Regular and Irregular verbs

As you learn in the Passive Voice grammar structure, you need the past participle to form the sentences. The past participle is the regular or irregular verbs when you have regular verbs to form it you need to add -ed at the end of root verb and if you have an irregular verb you use the correct past participle.

You need to learn and memorize which verbs are irregular and which are regular, so in the next link you will find the list of irregular verbs: Irregular Verbs List

For the other side, there is the regular that is easier to form because you just have to add –ed to the verb. But, there are some rules to spell these verbs:

• Add –d when the base form ends with –e.
• Change y to i and –ed when the base ends in consonant and y.
• Double the final consonant and add –ed when the base form of one syllable ends with a single vowel.

The only way to learn these verbs is practicing so here you will find some exercises to help you. Let´s do it!

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Transitive and Intransitive verbs

There are two kinds of verbs, the transitive verbs that are followed by an object and the intransitive verbs are verbs that do not have a direct object. The clue to determinate if a verb is transitive or intransitive is to ask “what” to the action verb and if the answer is an object, this verb is transitive.

E.g.  

My grandmother cooks a delicious meal (¿What does she cook? A delicious meal)

She lives in Cartago (There is no answer to ¿What does she live?)

Common transitive verbs: bring, cost, give, lend, offer, pass, buy, get, leave, teach, write, make, take, cook, throw, send, tell, read.

Common intransitive verbs: appear, arrive, be, come, cry, die, disappear, fall, go, happen, laugh, live, look, matter, seem, sit, sleep, smile, talk.

In next video you will find an easy and useful explanation to identify transitive and intransitive verbs:

Passive Voice, tips

When you are learning new grammar structures the first step is learn the grammar structure and try to memorize them. Also, you can see examples in sentences but I think that is a good practice to see movies, soup operas or TV shows and try to identify when they use the Passive Voice.

In the following video you can see examples of Passive Voice uses in some movies. You will see that the intention of the speaker is focusing in the receiver or the result of the action. Also, you will notice that you can use this tense when you do not know who the agent of the action is or you think that is not important to mention it.

Is common to find the Passive Voice in Academic publications, textbooks and Scientific Blogs where the intention of the author is focusing in the result of the action. Also, the encyclopedias, advertisements, news headlines and reports use the Passive Voice to give an impersonal meaning to the message that they want to communicate.

Finally, when you use Passive Voice you have to use transitive verbs to form this tense.

Passive Voice, structure and tenses

You can use the Passive Voice in all English tenses using the following structure:

Object (receiving the action) + Verb BE + PAST PARTICIPLE + by + subject (doing the action)

E.g. The blog was written by the students.

In this example you can see that our intention is to give more focus and emphasizes in the object (the blog) and not who are doing the action (the students). Sometimes, when is known who is doing the action or you do not mention it you can skip that part of the structure.

The blog was written (you know that it was doing for the students).

As I told you we can use the Passive Voice in all tenses and it will depend the context or the situation that you are talking. In the next chart you will find some examples about Passive Voice in all Verb Tenses:

I hope all of this information will be functional for you in a future, I chose this topic because I know that sometimes it is kind of difficult to understand, so, I tried to explain it in a very easy way for you to comprehend better the grammar using those expressions.

I trust you like it guys.

Good luck, nati.

Wishes

Wishes

Use wish to express a desire for something that does not exist now. It’s a desire to change a real situation into an unreal or impossible one.

Wishes about the present:

            I wish I were living in Chicago.

Wishes about the future:

            I wish you could come with me tonight.

Wishes are used to express:

Complaints and Regrets

Sometimes, wish sentences with would express complaints

E.g.

            I wish you wouldn’t leave the car windows open.

Wish sentences often express regret about a current situation.

E.g.

            Can you help me?

            No, I’m sorry. I wish I could

“If only”

Sentences with if only, focus on the desire to change a negative situation.

E.g.

            If only I had a car!

            If only it would stop raining.

Unreal Conditionals

Unreal conditionals as its name says, are referring to imaginary situations, the IF clause introduces the imaginary condition or event and the MAIN clause express the imaginary result.

Here, the past or past continuous does not indicate past time, it indicates that the situation is unreal, you can use (would, could, would be able to or might) to indicate and unreal result.

Would, express more certainty then could or might about the imaginary results.

The unreal conditionals are used to express:

Advice and Opinions

Most of the time the unreal conditionals begins with “If I were you…” as an indirect way of giving and advice.

E.g.

            If I were you, I’d speak to the teacher.

Asking permission

Unreal conditionals with would you mind, would it bother you, or would it be OK can use to ask for permission.

E.g.

            Would you mind if I opened the window?

NOTE: Remember that you can use modals in both cases.

Real Conditionals

In Real Conditionals sentences, the if clause and the main clause have a cause and effect relationship.

The IF clause, introduces a possible condition or event and the MAIN clause express a possible result.

The Real Conditionals are use to express:

Certainty

Are to express results that the speaker is certain of; these sentences are sometimes called factual conditionals.

E.g. If you lose your credit card, the bank replaces it in a day.

Also, when the real conditionals are in the simple present, can express Routines and

Habits and Facts or General truths.

E.g.  Routines and Habits

                        If I drive, I get to work earlier.

            Facts or General Truths

                        If air is heated, it rises.

Predictions and Promises

When the real conditionals use the future form, can express predictions with varying degrees of certainty. 

Predictions

If it rains tonight, the game may be canceled

Promises

            If you come over tomorrow, I will help you.

Advice, Warnings and Instructions

Advice

            If your throat hurts, try salt water.

Warning

            If you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll get sick.

Instructions

            If the printer runs out of paper, refill it immediately 

Conditionals

Conditionals

            Conditional sentences have two clauses,  IF clause and MAIN clause.

Structure:

If Clause + Main Clause

This structure can be dividing in two types:

Present:  If + Simple Present (then) Simple Present

Example:  If I’m on time, I walk to work

Future:  If + Simple Present (then) Future

Example: If it’s not too late, I’ll walk to work or I’m going to walk to work.

Also there are other types:

Modal: If + Simple Present (then) Modal

Example: If I leave on time, I may walk to work.

Imperative: If + Simple Present (then) Imperative

Example: If you have time, walk with me.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

•  When the IF clause comes first id followed by a comma, on the contrary, if the MAIN clause comes first, the comma is omitted.
•  Both clauses CAN be negative
•   Questions are formed by putting the main clause in question order
• Example: If it’s not too late, are you going to walk to work?

Passive Voice

Sometimes, when we are talking or writing our ideas, we want to give more importance to the object or action that we are expressing. This is the Passive Voice when you basically want to emphasize the action or the object that you are talking about and not who are performing the action. Also, you could use the Passive Voice when you do not know properly who are doing the action or when you do not want to say who is performing that action.

In the following video you can learn the difference between the Passive Voice and the Action Voice: