English Composition/Sentence Writing (Part 2)

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English Composition ＞ Sentence Writing (Part 2)

Sentence Writing (Part 2)

Passive and Active Voice

In contrast to active voices that emphasize the subject itself of the sentence, in passive sentences (be + past participle), only transitive verbs with objects are used, with a perspective placed on actions and states. The heavy use of passives tends to make the text flat and unclear. There is no problem with chats and regular conversations, but try to use active as much as you can for free texts such as business letters and papers.

Let's compare passives and actives with example sentences:

is, was, have,been,etc.

Example:

□　Somebody cleans the room every day. (= actives)

□　The room is cleaned every day by somebody. (= passives)

In passives, it is often unclear or unimportant who or what causes the movement or condition, but use by when you want to be clear. However, when the subject uses the tool to perform its operation, use with.

□　The spring lock was broken with a wrench.

□ Somebody will clean the room later. (= actives)

□ The room will be cleaned later. (= passives)

□ Somebody should have cleaned the room. (= actives)

□ The room should have been cleaned. (= passives)

□ Somebody has cleaned the room. (= actives)

□ The room has been cleaned. (= passives)

□ Somebody had cleaned the room. (= actives)

□ The room had been cleaned. (= passives)

□ Somebody is cleaning the room right now. (= actives)

□ The room is being cleaned now. (= passives)

□ Somebody was cleaning the room when I came in. (= actives)

□ The room was cleaned when I came in. (= passives)

□　My grandfather built this house in 1960. (= actives)　

□ This house was built in 1960 by my grandfather. (= passives)

□ The meeting ’’took’’ place the day before yesterday. (= actives)

□ The meeting ’’was taken’’ place the day before yesterday. (= passives)

being, doing, etc.

Example:

□ My boss doesn't like people keeping him waiting. (= actives)

□ My boss doesn't like being kept waiting. (= passives)

□ I remember my mother giving me a handmade doll on my fifth birthday. (= actives)

□ I remember being given a handmade doll on my fifth birthday. (= passives)　

Use passiveness more positively when focusing on the situation/state than the subject.

Example:

□ In the south coast area, more than four hundred houses were destroyed by the storm.

In everyday conversation, when expressing situations/conditions where something happens or changes, we often use get instead of be. (be can be used at any time.)

Example:：

□　There was a traffic accident at the corner yesterday, but nobody ’’got hurt’’.　

□ How much did you ’’get paid’’ for this job?

□　Most of the students in the class are getting confused.

Exercise 1

Q.1: Rewrite the next sentence to be passive and fill in the parentheses (＿＿).

1. A car run over my dog.

   → My dog (＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿).

2. I don't like people telling me what to do.

   → I don't like (＿＿＿＿＿) what to do.

3. Has anybody told you what to do?

   → Have (＿＿＿＿＿＿＿) what to do?

4. They offered Tim the new position, but he refused it.

   → Tim (＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿), but he refused it.

5. We can see the whole city from the top of this sky tower.

   → The entire city (＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿) from the top of this sky tower.

Q.2: Rearrange the words in parentheses to create a passive or active sentence. Use verbs in the correct form.

1. （cancel, flights, of, snow, all, because, heavy, are）
2. （the shop, in, to, I, return, days, should, this, three, DVD）
3. （make, Monday, until, decision, a, next, not, will, be）
4. （when, 20 years old, in 1776, was, Mozart, this, wrote, he, concerto, piano ）
5. （Mozart, was, in 1776, piano, by, concerto, this, written）

→ Exercise1 Answer

Articles

The article is one of the so-called "determiners." Consider the following three articles: a / an, the, and nothing zero article. Understanding articles that are not in Japanese usage are complicated, but here you will learn the basics.

a/an

a / an which means "one thing, one person" attached to the front of the countable noun.

□ I bought a nice birthday present for my girlfriend.

□ There's an accident . I saw a car drive down the street over the speed limit.

□ My brother is unemployed. He is looking for a job.

Note: "job" is a countable noun, but work is a countable noun

□ I need to find a job. ⇔ I need to find work.

Many nouns are used as countable and uncountable nouns. When used as uncountable nouns, there is no a / an.

□ I eat a banana every morning.(countable）

□ I like bananas.(uncountable）

□ We had some interesting experiences while we were on vacation.(countable）

□ They offered me the position because I had a lot of experience.(uncountable）

Use some for countable nouns and plurals of countable nouns.

□ I'd like to send some flowers to my mother on her birthday.

□ Some students of this class applied for the test.

□ We are looking for some volunteers who can stay in the area for three weeks.

a / an representing "what kind of thing, what kind of person" is added before the countable noun.

□ Cat is an animal.

□ Nicole is a really nice person .

□ Brazil is a country in South America.

Add a / an before the profession.

□ George's father is a doctor.

□ Would you like to be an English teacher?

a / an + date, unit

□ Potatoes are on sale only for 2 dollars a pound.

□ Jennifer works nine hours a day, five days a week.

Proper use of a / an

The word that begins with a consonant is preceded by "a," and the word that begins with "a" vowel is preceded by "an," but be careful with exceptions.

"an" is inserted before the word (hour, honor, honest, herb, etc.,) that starts with a silent (non-speaking) "h."

□　I've been waiting for her for an hour.　

□ It's an honor to meet you.

Even if the spelling starts with a vowel, "a" will be inserted if the pronunciation begins with a consonant.

□ Sue graduated from a university in Texas.　　

□ I suppose they are from a European country.

the

the for a specific person, thing or place. See example sentences in comparison with a.

□ Ken sat down on a park bench.

□ Ken sat down on the bench next to the oak tree. (= specific bench)

□ My brother is looking for a job. (= not a specific job)

□ My brother got the job he applied for. (= specific job)

□ I need to go to the bank and then to go to the post office. (= specific that I always go)

□ Is there a bank or a post office near here? (= any bank or post office)

□ Marc is not feeling well. He went to the doctor. (= family doctor)

□ I saw a man and a woman walking side by side down the street. The man was using a stick, and the woman was helping him.

□ The hotel we stayed at was a very nice hotel.

Just mean the one

□ I'm moving out at the end of this month.

□ You are the only one I can trust.

the + single form of countable noun (animal, vehicle, instrument type etc)

□ The giraffe is the tallest of all animals.

□ The bicycle is a useful means of transportation.

Highest the grade

□ China is the most populous country in the world.

□ Bikal is the oldest and the deepest lake in the world.

the + entertainment

□ Keiko used to go to the opera theater when she was living in Italy.

□ I heard the news on the radio.

Note: We do not attach "the" to TV (programs).

→ We watched the news on TV.

Add "the" to mean TV as a piece of equipment.

→ Turn on the TV, please.

the + organization

□ Natalie joined the army when she graduated from high school.

□ I'd like to work for the World Health Organization in the future.

Note: If the organization name is abbreviated, do not attach "the."

→ I'd like to work for WHO in the future.

the + nature (sea, river, mountains, etc.)

□ The Chang Jiang is the longest river in China.

Rivers have "the," but not private lakes and islands.

□ The best thing I remember last summer was camping at Lake Erie.

□ I'm going to move to the lake next summer.

□ The project must be in harmony with the environment.

□ There's a village below the Himalayas.

The mountains have "the" but not only mountains.

□ Mr. Miura, a Japanese adventurer, climbed Mt. Everest when he was 80 years old.

□ There's no single cloud in the sky.

the + solar system

□ The sun is a star.

□ The earth goes around the sun. and the moon goes around the earth.

Planets do not have "the." (Can be attached to earth)

□ Jupiter is the fifth planet of the solar system.

the + country, ethnicity etc

Usually, the country name, state name and municipality names do not have "the."

□ Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki live in England.

□ New York is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

The country name including Republic, Kingdom, States, etc., or the plural country name is attached with "the."

□ We visited Canada, the United States and the Bahamas.

□ The Dominican Republic became independent from the United Kingdom in 1978.

The ethnic group is attached to "the."

□ The” Japanese are famous for their excellent public manners.

The language is not attached to "the."

□ Spanish is not a very difficult language to learn.

the before the same

□ His jacket is the same style like mine.

□ The same thing could happen to anyone.

Zero article

The fact that "a/the" does not have is also referred to as a zero article. Do not add an article when representing a general noun with multiple uncountable nouns or countable nouns.

□ My mother plant ’’flowers’’ every early spring.

□ I cooked ’’ham’’ and eggs this morning.

The meal is not attached to an article.

□ We had lunch at a very nice seafood restaurant.

However, if you put an adjective before breakfast, lunch, etc., a will be included.

□ We had a nice lunch at a seafood restaurant.

Noun + Symbol / Number

□ Please look at the top of ’’page 19’’, ’’Section A’’.

□ Delta flight 178 leaves from ’’Gate 23’’.

Sports, games

□ I like to watch succor game on TV.

No nouns are attached to general nouns (bed, school, church, home, etc.,) that indicate places that contain verbal meaning (e.g., sleeping, learning, praying).

□ When I finish high school, I want to go to university.

□ Kay stayed in bed until late this morning.

□ Her parents go to church evry Sunday.

Day of the week, date, etc

□ I have an appointment with the dentist on Tuesday.

□ Paul will be turning 20 years old next week.

Disease

There is no article as the disease has no form, such as diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), hepatitis, cancer, etc.

□ Patient education about diabetes is very important.

There are also articles with articles depending on how you catch your illness/symptoms.

With "a"

a cold, a fever, a headache, a cough (a cough-like symptom)

□ I have a fever.

With "the"

Current diseases such as the flue and the measles

□ She has been sick in bed for three days with the flue.

Note: There is no article in the country name or city name, but please refer to it as it is stated in the previous section.

Exercise 2

Put a / an 'or the in parentheses. If you do not enter anything, put a X mark.

1. Many people are out of （＿＿） work because of （＿＿） recession.
2. You will find （＿＿） information you need at （＿＿） top of （＿＿） page 11.
3. Do you know （＿＿） high blood pressure can be （＿＿） life-threatening condition?
4. （＿＿） ancient Greeks invented for the foundation for democratic government.
5. Akiko is （＿＿） student at （＿＿） Tokyo University.
6. Bob is （＿＿） IT engineer. He used to work in （＿＿） department of （＿＿） Parker Trading Co., Ltd. Now he works for （＿＿） American company in （＿＿） United States.
7. ”How often do you go to （＿＿） movies?” “Two or three times （＿＿） year.”
8. ”We'd like to go out for （＿＿） dinner tonight. Can you recommend （＿＿） a good restaurant?”
9. Tracy has （＿＿） part-time job at （＿＿） MacDonald's. She works four hours （＿＿） day, three days（＿＿） week.
10. My grandparents live in （＿＿） old house in （＿＿） small village. There is （＿＿） big cherry tree in front of （＿＿） house. I used to climb （＿＿） tree when I was （＿＿） child.

→ Exercise2 Answer

Related Links

• English Grammar: a complete guide - Edufind
• Oxford Dictionaries

CAI Exercise

• Go to CAI Exercise page