Cursos basico 2011-2012

PASSIVE VOICE
The passive voice is used when focusing on the person or thing affected by an action.
• The Passive is formed: Passive Subject To Be Past Particple
• It is often used in business and in other areas where the object of the action is more important than those who perform the action. For Example: We have produced over 20 different models in the past two years.Changes to: Over 20 different models have been produced in the past two years.
• If the agent (the performer of the action) is important, use "by" For Example: Tim Wilson wrote "The Flight to Brunnswick" in 1987. Changes to:"The Flight to Brunnswick" was written in 1987 by Tim Wilson.
• Only verbs that take an object can be used in the passive.
The following chart includessentences changed from the active to the passive in the principal tenses.
|Active |Passive |Time Reference |
|They make Fords in Cologne. |Fords are made in Cologne. |Present Simple |
|Susan is cooking dinner. |Dinner is being cooked by Susan |Present Continuous |
|James Joyce wrote |"Dubliners"was written by James |Past Simple |
|"Dubliners". |Joyces. | |
|They were painting the house |The house was being painted when I |Past Continuous |
|when I arrived. |arrived. | |
|They have produced over 20 |Over 20 models have beenproduced in |Present Perfect |
|models in the past two years.|the past two years. | |
|They are going to build a new|A new factory is going to be built in |Future Intention |
|factory in Portland. |Portland. |with Going to |
|I will finish it tomorrow. |It will be finished tomorrow. |FutureSimple |


The Passive Voice with Simple Tenses













A) Answer.

What do you know about our solar system? ______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Share your ideas and opinions by answering these questionsabout the picture.

► What is the center of our solar system________________________________________
►How many planets are there in our solar system? _______________________________
► Do the planets and moons move? ___________________________________________
►To your knowledge, how long have we known this about our solar system? ___________________________________________________________________________________

B) Read the text.
OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE


For centuries, it was believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and that every object in the sky revolved around it. These beliefs were not changed easily. In the 1500s, Copernicus suggested that the sun was the center of the universe, but few people listened to him. Later in 1609,Galileo 5 defended Copernicus theory. Through his use of a telescope, Galileo realized that the Earth was only one of several planets that revolved around the sun. Because he stated this publicly, Galileo was sent to prison in 1633.
Since Galileo's time, astronomers have made tremendous advances in our knowledge of the universe. Today. We know that the Earth is one of nine planetsthat orbit the sun. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is made up of over two hundred billion stars like our sun. The universe is filled with millions of similar galaxies and countless other extraterrestrial objects.



C) Discuss these questions, then write your answers. You can check your answers with the text.
> Through most of history, what was believed about the Earth and the Universe?...