Change the focus. Keep the time.
Move from the person doing an action to the thing affected by it.
B1–B2 · Passive voice · Tense control · Information focus · 25–35 minutes
Use an invented repair workshop to practise meaningful active-to-passive changes. A passive sentence needs a suitable verb; it is not a mechanical change for every sentence.
Read, listen and notice
Pasa el ratón, usa Tab y Enter o toca una frase subrayada para ver su traducción. El audio lee solo los modelos en inglés; depende de las voces disponibles en el dispositivo. Empieza siempre al pulsar Escuchar.
In an invented workshop report, the writer sometimes names the technician and sometimes focuses on the equipment.En un informe de un taller ficticio, quien escribe a veces nombra a la técnica y otras veces se centra en el equipo. The technician checked the brakes tells us who performed the action.The technician checked the brakes nos dice quién realizó la acción. The brakes were checked puts the brakes at the centre of the message.The brakes were checked sitúa los frenos en el centro del mensaje.
A common passive pattern uses a form of be followed by a past participle.Una estructura pasiva habitual utiliza una forma de be seguida de un participio. The form of be helps keep the tense: are checked, were checked and will be checked describe different time references.La forma de be ayuda a conservar el tiempo: are checked, were checked y will be checked expresan referencias temporales distintas. The agent can be added with by when it contributes useful information.El agente puede añadirse con by cuando aporta información útil.
The report has been completed connects a completed action with the situation now.The report has been completed relaciona una acción completada con la situación actual. The equipment is being tested describes an action currently in progress.The equipment is being tested describe una acción que está en curso. We should not change the original time or invent an agent while changing the focus.No debemos cambiar el tiempo original ni inventar un agente al cambiar el foco.
What receives the action?
The brakes · the report · the equipment
Which form of be?
are · were · will be · have been
Does the reader need it?
Add by + agent when it helps.
Practice desk · Decide and explain
Prueba primero sin abrir los modelos. Puedes comprobar una parte, leer la explicación y volver a intentarlo.
Puedes comprobar una parte o completar todo el reto. No se guardan ni se envían respuestas desde esta actividad.
Modelos y explicaciones · Self-correction
- are checked — Sujeto plural + are + participio.
- was written — Pasado y sujeto singular: was written.
- will be tested — Will be + participio.
- have been completed — Sujeto plural: have been + participio.
- painted — Is being + participio muestra una acción en curso.
- by — By introduce aquí a quien realizó la acción.
- No — La transformación requiere una estructura verbal adecuada; no basta con mover palabras.
- The bicycle was repaired. — Se conserva el pasado y se centra la frase en el objeto reparado.
Transfer · Make it your own
Writing · 80–110 words: write an invented progress report. Use three passive tenses and explain why the agent is omitted in one sentence.
Speaking: compare an active and a passive version of the same event. Tell your partner what changes and what stays the same.
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