HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY NGUYEN THI HIEN COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF THE PASSIVE VOICE MADE BY THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0 (SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH) Hanoi, 2013 Hanoi, 2013 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this chance to express my greatest gratitude to Mr Nguyen Van Den, M.A., my supervisor, for his patience in providing continuous and careful guidance as well as encouragement, indispensable suggestions and advice Also, I would like to express my particular thanks to all my beloved lecturers, who always motivated and encouraged me to finish my thesis early Especially, I would like to show my sincere thanks to the junior students in class K38 in the Foreign Language Faculty, who helped me with my questionnaire I am particularly grateful to all my friends for their precious assistance throughout the process of writing this thesis Last but not least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved family, for their whole – hearted encouragement and endless support ii ABSTRACT Passive voice is a unique and interesting category of English grammar The number of passive sentences is very large, and each kind has its own characteristics as well as uses Therefore, they sometimes cause confusion to learners of English As a result, students of English often make errors when they use passive voice Therefore, this research work entails studying the uses of passive voice and conducting a survey for error analysis Based on the results of the survey, the types of errors and causes have been found Solutions to the problems have been suggested iii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: Common Errors in the Use of Passive Voice made by the first-year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University No I certify that no part of this thesis has been copied from any other person’s work without acknowledgements and that the thesis is originally written by me under the instructions from my supervisor Date submitted: May, 2013 Student Nguyen Thi Hien Supervisor Mr Den, M.A iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract………………… ii Statement of authorship… iii Table of contents……… iv PART ONE INTRODUCTION I Rationale II Research presupposition III Research objectives IV Research scope 2 V Research tasks VI Research methods VII Research significance VIII Design of the research work PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 Literature review in brief I.2 Concept of voice in English I.2.1 Definition of voice… … I.2.2 Classification I.2.3 Structural differences between active voice and passive voice I.3 Passive voice in English I.3.1 Passive voice from the theoretical view I.3.1.1 Definition I.3.1.2 Passive voice of transitive ordinary verbs I.3.1.3 The passive transformation 11 I.3.1.3.1 S- V- O structure 11 v I.3.1.3.2 S- V- O- O structure 13 I.3.1.3.3 S- V- C structure I.3.1.4 Passive types 14 15 I.3.1.5 The phrase with by and with 16 I.3.2 Passive voice from the practical view 17 I.3.2.1 Introduction 17 I.3.2.2 Form…………… 18 I.3.2.2.1 Tenses and aspects in the passive 18 I.3.2.2.2 Modal verbs in the passive 19 I.3.2.2.3 The passive with get 20 I.3.2.3 Special patterns 21 I.3.2.3.1 The passive with verbs of giving 21 I.3.2.3.2 The passive with verbs of reporting 22 I.3.2.3.3 Passives + to-infinitives or active participles 24 I.3.2.3.4 Passives with have and get 24 I.3.2.3.5 Passives + to-infinitives and gerunds 25 I.3.2.3.6 Active forms with passive meanings 26 I.3.2.3.7 Active and passive verb form 27 I.3.2.3.8 Active sentences conveying passive meanings 28 I.3.2.3.9 Causative form 29 CHAPTER TWO: COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF THE PASSIVE VOICE II.1 Survey 31 II.1.1 Purpose of the survey 32 II.1.2 Population of the survey 32 II.1.3 Type of the survey 32 II.1.4 Construction of the test 32 II.1.5 Preparation of the survey 33 II.1.5.1 Test items 33 II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the test items 33 II.1.6 Administration of the try-out 34 II.1.6.1 Preparation of the try-out 34 II.1.6.2 Try-out 34 II.1.7 Method of data analysis 35 vi II.1.8 Results of the survey 35 II.2 Common errors and causes 37 II.2.1 Errors in the use of passive voice in imperative sentences 37 II.2.2 Errors in the use of passive voice of the causative form 38 II.2.3 Errors in the use of passive voice with get 38 II.2.4 Errors in the use of passive voice with verbs of opinion 38 II.2.5 Errors in the use of passive voice with verbs of perception 39 II.2.6 Errors in the change of the object of the active into the subject of the passive ……………………………………………………………………………… …….39 II.2.7.Errors in the change of verb forms from the active to the passiv………………………… 39 II.2.8 Errors in the use of passive voice with indefinite pronouns as subjects 40 II.2.9 Errors in the use of the passive with prepositions 40 II.2.10 Errors in the use of passive voice in yes-no questions 41 II.2.11 Errors in the use of passive voice in (w)h-questions 41 II.2.12 Errors in the use of the passive with objects 41 II.3 SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS AND EXERCISES 42 II.3.1 Suggested solutions 42 II.3.2 Suggested exercises 43 CONCLUSION PART THREE CONCLUSION 45 REFERENCES 47 APPENDICES 49 vii PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE English is the international language which is spoken and understood almost everywhere in the world and has become the key instrument of globalization By 2012 there could be around billion people learning English, according to a new report commissioned by the British Council In Vietnam, English also plays an important role in all walks of life and in all economic sectors Therefore, more and more Vietnamese people are learning English as a foreign language Learners of English, however, have to encounter a great variety of difficulties in obtaining both grammatical rules and language skills due to the interference of the learners’ mother tongue It is proved that English grammar is complex and often causes embarrassment to students especially in communication Passive voice is one of the grammatical items that play an important role in learning and communicating as well Passive voice is used widely The uses of passive voice are preferred in English than those in Vietnamese, especially in daily conversations However, using these passive correctly and effectively is rather complex Passives consist of plentiful meanings, forms and characteristics as well Of course, in learning English in general and passive voice in particular, being influenced by the mother tongue is unavoidable Due to its various uses, it is assumed that there are many errors which may be made This thesis is accomplished in hopes of making a contribution to the process of studying of passive voice For the reasons above, this study is conducted with the aim of focusing on errors in using passive voice viii II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION Some questions are raised: What kinds of errors in using passive voice are made by the major students at the Foreign Language Faculty? What kinds of errors in passive voice are made by the first– year English major at Hanoi Pedagogical University N02? What are the causes of the errors in using passive voice made by the major students at the Foreign Language Faculty? What are the effective ways to minimize the errors made by the major students at the Foreign Language Faculty? III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The study is aimed at the following goals: To find out the kinds of errors in the use of passive voice made by the major students at the Foreign Language Faculty To find out the causes of the errors in the use of passive voice made by the major students at the Foreign Language Faculty To offer some suggestions to minimize errors in using passive voice IV RESEARCH SCOPE The general research area of this study is grammar The phenomenon is the errors in using passive voice made by the major students in the Foreign Language Faculty Others relating to the passive voice are also briefly mentioned The population involved in the study is one hundred students in class K38 at the Foreign Language Faculty V RESEARCH TASKS The study involves fulfilling the following tasks: To study the definition, formation, classification and meanings of passive voice in English To study the grammatical features of passive voice in English To conduct a survey to find out error types and causes related to passive voice in English On the basis of the findings, some suggested teaching methods are sought to minimize the students’ errors ix VI RESEARCH METHODS To achieve the objectives of the study, the following methods have been applied: Collecting data from books Consulting the supervisor, experienced teachers and friends Synthesizing theoretical materials on English grammar Conducting a survey and analyzing the results VII RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE Errors in any language teaching and learning, particularly in English as a foreign language, are sometimes predictable and sometimes unpredictable Therefore, it is essential for teachers to give better treatment to anticipate errors After the research, it is hoped that the result will be helpful to provide: Input for learners of English in order to have better understanding about passive voice in English Input for learners in order to minimize their errors in using passive voice Input for teachers of English with information on error types and solutions to the problems in order to help their students have a deep insight into passive voice This study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in the passive voice in English VIII RESEARCH DESIGN The research work has three main parts: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion The part Development consists of two chapters Chapter one, Theoretical Background, consists of three sections Section one presents literature review in brief The section two shows the concept of voice in English in definition, classification and structural differences between active voice and passive voice Section three deals with passive voice in English from two viewpoints: theoretical and practical Moreover, the differences in the passive voice are mentioned as well Chapter two is Common Errors in the Use of Passive Voice It describes the research method It is composed of three sections Section one is devoted to the survey The second deals with error types and causes The last one is on solutions to the problems and suggested exercises on passive voice x It can be seen from the analysis that the errors relate to the use of the passive with prepositions stand at 25% There were no students whose percentage of errors in using dependent prepositions is 100% The highest percentage of errors is 20% Most of the students had difficulty identifying when to use dependent prepositions For example: Translate into English: George kết hôn với Lisa Answer: George is married with Lisa Correct answer: George has got/is married to Lisa II.2.10 Errors in the use of passive voice in yes-no questions It can be seen from the analysis that the errors related to the use of passive in yes-no questions stand at 12.50% There was only one student whose percentage of errors in the use of passive in yes-no questions is 100% For example: Change the sentences into the passive voice Do they usually hold the concert at the school ? Answer: Do the concert usually held at the school? Correct answer: Is the concert usually held at the school? The cause was that the students ignored grammatical rules If the active is a yes-no question, when changing into the passive, we have to use “to be” to replace the auxiliary “do” in the active II.2.11 Errors in the use of passive voice in (w)h-questions 12% of the errors involve using the passive in (w)h-questions There were five students whose percentage of errors is 100% For instance: Choose the best answer among a, b, c, or d to complete each sentence When ? In 1928 a penicillin was discovered b did penicillin discover c was penicillin discovered d did penicillin discovered Answer: a penicillin was discovered Correct answer: c was penicillin discovered Based on theory, when we change (w)h-questions from the active voice into the passive voice we have to use “to be” instead of using the auxiliary verb “do” But students often forget this And another point is that many students put “to be” after subject as in the positive sentence II.2.12 Errors in the use of the passive with objects This is the least common type of error It accounts for only 11% The main cause of this type of error is that the students ignored grammatical structures xliv For example: Translate into English Chiếc xe đạp mua cho Nam vào ngày sinh nhật anh Answer: The bike is bought for Nam on his birthday Correct answer: The bike was bought for Nam on his birthday II.3 SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS AND EXERCISES II.3.1 Suggested solutions To give a solution to this problem is never easy However, after analyzing the mistakes made by the junior English major in the Foreign Language Faculty at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2, some suggestions are made in hopes of minimizing students’ errors in connection with passive voice In fact, the teaching process is complex, requiring a teacher of foreign language to have not only a good knowledge but also patience Students expect teachers will help them be aware of the passive voice and everything related to it through explicit teaching Therefore, it is important for the teacher to enable the students to see the importance of the passive voice in the English language The teachers should introduce all possible uses of the passive voice to the students The uses must be introduced systematically such as definition, form, function and meaning Moreover, the uses should be simplified and clarified Additionally, it would be better for the teacher to introduce the differences between the especial kinds of passive voice The teacher is to explain the cases where the passive is needed A list of words and examples related to those uses is essential The teacher should give students a list of passive structures to help the students remember them The teacher should help the students minimize the influence of the mother tongue by comparing the two languages in terms of word class, formation and uses Moreover, the teacher should provide students with some useful techniques to help them memorize and use the passive voice correctly, both in class and real life situations The best way to help students master the passive voice is to give them various types of exercises related to the uses of all kinds of passive voice To students, the first and foremost thing they should pay attention to is to master the uses of passive sentences They cannot exercises if they not know how the passive voice is used Moreover, they should exercises concerning the passive voice as much as possible They can extra exercises in some comprehensive grammar books and websites as well as exercises given by their teacher One more important thing is that students should pay attention to English grammar The exercises contain grammatical structures which the students have no choice but to learn by heart xlv through practice exercises The students should read English grammar books as much as possible such as books by Quirk (1973) Oxford Guide of English Grammar, Eastwood (1992) and so on Besides, students should be aware of their linguistic competence to fully understand the meaning of the sentence All in all, there are quite a large number of students making the error types above The problem is that the way students study the passive voice is not suitable or they are just lazy to practice this kind of exercises To make things easier, some suggested solutions for both the teachers and the students have been made Hopefully, the students in general and the junior English major in the Foreign Language Faculty at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 in particular can minimize errors in the use of the passive voice II.3.2 Suggested exercises There are many exercises on passive voice in grammar test books Teachers could make use of them to consolidate what students have learnt Moreover, they should design particular exercise types to minimize students’ errors in the use of passive voice Here are some suggested exercise types Rewrite these sentences beginning with the underlined words Read the story and write the missing words Use one word only in each space Write a second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first Use the word(s) in brackets Which of the two sentences follows on best? Each of these sentences is incorrect Put it right As for the first exercise type, many kinds of structure are arranged for students to write correct answers With this type of exercise the students are sure to give their exact considerations about all kinds of passive voice in each sentence As for the second exercise type, Read the story and write the missing words Use one word only in each space The kind of structure is mixed This type of exercise helps to consolidate students’ mastery of different uses The third and fourth exercise types are Write a second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first, use the word(s) in brackets and which of the two sentences follows on best They are aimed at helping students employ structures including other passive voice The last is Each of these sentences is incorrect, Put it right The type of exercise requires students to define the error concerning passive voice It helps students have a variety of structures in which the passive voice is used xlvi Therefore, they can minimize errors related to these grammatical structures PART THREE CONCLUSION It is necessary to affirm that passive voice is one of the most important fields in English grammar Grammar is the science of language In other words, it is the skeleton as well as the foundation on which all learners have to base themselves on to master a new form Obviously, its importance has been affirmed by a large number of grammarians and learners Passive voice belongs to advanced and difficult aspects of English grammar Therefore, students, even advanced students, often face difficulties and make mistakes when dealing with them The analysis has shown that most students cannot grasp all types of passives Many students admitted that they often feel confused and find it hard to distinguish the differences between these passives Many kinds of passives have similar structures; they are different only in productivity and intensity The research focused on definitions, types, uses and common mistakes made by the students Especially, the differences between kinds of passive sentences have been distinguished carefully and adequately Then a survey was conducted in order to test the students’ understanding of all kinds of passive voice and to find the common mistakes made by them The survey was well prepared with the effort from the author as well as the consultancy from reliable sources of material Diversified exercises were included in the survey with the hope that students would feel more interested in doing them and the student will have a full look at this category The outcome of the survey has proved that the passive voice requires advanced knowledge of English grammar According to the result of the research, the errors in the use of passive voice concerning imperative sentences have the highest percentage (69.50%) Errors in the use of passive voice concerned with the causative form ranks second at (58.25%) The errors in the use of the passive with objects are the fewest, only 11% It can be seen that the major cause is that the meanings of passive voice are so diversified and plentiful Learners always try to distinguish the uses of all kinds of passive sentences That xlvii makes students confused Moreover, the number of passive sentences is pretty large Therefore, it is difficult for students to memorize and master all of them Based on the analysis, the following notes are useful: To teachers: - Lecture on the importance of passive voice - Present the uses of such passives together with clear examples and illustrations - Provide students with sufficient knowledge of passive voice - Clarify and distinguish the different meanings of various passives - Introduce the ways and techniques to memorize all types of passives - Introduce adequate exercise types related to these kinds of passives - Motivate students to study passive voice, for example, through games To students: - Beware of the importance and usefulness of passive voice - Grasp the theory of all kinds of passives and their uses - Do as many exercises as possible - Apply the rules when dealing with exercises - Try to use passive voice in everyday language as well as in writing In conclusion, I want to significantly contribute to the study of the first - year English majors at Hanoi Pedagogical through this thesis, In my opinion, it can be considered a companion of all people who are seeking to improve their grammar English about the passive voice It is hoped that the thesis has made certain contributions to the English teaching in Vietnam and that further research should be done Although I have made great effort, mistakes and shortcomings are unavoidable I would be much grateful to welcome all possible comments from readers to accomplish the work xlviii REFERENCES Azar, B (1981) Understanding and Using English Grammar Prentice Hall International, Inc London Cobuild, C (2002) English Grammar London: Collins Publishera The University Of Birmngham Eastwood, J (1994) Oxford Guide to English Grammar Oxford University Press Emonds, J E (1985) A Unified Theory of Syntactic Categories Dordrecht: Foris Gardner, P S (2005) New Directions: Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Hamawand, Z (2011) Morphology in English: Word Formation in Cognitive Grammar London: Continuum International Publishing Group Haspelmath, M (2003) "Adpositions" International Encyclopedia of Linguistics 2nd ed New York: Oxford University Press Huddleston, R & Geoffrey, K P (2002) The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Imahayashi, O & Nakao, Y (2009) Aspects of the History of English Language and Literature Hiroshima: The English Research Association of Hiroshima (ERA) Lakoff, R (1971) Passive Resistance, CLS no Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society Lass, R (1999) The Cambridge History of the English Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Murphy, R (1985) English Grammar in Use Cambridge University Press Quirk, R & S Greenbaum (1987) A University Grammar of English Longman Group UK Limited Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G & Svartvirk, (1979) A Grammar of Contemporary English London: Longman group UK limited Quirk, R et al (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language London: Longman Swan, M & Walter, C (1983) The Good Practical Grammar Book Oxford University Press Thomson, A.J & Martinet, A.V (1986) A Practical English Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Thomson, L.C (1965) A Itemized Grammar Eatle and London: University of Washington Press Thuý, N T (2006) A Contrastive Analysis of Passive voice in English & Vietnamese M.A thesis xlix Walker, E & Elsworth, S (2000) Grammar Practice England: Longman Walton, R (1994) Advanced Englich CAC England: Longman APPENDICES SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Exercise I Choose the best answer among a, b, c, or d to complete each sentence 1.The old man is said all his money to an old people’s home when he died a to leave b to leaveing c have left d to have left Letters by the postman at every day a deliver b is deliver c are delivered d were delivered I’m going to the hairdresser to have my hair a cutting b to cut c have cut d cut Let the door opened a was b be c is d to be It is known that fruit is good for you a eat b eats c eating d to eating A bee was felt him a to sting b sting c have sting d for sting Reading by Mary a are enjoyed b is enjoyed c enjoyed d enjoy English in this shop a is not spoken b are not spoken c was not spoken d didn’t spoken When ? In 1928 a penicillin was discovered b did penicillin discover l c was penicillin discovered d did penicillin discovered 10 A new bike was bought him on his birthday a to b for c with d on Exercise II : Change the sentences into the passive voice  She gives him a box 12 Fire destroyed the town 13 He left an ant crawling on his arm 14 People think that neither side wanted war 15 Help the poor 16 I must tell someone to repair the damage 17 Do they usually hold the concert at the school ? 18 I get her to make some tea 19 Who wrote this song? 20 Ms Ling teaches us how to speak properly Exercise III : Choose the underlined part among A, B, C or D that needs correcting 21.The first May Day celebrated in England in 1890 A B C D 22 She presented a reward for the return of her lost bracelet A B C D 23 Most of them were build in the nineteenth century and some are very grand A B C D 24 Two prisoners were hang this morning by Taliban A B C D 25 Daisy’s ring is make of gold A B C D 26 Hamlet was wrote by William Shakespeare A B C D 27 English is studying by Henry every night A B C D 28 Cheques should only be accept with proof of identity A B C D 29 Do not blame me if the tin-opener is break A B C D 30 This building will have finished by the end of 2020 A B C D li Exercise IV : Choose one sentence that best rewrites the sentence given 31 We must write to him (e) (f) (g) (h) He must be written to He must be written by He must be written by us He must be writing to 32 Everyone considered him a failure a He was considered that a failure b He was considered that a failuring c He was considered a failure d He was consider a failure 33 It is your duty to know how to drive a You are supposed to know how to drive b You are supposed to know how to driving c You are supposed that know how to drive d You are supposed how to drive to know 34 He was given a book a He was gave a book b A book was given to him c A book was gave to him d A book was been given to him 35 My father was urged to forgive my sister a I urged that my sister should be forgiven b I urged my sister should forgive c I urge that my sister should be forgiven d I urge my sister should forgive 36 It needs cutting a It needs to be cutting b It needs to cutting c It needs to be cut d It needs to cut 37 Who loves Peter? a Who is Peter love by? b Who is Peter loved by? c Who are Peter love by? d Who Peter is loved by? 38 He caught them stealing his bicycle a He caught his bicycle be stolen b He caught them his bicycle stealing c He caught them his bicycle be stolen lii d He caught his bicycle being stolen 39.The egg was broken a The egg were broken b The egg got broken c The egg was been broken d The egg got been broken ` 40 The painting was thought to have been destroyed a The painting were thought to have been destroyed b It was thought the painting had been destroyed c It was thought the painting has been destroyed d It was thought the painting have been destroyed Exercise V : Translate into English 41 George kết hôn với Lisa 42 Anh ta giải cứu hôm qua 43.Cuốn sách bị lấy 44.Tôi thông tin chuyến công tác anh 45.Chiếc xe đạp mua cho Nam vào ngày sinh nhật anh 46.Hãy dẫn đứa trẻ xem phim đi! 47.Chiếc đồng hồ Daisy cần sửa 48.Châu Á tìm nào? 49.Tôi mời ly cà phê 50.Nhưng ảnh chụp John liii Key: Exercise I: 1.d 2.c 3.d 4.b 5.c 6.a 7.b 8.a 9.c 10.b Exercise II: 11 He is given a box by her 12 The town was destroyed by fire 13 An ant was left crawling on his arm 14 Neither side is thought to have wanted war/ It is thought that neither side wanted war 15 Let the poor be helped 16 I must have the damage repaired 17 Is the concert usually held at the school? 18 I get some coffee made by her 19 Who was this song written by? 20 We are taught how to speak properly by Ms Linh Exercise III: 21 B 22 A 23 B 24 B 25 C 26 B 27 B 28 B 29 D 30 B Exercise IV: 31 a 32 c 33 a 34 b 35 a 36 c 37 b 38 d 39 b 40 b Exercise V: 41 George has got/is married to Lisa 42 He was rescued yesterday 43 My book was taken away 44 I was/have been informed about your business trip 45 The bike was bought for Nam on his birthday 46 Let the children/The children must (should) be taken to the cinema Take the children to the cinema 47 Daisy’s watch needs repairing/to be repaired 48 When was Asia discovered? 49 I was offered a cup of coffee 50 The photos were taken by John liv SUGGESTED EXERCISES Exercise Rewrite these sentences beginning with the underlined words ► Thieves robbed a woman A woman was robbed They may ban the film They offered Nancy a pay increase We need to correct the mistakes Someone reported that the situation was under control They are testing the new drug We haven't used the machine for ages People think that neither side wanted war I had my brother repair my computer yesterday Write your name here 10 Where people speak English? Exercise Read the story and write the missing words Use one word only in each space During periods of terrorist activity by the IRA, people in Britain are always (>)being warned to look out for bombs Any bag or parcel without an owner (1)…………… seen as a risk to the public Some time ago, a cardboard box was found at the entrance to Bristol Zoo one day It was noticed (2)……………… a visitor and reported to the director Clearly, if it was a bomb and it went off, people might (3)…………… killed So army bomb experts (4)…………… called in, and the box was safely blown up in a controlled explosion Soon afterwards (5)…………… was reported that the box had (6) left there by a boy wanting to find a new home for his pet rat He was tired of the rat, he explained, but he was unwilling to (7) ……………… it put to sleep by a vet, so he left it in a box outside the zoo The director of the zoo is thought (8)……………… be unenthusiastic about looking after people's unwanted pets No one knows what the rat thought about (9) blown up Exercise Write a second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first Use the word in brackets ► We have to test these products, (be)  These products have to be tested Pavarotti sang the song, (by) Nigel's passport was stolen, (had) They pay doctors a lot of money, (are) I hope they'll interview me for the job (to) Someone was cleaning the floor, (being) A mechanic is repairing Judy's car (having) Tessa lost her way (got) Everyone agreed that the plan should go ahead, (it) When did they decorate your kitchen? (get) 10 They say exercise is good for you (be) Exercise Which of the two sentences follows on best? ► There's going to be a big art exhibition a) A lot of visitors will be attracted to it b) It will attract a lot of visitors Our neighbors have got a cat and a dog a)A lot of mice are caught by the cat b) The cat catches a lot of mice Last night Martin dreamt he saw his dead grandmother a) A white dress was being worn by the ghost, b) The ghost was wearing a white dress We've bought a new computer lv a) It can the job much more quickly, b) The job can be done much more quickly My grandfather is very ill a) He's being looked after in the local hospital, b) The local hospital is looking after him We've completed the experiment a) The newspapers will publish the results, b) The results will be published in the newspapers Exercise Each of these sentences is incorrect Write the correct sentence ► Those nice glasses got break Those nice glasses got broken The story was written Agatha Christie Baseball play at this stadium This shirt needs iron I got cut my hair yesterday It believes that there is going to be a war My parents divorced themselves last year I've got a report to be written To the winner was given a prize This man on TV supposes to be the tallest person in the world 10 Daisy must be written by Key: Exercise 1: The film may be banned Nancy was offered a pay increase The mistakes need correcting/need to be corrected The situation was reported to be under control The new drug is being tested The machine hasn't been used for ages Neither side is thought to have wanted war I had my brother repaired yesterday Let your name be written here/Your name should be written here 10 Where is English spoken? Exercise 2: is been by have be /get to were being it Exercise 3: The song was sung by Pavarotti lvi Nigel had his passport stolen Doctors are paid a lot of money I hope to be interviewed for the job The floor was being cleaned Judy is having her car repaired Tessa got lost It was agreed that the plan should go ahead When did you get your kitchen decorated? 10 Exercise is said to be good for you Exercise 4: 1b, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5b Exercise 5: The story was written by Agatha Christie Baseball is played at this stadium This shirt needs ironing/needs to be ironed I got my hair cut yesterday It is believed that there is going to be a war My parents got divorced last year I've got a report to write The winner was given a prize This man on TV is supposed to be the tallest person in the world 10 Daisy must be written to lvii lviii [...]... it is essential to have a comprehensive study of Common Errors in the Use of Passive Voice made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University Number 2 I .2 Concept of voice in English I .2. 1 Definition of voice Nowadays, there is little consensus of what voice is Therefore, a large number of definitions of voice have been offered in many grammar books and dictionaries However,... Faculty at Hanoi Pedagogical University No. 2 The questionnaire tests the students' ability to master grammar and find out common errors made by them II.1 .2 Population of the survey The number of students joining in the survey questionnaire is one hundred in the major English in the Foreign Language Faculty at Hanoi Pedagogical University No. 2 They have to learn English as a compulsory subject Most of them... on the other hand, the house” does not do the action The house” is affected by the action of painting I .2. 2 Classification In English, voice is classified into two main subdivisions including active voice and passive voice  Active voice Active voice is used in a clause in which the subject expresses the agent of the main verb Thus, the subject does the action designated by the verb A sentence in. .. made the subject of the passive sentence and the verb of the object clause becomes an infinitive verb The happening time of actions in the finite clause and the main clause should be paid attention to We use the perfect infinitive when the action in the subordinate clause takes place before that superordinate clause They thought that the prisoner had escaped by climbing over the wall → The prisoner was... it in two ways but the meaning in fact does not change.” To sum up, voice is a grammatical category that indicates the relation of the subject to the action of the verb This will be illustrated by the following example Nam painted the house yesterday → The house was painted by Nam yesterday xiii In the former sentence, the subject “Nam” performs the action indicated by the verb “painted” In the latter... short, much research has been done on the passive voice about definition, formation, classification and meanings of passive voice in English However, the research about common errors in the use of passive voice made by the first - year English majors at Hanoi Pedagogical is a new aspect In order to help us find better learning solutions for English major students at Foreign Language Faculty, it is essential... can use in active form with passive meaning The subject of these verbs is not a person but a thing The singer’s latest record is selling like hotcakes The coat washed O.K It is commonly known that there must be the agent who denotes the action of selling and washing I.3 .2. 3.9 Causative form Some linguists argued that the causative did not exist in form expressing passive meaning in English However, others... students of English to have a deep insight into passive voice in English In the process of providing students with knowledge of passive voice, the thesis has identified common errors made by Vietnamese students Making errors in applying passive voice from the theoretical view and practical view is unavoidable However, due to the framework of the study, it is impossible to map out errors made by learners at. .. all educational levels Therefore, the thesis is only focused on common errors in the use of passive voice from the theoretical view and practical view made by the major English major in the Foreign Language Faculty at Hanoi Pedagogical University No. 2 A survey questionnaire was conducted to serve the purpose II.1.1 Purpose of the survey The questionnaire was designed for the major English in the Foreign... structure The object of this pattern can be classified into a noun phrase, a finite clause and nonfinite clause The object is a noun phrase It is certain that the object of an active sentence becomes the subject of the passive equivalent The bear caught the fish → The fish was caught by the bear The object is a finite clause (that-clause) The corresponding passive is commonly formed by the use of introductory ... What kinds of errors in using passive voice are made by the major students at the Foreign Language Faculty? What kinds of errors in passive voice are made by the first year English major at Hanoi. .. xxxvii Errors in the use of passive voice concerning in (w)h-questions Errors in the use of the Passive with prepositions Errors in the use of passive voice in yes -no questions Errors in the use of. .. the passive 10 Errors in the change of the object of the active into the subject of the passive 11 Errors in the use of passive voice with an indefinite pronoun as the subject 12 Errors in the use