PASSIVE VOICE BOOKLET 1.- Put each verb into the present simple active or passive: Gorillas (1)______________(find) in several countries in central Africa. They are about 1.6 metres tall, and they (2) _________________(cover) with black or brown hair. Gorillas´ lives (3)_________________(spend) in groups. Each group (4) _____________(have) five to ten gorillas in it. The gorillas in a group (5) ________________(walk) about 0.5 to 1.0km per day, looking for food. They (6) _______________(not eat) all the leaves in one part of the forest before moving on; some leaves (7) ___________________(leave) on the trees and plants. At night gorillas (8) ________________(sleep) in nests; these nests (9) __________________(make) of branches and leaves. The number of gorillas living in Africa today (10) ________________(not know), but it is certain that this number is getting smaller. Why? Because in the countries where the gorillas (11) ___________________(live), more and more trees (12) ___________________(cut down) every year. 1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 11.
2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 12.
(Adapted from The Good Grammar Book)
2.- Complete the verbs in the passage below which describes the history of The Colosseum in Rome. Use simple past passive:
The Colosseum _________ (begin) by the Emperor Vespasian between AD 70-76 and ___________ (complete) by Titus in AD 80. During the 100-day opening festival many gladiators and 5,000 wild animals __________ (kill). In the fifth century gladiatorial combats __________ (suppress) and 100 years later animal fights __________ (discontinue). Later, the building ___________ (damage) by a series of earthquakes and by the 15th century it ______ regularly _______ (use) as a source of building material for many great Roman buildings, including St. Peter´s Basilica. This destruction ____________ (stop) by Pope Benedict XIV and over the next century the massive amphitheatre __________ (restore). Gradually, the streets and buildings enclosing the arena ___________ (demolish), so by 1933 the Colosseum was much as it appears today at the end of the Via dei Fori Imperiali. (Adopted from First Class. Student´s book)