Session 31
June 24, 2026 · Intermediate
- The passive voice (all tenses)
- passive questions
- hospital & work vocabulary
1 Corrections
How you said it, the natural version, and why. These are your own sentences.
How you said it
The cleaners clean the rooms, so the rooms clean every day.
The natural version
The rooms are cleaned every day.
Passive = object + be + past participle (V3). The rooms don't clean themselves.
How you said it
The patient has a deceased.
The natural version
The patient has a disease.
"Disease" = a sickness. "Deceased" = dead. They sound similar but mean different things.
How you said it
I did good on the math exam.
The natural version
I did well on the math exam.
Use the adverb "well" after a verb, and "do well on an exam."
How you said it
He is a arrogant... no, the opposite.
The natural version
He is humble.
"Humble" is the opposite of arrogant — modest and down to earth.
How you said it
I have two knifes and three wifes.
The natural version
I have two knives and three wives.
Many words ending in -f / -fe change to -ves in the plural (knife→knives, wife→wives, thief→thieves).
1b Already right
These needed no correction at all.
I didn't do it on purpose.
Perfect — "on purpose" means you did it deliberately; this means you did NOT.
2 Grammar tips
Future passive
will be + V3 — for the future.
My room will be tidied by 5 PM.
Present continuous passive
am / is / are being + V3 — for actions happening now.
My car is being cleaned now; the victims are being transferred.
What the passive is
Use the passive when the action matters more than who did it (or the doer is unknown). Structure: object + be + past participle (V3).
The patient was taken to the ICU.
Present simple passive
am / is / are + V3 — for routines and facts.
Our hospital rooms are cleaned every day.
Past continuous passive
was / were being + V3 — for actions in progress in the past.
The book was being read.
Plurals: -f / -fe to -ves
Many nouns ending in -f or -fe become -ves: knife→knives, wife→wives, thief→thieves.
All of them are thieves.
Past simple passive
was / were + V3 — for finished actions.
The patient was given an injection.
Present perfect passive
have / has been + V3 — for recently completed actions.
The food has been cooked today.
Passive questions
Wh-word + helping verb + object + (been) + V3 + ?
When was the patient announced deceased? / What has the patient been given?
3 New words and phrases
4 Pronunciation
- ·knivesThe "k" is silent — it sounds like "nives."
- ·mathematicsFour beats; stress the third: -MAT-.
5 Practice sentences
01Our hospital rooms are cleaned every day.
02The patient was given an injection.
03My room will be tidied by 5 PM.
04The food has been cooked today.
05The table has been broken.
06My car is being cleaned now.
07The book was being read.
08The victims are being transferred to the hospital now.
09The patient was announced deceased at 9:17 PM.
10Is the building being destroyed?
11Is she being treated well?
12When was the car made?
13What has the patient been given?
6 Model sentences
Read these out loud three times.
The patient was taken to the ICU and was given an injection right away.
Our hospital rooms are cleaned every day, and the equipment is checked every week.
Right now, the victims are being transferred to the hospital.
The patient was announced deceased at 9:17 PM.
My car was hit, but it has already been repaired.
He is a humble doctor who sets high standards for himself.
The level of work is fluctuating, but it stays within the normal limit.
When was the patient given the wrong pill?
7 Mini-dialogue
- A
It looks busy today. What's happening?
- B
The victims of an accident are being transferred to us right now.
- A
Are they being treated already?
- B
Yes. One patient was taken to the ICU and was given an injection.
- A
And the rooms? Are they ready?
- B
The rooms are cleaned every day, so they are ready.
- A
Good. Sorry, my phone is ringing — do you need to take it?
- B
No, go ahead. I'll make up my mind about the schedule later.
Read A, say B's line yourself, then check.
8 Homework
- Rewrite 6 active sentences as passive (The nurse gives the pill → The pill is given by the nurse).
- Write one passive sentence in each tense: present, past, future, present perfect, and present continuous.
- Write 3 passive questions using "When was...?", "What has been...?", and "Is ... being...?"
- Say these 6 words out loud 3 times: mathematics, sustainability, fluctuating, deceased, disease, knives.
- Use these 4 words in real sentences: victim, humble, on purpose, injection.
- Record yourself reading the 8 Model Sentences and check your was / were / been forms.
9 Self-check
The hardest part this week was choosing the right passive form, especially adding "being" for actions happening now (is being cleaned) versus "been" for the present perfect (has been cleaned). I'll keep practising the difference.
The most useful thing for me is forming passive questions like "When was the patient announced deceased?" — I can use these at work every day in the hospital.
One question I still have: when should I use the passive instead of the active? I think it's when the action matters more than the person doing it, but I want to check with my tutor.