FROM GRAMMAR TO WRITING

PART 1 Editing Advice

1. Use be, not do, to make negatives and questions with the passive voice. wasn’t

The movie didn’t made in Hollywood. 2. Don’t use the passive voice with intransitive verbs.

The main character was died at the end of the movie.

3. Don’t confuse the present participle with the past participle. eaten

Popcorn is often eating during a movie. 4. Don’t forget the –d/–ed ending for a regular past participle. ed d

Music was play during silent movies. I got bore during the movie and fell asleep. 5. Don’t forget to use a form of be in a passive sentence. was

The movie seen by everyone in my family. 6. Use by to show the agent of the action. Use an object pronoun after by. by him Life of Pi was directed for Ang Lee. Hulk was also directed by he. 7. In present and past questions and negatives, use do when you use get with the passive voice. didn’t

My favorite movie wasn’t get nominated. 8. Don’t forget to include a verb (usually be) before a participle used as an adjective. is

The movie theater located on the corner of Main and Elm Streets.

9. Use be, not do, with past participles used as adjectives. Are

Do you interested in French movies? 10. Make sure you use the correct past participle in the passive voice. built

A new movie theater is being build near my house. 11. Don’t confuse participles like interested/interesting; bored/boring, etc. boring bored I fell asleep during the bored movie. I was boring.

PART 2 Editing Practice

Some of the shaded words and phrases have mistakes. Find the mistakes and correct them. If the shaded words are correct, write C.

C should see

One of my favorite movies is 12 Years a Slave. This is an amazing movie. Everyone should be seen

it. The first time I saw it, I wasn’t very interested in it. The movie shown on my flight from my country to

the United States. The screen was small and I was exhaust. I was fell asleep before the movie was ended.

1. 2.

3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8.

A few months ago, a friend of mine invited me to his house to watch a movie. I surprised when

he told me that the movie was 12 Years a Slave. I told him that I saw part of the movie, but I never

saw the ending. I asked my friend, “Was the main character died? Or was he get rescue? Just tell me

what was happened. That’s all I need to know.”

“Let’s watch it,” my friend said. “I know you’ll like it.” I was agreed to watch it with him. It’s

based on a true story of a black man, Solomon Northup. He lived in the North and he was free, but

he was kidnap. He was sold into slavery in the South. He was remained a slave for 12 years. I didn’t

know much about slavery in the U.S., and I was shocked at how horrible life was for the slaves.

When I came home, I looked for more information about the movie. I looked for information on

the Internet. A lot of information can found on the film and the real person. The movie directed by

Steve McQueen. I wanted to find other movies directed by he too, so I googled his name. I found

9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14.

15.

16.

17. 18.

19. 20. 21.

22.

23. 24.

25. 26.

that he directed Shame and Hunger. He also wrote the script for these movies. However, 12 Years a

27. 28.

Slave was writing by someone else.

12 Years a Slave was nominate for several Oscars. It won for Best Picture of 2013. The star did a

great job as Solomon, but he didn’t chosen as Best Actor that year. I was disappointing.

29.

30. 31.

32. 33.

WRITING TIP

Many reference books tell you to avoid using passive sentences. This does not mean you should never use one. It is important to understand that the passive voice is useful in certain situations. For example, the passive voice is important when you want: 1. to maintain focus on the topic

There is a new movie that everyone is talking about. The movie is considered one of the best of the year.

NOT: There is a new movie that everyone is talking about. Everyone considers it the best movie of the year. 2. to avoid criticizing someone

The actor was told to cry a lot, which ruined the movie.

NOT: The director told the actor to cry a lot, which ruined the movie.

PART 3 Write

Read the prompts. Choose one and write one or more paragraphs about it. 1. How are American films different from films made in your country or another country you know about? Give several examples. 2. Talk about a movie that you enjoyed or that had an impact on you. Summarize the movie, and then explain how it made you feel or how it impacted you.

PART 4 Edit

Reread the Summary of Unit 3 and the Editing Advice. Edit your writing from Part 3.

UNIT 4

The Past Continuous The Past Perfect The Past Perfect Continuous

Car enthusiasts from around the world come to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, for Speed Week.

Travel by LAND, SEA,AIR and

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. GUSTAV FLAUBERT