5

The Passive: Review

and Expansion
Art Heist and
Edvard Munchs
Scream

Focus on Grammar 5
Part V, Unit 13
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright @ 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Scream Stolen on August 23, 2004

Two masterpieces by Edvard
Munch were stolen from the
Munch Museum in Oslo
yesterday. The Scream and
Madonna were grabbed by two
masked thieves. A guard was
threatened with a gun. None of
the thieves got caught. Only their
car was later recovered and parts
of picture frames were found.

Art Heist
Experts speculated yesterday that the
paintings had been stolen to blackmail
insurance companies. However, neither
painting was insured against theft. It is
generally agreed that it will be impossible to
sell either painting on the open market.
It's the second time in a decade that a
version of The Scream has been stolen.
Another version was stolen in 1994 and
recovered three months later.

Present and Past

Passive sentences are formed with be or get
+

past participle.
It is generally agreed that it is impossible to sell a
stolen painting on the open market.
A guard was threatened.

None of the thieves got caught.

Other Passive Verb Forms

You can form passives with many verb forms, including
present perfect (has been + past participle) and past
perfect (had been + past participle).

It is the second time that a version of

The Scream has been stolen.

The paintings had been stolen to blackmail

insurance companies.

Use of the Passive 1

Use the passive when you dont know who performed
the action or when it is not important to say who
performed it.

Two masterpieces by Edvard

Munch were stolen from the
Munch Museum.

Use of the Passive 2

Use the passive to avoid mentioning who performed
the action.
Neither painting was insured against theft.

Use of the Passive 3

Use the passive to focus on the receiver or the
result of an action instead of who performed it.

The Scream and Madonna

were grabbed by armed thieves.

A guard was threatened with a

gun.

Practice 1

Change the sentences

from active to passive.

Example: Masked thieves stole two masterpieces.

Two masterpieces were stolen by masked thieves.

1. The robbers took the two paintings off the gallery walls.
The two paintings were taken off the gallery walls (by the robbers).

2. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the theft.

So far, responsibility for the theft has not been claimed (by anyone).

3. We have not protected our cultural treasures adequately.

Our cultural treasures have not been protected adequately.

The Passive and Direct Objects

Most commonly, the
direct object of an
active sentence is
the subject of the
corresponding
passive sentence.

Thieves stole two masterpieces

by Edvard Munch.
Direct Object
Subject

Two masterpieces by
Edvard Munch were stolen.

The Passive and Indirect Objects

Museum visitors sent many letters
of complaint to the museum.
Indirect Object

Subject

The museum was sent many

letters of complaint.

An indirect
object is
sometimes the
subject of a
passive
sentence.

Practice 2

Change the sentences from active

to passive. Use the indirect
objects as subjects of the passive
sentences.

Example: Many people sent letters to the museum.

The museum was sent letters by many people.

1. Someone gave a floor plan of the museum to the thieves.

The thieves were given a floor plan of the museum.

2. Norwegian authorities immediately assigned the crime

investigation to the Oslo Police Department.
The Oslo Police Department was immediately assigned the crime
investigation (by Norwegian authorities).

The Passive with Get

The passive with get is more informal. It is
conversational and used in informal writing.
1. Nobody in the
museum got injured or
killed during the robbery.

2. None of the thieves

got caught.

Passive Causatives
Use have or get + object + past participle to
form passive causatives.

Passive
causatives talk
about services
that people
arrange for
someone else to
do.

Did the thief get his hair

dyed before the robbery?

Did he get his mask

made or did he make
the mask himself?

O
B
J
E
C
T

O
B
J
E
C
T

Form active sentences

and passive sentences
with have or get.

Practice 3
Example:

I cuthair
my hair myself.
cut

I get my hair cut.

get hair cut

. wash car
1.
I wash my car myself.

get
washed
I getcar
my car
washed.
2.

paint house

I paint my house myself.

have
painted
I have house
my house
painted.

References
Copyright 2006 Pearson Education and
its licensors. All rights reserved.
Photo Credits:
Edvard Munch: The Scream 1893
tempera on board
Munch Museum, Oslo

Artwork: Munch Museum/Munch - Ellingsen Group/ARS 2005

Photo: Munch Museum (Andersen/de Jong)
Photo: 2005 The Munch Museum/ The Munch-Ellingsen Group/ Artists
Rights Society (ARS), NY

Photo of the Munch Museum: Munch Museum (Andersen/de Jong)