Unit 41. Passive (1) (is done/ was done)
(пассив 1)
Study this example:

We use an active verb to say what the subject does:
- My grandfather was a builder. He built this house in 1930.
- It's a big company. It employs two hundred people.
We use a passive verb to say what happens to the subject:
- This house is quite old. It was built in 1930.
- Two hundred people are employed by the company.
When we use the passive, who or what causes the action is often unknown or unimportant:
- A lot of money was stolen in the robbery. (somebody stole it but we don't know who)
- Is this room cleaned every day? (does somebody clean it? - it's not important who)
If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use by…:
- This house was built by my grandfather.
- Two hundred people are employed by the company.
The passive is be (is/was/have been etc.) + the past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.):
(be) done (be) cleaned (be) seen (be) damaged (be) built etc
For irregular past participles (done/known/seen etc.), see Appendix 1 Appendix 1 Regular and irregular verbs
(правильные и неправильные глаголы)
Study the active and passive forms of the Present Simple and Past Simple:
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See Unit 42 Passive (2) (be/ been/ being done)
(страдательный залог 2)
See Unit 43 Passive (3)
(страдательный залог 3)
See Unit 127 By
(использование предлога by)