Bahasa Inggeris notes, unit 6

Passive, reported speech, causative and spotting errors

Textbook Close-up B1 Student's Book, Second Edition (Form 3), National Geographic Learning / Cengage — 12 units; skills-based chapters for the UASA, pages 109-120 (U9 passive voice), 121-132 (U10 reported speech), 135-146 (U11 causative, gerunds and infinitives), 83-94 (U7 question tags, subject/object and negative questions), prepositions 185, phrasal verbs 186, Grammar Reference 167-172

What this chapter covers

I can change an active sentence into the passive in the present, past, perfect and future tenses, and use by for the agent and with for a tool or material (6.1)
I can use the passive after modal verbs, and as being + participle or to be + participle (6.2)
I can report statements, changing the tense, pronouns and time words, and use say and tell correctly (6.3)
I can report questions, commands and requests with if, whether, to and not to (6.4)
I can use the causative have something done to say what somebody else does for me (6.5)
I can choose between a gerund, a full infinitive and a bare infinitive, including verbs that change meaning such as remember, forget and stop (6.6)
I can add question tags and answer subject, object and negative questions (6.7)
I can use the prepositions and phrasal verbs listed in the textbook (6.8)
I can find and correct errors in a text and complete a second sentence so that it means the same as the first (6.9)

This unit gathers the Form 3 grammar that changes the shape of a sentence: the passive voice, reported speech, the causative, gerunds and infinitives, question tags and other special questions, plus the prepositions and phrasal verbs that go with them. At the end you will use all of it to spot and correct errors in a text, the skill tested in UASA Paper 1 Part 2, and to rewrite sentences so that the meaning stays the same. The rules and the example forms follow the textbook Grammar Reference; the sentences are our own.

6.1The passive voice: tenses, by and with

In the passive voice the subject receives the action: The photo was taken yesterday. We use it when the action matters more than who did it, or when we do not know (or do not need to say) who did it.

To change an active sentence into a passive one, follow three steps. First, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Second, the verb be goes into the same tense as the active verb. Third, add the past participle of the main verb.

Two rows of coloured boxes. Active: Cameras (subject), watch (verb), us (object). Passive: We (the old object, now the subject), are watched (verb), by cameras (the old subject, now the agent). Two crossing arrows show the object and the subject swapping places. — Active and passive: the object and the subject swap places.

Textbook table with three columns, Tense, Active and Passive. Present simple: take/takes becomes am/are/is taken. Present continuous: am/are/is taking becomes am/are/is being taken. Past simple: took becomes was/were taken. Past continuous: was/were taking becomes was/were being taken. Present perfect simple: have/has taken becomes have/has been taken. Past perfect simple: had taken becomes had been taken. Future simple: will take becomes will be taken. — The passive in each tense.

Table: Close-up B1 Student's Book (Form 3), Grammar Reference 9.1, p.169.

One sentence, four tenses

Present continuous: The new gym is being built now.
Past simple: The gym was built last year.
Present perfect: The gym has been built already.
Future: The gym will be built next year.

Find the tense of be first, then add the past participle. Count the words in the active verb: the passive always has one more verb word, the form of be that carries the tense.

By and with

Word	Use it for	Example
by	the agent: the person or thing that does the action	The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.
with	the tool or material that is used	The window was broken with a stone. The jug was filled with water.

If the agent is people, someone, they or is obvious, we leave it out: The shop was robbed last night. (We do not need by thieves.)

Two objects

Some verbs (give, send, show, tell, offer) have two objects, so there are two passive versions. Choose the one you want to put first.

Active: The teacher gave Aina a prize.
Passive 1: Aina was given a prize by the teacher.
Passive 2: A prize was given to Aina by the teacher. (to is needed when the person comes last)

Common mistakes: "The thief was ~~catch~~ by the police" → was caught (past participle). "The class is ~~teach~~ by Puan Ria" → is taught. "The film ~~was happened~~ in Penang" → happened: verbs with no object (happen, arrive, fall) have no passive. "The window was broken by a stone" → with a stone. Remember also that there is no passive for the future continuous, the present perfect continuous and the past perfect continuous.

Rewrite in the passive.
(a) Many people use mobile phones. (b) Someone stole my bicycle last night. (c) The school will announce the results next week. (d) They are repairing the road now.

Show answerHide answer

(a) Mobile phones are used by many people. (b) My bicycle was stolen last night. (c) The results will be announced (by the school) next week. (d) The road is being repaired now.

6.2The passive with modals, gerunds and infinitives

The passive also works after a modal verb and in the three non-finite forms. The pattern is always be in the right form + past participle.

After	Active	Passive	Example
a modal or had better (bare infinitive)	take	be taken	Cameras should be installed here. The project had better be finished by tomorrow.
a verb or adjective that takes to (full infinitive)	to take	to be taken	The battery needs to be recharged. She hopes to be chosen.
a preposition or a verb that takes -ing (gerund)	taking	being taken	He avoided being recognised. I dislike being laughed at.

In a multiple-choice gap, look at what comes before it. A modal (can, must, should, might) → be + participle. Verbs such as want, need, hope, decide → to be. Verbs such as enjoy, avoid, imagine, dislike or a preposition → being.

Common mistakes: "The rubbish should ~~to be~~ collected" → should be collected. "She enjoys ~~to be~~ praised" → enjoys being praised. "The rules must ~~been~~ followed" → must be followed. "The photos need be printed" → need to be printed.

Choose the correct form.
(a) The new robots might (be shown / being shown / to be shown) at the fair.
(b) Nobody likes (be ignored / being ignored / to being ignored).
(c) The old computers need (be replaced / to be replaced / being replaced).

Show answerHide answer

(a) be shown (after the modal might) (b) being ignored (gerund after likes) (c) to be replaced (full infinitive after need)

6.3Reported statements

In reported speech we tell somebody what a person said without using the exact words. The verb usually moves one step into the past (backshift), and pronouns and time words change to fit the new situation.

Tense changes

Direct speech	Reported speech
present simple: "He likes hip-hop."	past simple: She said he liked hip-hop.
present continuous: "He is listening."	past continuous: She said he was listening.
present perfect: "They have bought a CD."	past perfect: She said they had bought a CD.
past simple: "He watched a film."	past perfect: She said he had watched a film.
past continuous: "He was reading."	past perfect continuous: She said he had been reading.
will, can, may, must	would, could, might, had to

These do not change: the past perfect, would, could, might, should, ought to, used to, had better, mustn't, and must when it means a deduction (a guess that something is true).

Pronouns, time and place

Direct	Reported	Direct	Reported
today	that day	tomorrow	the next / following day
tonight	that night	next week	the following week
yesterday	the day before / the previous day	last month	the month before / the previous month
now, at the moment	then, at that moment	ago	before
this, these	that, those	here	there

From speech to report

"I will buy my tickets tomorrow," said Rizal.
→ Rizal said (that) he would buy his tickets the next day.
"We saw the show two weeks ago," the girls told us.
→ The girls told us (that) they had seen the show two weeks before.

Say and tell

Tell is always followed by a person: Julia told her friends (that) they would love it. Say has no person after it: Julia said (that) they would love it. The word that may be left out.

Three questions check every reported statement: (1) Did I move the verb back one tense? (2) Did the pronouns fit the person who is now speaking? (3) Did today, yesterday, here, ago change?

Common mistakes: "She said me she was tired" → She told me (tell + person) or She said she was tired. "He said that he ~~will~~ come" → would. "Ali said that I was busy" (Ali spoke about himself) → he was busy. "She said she saw it ~~yesterday~~" → the day before, and she had seen it.

Report the sentences. Begin with the words given.
(a) "I enjoyed the party last night," Veronica said. Veronica said ...
(b) "We are going to the museum tomorrow," Mrs Jones told us. Mrs Jones told us ...
(c) "I must finish my report tonight," Samantha said. Samantha said ...

Show answerHide answer

(a) Veronica said (that) she had enjoyed the party the night before. (b) Mrs Jones told us (that) they were going to the museum the next day. (c) Samantha said (that) she had to finish her report that night.

6.4Reported questions, commands and requests

Questions

The tense, pronoun and time changes are the same as for statements. In addition, a reported question uses statement word order: no do, does, did and no question mark.

Direct question	Reported question	What changes
"Which instrument do you like best?"	He asked me which instrument I liked best.	Keep the question word. Subject before verb; do is dropped.
"Did you enjoy the festival?"	He asked me if / whether I had enjoyed the festival.	No question word, so use if or whether.
"Where is the concert hall?"	The tourist asked where the concert hall was.	Normal order after the question word (not where was).

Commands and requests

Type	Pattern	Example
Command	tell + person + (not) to + base verb	"Turn down the music!" → He told me to turn down the music. "Don't touch the exhibits." → The guard told us not to touch the exhibits.
Request	ask + person + (not) to + base verb	"Please lend me your pen." → She asked me to lend her my pen. "Please don't tell anyone." → He asked us not to tell anyone.

A request may also be reported with a question: "Can you lend me your headphones, please?" → She asked if I could lend her my headphones.

Common mistakes: "She asked me where ~~did I live~~" → where I lived. "He asked ~~that~~ I liked pop music" → if / whether I liked pop music. "Mum told me ~~don't~~ run" → not to run. "He asked me ~~closing~~ the door" → to close the door.

Report each sentence.
(a) "Where do you live?" Hana asked me. Hana asked me ...
(b) "Do you like durian?" Aiman asked Mei. Aiman asked Mei ...
(c) "Don't be late," Mum told us. Mum told us ...

Show answerHide answer

(a) where I lived. (b) if / whether she liked durian. (c) not to be late.

6.5The causative: have something done

The causative says that somebody else does something for us, or that something happened to us. Form: have + object + past participle.

Sentence	Who does the action?
Hakim repaired his bicycle.	Hakim himself.
Hakim had his bicycle repaired.	A mechanic (somebody else), arranged by Hakim.

Arranged service: John is having his new computer delivered in the morning.
Something unpleasant happened: Mrs Temp has had her car broken into.
Other tenses: only have changes. We will have the hall painted. I was having my hair cut. She has had her clothes made for years.
Informal: get + object + past participle: He got his phone taken away.
To name the doer, use by: I will have my project graded by a teacher.

The object comes before the participle: had the car washed. If the participle comes first (had washed the car), it is just the past perfect and we did the washing ourselves.

Common mistakes: "I had ~~repair~~ my phone" → had my phone repaired. "She ~~had her hair cut herself~~" mixes both ideas: use She cut her own hair (she did it) or She had her hair cut (somebody else did it). "He ~~has~~ his car washed yesterday" → had (the tense is on have).

Rewrite with the causative, using the words in brackets.
(a) A photographer took our family photo. (We had ...)
(b) A workman is going to paint the fence. (We are going to ...)

Show answerHide answer

(a) We had our family photo taken (by a photographer). (b) We are going to have the fence painted.

6.6Gerunds and infinitives

When two verbs come together, the second verb takes a particular form. The first verb (or the word before it) decides which.

Form	Use it	Examples
Gerund (verb + -ing)	as a noun; after a preposition; after go for activities; after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, imagine, suggest, practise, mind, keep, finish, dislike, can't help; after it's no use, it's worth, have difficulty	Swimming is fun. She is good at drawing. We went canoeing. He avoids shouting. It's no use waiting.
Full infinitive (to + verb)	to show purpose; after adjectives (happy, glad, afraid); after too and enough; after verbs such as want, need, decide, hope, plan, agree, refuse, manage, promise, afford	I went to the library to find a book. He was too tired to walk. They decided to leave.
Bare infinitive (verb only)	after modals; after had better and would rather	You should ask your teacher. You'd better hurry. I'd rather stay in.

A few verbs (begin, start, continue, like, love, hate) can take a gerund or a full infinitive with no change in meaning: It started raining / to rain.

Same verb, different meaning

Verb	+ gerund	+ full infinitive
remember	I remember locking the door. (I did it, and now I recall it.)	Remember to lock the door. (Do not forget to do it.)
forget	I'll never forget meeting the Prime Minister.	I forgot to bring my book.
stop	He stopped talking. (He did not talk any more.)	He stopped to talk to a friend. (He stopped something else in order to talk.)
try	Try adding some salt. (an experiment)	Try to finish before six. (make an effort)
regret	I regret lending him my bike. (I wish I had not.)	I regret to tell you that the show is cancelled. (sorry to say)
go on	She went on reading. (she continued)	She went on to read a poem. (then she did something new)

Common mistakes: "She is interested ~~to learn~~ Japanese" → interested in learning (a preposition is followed by a gerund). "I look forward ~~to meet~~ you" → to meeting. "He suggested ~~to go~~ by train" → suggested going. "We are too young ~~attending~~" → too young to attend.

Choose the correct form.
(a) The children are too small (reaching / to reach) the shelf.
(b) Do you fancy (to go / going) to the cinema?
(c) I forgot (posting / to post) the letter, so it is still in my bag.

Show answerHide answer

(a) to reach (after too) (b) going (fancy + gerund) (c) to post (I did not remember to do it)

6.7Question tags and special questions

Question tags

A question tag is a short question added to the end of a statement, made from an auxiliary or modal verb + a pronoun. We use it to ask someone to agree, or to check that something is right.

A positive statement takes a negative tag: The athletes are training hard, aren't they?
A negative statement takes a positive tag: You haven't entered the race, have you?
With the present simple or past simple use do / does / did: You swim every day, don't you? You went yesterday, didn't you?

Special case	Tag
I am lucky ...	..., aren't I?
Let's hike ...	..., shall we?
Don't forget (an order or request)	..., will you?
Everyone / somebody is ...	..., aren't they?
This / That is ...	..., isn't it?
These / Those are ...	..., aren't they?

Subject and object questions

Who asks about	Word order	Example
the subject (who does the action)	like a statement; no do / did	Who survived the accident? (Everyone survived.)
the object (who receives the action)	question order, with do / did	Who did the rescue team save? (They saved the captain.)

Negative questions

Negative questions show surprise, make an exclamation, or ask the listener to agree: Didn't Jamie finish the race? Isn't it a lovely day? Answer with Yes if the positive idea is true and No if the negative idea is true: Isn't it a lovely day? Yes, it is (I agree). No, it isn't (I disagree).

Common mistakes: "She can swim, ~~can she~~?" → can't she (positive statement, negative tag). "They didn't come, ~~didn't they~~?" → did they. "I am late, ~~am not I~~?" → aren't I. "Who ~~did~~ break the glass?" → Who broke the glass? (who is the subject).

Add a question tag.
(a) Your brother plays the guitar, ...?
(b) You haven't seen my keys, ...?
(c) Let's start now, ...?
(d) Nobody was late, ...?

Show answerHide answer

(a) doesn't he (b) have you (c) shall we (d) were they (nobody is a negative word, so the tag is positive)

6.8Prepositions and phrasal verbs

Many verbs and adjectives take one fixed preposition. The textbook lists them on p.185 (Prepositions) and p.186 (Phrasal verbs), and they appear again in the Form 3 vocabulary sections. Learn them as pairs.

Preposition pairs from the textbook

With	Pairs	Example
to	listen to, belong to, relate to, similar to, invite to	This bag belongs to my sister.
for	look for, wait for, responsible for, apply for	She is responsible for the class library.
on	rely on, concentrate on, keen on, expert on, spend money on	Please concentrate on your work.
about	worry about, concerned about, talk about, find information about	Don't worry about the exam.
of	proud of, ashamed of, jealous of, instead of	Use a pencil instead of a pen.
with	cope with, communicate with, satisfied with, angry with, argue with, agree with	Is he satisfied with his results?
in / at / from	successful in, interested in, increase in; good at; suffer from, disappear from, protect from	She is good at chess.

Phrasal verbs from the textbook

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Phrasal verb	Meaning
find out	discover	give up	stop trying
look after	take care of	look up to	admire
put up	build; display	take up	begin (a hobby)
turn down	decrease the volume	turn up	increase the volume
turn on / off	switch on / off	try out	test something first
run out of	have no more left	sell out	run out of tickets
give out	distribute	catch on	become popular
carry on	continue	deal with	do what is necessary

A phrasal verb is not always its words added together. Look and after do not give "look behind": look after means take care of. In an exercise, test the whole phrase in the sentence.

Common mistakes: "I am looking at my keys" (when you are searching) → for. "She is good in maths" → at. "He is keen in football" → on. "~~Switch~~ down the radio, it's too loud" → turn down.

Complete each sentence.
(a) Farid is very proud ____ his little sister.
(b) The concert tickets will ____ out quickly.
(c) Can you ____ after my cat while we are away?

Show answerHide answer

(a) of (b) sell (sell out = all tickets are bought) (c) look (look after = take care of)

6.9Spotting errors and rewriting sentences

In Paper 1 Part 2 you read a text with underlined words, decide what is wrong, and write the one correct word. At Form 3 level the errors come from this whole unit as well as from tenses, agreement and articles. The textbook also tests sentence transformation: you complete a second sentence so that it means the same as the first, using no more than three words (p.118-119).

Error type	Wrong (underlined)	Correct	What to check
Passive form	The letter was send yesterday.	sent	be + past participle
Passive after a modal	The rules must been followed.	be	modal + be + participle
Reported tense	She said she will come.	would	Backshift after said / told
Reported pronoun	Hana said that I was very tired.	she	Who is speaking now? Who is meant?
Reported question	He asked me that I liked pop music.	if (or whether)	Yes / no question → if / whether
Causative	She had her car repair.	repaired	have + object + participle
Gerund or infinitive	He enjoys to swim.	swimming	Which word comes before?
Question tag	You like it, do you?	don't	Positive statement → negative tag
Preposition / phrasal verb	We rely in her.	on	The fixed pair

Method

Read the whole text to see the time (past story or present facts) and who is speaking.
Name the word: verb, pronoun, preposition, linking word or article.
Look at the trigger next to it: a time word, a modal, said, had or get, the subject, or the word before a gap.
Write one word, spelt correctly, and read the sentence again.

Worked example

Last week our school (0) have a science fair. All the projects (9) was judged (10) with a panel of teachers. My friend said that she (11) will be sorry if our robot did not work. She asked me (12) that I had fixed the switch. We had our poster (13) print at a shop, and everyone enjoyed (14) to look at our models.

No.	Thinking	Answer
0	Last week → past simple.	had
9	The subject projects is plural; the passive past needs were.	were
10	The teachers do the judging: they are the agent, so by (not the tool word with).	by
11	Reported speech after said (past) → backshift will to would.	would
12	A reported yes / no question uses if or whether.	if
13	Causative: had + object + past participle.	printed
14	Enjoy is followed by a gerund.	looking

If a word looks right, you have probably missed the trigger. Check the subject, the time word, the word before it and the verb that came earlier in the sentence.

Answer mistakes that lose marks: changing a word that was already right; writing a whole phrase when one word is asked for; spelling errors in the correction (writen, begining); forgetting the -ed or -s ending.

Correct the underlined words.
The new library was (a) open last month by the Mayor. He said that everyone (b) can borrow books for free. A girl asked him what time the library (c) close. Many students enjoy (d) to read there.

Show answerHide answer

(a) opened (past simple passive: was opened by the Mayor) (b) could (backshift after said) (c) closed (reported question: statement order and past tense) (d) reading (gerund after enjoy)

Summary

Topic	Remember
Passive	object → subject; be (in the tense) + past participle. by = agent, with = tool or material. After modals: be + participle; gerund: being + participle; full infinitive: to be + participle.
Reported statements	Backshift one tense (will → would, can → could, must → had to). Change pronouns, today → that day, yesterday → the day before, here → there. tell + person, say alone.
Reported questions and orders	Question word or if / whether + statement order, no question mark. Command: told + person + (not) to + verb. Request: asked + person + (not) to + verb.
Causative	have + object + past participle; only have changes tense; get is less formal.
Gerund or infinitive	Gerund after prepositions, enjoy, avoid, suggest. To-infinitive after want, decide, manage, too, enough, purpose. Bare infinitive after modals. Remember, forget, stop, try, regret, go on change meaning.
Questions	Tags: positive ↔ negative, aren't I, shall we, will you. Subject question: no do / did. Negative question: Yes agrees with the positive idea.
Part 2 and transformation	Name the word → find the trigger → write one word, spelt correctly. Keep the meaning the same.