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#2
It’s not really about the passive, but about wh-words. In a wh-question, normally one phrase containing a wh-word goes to the front. Then you get inversion of verb with subject:
Why
are hats expensive? [subject = hats]
Which hats
will you buy? [subject = you]
But if the wh-expression is itself the subject, it stays at the front; it doesn’t get inverted:
Which hats
are the most expensive? [subject = which hats]
‘Which’ forms a phrase with its following noun, so the whole phrase is the questioned element. I’ve used active sentences here to clarify the structure. In passive sentences the auxiliary is the passive ‘be’, and this inverts with the subject (or not) just as above.
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#4
Yes, the basic order of a statement is Subject — Verb — The Rest. A wh-question is formed by taking something to the front, then inverting. But the subject is already at the front, so a questioned subject (Who?) undergoes no change.
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#1
Can anyone explain why, when using the passive tense to ask a question you sometimes use the construction:
Question word + to be + subject + past participle
e.g.When was Coca-Cola invented?
But sometimes leave to be & past participle together:
e.g. How much Coca-Cola is sold in a day?
Thanks
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#2
The question in your first sentence is ‘When?’; in the second, it is ‘How much Coca-Cola?’. Compare that with:
How much is Coca-Cola sold for in your country?
In that last sentence, the question is ‘How much?’ (= at what price?)
4 Order the words to make passive
questions.
1 Was/by/ directed / Steven Spielberg /
Star Wars ?
2 Pushkin/Was / written / The Captain’s
Daughter/by?
3 oranges/ Seville / in / Are/ grown?
4 next/the / shown / Will/TV/World Cup
be / on?
5 the Louvre/The Ninth Wave / exhibited/is/in?
6 newspaper / be/ the / Will / in /the/ story/ told?
How do we form questions in Passive voice?
Questions in Passive are formed with to be and the past participle *.
1. Questions without questions words in Passive (Simple Present)
| Form of be | Subject | past participle | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is | the test | written | in room 311? | Yes, No, No, |
it it it |
is. is not. isn’t. |
| Are | grapes | grown | in California? | Yes, No, No, |
they they they |
are. are not. aren’t. |
2. Questions with questions words in Passive (Simple Present)
| Question word | Form of be | Subject | past participle | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where | is | the test | written? | The test is written in room 311. | |
| Why | are | grapes | grown | in California? | Grapes are grown in California because it’s warm and sunny. |
3. Questions without questions words in Passive (Simple Past)
| Form of be | Subject | past participle | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Was | the book | taken | to the classroom? | Yes, No, No, |
it it it |
was. was not. wasn’t. |
| Were | the students | taught | at home? | Yes, No, No, |
they they they |
were. were not. weren’t. |
4. Questions with question words in Passive (Simple Past)
| Question word | Form of be | Subject | past participle | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where | was | the book | taken? | The book was taken to the classroom. | |
| Why | were | the students | taught | at home? | The students were taught at home because the school was closed. |
5. Other tenses
Here are some more examples in other tenses. Let’s start with the simple forms:
| Tense | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Perfect | Has | the house | been built? |
| Past Perfect | Had | the house | been built? |
| will-future | Will | the house | be built? |
| going to-future | Is | the house | going to be built? |
| Future Perfect | Will | the house | have been built? |
| Conditional | Would | the house | be built? |
| Conditional Perfect | Would | the house | have been built? |
And here are two progessive forms:
| Tense | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Progressive | Is | the house | being built? |
| Past Progressive | Was | the house | being built? |
* past participle:
- regular verbs → infinitive + -ed
- irregular verbs → 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs
Урок 2/5
Are not/will not
Образование отрицательных и вопросительных предложений в страдательном залоге
Образование предложений разного типа во всех временах происходит без использования дополнительных средств (вспомогательные глаголы), а только через смену порядка слов.
В примерах будут использоваться только те времена, которые были объяснены в предыдущих уроках и темах.
Отрицательные предложения
| Действительный залог / Active Voice | Страдательный залог / Passive Voice | |
| Present Indefinite | He gives piano lessons | Piano lessons are not given |
| Past Indefinite | He gave piano lessons | Piano lessons were not given |
| Future Indefinite | He will give piano lessons | Piano lessons will not be given |
| Present Continuous | He is giving piano lessons | Piano lessons are not being given |
| Past Continuous | He was giving piano lessons | Piano lessons were not being given |
| Present Perfect | He has given piano lessons | Piano lessons have not been given |
I am afraid the keys won’t be found tomorrow.
We weren’t called to the party.
Вопросительные предложения
В страдательном залоге времен Present Indefinite, Past Indefinite, Present Continuous, Past Continuous на первое место (в общих вопросах) и на второе (в специальных вопросах) выносится форма глагола to be.
| Действительный залог / Active Voice | Страдательный залог / Passive Voice | |
| Present Indefinite | Do you play music in this bar every night? | Is music played in this bar every night? |
| Past Indefinite | Did you take your son from school yesterday? | Was your son taken from school by you? |
| Present Continuous | Is she making a special dinner? | Is a special dinner being made by her? |
| Past Continuous | Were strange people following him? | Was he being followed by strange people? |
Примечание
Страдательный залог в некоторых случаях выглядит несколько странно (и в английском и в русском вариантах). Поэтому в таких случаях лучше использовать залог действительный.
Is a special dinner being made by her? — Особенный ужин сейчас делается ею?
Лучше заменить на:
Is she making a special dinner?
В остальных временах (группы Perfect и Indefinite) на первое место (в общих вопросах) и на второе (в специальных) выносится вспомогательный глагол have/has или shall/will.
| Действительный залог / Active Voice | Страдательный залог / Passive Voice | |
| Future Indefinite | Will you drive me home? | Will I be driven home? |
| Present Perfect | Has he already fixed his car? | Has his car already been fixed? |
Специальные вопросы
| Действительный залог / Active Voice | Страдательный залог / Passive Voice | |
| Present Indefinite | What does she usually do after work? | What is usually done by her after work? |
| Past Continuous | What were you playing on the piano when I came? | What was being played on the piano by you when I came? |
| Future Indefinite | How will you name your cat? | How will your cat be named? |
| Present Perfect | Why has he broken the door? | Why the door has been broken by him? |