Revision of the Present Continuous and Past Continuous Passive Tenses

—   Hello, our dear friends. My name is James Wilson. This is Martin Green.

—   We are glad to welcome you on our lesson.

—   Our friend Lee is also with us today.

—   Yesterday we decided to walk in the park. It’s close to my house.

—   We were walking when suddenly we heard the talk of two friends.

—   They were arguing. Listen to their conversation.

—   Marcus, did you tell your daughter to write a letter to Santa Claus?

—   Yes, of course! The letter is writing by Lucy at this moment.

—   Marcus, did you say: “The letter is writing”?

—   Yes, I did!

—   Come on, it’s the passive voice. And you made the sentence in the active voice. It’s right to say: “The letter is being written by Lucy at this moment”! And in the past, we would say: “The letter was being written by Lucy at that moment”.

—   Who told you that?

—   I just know it. I can find this rule on the Internet and show you.

—   No, I don’t trust all the information on the Internet.

—   All right, as you wish! But you are wrong in this situation.

—   No, Mason, I’m not!

—   You’ve just listened to their conversation. Do you know who is right and who is wrong in this situation?

—   Let’s find out.

Today in the lesson we will:

·        Revise the difference between active and passive voice;

And

·        Revise the formation of the Present Continuous Passive and Past Continuous Passive.

The active voice describes the sentences where the subject performs the action stated by the verb. The construction of such sentences is easy to read.

Let’s look at the example.

The girl eats chocolates every day.

(In this sentence “the girl” is a subject that tells us about the person who performs the action. “Eats” is a verb in the Present Simple Tense. It describes the action, which is completed by the girl. “Chocolates” is an object).

The passive voice describes the sentences where the subject is acted upon by the verb. We use this voice when we want to focus on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Let’s rewrite the first example in the passive voice.

Chocolates are eaten by the girl every day.

(In this sentence “chocolates” is the object, not the subject of the sentence. Chocolates are not doing an action. “Are eaten” is a verb in the passive voice. “By the girl” describes the person who does the action).

If we want to mention the person who does the action, we can use the preposition by.

For instance:

The car is fixed by Mike’s father.

The dinner was made by my sister.

The products will be bought by Eric.

The poem was written by Ella.

—   We told you about the difference between active and passive voice.

—   Today we will also tell you how to form the sentences in the Present and Past Continuous Passive.

—   Let’s start with Present Continuous Passive.

To form positive sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we put: am, is, or are. After that we put the word being. And then we put the past participle of the main verb.

If the verb is regular, we add the ending -ed, for example: The films are being watched. The music is being played.

If the verb is irregular, we use the third form of this verb, for example: The book is being written. The songs are being sung.  

To form negative sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we put am, is or are plus not, the short forms are: ‘m not, isn’t and aren’t. Then we put being. After that we put the past participle of the main verb.

For example, if the verbs are regular, we’ll have:

The films aren’t being watched. The music isn’t being played.

If the verbs are irregular:

The book isn’t being written. The songs aren’t being sung.  

To form questions, we put am, is or are in first place, the subject — in second place. Then we put being. After that we put the past participle of the main verb.

For example:

If the verbs are regular, we’ll have:

Are the films being watched? Is the music being played?

And if the verbs are irregular:

Is the book being written? Are the songs being sung?

Let’s look at the example:

—   Dan, hello! Is your car being washed?

—   Hello, Ryan! No, my car isn’t being washed.

—   What are you doing here then?

—   Oh, I just came by and decided to visit my friend Jack. What about you, Ryan? Did you come to wash your car?

—   Yes, I did! My car is being washed right now by your friend.

In this example we used: positive, negative and interrogative sentences.

—   Now you know how to form the sentences in the Present Continuous Passive.

—   Let’s discuss how to form them in the Past Continuous Passive.

To form positive sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we put: was or were. After that we put the word being. And then we put the past participle of the main verb.

If the verb is regular, we add the ending -ed, for example: The films were being watched. The music was being played.

If the verb is irregular, we use the third form of this verb, for example: The book was being written. The songs were being sung.

To form negative sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we put was or were plus not, the short forms are: wasn’t and weren’t. Then we put being. After that we put the past participle of the main verb.

For example, if the verbs are regular, we’ll have:

The films weren’t being watched. The music wasn’t being played.

If the verbs are irregular:

The book wasn’t being written. The songs weren’t being sung.

To form questions, we put was or were in first place, the subject — in second. Then we put being. After that we put the past participle of the main verb.

For example:

If the verbs are regular, we’ll have:

Were the films being watched? Was the music being played?

And if the verbs are irregular:

Was the book being written? Were the songs being sung?

Let’s look at the example:

—   Hi, Joe. How are you today?

—   Oh, I’m so tired, Nick. I couldn’t sleep last night.

—   Were the songs being sung all the evening again?

—   No, the songs weren’t being sung. This time the guitar was being played by my neighbor.

—   Oh, Joe, you need to call the police next time.

—   I think I’ll do that if he makes a noise once again.

In this example we used: positive, negative and interrogative sentences.

Now let’s put the knowledge into a practice.

Choose the appropriate forms of the verbs to complete the sentences.

One.

The variants are:

a)   is writing b) is written c) is being written

Let’s check.

The right variant is c.

I can’t give you Molly’s new book right now. It is being written now.

Two.

The variants are:

a)   was vacuuming b) was being vacuumed c) was vacuumed

Let’s check.

The right variant is b.

Alex couldn’t get inside the room. It was being vacuumed.

Three.

The variants are:

a)   was being asked b) was asked c) was asking

Let’s check.

The right variant is a.

Bobby was being asked a question when someone called him.

The following sentences.

Four.

The variants are:

a)   is building b) is built c) is being built

Let’s check.

The right variant is c.

A new supermarket is being built next to the post office.

Five.

The variants are:

a)   are made b) are being made c) are been made

Let’s check.

The right variant is b.

Those delicious pancakes are being made by my sister.

Six.

The variants are:

a)   aren’t grown b) aren’t growing c) aren’t being grown

Let’s check.

The right variant is c.

Red roses aren’t being grown in this garden now.

Now let’s return to the argument between Mason and Marcus.

·        Mason was sure that it’s right to say: “The letter is being written by Lucy at this moment”.

·        And Marcus was sure that it’s right to say: “The letter is writing by Lucy at this moment”.

—   Now, Lee, tell us who is right in this situation.

—   Oh, it’s very easy. Mason is right, and Marcus is wrong.

—   That’s right. Good job, Lee!

—   Now you know how to form the sentences in the Present and Past Continuous Passive.

—   We hope our lesson was useful for you.

—   That’s all for today!

—   See you soon, our dear friends!