B2 First transformations - passive

The passive is more than changing “someone did something” into “something was done”. These B2 First transformations practise passive forms, reporting structures and having something done, all through the topic of basketball.

Contents

Passive forms to remember

Form the passive with be + past participle. Change be to show the tense, and keep any modal verbs:

The match had been postponed.
The rules must be followed.
The change should have been announced.

Use by when you need to say who did the action. Leave it out when it’s obvious or unimportant.

Some transformations need a different pattern:

Pattern	Example
be made to do something	The players were made to stay* after training.*
be said/believed to do something	The captain is believed to be* injured.*
be said to have done something	The team is said to have lost* its best player.*
have something done	The club will have the floor inspected.

With have something done, someone else does the job for you. The same pattern can describe something unpleasant that happens to you: She had the ball knocked out of her hands.

The materials

These ten transformations practise the patterns above. Complete each gap with two to five words, including the word given. Keep that word unchanged and check that the second sentence means the same as the first.

EXAM PART: B2 First Reading and Use of English Part 4

EXAM SKILLS: Passive forms and key word transformations

LEVEL: B2

TOPIC: Sport (basketball)

TIME: 20–30 minutes

PREPARATION: One copy of the worksheet per student