44 Split into pairs and make up a dialogue using as many idioms as possible.

No Article

• the names of continents: South America,

• towns: London but Note the Hague,

• lakes Lake Niagara ,

• single mountains Mount Everest ,

• single islands Majorca,

• countries Hungary but the Netherlands, the Fillipines – plural names,

• the United States, the Czech Republic – the names which include a common noun

The + singular noun

We use the + singular noun to talk about the whole category, or a type of machine, animal etc.

The mobile phone has become a very popular gadget.

The rat is an exceptionally intelligent animal.

45 Compare the sentences:

You have to feed the cat when I’m away. (we are talking about one specific cat)

I think the cat is the most graceful animal. (we are talking about the species called “cat”)

46 Does the elephant have the same meaning in both sentences? Which refers to a particular animal and which to the species?

1. When we were at the zoo the elephant was having a bath.

2. The elephant is the largest animal in Africa.

47 Complete the sentences with the wherever necessary.

1 A lot of people have emigrated from ........ Europe to .............United States.

2 Large parts of ......... Netherlands lie below sea level.

3 ............Mount Everest is the highest mountain in Asia.

4 ............African elephant is taller than .......... Indian.

5 .....Prague, the capital of .....Czech Republic, is famous for its beautiful bridges.

6 .........Canary Islands are a popular place for European tourists.

7 .......tiger is in danger of dying out.

8........whale is the biggest living mammal.

9.........Corsica is an island in ...........Mediterranean Sea.

10.........Scotland borders with .......Atlantic Ocean in the west

The passive voice

We form the passive with the verb to be and the past participle of the main verb.

to be + past participle

We use the Passive

• When the person who carries out the action (the agent) is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context.

My car was stolen last night. (unknown agent)

The plants are watered every evening. (unimportant agent)

The house was burgled. (by a burglar – obvious agent)

• When the action itself is more important than the agent, especially in news headlines, newspaper articles, formal notices, instructions, advertisements, etc.

The new wing of the hospital was opened by the President yesterday morning.

• When we want to emphasize the agent.

The town library was built by my great-great-great father in 1874.

• When we want to make statements more polite or formal.

My new CD player is broken (more polite than You’ve broken my new CD player)

• By + agent is used to say who or what did the action

• With + instrument/material/ ingredient is used to say what the agent used, after past participles such as colored, crowded, filled, packed, etc

Tense/ Verb form	Active	Passive
Present Simple	He writes the letter.	The letter is written (by him).
Present Continuous	He is writing the letter.	The letter is being written.
Past Simple	He wrote the letter yesterday.	The letter was written yesterday.
Past Continuous	He was writing the letter at that moment yesterday.	The letter was being written at that moment yesterday
Present Perfect	He has just written the letter.	The letter has been written.
Future Simple	He will write the letter tomorrow.	The letter will be written tomorrow.
Future Perfect	He will have written the letter by 10 p.m.	The letter will have been written by 10 p.m.
Modals	He must write the letter.	The letter must be written.
Gerund	He doesn’t like when people tell him what to do.	He doesn’t like being told what to do
Infinitive	His friend asked him help	He was asked to help.