Passive Voice in Past Continuous
In this lesson, you’ll find information that will help you review and practice the Passive Voice in Past Continuous.
By the end of this topic, you will:
Identify the passive voice, past continuous verbs to emphasize the result of ongoing activities in the past. It will be done by reflecting and comparing the own and the other’s cultural events.
In this section, you will review the elements of a passive voice. What are they? Do you remember them? If not, let's recall the structure of the Passive Voice in Past Continuous, and compare it with the Active Voice structure.
Look at the next examples:
The host 1
was 2
introducing 3
the guests 4
to the president 5
Click on each number to see the information.
the host = subject
was = auxiliary
introducing= verb
the guests= subject
to the president= complement
Now compare the sentence structure in Passive Voice.
The guests were being introduced to the president.
What changes can you see in the following?
Click on each concept to display the information
The structure in active voice:
Subject + verb + object + complement
Changes to:
Object + auxiliary be + second auxiliary being
+ verb + complement
In the passive voice in past continuous requires two auxiliaries:
to be (was/were) and the second auxiliary is being and the main verb changes to past participle.
(past continuous active) was introducing
(past continuous passive) was being / were being introduced
Follow these steps to change from active to passive.
Navigate with the mouse over the concepts to see the information.
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Navigate with the mouse over the concepts to see the information.
Swipe left or right
To practice the verb changes in passive, let’s do the following.
Instructions: Change the underlined verbs in each sentence to passive voice. Don’t use contractions and don’t forget to use auxiliaries and the proper past participle of the verb.
Example:
Mark was writing a report.
Answer: was being written.
Activity 1-3
We are reviewing the Passive Voice in the Past Continuous tense, so to understand better its usage, let’s talk about history for a while…but don’t worry, we’re going to talk about fashion and music history!
Have you ever thought about the following? What was happening in Mexico while the Beatles were giving their first performance in the USA? Or what kinds of clothes were being used by teenagers back then?
Let’s read a little about it.
Click on each section, and you will be redirected to the activity. All the activities are based on the same text. You have two attempts on each one. In the end, you will receive your final score. Good luck!
1Teenagers started to have an identity of their own during the ’60s. Fashion, Music, movie stars were part of their world. They began to see the world from their view and not their parents’. Teenagers started to move away from the adult way of being and looked for different role models 5like movie stars who portrayed a more rebellious lifestyle. Teenagers marked the American culture in the ’60s. It was a prosperous time, so it was easier for them to get a job. As a result, they didn’t depend on their parents to obtain whatever they wanted. Teenagers became the target for the enterprises that saw in them a fertile 10field for merchandising products designed for their new lifestyle. New products like clothes, magazines, movies and beauty items appeared in this decade. They wanted to become the favourites of this generation. Girls and boys would gather around a jukebox to listen to the latest music hits 15wearing the clothes designed for them. Thus, leather jackets, denim jeans, and sneakers became popular. Musicians, like movie stars, became the teens’ role models. The Beatles and their influence could be seen. Thousands of teenagers copied their hairdos, and their clothes influenced the fashion of that time. Teenagers moved 20away from the Music their seniors used to listen to so Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby became a thing of the past. Bands like the Rolling Stones represented the change of generation and became their banner. At last, Mexican teens had their idols. Singers like Angelica María and Enrique Guzman were the idols of hundreds of them. Music from 25bands like “Rebeldes del Rock”, “Los Teentops” y “Los Locos del Ritmo” portrayed a more rebellious side of the rock and roll and could be heard in the famous ballrooms in Mexico. More and more, young people in Mexico left aside movie idols like Pedro Infante for stars who responded to their new modern way of life
Activities 4 and 5
If we talk about the past, there are great stories and anecdotes that can help you review this tense.
You are going to listen to three people talking about their lives in the 60’s. They told a Radio Station about what they did and what they remember most about living back then.
Listen and find out what was life like for a young person in the 60’s so you can practice your comprehension about phrases with passive voice in past continuous.
Adapted from: The 60’s Official Site. (March 16th 2016, last update). Remember Back When... Retrived March 10th 2017 from: http://www.the60sofficialsite.com/I_Remember_When.html
Listen to the interviews again and complete the following chart with the information you’ve just heard in the correct tense.
Activity 6
There are events in the past that are worth remembering. The following pictures show some of those historical events.
To practice Passive Voice in Past Continuous, you’re going to use this structure to describe what was being done in a timeline related to the Beatles history.
Use the prompts located underneath each picture to help you write your sentences.
Once you finish writing the sentences, you’ll use them to write a paragraph connecting them with time markers (first, then, later, after that, etc.)
December 17th 1960
National Archive. (1964). The Beatles tijdens televisieopnames in Hillegom. Jimmie Nicol vervangt Ringo Starr. [photography] Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/R8tQpg
February 11th 1963
Parmount Records, photo by Snowmanradio. (2006). 1963 Parlophone Beatles LP to show the Gold and Black label. [photography] Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/DVNM2d
February, 7th to 22th 1964
MK Feeney. (2014). The Beatles Ed Sullivan Theater. [photography] Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/xT0aIb
July 6th, 1964
Beatles. (1964). A Hard Days Night. [graphic] Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/l7Dix8
October, 1968
Nonna Store. (2015).BT0018. [graphic] Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/60EtMB
May 26th to June 2nd 1969
John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the first day of their Bed-In for Peace in the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel. [photography] Retrieved March 2017 from
July to August, 1969
Shane Global. (2009). Abbey Road 2009. [photography]. Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/JjN8Aq
Example:
It is said that The Beatles was one of the most famous bands of all times. Their first British performance was given at Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool. Miraculously, the hit "Please Please Me" was recorded in one day. It is said that while that song was being performed, Paul McCartney improvised the lyrics. Their debut film "A Hard Day's Night" was being premiered while the soundtrack album was issued that year …
Activity 7
Now that you have all the information write a 100-120 word paragraph, putting all the information together. Make sure to include all the time phrases and linking words. To be graded, upload your final paragraph.
Follow these steps:
Save it on your computer, then click “Send File”, next “Add”. Then select the paragraph saved in your computer, click “Upload” and finally, click on “Save changes”.
Make sure to check the rubrics, so you fulfil all requirements.
Activity 8
Harris & Ewing. (1916). Frances Densmore recording Mountain Chief2 [photo]. Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/62gTnZ
Imagine you have the opportunity to answer questions about your life.
We are going to ask you a series of questions, and you have to answer at least three of them.
To practice, the grammatical structure studied, make sure that your answers include passive voice, and each of them lasts at least 1 minute.
(w/a). (1977). Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and disciples in darshan at Poona in 1977 [photo]. Retrieved on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/QH9dki
Tell us about…
1. A moment others helped you.
2. The last time you were given a surprise.
3. The last time you were invited to a wedding.
4. An occasion, you were phoned by a stranger.
The next link will send you to Vocaroo. It is an external resource to record yourself. Once you have finished, download the mp3 file and upload it to the platform so it can be evaluated. Don’t be nervous!
Please use the following rubrics to evaluate your performance.
Now that you practised in several exercise Passive Voice in Past Continuous, read about the 60s, wrote about the Beatles and a listened to a recording of people who lived back then, let’s review how well you can use this tense.
You will be asked to answer a series of questions where you will review the passive voice in past continuous (structure, verbs, usage).
Ready? Here come the exercises. At the end of each activity, you can know your score. So keep in mind that you will have only one attempt.
Good luck!
Mathieson, Lindsay. (n/d). “Teenagers' lives changed throughout the century.” Millennium countdown. On March 10th, 2017 from https://goo.gl/UK8Mab
Clare, A. (2011). Speak Out Intermediate Student’s book. Pearson
The 60’s Official Site. (March 16th 2016, last update). Remember Back When... Retrieved March 10th 2017 from: https://goo.gl/f44ryC
Telegraph Media Group Limited. (Wednesday, March 22th, 2017). Beatles timeline. March 13th 2017. URL: https://goo.gl/yjFShJ
Raymond Murphy. (1989). English Grammar in Use. USA: Cambridge University Press.
Michael Swan. (2005). Practical English Usage. England: Oxford.
Allan Ken Dart. (1987). ESL Grammar Workbook. USA: Prentice-Hall.
English Grammar on line. (2001). Passive voice. Revised on March 2017 from https://goo.gl/orqHX6