42. Passive 1 (is done / was done)
43. Passive 2 (be done / been done / being done)
44. Passive 3
Some berns can have teo objects. For example, give”
Somebody gave the police the information. (= somebody gave the information to the police)
So it is possible to make teo passive sentences;
- The police were given the information.
- The information was given to the police.
Other verbs which can have two objects are:
ask | offer | pay | show | teacj | tell |
When we use these verbs in the passive, most often we begin with the person:
I’ve been offered the job, but I don’t think I’ll accept it. (= they have offered me the job)
I don’t like being…
The passive of doing / seeing etc. is being done / being seen etc. Compare:
- active: I don’t like people telling telling me what to do.
- passive: I don’t like being told what to do.
Get
You can use get instead of be in the passive:
- There was a fight at the party, but nobody got hurt
- I don’t get invited to many parties. (= I’m not invited)
- I’m surprised Liz didn’t get offered the job. (= Liz wasn’t offered the job)
We use get only when this happen. For example, you cannot use get in these sentences:
- Jessica is liked by everybody. (not gets liked - this is not a ‘happening’)
- Peter was a mystery man. Very little was known about him. (not got known)
We use get mainly in informal spoken English. You can use be in all situations:
We also use get in the following expressions (which are not passive in meaning):
- get married, get divorced
- get dressed (= put on your clothes)
- get lost (= not know where you are)
- get changed (= change your clothes)
45. It is said that… He is said to… He is supposed to…
- It is said that he is 108 years old.
- He is said to be be 108 years old.
Both these sentences mean: ‘People say that he is 108 years old’
You can use these structures with a number of other verbs, especially.
alleged | believed | considered | expected | known | reported | thought | understood |
These structures are often used in news reports. For example, in a report about an accident
- It is reported that two people were injured in the explosion
- Two people are reported to have been injured in the explosion
(Be) supposed to
Sometimes (it is) supposed to … = (it is) said to …:
- I want to see that film. It’s supposed to be good. (= it is said to be good)
- Fireworks are supposed to have been invented in china. Is it true?
But sometimes supposed to has a different meaning. We use supposed to to say what is intended, arrabfed or expected. Often this is different from the real situation.
- The plan is supposed to be a secret, but everybody seems to know about it. (= the plan is intended to be a secret)
- What are you doing at work? You’re supposed to be on holiday.
You’re not supposed to do something = it is not allowed or advisable:
- You’re not supposed to park your car here. It’s private parking only
- Jeff is much better after his illness, but he’s still not supposed to do any heavy work.
46. Have something done
We use have something done to say that we arrange for somebody else to do something for us.
Compare:
- Lisa repaired the roof. (= she repaired it herself)
- Lisa had the roof repaired. (= she arranged for somebody else to repair it)
Be careful with word order. The past participle (repaired / cut etc.) is after the object:
hava | object | past participle |
---|---|---|
Lisa had | the roof | repaired yesterday |
Where did you have | your hair | cut? |
Your hair looks nice. Have you had | it | cut? |
Our neighbour has just had | a garage | built |
We are having | the house | painted this week |
How often do you have | your car | serviced? |
I think you should have | that coat | cleaned |
I don’t like having | my picture | taken |
Get something done
You can also say ‘get something done’ instead of ‘have something done’:
- When are you going to get the roof repaired? (= have the roof repaired)
- I think you should get your hair cut really short.
Sometimes have something done has a different meaning. For example
Paul and Karen had their bags stolen while they were travelling.
This does not mean that they arranged for somebody to steal their bags. ‘They had their bags stolen’ means only: ‘Their bags were stolen’
With this meaning, we use have something done to say that something happens to somebody or theire belongins. Often what happens is not nice
- Cary had his nose broken in a fight. (= his nose was broken)
- Have you ever had your bike stolen?