Mastering Passive Voice, Reported Speech, and More
Passive Voice: Rules and Examples
The passive voice is formed using ‘be’, ‘being’, or ‘been’ + past participle.
| Tense | Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Mary | makes | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | is made | by Mary. |
| Present Progressive | Martha | is making | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | is being made | by Martha. |
| Simple Past | Nancy | made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | was made | by Nancy. |
| Past Progressive | Claret | was making | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | was being made | by Claret. |
| Present Perfect | Norma | has made | Tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | has been made | by Norma |
| Past Perfect | Evelyn | had made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | had been made | by Evelyn. |
| Tense | Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Future Simple | Nora | will make | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | will be made | by Nora |
| Future Perfect | Yeny | will have made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | will have been made | by Yeny |
| Conditional | Lorel | would make | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | would be made | by Lorel |
| Modals | Nathacha | can make | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | can be made | by Natacha. |
Direct and Indirect Reported Speech
Present Simple
She said, “It’s cold.”
Past Simple
She said (that) it was cold
Present Continuous
She said, “I’m teaching English online.”
Past Continuous
She said she was teaching English online.
Present Perfect Simple
She said, “I’ve been on the web since 1999.”
Past Perfect Simple
She said she had been on the web since 1999.
Present Perfect Continuous
She said, “I’ve been teaching English for seven years.”
Past Perfect Continuous
She said she had been teaching English for seven years.
Past Simple
She said, “I taught online yesterday.”
Past Perfect
She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past Continuous
She said, “I was teaching earlier.”
Past Perfect Continuous
She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past Perfect
She said, “The lesson had already started when he arrived.”
NO CHANGE – She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.
Past Perfect Continuous
She said, “I’d already been teaching for five minutes.”
NO CHANGE – She said she’d already been teaching for five minutes.
Will
She said, “I’ll teach English online tomorrow.”
Would
She said she would teach English online tomorrow.
Can
She said, “I can teach English online.”
Could
She said she could teach English online.
Must
She said, “I must have a computer to teach English online.”
Had to
She said she had to have a computer to teach English online.
Shall
She said, “What shall we learn today?”
Should
She asked what we should learn today.
May
She said, “May I open a new browser?”
Might
She asked whether she might open a new browser.
Verbs Followed by Gerunds
- Admit: He admitted stealing the ring.
- Appreciate: I really appreciate you coming.
- Avoid: Let’s avoid being late.
- Help: I can’t help counting those calories.
- Complete: He completed baking the apple pie.
- Consider: She never considered moving to England.
Verbs Followed by Infinitives
- Agree: They agreed to give him a chance.
- Appear: He appeared to know everything.
- Arrange: I have arranged to meet him on Monday.
- Ask: She asked to see her doctor.
- Care: He doesn’t care to answer.
Metonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech where a word is replaced by something closely related to the original meaning.
It involves a change of names between related things or referring to a person or thing by one of its attributes.
Metonymy adds figurative meaning, depending on context, without losing the semantic and pragmatic meaning of the discourse.
It is used in literature and everyday life.
- “The best pen in world literature is Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.” (referring to the writer)
- “The White House announced a wage refund…” (referring to the US Government)
- “Peter is 17 years old, he is a soldier who already swore allegiance to his flag.” (referring to his country)
Modal Verbs
Modal verbs indicate modality: likelihood, ability, permission, request, capacity, suggestions, order, obligation, or advice. They always use the base form of the verb.
Examples:
- I can speak French / I can’t speak French
- Can you help me please? / Could you help me please?
- You could use my brolly, maybe, it’s going to be raining.
- She could not go to the supermarket with us / She couldn’t
- My sister might come home for my birthday
- You might not arrive on time
- When you finish the report, might I buy you a drink?
- You might have gone to the picnic in these days, but I forgot it.
- You could have gone to the party this month, but I’ve had so much work.