Passive

We use passive when we are not interested in who carries out an action or it is not necessary to know.

The passive is formed with the verb to be + past participle.

We can use by, if we want to say who performs the action.

We often use passive in a formal or impersonal way.

The hospital was built in 2006.The Iphone was inventend by Steve Jobs.

Use the following verbs to complete the sentences.

Read more: Passive

Present Perfect and Past Simple

The Past Simple tells us only about the past. If somebody says “Karen lost her mobile phone”. We do not know whether she has it now or not. We only know that she lost it at some time in the past.

The Present Perfect is a present tense. It always tells us something about now. “Karen has lost her mobile phone.” = She doesn’t have her mobile phone now.

The Present Perfect is not used if there is no connection with the present (things that happened a long time ago, for instance)

Shakespeare wrote many plays --- My cousin is a writer. He has written many novels (he still writes novels).

Read more: Present Perfect: Lesson 4

Present Perfect: Lesson 3

Present Perfect Continous

The Present Perfect Continuous is used for an activity that just stopped or recently stopped.

Examples:

- Lori is very tired. She has been studying very hard. (She is tired now)

- Mark is out of breath. He has been running. (He is out of breath now)

a) Kim started French classes in March. She is still learning French now. She __________________ since March.

b) Mary-Kate began looking for a new job 2 months ago. She is still looking now. She ______________ for two months.

c) It started to rain an hour ago. It's still raining now. It ______________ for an hour.

d) Tobi started working in New York on February 23. He is still working there now. __________________ since February 23.

e) Tara started waiting for the train 30 minutes ago. She is still waiting now. She _______________________________ for 20 minutes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Answers:

a) Kim started French classes in March. She is still learning French now. She has been learning French since March.

b) Mary-Kate began looking for a new job 2 months ago. She is still looking now. She has been looking for a job for two months.

c) It started to rain an hour ago. It's still raining now. It has been raining for an hour.

d) Tobi started working in New York on February 23. He is still working there now. He has been working in New York since February 23.

e) Tara started waiting for the train 30 minutes ago. She is still waiting now. She has been waiting for the train for 30 minutes.

Present Perfect: Lesson 2

The Present Perfect is used to talk about a time from the past until now – (e.g. your life)

You can use the Present Perfect + ever (in questions) and never.

Read more: Present Perfect: Lesson 2