Grammar - Active and Passive Voice (Perfect Tense and Modals)

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

The rules are:

1. When changing a sentence to the passive voice from the present perfect tense, the perfect tense or the future perfect tense, we have to change the verb in these ways:

a)    Present perfect: has/have + been + past participle of verb

·         John has encouraged the children to exercise more often. (Active)

·         The children have been encouraged to exercise more often. (Passive)

b)    Past perfect: had + been + past participle of verb

·         Tim had told Mrs Johnson about Peter’s arrival before I called her. (Active)

·         Mrs Johnson had been told about Peter’s arrival by Tim before I called her. (Passive)

c)    Future perfect: will have + been + past participle of verb

·         By Monday next week, all the children will have finished all the food. (Active)

·         By Monday next week, all the food will have been finished. (Passive)

2. When changing a sentence with modals such as can, may or must from the active voice to the passive voice, we have to change the verb in these ways:

            Can + be + past participle of verb

              May + be + past participle of verb

              Must + be + past participle of verb

• The price of this apartment can be estimated by the company.
• This problem may be discussed at the next meeting.
• All the doors must be locked before we go out. 

Common Idioms: Chickenfeed

Meaning : a small amount of money

·         Getting paid GBP3000 for 2 weeks of work may sound like a lot of money to most people, but it’s chickenfeed to Hollywood production companies.

Confusing and Misused Words - Especially V Specially

Especially : particularly

• It’s always cold in Iceland, especially in winter.
• All John’s children are very spoilt, especially Sean.

Specially : specifically and solely

• My aunt cooked steam fish specially for me last night because she knows it’s my favourite dish.
• My father recently bought a Toyota Hilux specially to transport our antiques to and fro Amcorp Mall on weekends.

Grammar - Active and Passive Voice (Sentences Without Agents)

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

The rules:

1. A passive sentence does not always contain an agent. This is because we do not know who or what did the action.
• Ken’s office was burgled last night.

2. If the agent of an action is unimportant, it can be left out when the sentence is in the passive voice.
• Many people warned us about the dangerous places in that city. (active)
• We were warned about the dangerous places in that city. (passive)

3. The agent in a passive sentence can be left out if the person or thing that did the action is obvious.
• Tony conducts his dance classes with passion and enthusiasm. (active)
• Tony’s dance classes are conducted with passion and enthusiasm. (passive)

4. The passive voice is usually used to describe a scientific experiment or a process. In this case, we leave out the agent because our focus is on what happens and not on who or what does the action.
• The items are packed in boxes before they are sealed and delivered. 

Common Idioms : Catch Someone's Eye

Meaning: to be noticed by someone; to attract someone’s attention

·         Sally was fortunate that her natural good looks and talent caught the eye of a famous music producer. If all goes well, she will be releasing her first album soon.

·         I was just browsing through some deals online and this gorgeous black bag caught my eye.

·         We need more water. Try to catch the waiter’s eye.  

Confusing and Misused Words - Ballet V Ballot

Ballet – a type of dance

• In Malaysia, it’s very common to see parents sending their daughters for ballet lessons at a very young age.

Ballot (noun) – a secret vote taken to elect somebody or to decide something

• All members of the parliament were elected by ballot.
• Seeing there was an area of disagreement, the company’s management decided to hold a ballot.

Ballot (verb) – to organize a secret vote by a group of people to find out their views.

• The union has decided to ballot its members on the issue.

Grammar - Active and Passive Voice (Tense and Agreement)

The rules are:

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

1. All passive sentences begin with the person or thing that receives the action. It must have a passive verb.

                            Subject      Active verb         Object

Active

sentence:               Alex            painted           the room.

                           

                            Subject      Passive verb       Agent

Passive

sentence:               The room   was painted      by Alex.

*Notice that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of a passive sentence.

2. The tense of the verb has to remain the same when we change a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice.
• My mother sends me to school every morning. (active voice, present tense)
• I am sent to school every day by my mother. (passive voice, present tense)

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

3. The verb must agree with the subject in number when we change a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice.

                      Subject              Active verb

Active

sentence:       The manager      is distributing     documents to                                          (singular)                                the staff.   

                    Subject              Passive verb

Passive

Sentence:      Documents         are being           to the staff by

                    (plural)              distributed         the manager.

Homonyms - Mould (As a Noun and Verb)

1.    a soft, green or grey growth that develops on old food or on objects that have been exposed to warm, wet air for too long

·         Don’t eat the cheese. There’s mould (= noun) on it.

2.    a hollow container with a particular shape where soft or liquid substances are poured. When the substance hardens, it takes the shape of the container

·         Pour the clay into the mould (= noun) and let it set.

3.    to make a soft substance into a particular shape

·         This plastic is going to be moulded (= verb) into cups.

·         The children had fun moulding (= verb) little pots from clay this morning.

4.    to try and change or influence someone

·         John tried to mould (= verb) his son into a perfectionist, just like himself.

Confusing and Misused Words - College V Collage

College – an educational institution for people over the age of 16 to study or train to get knowledge and/or skills

• I am planning to pursue a business degree when I go to college next year.

Collage – a picture in which various materials or objects such as paper, cloth or photographs are stuck onto a larger surface

• I was amazed that the children managed to made a collage of postcards in such a short period of time.

Grammar - Adjectives of Quantity (A few, A little, A lot of, Any, Many, Much, Some)

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

The rules are:

1.    Many, much, a lot of

Many – used with plural countable nouns.

Much – used with uncountable nouns.

A lot of – used with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.

• There are many/a lot of people at the market today.
• There is much/a lot of milk in the refrigerator.

2.     Much – used with uncountable nouns in questions and   negative sentences in these ways:

a)    Is/Was + there + much + uncountable nouns

·                     Was there much traffic on the road this morning?

b)    There + isn’t/ wasn’t + much + uncountable nouns

·         There wasn’t much traffic on the road.

c)    Subject + doesn’t/don’t/didn’t + base form of the verb + much + uncountable noun

·         We don’t have much money left.

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

3.     A few, A little

A few – used with plural countable nouns.

A little – used with uncountable nouns.

·         I’ll do the dishes in a few minutes.

·         We need to add a little salt to the soup.

4.                Some, Any

Some – used with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns in positive statements or questions.

·         John’s father owns some old Spanish coins from the 17^th century.

·         Does/Doesn’t your sister want tea or coffee?

Any – used with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns in negative statements or questions.

·         We don’t own any Spanish coins from the 17^th century.

·         Is/isn’t there any coffee or tea for the guests?

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

Proverbs and Sayings: 'Like Father, Like Son' OR 'Like Mother, Like Daughter'

Meaning : Used to remark on individuals who have the same interests, failings etc. as their parents

• James is exactly like his dad. Not only does he look like his dad, he also behaves like his dad. It’s like the saying goes, ‘Like father, like son.’ 

• Sally is just as sociable and care-free as her mother. It’s no surprise they like doing things together. Oh well, like mother, like daughter.

Homophones: Meter V Metre

Meter

• I will only get into a taxi if the driver agrees to use the meter.
• John was already late for an appointment this morning. So, when he found out that the parking meter closest to him was out of order, he lost his temper.

Metre

·         After jogging a mere 500 metres (0.5 kilometer), Sam was already breathing heavily/out of breath/breathless.

NOTE: In American English, meter is used for all these words.

Grammar - Possessive: Apostrophe ( ' ), Apostrophe 's' ('s), Of

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 2

The rules are:

1. An ‘s is usually added to show ownership or relationship.
• The girl’s shoes          (ownership)
• Her father’s friend      (relationship)
• The dog’s food           (ownership)
• The tiger’s trainer      (relationship)

2. An ‘ is usually added to plural nouns ending in ‘s’, and ‘s to plural nouns not ending in ‘s’ to show ownership or relationship.
• The ladies’ bags         (plural – ladies)
• The girls’ brother       (plural – girls)
• The children’s toys     (plural – children)
• The men’s tools          (plural – men)

3. Of is usually used to show relation or association with a plant, place or object.
• The tyres of the car
• The facilities of the building

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 2