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Lesson planB255 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
How Work Is Changing: The passive (all forms)
Students practise all forms of the passive to describe changes at work, then write a short report for a newsletter.
Passive voice · Work · Business
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use passive: all forms accurately
- Learn and use 7 words and phrases in one set: Words for work
- Read for detail: changes at Northgate
- Writing task: a newsletter report
Stages · 55 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about passive voice and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 5 minControlled practice: Ex. 2
- 10 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 3–4
- 10 minReading: Ex. 5
- 15 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 4 PDFs)Grammar notes
Passive forms: be + past participle
- Present continuous: The system is being updated. · Past continuous: The room was being painted.
- Present perfect: Three managers have been appointed. · Past perfect: The contract had been signed.
- Modal: Staff must be given clear instructions. The documents should be sent today.
- Future: The office will be closed. · Future perfect: The reports will have been checked by Friday.
When to use it
- Use the passive when the action matters more than the person who does it, or when the person is unknown or obvious.
- Add by + person only when it's useful: The system was designed by our own engineers.
- The passive is common in reports, news and formal writing: It is considered very reliable.
Study tips
- To check a passive form, find be in the right tense first (is being, has been, will have been…), then add the past participle.
- Only verbs with an object can be passive: you can say 'The report was written', but not 'The accident was happened'.
Glossary
- Words for work7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Words for work
Match each word with its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Tap an item…
…then its match
2
Which passive form?
Complete each sentence with the correct passive form of the verb in brackets.
- a
The new software (install) at the moment, so the system isn't working.
- b
By the end of the week, all the reports (check).
- c
Three new managers (appoint) since January.
- d
We couldn't use the meeting room because it (paint) when we arrived.
- e
New staff should (give) clear instructions on their first day.
- f
The contract (sign) before the deadline, so there was nothing to worry about.
- g
Our machines must (maintain) regularly, or they stop working.
3
Key word transformations
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use the word in capitals and between two and five words, including that word.
- a
They are repairing the lift this week.
BEING
The lift this week.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- b
Someone has stolen a laptop from the office.
BEEN
A laptop from the office.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- c
We must send the documents today.
BE
The documents today.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- d
The company will have hired fifty new staff by June.
HAVE
Fifty new staff by June.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- e
Nobody had told the staff about the changes.
BEEN
The staff about the changes.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- f
Experts consider this system very reliable.
CONSIDERED
This system very reliable.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
4
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correction.
- a
The new office is building at the moment.
- b
The results have been publish on the company website.
- c
All complaints must answered within two days.
- d
Our computers are maintain by an external company.
- e
The project will finished by the end of next month.
- f
When I arrived, the meeting room was being clean.
5
Read: changes at Northgate
Read the article from a company newsletter. Are the sentences true, false or not given?
Five years ago, every order at Northgate Logistics was checked by hand, and mistakes were often discovered only when customers complained. Since then, the way the company works has been changed completely. A new tracking system has been installed in all three warehouses, and it is being updated every month. Orders can now be followed in real time, and most problems are solved within hours. The system has proved very reliable, and it is maintained by a small team in the main office. Staff have also been given more flexible hours. Employees are no longer required to arrive at seven; instead, they are trusted to plan their own day, as long as their work is done on time. Some studies have suggested that flexible working can make people more productive, and this trend seems to be supported by Northgate's own figures. However, not everyone is happy: some drivers say they are still expected to work the same long shifts. The company has promised that their timetables will have been reviewed by the end of the year.
- a
Five years ago, orders were checked by a computer.
- b
The tracking system is updated regularly.
- c
The tracking system was very expensive.
- d
Employees still have to start work at seven.
- e
Northgate's figures seem to support the idea that flexible hours help staff to do more.
- f
All the staff are happy with the changes.
- g
The drivers' timetables have already been changed.
- h
More drivers have been hired this year.
6
Write: a newsletter report
Write a report for a newsletter.
Write a short report (120–150 words) for a company or school newsletter about changes where you work or study (real or imaginary). Use at least four different passive forms: present continuous (is being done), present perfect (has been done), modal (must be done) and future (will be done or will have been done). Word box: maintain · effective · demonstrate · trend · reliable · flexible · productive Example: A new booking system has been introduced, and it is being tested by a small team. It has already demonstrated that it is more effective than the old one.
Suggested minimum: 120 words
0 words · aim for at least 120
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 7 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in one set.
Words for work
- maintain
- to keep something in good condition or at the same level
- effective
- producing the result that you want
- demonstrate
- to show something clearly, for example with facts or by doing it
- trend
- a general change in the way people behave or things develop
- reliable
- able to be trusted to work well or do what is expected
- flexible
- able to change easily to suit new situations
- productive
- producing or doing a lot
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