Prime Time 5, Coursebook mit Audio-CD

1 Passive constructions a) Read through the following sentences and underline the passive forms. 1. English newspapers can be found all over the world. 2. According to Wikipedia, the first English newspaper was published in Amsterdam in 1620. 3. The first regular daily newspaper to be published in the United Kingdom was the Daily Courant . 4. In many places in the world English newspapers are being produced for local English-speaking communities rather than for an international audience. b) Go back to the text “The world speaks English” and look for passive verb forms. Explain why the passive is used here. 2 Talking about the English language Use the clues below and write about the English language. Use passive constructions wherever possible. 1. English • often • compare with • Latin • because • use • so widely. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. many other languages • influence • English • because of • TV and the internet. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3. in many countries • especially the former British colonies • English • speak • as • a second language. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4. all in all • English • can • regard • as • a modern universal language. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Grammar Sentences in the passive voice are used • to focus on the action rather than on the people who perform the action. • when the speaker does not know/does not want to tell who the agent (the person who does something) is or when the agent is unimportant (e.g. in scientific texts). • to make a sentence sound more factual and more formal (e.g. in newspaper reports). • to place important information at the end of a sentence (emphasis).  G1 The passive voice 11 1 The world speaks English Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv