Haramaya University

School of Foreign Languages and Journalism

Department of English Language and Literature

Course Title: Communicative English Language Skills I

Tesfamariam S.

June; 2021
Haramaya University
 Unit One: Grammar Focus:
Modals and Infinitives for Giving Advice

• There are various ways of giving advice. These are;

infinitives and modals.
• Two other ways of giving advice include the use of ought
to and had better.
e.g. You ought to work very hard
You had better work very hard.
Note. Should and ought to express similar or identical
meaning.
But had better is sometimes used when we want to make
the advice stronger to indicate that the advice we give is
really important.
 Complete the following short dialogues
Aman: I want to speak English more fluently
Muna: You should practice speaking every day.
Aman: I am not feeling well to day
Muna: You should go the hospital/check yourself
Modal for Giving Advice (Should/shouldn’t/ought to)
We can use ought to, should/ shouldn’t to express advice or
recommendation.
e.g. Candidates should be friendly
You shouldn’t worry too much about exams.
Candidates ought to be friendly 
Note: Had better: is used for strong advice which may be
dangerous if you don’t apply.
e.g. The tanker is empty. You had better stop drive.
It is freezing in the evening. You had better wear your
thick jacket.
(Had better is a bare infinitive-it is not past).
• Don’t say had better to

•  
More examples.
You_______focus more on your assignment
Answer: ought to/should - because we use should or ought
to- to express advice.
Getaneh has got a headache
You should see a doctor
You ought to drink hot tea
Both are about giving advice
• You are seriously injured. You_______see a doctor.
Answer: Had better.
 Communicative Functions of Modal Verbs (Worksheet)

• Directions: in the box below, there are modal verbs. Read

the dialogue following the box carefully and supply the
correct modal verbs. Use only letters to give you answers.
 
D. Must G. Can
  J. Couldn’t
 
A. Will have to E.Would K. Had better not
H. Mustn’t
B. Will F. Won’t L. May not
I. Can’t
C. should    
• Melat: Good morning, Fasile!
• Fasile: Hi, Melat! I have been looking for you! (1)________I use your laptop? I’m
writing a report.
• Melat: Of course! But what if we have breakfast now?
• Fasile: It sounds great!
• Waiters: What (2)__________you like to have?
• Melat: Spaghetti and bread, please! I think Fasile prefers bread and tea
• Fasile: Sure________you know my preference. Who is that coming?
• Melat: I think he is John.
• Fasile: No, he (3)_________be! John has just gone to Jigjiga. Perhaps Bedilu.
• Melat: Maybe! They‘re alike. Have you submitted your term paper?
• Fasile: Not yet! I (4)________have submitted! Yesterday was the deadline.
• Melat: No problem! Dr. Fatuma still receives.
• Fasile: Oh! I’m lucky! Have you heard about Ujulu? He’s going to drop out of school!
• Melat: What?! What’s gone wrong?
• Fasile: He doesn’t afford the tuition fee. I’m worried we’re going to miss him
• Melat: Take it easy! I (5)________cover his tuition fee. My brother has sent $ 800 to
me.
• Fasile: That’s very nice of you! Melat, I (6)______go now. Today is the deadline for my
term paper. See you tomorrow!
• Melat: Okay, thanks! Have a nice day!
•  
 Unit One: Grammar Focus: Present Perfect Tense

• Present prefect tense describes an action which is

finished/completed before now but we don’t know exactly
when it happened.
• But it is true that it happens sometime before now.
• It may happen two hours ago, or even a day before.
When to use Present perfect Tense
• We use present prefect tense to talk about past actions with
some importance now(the result is being seen now).
e.g. I have cleaned the windows (the windows are clean now)
He has hurt his leg (so he has a bad leg now)
She has lost her keys (she is looking for it; she can’t find it)
They have learned French (so they know or can speech French)
• We use present prefect tense together with already, just and
yet, to talk about recently completed or finished actions
Already
• We use already to say that something happened sooner
than expected or earlier than somebody expected. .
• Position: it placed in between present perfect tense and
past participle (V3).
Subject has/have+ already+v3
A: Don’t forget to read this interesting book
B: I have already read it.(before expected time)
X: What time is the train leaving?
Y: it has already left (left before expected time).
A; When is Abel going to home town?
B: He has already gone (sooner than you expected)
Just
• Just = means a short time ago or a few minutes ago.
We often use the present perfect with Just to show something
happens a few minutes ago.
• It placed in between has/have +just+V3
• X: Are you hungry?
• Y: No, I have just had lunch (I had it a short time ago)
• The snow has just stopped (it stopped a short time ago)
• We have just heard the news from Alex (I heard it a few
minutes ago)
• A famous pop star has just died (he died a short time ago)
• Just have several meanings. These are:
right now,
a short time ago;
exactly,
really and only.

e.g I can’t talk now =I am just going out (just=right now).

The plane had just landed (just=a short time ago)

It is just two o’clock. (just=exactly)

I just hate the way he talks to people (just=really)
Can I help you, sir? No, I am just looking round (thanks)
Yet
• It is used to express negative expressions or thoughts

Yet usually comes at the end of the sentences.

e.g. Have you paid the electrician yet? Questions

No he hasn’t sent his bill yet? Negative

I have written letter, but I haven’t sent it yet.
• Yet shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen.
• We often use yet in questions. For example

Did you eat yet?

Have you eaten yet?
• We use present prefect tense to answer the question how long.
But in this case we use since and for.
e.g. I have known him for many years (still I know him)
I have been here for ages (I still live here)
How long have they used the car?
They have used it for ten years (they still use it)
She has been in that shop for ages (she is still in that shop)
For; is used with simple past tense.
e.g. I saw this movie for several times (the speaker sees no
longer)
She lived in bahirdar for ten years (she doesn’t live in bahirdar
now)
• I read this fiction for hours (but I no longer read it now)
For; is used with simple past tense.
e.g. I saw this movie for several times (the speaker sees no
longer)
She lived in bahirdar for ten years (she doesn’t live in
bahirdar now)
I read this fiction for hours (but I no longer read it now)
Since; is used with simple present tense.
• It is used to talk about the length of time from a particular
point.
Since, last week/year, /2001/September/Christmas/new year/
last summer/I know him/her birthday/six o’clock
e.g. I have been here since seven o’ clock.(I am still here)
It is nice to see you again. We haven’t seen each other since
last year
• We learned English since grade nine (wrong) b/c
(we cannot use since with simple past tense as it is used with simple
present tense)
• We have learned English since grade nine (right)
• We learned English for ten years (right)
• There is no or little difference between for and since.
So far;
• It means up to now
e.g He has typed six letters so far (up to now)
We haven’t had any problems so far.
Ever;
• It means at any time (throughout life)
• It is used mostly in questions and it comes between has/have+ever+V3
e.g Have you ever eaten breakfast?
Have you ever broken your legs?
Have you ever driven a motorbike? (in your life)
• Ever with present prefect tense superlative
e.g. This is the worst meal I have ever eaten.
This is the most interesting job I have ever had.

Never;
• It is to mean not at any time up to now (in your life)

• It placed between has/have+never+V3

• We use never with positive statements.

e.g. she has never given him flowers before.

I have never ridden a bike in my life.
 Worksheet about tenses
Directions: Fill the following blank space with the correct
given verbs and make a complete email.
I 1 _______ (just/received) an email from our customer in Addis.
They ________ 2(need) more Harar Coffee as they 3________ (give
out) entire stock over the last few months. They 4_______ (have) a
stand at the “Genna Expo” and 5__________ (distribute) a thousand
of tons. Now they 6________ (want) us to send another 10, 000 kilos.
I 7________ (already/contact) sales to see if they have any spare, but
I 8_______ (think) we’ll need some more.
 Unit Two: Health and Fitness

Grammar Focus: Conditionals

• We use conditional clause to state the dependence of one
circumstances or sets of circumstances on another.
• Conditional clause describes something which depends on
something else.
• It is a type of adverbial clause that states hypothesis or
condition, real or imagined.
• There are four kinds of conditionals in English. These are:
• Probable/real/likely/first conditional
• Improbable/unreal/unlikely/second conditional
• Impossible/rejected/third conditional
• Zero Conditionals
 First Conditional (Probable /real/likely)
• This types of condition is often called open or real
condition because the condition to be satisfied is real.
• We use this conditional to describe what will or won’t
(probably) happen.
• We can use all present simple tenses after if and we can
also use all future tense in the main clause (i.e. can, could,
should, may, might).
• It is possible and also very likely that condition will
fulfilled.
• It is used when we want to discuss possible future
occurrence.
• It is often future condition.
• What is said in the condition is may or may not happen.

• It refers either to present or future

• Note: an if clause can come at the beginning or end of a
sentence.
• When it comes first, it is often separated by a comma, and
• when a main clause comes first, a comma is not used
If Clause Main Clause
Simple Present Tense (Sub+v1 Simple Present/Simple Future Tense
s/es) (Sub+will)
e.g. X: I have lost my textbook. Have you seen it anywhere?
Y: No, but if I find it, I will tell you.
There is a real possibility that she will find the book
If I see her, I will tell her your problem = comma is used
I will tell her your problem if I see her =comma is not used.
If she studies hard, she will pass the exam. Comma is used
She will pass the exam if she studies hard. comma is not is used.
Unless= (if……. Not)
We can use unless to mean if not
If…..not= if +subject+verb+not
e.g if she doesn’t loves you, I will settle your problems
(Unless she loves you, I will settle your problems)
if she does not study hard, she will not pass the exam
(Unless she studies hard, she would not pass the exam)
 Improbable /unreal/second conditional

• It is also called unlikely/unreal/second conditional.

• It is used to talk about things which are very unlikely
/unreal or impossible.
• The form is in the past but the meaning is
present/future.
If clause main clause

If +simple past would +infinitive (V1)

 e.g if I knew his name, I would tell you.
If she studied hard, she would pass the exam
She would pass the exam if she studied hard.

Note: we use were instead of was for the subject I in improbable

conditional tense.
e.g If I were rich, I would buy a car (but I am not rich)
I would fly if I were a bird (but I am not)
I would marry her if she were beautiful and faithful (but she is not so)
If I were you, I wouldn’t marry Tsion. (but I am not you)
 Inversion

• Inversion is using a verb before a subject instead of if’

• we begin a sentence with were not was.
Were I you
e.g. were I you, I would go to USA.
meaning (Were I you=if I were you)
Were i Alex, i would refuse the offers.
meaning (if i were Alex, i would refuse the offer).
Had I
• Had i a villa house, i would be happy
Meaning (had i=if i had)
• Had she much money, she would go to abroad.
meaning (Had she much money=if she had much money).
Note: inversion is never used in probable/likely conditional tense
 Third conditional (Impossible Condition)

• It is to talk about things that can now never happen.

• It is to talk about past situations which didn’t happen and therefore,

are impossible.
• The condition will be fulfilled because it refers to the past
• It expresses consequences which didn’t /couldn’t happen.

If clause=assume something purely imaginary

Main clause=consider the imagined consequences.
• That is why it refers to something that didn’t happen in the past.
• They are therefore, called ‘hypothetical conditions’
 If clause main clause
If +past perfect (had+V3) Perfect Conditional (would +have + V3)
e.g, If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam
If you had asked me, I would have told you.

I would have told you if you had asked me.

If he had known the facts, he might have told us what to do (it was
possible) possibility

Note: we use would have +V3

= when we feel certain/nearly certain

But, we use could have +V3 and might have +V3

=when we do not feel certain

 Inversion

(Had +I +V3= had I had = if I had had)

• Had i been you, i wouldn’t marry her.

• Had i been you and if i had been you
(meaning: if i had been in your position).
• Had I had enough money, I would have bought new laptop.
(meaning: Had I had enough money=if I had had enough money)
 Zero Conditionals

• It is used to express automatic or habitual or something

which is always true (permanent truth/scientific fact).
• In zero conditional, the tense that we use in both clauses is
simple present tense.
• Will can be omitted.
If clause main clause
If+subject+simple present verb Subject+simple present verb
e.g. if you heat water, it boils
if you heat ice, it melts
if you add oil in water, it floats
• Habitual/customs
e.g. If you eat too much food, you get fat
If a dog sees a strange people, it barks
 Providing/provided that/Suppose/supposing that or
on condition that=if.
• We use those terms instead of if in conditional tense.

(Supposing that=if)
e.g. Supposing that we miss the train, what shall we do?

meaning if we miss the train, what shall we do?

(Provided that=if)
e.g. Provided that you work hard today, you will gain too much
tomorrow.
meaning if you work hard today, you will gain too much tomorrow.
 The Main difference between Conditionals

• The difference between, for example, if i go............and if i went or if

i speak...........and if i spoke........is not a difference of time. They can
both refer to the present or future.
Note: the past tense (would) usually suggest that the speaker thinks
the situation is less probable or less definite or impossible or imaginary.
Compare:
• If I become president, i will reduce corruption (said by a candidate in
an election)
• If I became president, i would reduce corruption (said by a school
boy)
• If I win the race, i believe that i will earn much money (said by the
faster runner)
• If I won the race, i believe that i would earn much money (said by
the slowest runner).
Note: in the examples above, if i become and if i win are more likely
to happen.
There will be a great chance.
On the other hand, if i became and if i won are less likely to happen or
there will be less chance.
 Exceptional Rule

• Conjunctions that can sometimes be used together with‘if’

What if
• With type 1
What if=what will happen if?
e.g. What if the train is late?
• With type 2
What if=what would happen if?
e.g. what if you were to run out of money?
• With type 3
What if=what would have happened if?
e.g. what if you hadn’t reached bus station before 1’ o, clock.
If so=in that case
e.g are you free in this evening? If so, let’s go out for meal.
(If so=if you are free)
• I might see you tomorrow. If not, then it will be Sunday.
(If not=if i don’t see you..........)
 Conditional Sentence (work sheet)

DIRECTIONS: Fill in each blank with the correct form of the verb given in
parentheses to make conditional or result clauses in the following dialogue (3 pts.
each).

• Kebede: Can't you stop playing that trumpet? You're making awful noise.

• Lapiso: Well, unless I practice, I (1) _________(not pass) my exam.

• Kebede: But why at night? It's half past twelve. If you (2) ________(play) it in

the daytime, I would not have heard you because I'd be at work. I'm afraid it's

becoming a nuisance.

• Lapiso: I'm sorry, but you can't play a trumpet quietly.

• Kebede: Had I realized a year ago what you were going to do, then I would

have thrown you out long ago. If you (3) ________(keep) on making this noise at

night, I will complain about it to your college.

 Unit three: Cultural Values
Grammar Focus: The present simple, Past simple and Past Perfect in Contrast.
The present Simple
 
• The simple present tense expresses events, or situations that
exist always, usually, habitually, and factual.
• They exist now, have existed in the past and probably will exist
in the future.
Form: Subject+V1 (s,es)
• We use simple present tense:
For habitual actions/customs
e.g Ethiopians celebrate many holidays
Fasil gets up early in the morning
Children need love/affection
A nurse treats patients
For repeated/regular actions(always)
e.g. i always read a story book
My mother always goes to the market every Saturday
To express general truth
e.g lion is the king of forest
Man is mortal
Dog is a faithful animal
The sun rise in the east
To express scientific facts (which has been proved by science)
e.g. Water consists of Hydrogen and Oxygen
The earth revolves round the world
Water boils at 1000 c
Water freezes at zero degrees
To express ability (can and be able to)
e.g I can’t read doctor’s handwriting
To express speakers opinions or beliefs
e.g. I think he is a good teacher
To express condition in if clause (likely condition)
e.g if she comes, call me please.
To express instructions
e.g first, activate the power, then take the photograph.
The Past Simple
• It is all about finished action, not related/connected with the
present time.
Form: Subject+V2
• We use simple present tense:
To express a finished time with words, yesterday/last week, year,
month.../in 2001/ago/then/when....
e.g. I saw abel yesterday
We finished the job last week
Sad am was sentenced in 2001
To express past habit with ‘ USED TO”
• We use used to for finished habits and situation
e.g. She used to live in Gondar. (But now she doesn’t, no longer she
lives there).
I used to travel a lot (i don’t do this anymore)
I wish+past tense
• To express the wish/regret in the present
e.g. I wish I did my best (but I don’t)
• I wish I were rich (but I am not)
• I wish I could play guitar (but I can’t)
• I wish I wrote to her (but I don’t)
To tell stories
e.g. I saw the old woman across the road. She was alone and tried to
walk quickly but she couldn’t........
Past Perfect Tense
• This tense is used to talk about things that happened in the past
before something else happened or before a particular time.
• In this tense had is common for all kinds of persons.
Form: Subject+had+V3.
• We use the past perfect tense to refer to an earlier past that is to
describe the first of the two or more actions.
e.g. First the thief escaped. Then the police arrived.
• The thief had escaped when the police arrived.
(Meaning= the thief had scaped before the police arrived).
• When i arrived, he had left. (Before i got there).
 Unit Four: Wild Animals

Grammar Focus: Conditionals Revised

(For further, read Unit two more)
 Vocabulary: Connotative and Denotative Meanings

What does to know a word mean?

• One of the many things that one has to know about a word is its
denotative and connotative meanings.
• To understand a word fully and use it correctly, it is necessary to
know both its denotation (the standard definition) and its
connotation (the feelings associated with it).
• If we are not fully aware of a word’s connotation, we may choose
inappropriate synonyms in our writing.
• This can lead to confusion or even to our reader taking offense.
• For example, consider the words “group” “clique” and “club”.
• All these three words have basically the same denotative meaning:
• a set of more than one person.
• However, each of these words has a different connotative meaning.

• This shows that when we study a new word, we should attend to its
denotative and connotative meanings.
• When you look a word in the dictionary, you will find its literal
meaning-that is the word’s denotative meaning.
• Denotative meaning is the basic definition of the word.

• However, many words also have an emotional side.

• The emotions and associations connected to a word are
known as its connotative meaning.
• A word may have positive, negative or neutral connotation.
• Some may think about the denotation of a word

–its dictionary meaning and

the connotation–the implied meanings and associations
when choosing words
 Connotation and Denotation

• In fact, every word has at least two definitions: connotative

and denotative.
• Is there more to a word than how it is defined in the
dictionary? So, what’s the difference?
• Denotation: This is the “dictionary definition” of a word.
Connotation
• Many words have multiple meanings or can be implied to
mean something other than the definition we find in the
dictionary.
• Connotation is the emotional and imaginative association
surrounding a word.
• The connotative meanings of a word exist together with the
denotative meanings.
• The denotation of the word snake is “any of numerous scaly,
legless, and sometimes ‘venomous reptiles”.
• Whereas the connotations for the word snake could include evil or
danger.

Here is a sample of a word that has denotative meaning and

connotative associations:
“She’s my baby.” Denotation: infant. Connotation: girl friend
• The denotative definition is based on the literal definition of a
word.
• The connotative definition is the figurative or emotional meaning
of a word. For example
Cheap
• Denotation = low in cost
• Connotation= poorly made
• Home, house, residence and dwelling all have the same
denotation, but the connotation of each word are very
different.
Denotation: Where a person lives at any given time.
Whereas the connotation meaning looks like as follows:
• Home: cozy, loving, comfortable
• House: the actual building or structure
• Residence: cold, no feeling
• Dwelling: primitive or basic surroundings
Word Denotation Connotation
Brutal extremely cruel violent to the point of entertaining
Commitment a pledge to do an emotional connection to another person
Tight fixed firmly in good, fantastic, awesome
place
• The word brutal can have two meanings.
e,g The fight scene in the two towers between the Orcs and the travelers was
brutal.
• Denotation =extremely cruel
• Connotation =violent to the point of entertaining
• The word commitment can have two meanings.
e.g The couple has a commitment to each other.
• Denotation= a pledge to do
• Connotation= an emotional connection to another person
• The word tight can have two meanings.
e.g The dress she was wearing was really tight.
• Denotation= fixed firmly in place
• Connotation= good, fantastic, awesome
Word Connotation Possible connotative meaning
Positive Negative Neutral
unique      

mother        

childish        

skinny        

economical        

       
questioning
group        

clique        

snake        

adolescent        
 Unit Five: Population

Vocabulary: Collocation
• A collocation is a set of words that often go together.
• A collocation refers to a relationship between words that
frequently occur together, so collocation meaning refers to
association that a word acquires its collocation.
Examples: pretty girl, pretty boy, pretty women.
• So, combination of these (collocations) just sounds ‘right’
to native speakers, who use them all the time.
• On the other hand, other combination may be un natural and just
sound ‘wrong.’
• That is why collocation refers to how words go together or form
fixed relationship.
Say make lunch, not do lunch.
Say nock the door, not touch the door
Say a quick shower, not a fast shower
Say high temperature, not a tall temperature
Say heavy rain, not thick rain
Say blonde hair, not beige hair (for female)
Say discharged from hospital, not released from hospital
• Collocation is a way in which some words are often used
together and sound natural together.
• Some words occur with other words in predictable way.
• This is called collocation.
• Collocation is a sequence of words or terms that co-occur
in a conventional style.
• In other words, collocations are partly or fully fixed
expressions that become established through repeated
context specific use.
• Such terms as ‘crystal clear’, ‘middle management’,
‘nuclear family’, ‘pay attention’, ‘fast food’, ‘make an
effort’ and ‘cosmetic surgery’ are examples of collocated
pairs of words.
• Collocation is one of the things that you need to know
about a word.
• Therefore, it is important that you focus on collocation
when you study vocabulary.
• Say the fast train, not the quick train.
Examples.
• Heavy rain/light rain instead of strong rain/mild rain; this
means heavy goes well with rain whereas strong does not.
• There are some ways in which we can make collocations
in English.
• Verbs that collocate with nouns:
e,g take a bath instead of saying do a bath,
make an effort instead of do an effort, and
commit a crime instead of do a crime and so on.
• Adverbs that collocate with adjective:
highly controversial instead of very controversial,
deeply offended instead of very offended,
bitterly disappointed instead of very disappointed....
• Try to find as many words or groups of words as you can
which the words written in bold in the following table
collocate with.
• Examples are given to help you.
 Types of collocations

• There are several different types of collocations made

from combinations of verb, noun, and adjectives...
some of the most common types are:
• Adverb + adjective e.g. commit suicide
• Verb +noun e.g. excruciating pain
• Verb +adverb e.g. wave frantically
• Noun +verb e.g. lions roar
 Unit Five: Grammar Focus: Voice

• "Voice" refers to the connection between the subject and

the object of a sentence, which is linked through a verb.
• Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts
upon its verb.
• In active forms, the subject of the sentence is the person
or thing that does the action whereas
• in passive constructions, the subject receives the action.
Form
• Both the active voice and the passive voice can be used
with different tenses and with modals.
• The tense of the passive sentence is shown in the verb ‘be’.
• Use the past participle with every tense.
• If two verbs in the passive voice are connected with ‘and’,
do not repeat ‘be’.
The Oscar ceremony is televised and seen by millions of people.
• The tense of the passive sentence is shown in the verb
‘be’ and the use the past participle with every tense.
• The following recapitulates active and passive forms of
all verb tenses.
Uses
• The active voice focuses on the person who does the action.
Haramaya University awards scholarships to several foreign students every year.

• We will prepare the report, and Gemechu will proofread it.

• The passive voice focuses on the receiver or the result of the
action.
Several foreign students are awarded a scholarship by Haramaya University.
The report will be written by us, and it will be proofread by Gemechu
When to use active and passive voice in writing
• Many are also unsure about when to use these grammatical
voices in academic writing.
• So, which is better? The short answer is neither:
• Both active and passive voice sentences have a role to play in
formal writing.

The key is knowing when to use them.

• Thus, in writing, always consider whether you should use the
passive or active voice.
• It will depend on what you want to convey.
When to use active voice?
• In scientific writing, overuse of passive voice in long and
complicated sentences can cause readers to lose interest or
to become confused.
• Sentences in active voice are generally - though not
always - clearer and more direct than those in passive
voice.
• Look at the following sentence:

Research has been done to discredit this theory.

• This sentence is vague; readers do not know who has
carried out the study to disprove the theory.
• Hence, it should be rewritten in the active voice.
• Using the active construction in sentences of this kind
helps you to make your writing clear and concise.
• The sentence is below is clearer and more concise than
the former:
Halfom (2008) conducted research to discredit this theory.
When to use the passive voice?
• In some sentences, passive voice can be perfectly
acceptable. Use passive voice:
When the actor is unknown:
• The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper
Old Stone Age. (We don’t know who made them.)
To emphasize the receiver of the action instead of the
doer:
The experiment was carried out in a pathology laboratory.
When you want to sound impersonal or avoid using the
subject “I”:
Longitudinal survey was employed in this study.
.
When the doer is generally known (general truth):
6, 500 languages are spoken around the world today.

When you do not wish to mention the doer of the action (Passive
voice a safety net):
I was given some bad advice.
Not enough has been done to end homelessness
The Passive Voice without an Agent
• The passive voice is used more frequently without an agent
than with an agent.
• Below are the contexts in which we do not need to mention
the agent:
• The passive voice is used when it is not important to
mention who performed the action.
The winners’ names are placed in envelopes.

• The passive voice is used when we do not know the agent

My cell-phone has been stolen.
• The passive voice is used when the agent is and doesn’t
need to be mentioned.
Oscar night has been televised since 1953.

• The Passive Voice with an Agent

• When the sentence has a strong agent, we can use either
the active or the passive voice.
Last year’s Nobel Prize was won by Abiy Ahmed.

• Sometimes the passive voice is used to continue with the

same subject of the preceding sentence.
The first Oscar ceremony took place in 1929. It was attended by 250 people.
Linking Verbs
• Linking verbs are neither active nor passive.
• They simply express state of being, possession and change
over time.
The linking verbs include the following:
• The verb to be (in its various forms, e.g., am, are, is, was,
were, will be, has been, have been).
• The "sense" verbs (e.g., to feel, to look, to smell, to taste,
to sound).
• The "status" verbs (e.g., to appear, to become, to
continue, to grow, to seem, to turn).
• Here are Some Examples of Active and Passive Voice in all Tenses
 Passive and Active voice (Worksheet I)
• DIRECTIONS: Complete the following text with the correct present simple

passive or active form of the verbs in parentheses.

The World Cup

• The world cup is an international football competition which (1)______(hold) every

four years. One of the most popular events in the world, the first game

(2)______(take place) in 1930 in Uruguay. Each time, there is a different host

country although this sporting event (3)_________(limit) in Europe and the

Americans until 2002. In 2002, however, the matches were moved to Korea and

japan. Africa also (4)__________(host) the world cup in 2010 for the first time. It is

hoped that the world cup (5)__________(host) in Africa again in the future.
•
• The world cup was first broadcast on television in 1954 and is now the
most prominent televised sporting event in the world. It has been reported
that more spectators (6)__________(watch) the event than the Olympic
Games(Foster,1997). The audience of the 2002 world cup
(7)_________(estimate) to be almost 3 billion. According to FIFA (2006),
1.1. Billion people watched the final match of this tournament.
Broadcasting this event (8)_______(result) in 41,100 hours of football on
TV across the world. Clearly, the world cup matches attract huge
audiences, but even the draws, which decide the distribution of teams into
groups, are widely viewed. 300 million people were reported to
(9)_________(see) the 2006 world cup draw (brown,2006).
 Active and Passive Voice work sheet II
Directions: Complete the following text with the correct
present simple passive or active form of the verbs in
parentheses.
The Ethiopian flora (1) _________(estimate) to include
between 6500 and 7000 species of higher plants, of which
12% are endemic. Ethiopia is also home to various ethnic
groups, and consequently a center of cultural diversity. The
various ethnic groups and cultures use a variety of plants for
their aromatic and medical properties.
As in many Afro-Asian countries, the majority of Ethiopians
are rural and their life style is traditional. Most of them still
rely on traditional healers and medicines for their ailments
and visit “spiritual healers” as well as using herbs. It is easier
for them to look for herbal products for aroma and flavor
rather than buying perfumes and readymade sauces.
It is because of this deep-rooted tradition that herbs (2)
________ (sell) for their medical or aromatic properties in
Ethiopian markets. Plants that have aromatic properties (3)
________(use) for fragrance and flavor to chase away
presumed evil spirits that affect people psychologically and
to cure ailments.
When you (4) ________(discuss) aromatic plants in
Ethiopia, it is difficult to ignore the trip of the Ethiopian
legendry Queen of Sheba (Saba) to Jerusalem to visit King
Solomon. Amongst the items she is said to have carried with
her was itan (incense) and kerve (myrrh).
In addition to incense and myrrh, some herbs are commonly
cultivated for their fragrances include ariti (rehan) and ades
(myrtuscommunis). Coffee makers (5)_______(spread)
fragrant leaves together with grasses to give a pleasant odor
during coffee ceremonies. Thus if you have been in Ethiopia
before or have read about Ethiopia, you will realize that it is
a country of geographical diversity and climatic variability.
 Active & Passive Construction
• Directions: Complete the Following Text Using Active or
Passive Forms of the Verbs in the Parentheses Using the
Correct Tense.
The Statue of Liberty 1(give) ________to the United States by
France. It2 (be) _______ a present on the 100th anniversary of the
United States. The Statue of Liberty 3(design) ______by Frederic
Auguste Bartholdi. It 4(complete) ________in France in July
1884. In 350 pieces, the statue then 5(ship) _______to New York,
where it
6
 (arrive) _______on17June1885.The pieces 7 (put) _____ togeth
er and the opening ceremony 8 (take) ______place on 28 October
1886.
 Active and Passive worksheet
Effect of Passive Smoking
According to a study carried out by the World Health Organization
(WHO) passive smoking kills over 600,000 people a year, a quarter of
them are children. The report says that there are 1.2 billion smokers
worldwide. They are not only risking their own lives but the lives of
non-smokers as well. Both active and passive smoking kill almost 6
million people a year.
In the year the study (1)_____­­(take place) passive smoking
led to almost four hundred thousand deaths from heart
diseases, 150000 from respiratory infections and thousands
from asthma and lung cancer. Children are the group that is
hardest hit by passive smoking.
But while in Europe only 71 died because of second-hand
smoke, over 40,000(2)______(kill) in Africa. A few months
ago, a report released in the US (3)______(show) that more
than half of American children between the ages of 3 and 11
(4)____ (have) particles in their blood that came from
passive smoking. Most adults who smoke do so at home and
in front of their children. Children whose parents smoke also
have a higher risk of infections and other diseases like
pneumonia and bronchitis.
About a third of all adults and 40% of all children worldwide
(5) ______ (expose) to passive smoking on a regular basis.
Experts say that banning smoking in public places can help
cut health care costs and lower the number of people who die
through passive smoking.
Studies show that strict anti-smoking laws in bars and
restaurants can massively lower the number of people who
smoke. Such laws can also help people quit smoking.
The report comes to the conclusion that more needs to (6)
____ (do) to protect nonsmokers at their place of work and
on public transport. Right now only 7% of the world’s
population lives in areas with strict anti-smoking laws.
The End