Unit 2a Book

When reading about the spin-offs in your book, maybe you noticed that to describe the spin-offs in full sentences, the Passive Voice was often used. For example:

Explosive devices that were used to jettison unwanted spacecraft launchers are now used for inflating airbags on boats to stabilise them.

That is, the grammar form is as follows:     “to be” + the past participle (-ed or irregular)

The reason for using the passive voice is logical:

1) The agent, i.e. the one who does the action, is not important or known. Sometimes it is not even desirable to mention the agent. Instead, the focus is on the activity itself or its result.

2) The sentence is part of a formal text. Generally, the passive voice sounds more formal than the active voice. Therefore, it is more often used in writing, rather than speaking.

What you should also know about the passive voice is how to convert an active sentence into a passive one. So now read about this grammar point here and then practise it by doing tasks A, B and C. If you think you need further practice, do the tasks in the Further Practice Section at the end of this unit.