way2go! 6, Schulbuch

174 GRAMMAR REVISITED Subject modals if needed form of to be in the correct tense past participle (3 rd form) extra information Lizzie The hamster This door The door The car I must should was has been be have been is being want to be bitten found. closed closed repaired. left by a hamster. at 10 p.m. yesterday. alone. The passive  In spoken English, you can also use get instead of to be with many tenses. Lizzie got bitten by a hamster. You use articles to show whether you are talking about a specific example or an idea in general.  If it is important who/what did or created something, you add the information using the word by : Thunderbolt Kid was written by Bill Bryson.  If you want to focus on actions and their effects, and not on who does them, you can use the passive. It is often used: - in news reports: The passengers were evacuated from the plane. - in scientific writing: The samples were placed under a microscope. - when describing processes: In bungee jumping, the rope is attached to the ankles of the jumper. - when talking about customs and beliefs: The custom is believed to date from the 19 th century . - when it doesn’t matter, or when it’s obvious or unknown who did something: The school computer has been stolen .  You form the passive with the correct form of to be and the past participle (3 rd verb form). You can make passive sentences in all tenses, as long as you follow the rules for the passive and the tense at the same time: Articles ( the , a , an – or no article) 1 General ideas and things If you talk/write about general ideas and things, you use: a / an with a singular countable noun. Is there a bookshop around here? (= any kind of bookshop) A cat can be great fun to have as a pet. (= any cat)  no article with a plural countable noun. I’m interested in computers . (= all computers) Cats can be great fun to have as pets. (= all cats)  no article with an uncountable noun. I’m really into music . (= any kind of music) Coffee is not very healthy for you. (= coffee in general) countable nouns: one cat, two cats, … uncountable nouns: music, money, fun, … Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv