dangerous.

Imperative sentences

The second person imperative

-We can express commands in English by the imperative made with the infinitive
without to.
Be careful. Open your books. Come here.
-For the negative commands we put do not or don't before the imperative.
Don't be late. Do not sit down. Don't have so many bags.
-We can mention the person in the command, usually at the end of the sentence.
Have something to eat, Greg. Gregu, dej si něco k jídlu.
-If we talk to more people, we use the pronoun you to make the distinction between
them.
You take these bags and you park the car. You wait here and I'll call the police.

Emphatic imperative
-In writing it is not usual to use an exclamation mark in the imperative. If we put it at
the end of the command, it becomes more urgent.
Wait! Don't do that!
-We can make an emphatic imperative with do and imperative. It is common in polite
requests.
Do sit down. Do be reasonable.
-On the other hand, do before the imperative can express the irritation of the speaker.
Do be quiet. Do come on time.
-You before the imperative also shows the speaker's anger or even rudeness.
You get out of here. Don't you follow me.
-In a different context, however, it can show your positive emotions.
Don't you be so sad.

The first person imperative

-The English language makes the first person imperative with let + me or let + us.
Let me do it for you. Let me see.
Let us go. Let's take our car.
-For the negative we put not before the imperative.
Let us not be worried.
-In spoken English it is possible to use don't at the beginning of the sentence.
Don't let's be worried.

The third person imperative

-We make it with let + him/her/it/them and the infinitive without to.
Let him go. Let her explain it. Let it be. Let them try it. Let the customers pay
immediately.
-This form is not very common in modern English. It is more usual to say the same in
a different way.
He must go. She should explain it. Leave it alone. They can try it. The customers must
pay immediately.
-The negative imperative in the third person is archaic. We use more common forms
instead.
They mustn't stay here. Mary is not to travel alone.

Polite requests
-We can make a polite request in English if we put shall we or will you at the end of
the imperative. This is
used in positive requests.
Let's get started, shall we? Be careful, will you?
-If you want to be even more polite, you can use questions instead of commands.
Will you pass me the salt, please? Will you help me? Could you do it for me? Would
you mind opening the window?

Infinitive and Gerund

Bare infinitive (without to)

-We usually use infinitives with to in the English language.
I want to go. I told him to come.
-The infinitive without to (bare infinitive) is used as follows.
1. After modal verbs - can, may, must, needn't, dare ...
I can bring it. He may take it. You must buy it. We needn't open it. He dared not tell
me.
The verbs dare and need can also be followed by the infinitive with to. In such
sentences we use do to make questions and negatives.
I dared not call you. x I didn't dare to call you. These two sentences have the same
meaning, only the form is different.
You needn't listen to him. (You don't have to listen to him.) x You don't need to listen
to him. (There is no need to listen.) These two sentences are different in the form and
meaning, too.
2. After the verbs of senses - feel, hear, see, watch.
We saw you swim. I heard her sing.
-It is more common, however, to use -ing form in English after the verbs of senses. We
saw you swimming. I heard her singing.
-But: In the passive voice the infinitive with to must be used after these verbs.
She was seen to cry.
3. After some more expressions - let, make, would rather, had better, help.
Don't let him go. She made me drive. I'd rather finish it. You'd better start. I helped
them carry it.
-The verb help can also be followed by the infinitive with to.
I helped them to carry it.
-But the passive voice is followed by the infinitive with to.
I was made to drive. He was let to go.

Infinitive or gerund?
In English some verbs are followed by infinitive (They agreed to come), other verbs
are followed by gerund (Did you enjoy flying?) and there are also verbs followed by
infinitive and gerund (She began to work - She began working).
1. The verbs followed by infinitive only.
agree decide hope order promise
allow demand instruct permit refuse
appear encourage invite persuade remind
arrange fail learn plan seem
ask forbid manage prepare swear
choose force offer pretend warn
He decided to study at university. We hoped to find it. Did he seem to like it? They
allowed me to smoke.
I ordered my son to send it.
2. The expressions followed by infinitive.
be about make up one's mind turn out
do one's best set out
He was about to start. I did my best to learn it. I haven't made up my mind to start yet.
It turned out to be your car. We set out to cut the tree.
3. The verbs followed by gerund only.
admit enjoy forgive mind risk
consider escape imagine miss suggest
delay excuse insist practice understand
dislike finish keep prevent
She admitted telling him. Did you escape writing the test? I don't want to risk coming
late.
Excuse, forgive and prevent are used with three different forms.
Excuse my being late. Excuse me being late. Excuse me for being late.
4. The expressions followed by gerund.
be against can't help look forward to
be interested in care for it's no use/good
can't stand give up it's worth
I can't stand waiting for hours. I can't help laughing. Don't give up studying this
chapter. It's no use working so late. Is the film worth seeing?
5. The verbs followed by infinitives and gerunds.
A. With the same meaning.
begin can't bear allow recommend it requires
start intend permit it needs it wants
continue advise
Did you continue driving/to drive? He can't bear smoking/to smoke.

If the verbs advise, allow, permit, recommend are used with the indirect object, they
are followed by infinitive. If not, gerund must be used.
They didn't allow us to eat there. They didn't allow eating there.
She recommended John to read this book. She recommended reading this book.

After the expressions it needs/requires/wants gerund is more common than infinitive.

The car needs washing/to be washed. The flower wants watering/to be watered.
B. The verbs that have a different meaning with infinitive or gerund.
-Remember
I remember watching the match. It was fantastic. We use gerund to talk about earlier
actions.
I remembered to watch the match. And so I sat down and switched on the TV. The
infinitive is used to talk about following actions.
-Try
I tried calling him because I needed to test my new mobile phone. I made an
experiment with my mobile.
I tried to call him because I needed to meet him. I made an attempt to get in touch with
him.
-Love/like/hate/prefer
In the conditional tense these verbs are used with the infinitive.
I'd like to drive. I'd love to drive. I'd hate to drive. I'd prefer to drive.
-In other tenses they are used with infinitives or gerunds, but both forms have a
slightly different meaning.
I like driving. I love driving. I hate driving. I prefer driving.
I like to drive. I love to drive. I hate to drive. I prefer to drive.
-Compare:
I like going to the cinema. (I enjoy it.)
I like to go to the dentist twice a year. (I don't enjoy it, but I go there, because it is
good for my health.)
I hate ironing. (It is my least favorite activity. I never enjoy it.)
I hate to iron on Sundays. (I don't mind ironing, but not on Sundays.)
-Go on
After dinner he went on showing us his photos.
The gerund is used when we want to say that a previous activity continues.
He gave us a lecture on the Greek history. And then he went on to show us his photos
from Greece.
The infinitive is used when we want to describe an activity that follows a previous
action and is somehow connected to it.
-Stop
I stopped smoking. This means that I do not smoke anymore.
I stopped to smoke. I made a pause to have a cigarette.

-Mean
I didn't mean to hurt you. I say that I didn't do it on purpose.
We can go to Spain. But it means spending more money. In this sentence we describe
the consequences.
-Be afraid
She was afraid of getting married. Any marriage is something that frightens her.
She was afraid to marry Bill. She doesn't mind getting married, but the marriage with
Bill frightens her.
-I'm sorry
I'm sorry for telling you. I apologize for a previuous action.
I'm sorry to tell you that your flight will be delayed. I apologize for something that will
happen.
-The infinitive with this expression can also mean sorrow.
I'm sorry to hear that your wife is ill.

Note
There are a lot of verbs and expressions that are used with gerunds and infinitives. In
this chapter we only tried to mention the most frequently used verbs.

Conditional tense

Present conditional tense

Form :
Statement: I would practise
Negative: He would not practise
Question: Would you practise?
Neg. question: Would she not practise?
Short forms: I'd practise, He wouldn't practise, Wouldn't we practise?

Use:
-We use the present conditional tense in English to speculate about present or future
situations that could theoretically happen. This tense is used when the action is either
impossible (unreal) or when we do not think that the action will happen.
He would sign it. (But he can't. It is not possible.)
I would travel by plane. (If I wanted to go on holiday. But I do not want to go.)
-In the first person singular and plural should instead of would is also possible. But it
is not very common in modern English.
I should/would be really glad. (If you could help me). We should/would send the fax.
(But we do not know
how to do it).
-Should, however, can also express a recommendation or advice. In this respect, it is
similar to ought to.
I should study tonight. I ought to study tonight. (Or I will fail the exam tomorrow.)
He should drive carefully. He ought to drive carefully. (Or he will crash one day.)
You should speak loudly. You ought to speak loudly. (I can't hear you.)
-Could and might are conditional forms of can and may. They are used to speculate
about the present or future. Could indicates theoretical possibility, might indicates
possibility + uncertainty.
She could come with us tomorrow. (It is possible. She will be free.)
She might come with us tomorrow. (We hope that it is possible, but we are not sure.)
-Could is also the past form of can and expresses possibility, ability or permission in
the past.
Possibility: She could travel in our car. (It was possible because we had a free seat for
her.)
Ability: She could play again in the last match. (She was able to play because she was
not ill anymore.)
Permission: She could come with us last weekend. (Her father allowed her to go.)

Perfect conditional tense

Form :
Statement: I would have practised
Negative: He would not have given
Question: Would you have practised?
Neg. question: Would she not have written?
Short forms: I'd have practised, He wouldn't have given, Wouldn't we have written?
We make the perfect conditional tense with would and the perfect infinitive (have +
past participle).
-In the first person singular and plural should instead of would is also possible. But it
is not very common in modern English.

Use :
We use the perfect conditional tense in English to speculate about the past situations
which were theoretically possible, but did not happen in fact.
I would have learnt it. (But I didn't learn it). I would have told her. (But she didn't want
to listen.) She wouldn't have married me. (Because she didn't like me.)
Compare the present and perfect conditionals :
-Present conditional: She would lend me some money now. (She is willing to lend me
the money. I will ask her.)
-Perfect conditional: She would have lent me some money last year. (She was willing
to lend me the money, but I didn't ask her.)
-Similarly: I would do it. Will you help me? x I would have done it. But you didn't
help me.

-Should, could and might are used in the same way.

You should finish it soon. x You should have finished it. Why did you give up?
We might have dinner. I am hungry. x We might have had dinner. But we didn't eat
anything.
-They could fly tomorrow. x They could have flown last week. But they stayed at
home.
Should + perfect infinitive (should have finished) is used to express regrets or
recommendations concerning the past.
He shouldn't have refused it. It was a good offer. (It is a pity that he refused it.)
-Might + perfect infinitive (might have had) and could + perfect infinitive (could have
flown) are used to speculate about the past. We say that something was possible, but
we know that it did not happen.
He might/could have died. But they rescued him.
He might/could have won. But he didn't buy a lottery ticket.

Compare :
-In English we can also speculate about the past with may + perfect infinitive (it is not
the conditional tense, however). In this case we do knot know if the action really
happened or not.
He may have died. (It is possible that he died. But maybe he is still alive.)
He may have won. (It is possible that he won. But maybe he lost.)