Focus on Grammar. The Passive form of a verb is often used in all scientific writing, because the emphasis in science is usually on the action

The Passive Voice

to be + Part.II

The Passive form of a verb is often used in all scientific writing, because the emphasis in science is usually on the action, not on the person performing the action. If you want to change the tense, change the tense of the verb ‘to be’, Participle II remains unchangeable.

Aspect/ Tense Present Past Future

Indefinite is/are done was/were done will be done

Continuous is/are being done was/were being done -

Perfect have/has been done had been done will have been done

Exercise 1. Change the following sentences from the active to the passive

form. Include a by-phrase if you think the subject of the

active sentence is important to the passive sentences

1. We never saw him in our laboratory. 2. During the years from 1870 to 1876 Edison patented 122 inventions. 3.Workers completed the Panama Canal in 1914. 4. His experiments and inventions covered many sides of human life. 5. Edison did some research work on the principles of flying, and even made a helicopter. 6. They have seen this show. 7. They have adopted the metric system in Britain and made the money system much simpler. 8. The professor is examining our group. 9. The Gulf Stream determines the climate of Great Britain. 10. The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed St.Paul’s Cathedral. 11. She has prepared a report for the next meeting of our club. 12. They have crowned English kings and queens in Westminster Abbey for about 1000 years. 13. Sometimes we describe plasma as the fourth state of matter. 14. We can define the atom as the smallest portion of matter.

Exercise 2. Fill in the passive form of the verb in parantheses in

the following sentences.

1. The weight of the planets... (to calculate) by Newton as a young man. 2. The concept of relativity... (to propose) by Albert Einstein in 1905. 3. Most Cambridge colleges... (to found) as schools of theology but in 1750 under the influence of Sir Isaak Newton, mathematics became compulsory and the main subject of study. 4. The first motor car... (to make) in 1875by an Austrian Siegfried Marcus. He used the internal combustion engine, which... (to perfect) gradually. 5. The earliest motor cars... (to build) like horse carriages and an early British company... (to call) the Greatest Horseless Carriage Company. 6. The Rolls-Royce motor car long... (to know) as the best car in the world. 7. Water... (to discover) under the Sakhara Desert. 8. Diamonds... (to find) in South Africa in the 19th century. 9. The electric battery... (to invent) by Luigi Galvan in 1786. 10. The craters on the moon... (to cause) probably by meteors. 11. Gold, silver and copper... (to value) for their luster.

Exercise 3. Translate the following sentences into Russian, paying attention to the passive forms.

1. These tests were conducted on new specimens. 2. The specimens were examined for evidence of secondary cracking. 3. The present study was intended to evaluate the properties of this material. 4. The system is designed to operate at temperatures over 110 C. 5. Solubility was analysed in temperatures ranging from 200-900 C. 6. Methods have also been develped for applying the results of the research. 7. The results of the research are being considered by alternative methods. 8. Nanocrystalline tungsten has been successfully synthesized. 9. An appropriate model is shown here. 10. When silicon was first being considered as an optical material, it was assumed that single crystals will be required for image quality. 11. In foundries producing a small volume of castings, a small amount of metal is usually required. 12. If atoms are deprived of electrons,they cease to be atoms. 13. In fully ionized plasmas the radiation is emitted by the free electrons. 14. The rate of chemical reaction is influenced by a large number of variables. 15. The participants of the conference were told that the furnaces of entirely new design would be put into operation in a few weeks.

Exercise 3. In scientific writing ‘should’ and ‘must’, “can” and “may” appear most frequently in combinations with the passive voice. In each of the following sentences use the passive form of the verb in parentheses.

1. X-rays must only... (to use) when necessary. 2. Temperature can... (to measure) by different types of thermometres. 3. Potassium must... (never, to allow) to come in contact with water. 4. The technicians should... (to protect) from excessive radiation. 5. The aims of his research may... (to declare) at the next seminar. 6. Energy can... (to transform) from one type to another. 7. Our earth may … (to warm) by ‘greenhouse effect’. 8. An atom may … (to combine) with other atoms to form certain stable arrangements of outer electrons. 9. It should … (to remember) that copper-based alloys are all hardened similarly. 10. This information must … (to present) in the form suitable for all parts of the control system. 11. Various methods should … (to use) to make water safe and attractive to the consumer.

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