5 Practice B
List the passives in the table opposite. Decide if the active could be used instead, and
rewrite it if so.
(c) They provided pencils for all students in the exam.
(d) The staff of the advertising agency gave a presentation.
(e) The researchers calculated the percentages to three decimal places.
(f) They called their business the Grand Universal Trading Company.
(g) She researched the life cycles of over 240 companies.
4 Practice A
In most texts, the active and the passive are mixed.
Read the following text and underline the passive forms.
126 Part 2: Elements of Writing
BOOTS THE CHEMISTS
When John Boot died at 45, he was worn out by the effort of establishing his herbal
medicine business. He had spent his early years as a farm labourer but had worked
his way up to be the owner of a substantial business. He was born in 1815, became
a member of a Methodist chapel in Nottingham, and later moved to the city. John
was concerned by the situation of the poor, who could not afford a doctor, and in
1849 he opened a herbal medicine shop which was called the British and American
Botanic Establishment. In the early stages John was helped financially by his father
in law, while his mother provided herbal knowledge.On his death in 1860 the business was taken over by his wife, and she was soon
assisted by their 10-year-old son, Jesse. He quickly showed the business ability
which transformed his father’s shop into a national business. Jesse opened more
shops in poor districts of the city and pioneered advertising methods. He also
insisted on doing business in cash, rather than offering his customers credit.