The passive voice is very often used in English.

• • It is created by using the following: to be + past participle (the third form of a verb).

The letter was written yesterday.
Ice hockey is played in many countries.
Peter was given a watch for his birthday. 

• In the present and past tenses, the passive voice can be in progressive form: to be + being + past participle.

The house is being built (they are building the house now).
The house was being built when moved to the town. (they were building the house when we started to live in the town). 

• The preposition by in connection with the passive voice points out to an agent of the action.

The window was broken by the boys.
The new supermarket will be built by a local construction company.

NEGATIVE
The parcels have not been sent yet. 
People in the affected areas  will not be given any compensations. 
The letter is not written. 

QUESTION
Are these products made in Japan?
Will they be invited to the party? 
When were they returned? 

OTHER EXAMPLES
I was told about it (someone told me about it). 
She is said to be the best student in our school (people say she is the best student). 
The doctor has been sent for (They called a doctor to come). 
It must be taken to the repair shop ( it needs repair). 

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CARTOON IDIOMS

PROVERBS

EASY GRAMMAR

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Possessive pronouns can never be followed by nouns and must be on their own.

Articles (a, an, the)  cannot be used before a possessive pronoun.

The post Possessive Pronouns: Mine, Yours, His, Hers, Ours, Theirs first appeared on Simple English News.

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Nouns in English can have a definite “the” article, indefinite  “a”, “an” article or no article.

Types of the indefinite article:

a – is always used before a pronounced consonant: a man, a book, a teacher

an – is always used before a pronounced vowel: an apple, an architect

* Careful: –  an hour is pronounced like a vowel, a uniform is pronounced like a consonant

Use (basic and some other rules):

• before a noun when we speak about it for the first time

It is a book.

There is a plane above us.

• after the verb to be when speaking about a profession or belonging to a group

She is a teacher.

He is an electrician.

I am a Catholic.

• before a noun which is preceded by an adjective

It is a nice flat.

A clever politician never promises too much.

• In the meaning of  “one”

I’d like an orange (one orange, it does not matter which one).

• after WHAT in exclamations

What a surprise!

What an interesting film!

• after SUCH if we wish to stress the meaning

This is such a difficult question!

My boss is such an arrogant man!

The Indefinite article can only be used with countable singular nouns.

a bus, a book, an orange

Person, country, town, names and days and months names are without the article.

John, Sunday, March, Tokyo …

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