Passives in the News Answer Key

S.J.'s Pioneer High hit by five-alarm fire

Below are five of the sentences from the article that contain passive voice verbs. I marked each subject and verb in color as follows:

subject =green

passive verb =blue

I also put curly brackets {xxx} around the verb because  you'll need to use them when you post your assignment on the Discussion Board, which does not support color.

Next, I rewrote the sentence using an active voice verb. Since the agent was not stated in the passive construction of most verbs, I created a subject based on the context. I thought “Who was the agent of the verb?” and used that agent  as the subject of the active construction. The agent could be another noun phrase. I marked each subject and verb as follows:

subject =green

active verb =orange, with put curly brackets  around the verb

#1

Passive voice, simple past tense, complex sentence (DC=nonrestrictive relative adjective clause):

No one {was injured} in the blaze, which {was reported} at 8:44 p.m.

Active voice, simple past tense, complex sentence:

The fire, which someone {reported} at 8:44 p.m., {did not injure} anyone.

#2

Passive voice, simple present tense, complex sentence (DC=NR relative adverb clause):

The fire {is believed }to have started near the stage, where lighting and sound equipment {is stored}, said Allison Cabral, a San Jose Fire Department spokeswoman.

Active voice, simple present tense, complex sentence:

The fire department {believes} that the fire started near the stage, near where the school {stores} the lighting and sound equipment.

#3

Passive voice, simple past tense, complex sentence (DC1=adverbial  clause of reason, DC2=noun clause):

Because the stage and backstage area are against the side of the building, it was impossible for investigators to tell whether the fire started inside the building, or {was set} outside.

Note: The passive verb is part of a noun clause  “whether the fire A or B.” Verb A is active, and Verb B is passive.

Active voice, simple past tense, complex sentence:

Because the stage and backstage area are against the side of the building, it was impossible for investigators to tell whether the fire started inside the building, or someone {set} it outside.

#4

Passive voice, future tense, complex sentence (DC= adverbial clause of time):

 “They have to rule out a lot of electrical equipment or something else as possible causes,'' Cabral said of investigators. Those possibilities {will have to be ruled out} before arson {can be addressed} as a cause.

Active voice, future tense, complex sentence :

The investigators {will have to rule out} those possibilities before they {can address} arson as a cause.

#5

Passive voice, simple past tense, complex sentence (DC1= adverbial clause of reason):

The blaze {was knocked down} Sunday night, Cabral said -- but not {put out}, because firefighters were still going through embers.

Note: This sentence uses two phrasal verbs: knock down (reduce) and put out (extinguish).

Active voice, simple past tense, complex sentenc

The firefighters {knocked down} the blaze Sunday night, Cabral said -- but {did not put it out}, because they were still going through embers.

Extra Credit: Find passive voice constructions in another written source. You may copy paragraphs from a textbook in another class, or you may find an article of interest to you on the web.

Identify three sentences with passive voice verbs. Put curly brackets around each complete verb.  Rewrite the sentences using active voice verbs. (You will have to create appropriate subjects for many or all of the sentences.)

On the Discussion Board, post a message. In the subject line, write the title of your article.

At the top of your message, paste the paragraphs from your book, or paste the URL of the online article. Then, list your three items.

#1

Passive
xxxxxxx {xxxxxxx xxxxxx} xxxxxxxxxxxx.

Active
xxxxxxx {xxxxxx} xxxxxxxxxxxx.

 


 

Go back to class http://cvc.blackboard.com