Lesson 7 (Oct. 27)

Technical Statements inThe Passive Form

What is the Passive Form?

• Examples

– He connects the oscilloscope to the circuit.

– The oscilloscope is connected to the circuit.

– The students analyze the results …..

– The results are analyzed …..

– We show in Figure 3 the circuit’s response.

– The circuit’s response is shown in Figure 3.

Passive

Passive

Passive

Why Use the Passive Form?

– The technician connects the oscilloscope to the circuit.

– The oscilloscope is connected to the circuit.

• Instead of saying:“Who does what”,

• we say:“What is done”.

• The “who” is often unimportant:– The professor tests the circuit at 100 MHz.– The students test the circuit at 100 MHz.– Jonas tests the circuit at 100 MHz.

The circuit is tested at 100 MHz.

Who does the test is not important in technical writing.

It is understood that the authors or their associates, or somebody connected with the report do the test.

Why Use the Passive Form?

– You should mount the sensor at the highest position.

– EE students should mount the sensor at the highest position.

– Peter and Mary should mount the sensor at the highest position.

The sensor should be mounted at the highest position.By starting the sentence with “the sensor”, we place the focus on the subject of the experiment/procedure.

“Fronting:”The passive form puts the most important information in front: the What.

In technical writing, at least 1/3 of verbs are in the passive form.

Not importa

nt

Basic Structure of the Passive Form

be

+ past participle of a verb

test testedverb past

participle

be +

Present passive:

• The circuit is tested at 100 MHz.• Aeroplanes are tested before they enter

commercial service.

be in Present Simple Tense

The Passive Form is not the past tense.

Passive Form ≠ Perfect Tenses

be

+ past participle of a verb

• The circuit is tested at 100 MHz.

• He has tested the circuit at 100 MHz.

• The aeroplanes are tested before they enter

service.

• The technicians have tested the aeroplanes before

they enter service.

have

+ past participle of a verb

Passive:Present perfect:

Compare these sentences: Passive

Passive

Present perfect

Present perfect

had + past participle of a verb

Past perfect :

Passive Form : How to Remember in Chinese

be

+ past participle of a verb

• The circuit is tested at 100 MHz.

• The sensor should be mounted at the highest

location.

Passive form:

被動詞 be ≈ “ 被”

“ 被 tested”

“ 被 mounted”

Different Forms of the Passive

Singular

Present Simple The circuit is tested at 100 MHz.

Simple Past The circuit was tested yesterday at 100 MHz.

Present Perfect The circuit has been tested at 100 MHz.

Plural

Present Simple The aeroplanes are tested for structural integrity.

Simple Past The aeroplanes were tested last year for structural integrity.

Present Perfect The aeroplanes have been tested for structural integrity.

The difference is in the tense

of the verb be.

The passive form can itself be in the present, past or perfect tense.

Other Forms of the Passive

Modals

can be The circuit can be tested with an oscilloscope.

may be The circuit may be tested using sine waves or square waves.

will be The circuit will be tested in the next experiment.

should be The circuit should be tested at 100 MHz or higher.

Difference forms of the verb be.

There are many others.

The Past Participle: regular verbs

heat heated

boil boiled

test tested

proceed proceeded

close closed

measure measured

solve solved

explode exploded

delay delayed

employ employed

plot plotted

slip slipped

stir stirred

answer answered

cover covered

prefer preferred

admit admitted

Pronunciation: ed is pronounced only if it is preceeded by t or d.Otherwise, a silent ‘d’ is pronounced.

apply applied

carry carried

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/interpolate

Workshop 1: Irregular verbs

breakchoosedrivefreezegetgiveshaketakewrite

brokenchosendrivenfrozengotten/gotgivenshakentakenwritten

bendbuildburnfeelkeeplosemean

bentbuiltburntfeltkeptlostmeant

drawflygrowknowshow

drawnflowngrownknownshown

tearwearbringthink

tornwornbroughtthought

feedholdleadmeet

fedheldledmet

dosayfindseemakeunderstand

donesaidfoundseenmadeunderstood

Workshop 2

• Underline the statements in passive form:

Data transmission over packet networks has been widely studied in

recent years. Owing to demands in media applications, high bit rates

need to be achieved. It is well known that increasing the transmission

rate can be a method for providing a high bit rate. However, the

through-put may be decreased as a result. This is because an

increase in transmission rate leads to a reduced bit energy and, as a

result, more packets will be lost. In a previous paper, we have

proposed an adaptive-rate system that adapts the transmission rate

to the channel condition, so that the through-put of a wireless

network can be improved. Several other adaptive-rate systems have

also been proposed in the literature in which the automatic repeat

request (ARQ) scheme have not been considered. On the other hand,

because our design has considered the ARQ scheme, the through-put

can be maximized if the transmission rate is optimized.

Workshop 3

• Rewrite in the passive form (the verbs have already been underlined):

As people usually find oil deep in the ground, they cannot

determine its presence by a study of the surface.

Consequently, geologists must carry out a geological survey of

the underground rock structure. If we think that the rocks in a

certain area contain oil, we assemble a ‘drilling rig’. The most

obvious part of a drilling rig is a tall tower called ‘a derrick’.

Workers use the derrick to lift sections of pipe, which they

lower into the hole made by the drill. As Peter drills the hole,

Mary pushes a steel pipe down to prevent the sides from falling

in, and to stop water entering the hole. If Professor Lum strikes

oil he fixes a cover to the top of the pipe, and allows the oil to

flow through a series of valves.

Workshop 3

As people usually find oil deep in the ground, As oil is usually found deep in the ground,

they cannot determine its presence by a study of the surface. its presence cannot be determined by a study of the surface.

Consequently, geologists must carry out a geological survey of the underground rock structure. Consequently, a geological survey of the underground rock structure must be carried out .

If we think that the rocks in a certain area contain oil, If it is thought that the rocks in a certain area contain oil,

we assemble a ‘drilling rig’. a ‘drilling rig’ is assembled.

The most obvious part of a drilling rig is a tall tower called ‘a derrick’.

Workshop 3

Workers use the derrick to lift sections of pipe,The derrick is used to lift sections of pipe,

which they lower into the hole made by the drill. which is lowered into the hole made by the drill.

As Peter drills the hole, As the hole is drilled

Mary pushes a steel pipe down to prevent the sides from falling in,a steel pipe is pushed down to prevent the sides from falling in,

and to stop water entering the hole.

If Professor Lum strikes oil he fixes a cover to the top of the pipe, If oil is struck a cover is fixed to the top of the pipe,

and allows the oil to flow through a series of valves. and the oil is allowed to flow through a series of valves.