E9 G - Passive voice – Understand the focus
aiMOOCE9 G - Passive voice – Understand the focus
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E9 G - Passive voice – Understand the focus
Mini-Beschreibung: Erkenne passive forms in information texts und verstehe, dass Handlung oder Ergebnis statt handelnder Person im Mittelpunkt stehen kann.
Zielgruppe: Englisch als erste Fremdsprache, Klasse 9, G-Niveau, Baden-Württemberg.
Learning loop: English first → understand → respond → ask → hint → improve → use again.
Medien-Einstieg
Look at the picture. Do not translate every word. Ask: What happens here? What is important: the workers or the process?
Say or think three short sentences:
- Bottles are sorted.
- Materials are moved.
- Waste is separated.
Focus question: Who does the action? Is that information important?
Look from left to right. The picture shows a process. In process texts, the action and the result are often more important than the person doing the action.
First viewing: Watch only for the main idea. Which two forms do you hear often: forms of be and past participles, or forms of do and infinitives?
Second viewing: Listen for examples with is/are and was/were.
Transcript rule: Try listening first. Use subtitles or a transcript only after your first listening attempt.
I-can-Ziele
After this course, you can:
- I can recognise simple passive forms in short information texts.
- I can understand that passive sentences often focus on an action, process or result.
- I can find the form of be and the past participle.
- I can distinguish simple active and passive sentences.
- I can understand present simple passive and past simple passive in context.
- I can respond with short passive sentences when a process or result is important.
- I can ask for help when a sentence is difficult.
- I can improve a short text by checking a few important grammar points.
Vorwissen
You already know:
- Simple present: People recycle bottles.
- Simple past: Workers sorted the waste.
- Forms of be: am, is, are, was, were.
- The past participle of frequent verbs: made, built, written, sent, found, taken, used, recycled.
Quick check: Which word is the past participle?
The bottles are sorted every day.
Hint: Look after the form of be.
Understand the focus
Compare:
Active: Workers sort the bottles.
Passive: The bottles are sorted.
In the active sentence, workers are the subject. The sentence tells us who does the action.
In the passive sentence, the bottles are the subject. The action and the result are in focus. The person doing the action may be unknown, obvious or not important.
Key idea: Passive voice is useful when the action, process or result matters more than the doer.
A recycling sign gives information about a process. It does not need to name every person who handles the material.
The basic form
For this course, focus on two forms:
Present simple passive: am / is / are + past participle
The paper is recycled.
The bottles are sorted.
Past simple passive: was / were + past participle
The bridge was built in 2010.
The boxes were moved yesterday.
Important: Do not learn many new passive tenses here. First recognise the pattern and understand the focus.
Active or passive?
Ask two questions:
- Who or what is the subject?
- Do I see a form of be + past participle?
Example:
The company produces the parts. → active
The parts are produced in a factory. → passive
Try: The products are moved on a conveyor belt.
What is in focus: the workers or the products and the process?
Do we need “by”?
Sometimes the doer is important:
The book was written by George Orwell.
But in many information texts, the doer is not needed:
Plastic is collected and sorted.
The result is checked.
G-level focus: First understand the sentence without adding a by phrase.
Reading
Information text: How a bottle is recycled
Read once for the main idea.
A bottle is used and then placed in a recycling container. The bottles are collected and taken to a recycling centre. There, they are sorted. Different materials are separated. Glass is cleaned and broken into small pieces. Later, new glass products are made. The process is checked at different stages.
Task 1 – Understand: What is the text mainly about?
Task 2 – Notice: Find six passive forms.
Task 3 – Focus: Why are the workers not named in most sentences?
Hint 1: Look for is / are + another verb form.
Hint 2: Look for words such as used, collected, taken, sorted, separated, cleaned, made.
Check: The text focuses on the recycling process, not on individual workers.
Reading strategy
Do not translate the full text.
Use this order:
- Read the title and look at the image.
- Find familiar words.
- Underline forms of be.
- Circle the word after be.
- Ask: Is the sentence about a person, or about a process/result?
- Read again.
Listening and Viewing
Before viewing: Predict two reasons why English speakers use passive voice.
First viewing: Listen for the main reason. Do not stop after every sentence.
Second viewing: Note three passive examples or key words.
After viewing: Complete the sentence:
Passive voice can be useful when the __________ is more important than the person doing it.
Support: action / result / process
Mini listening script for partner work
One learner reads slowly. The other listens. Then change roles.
Speaker A: “The school library was renovated last year. New shelves were added. Old lights were replaced. The reading area was made larger. Today, the room is used by many students.”
Listening task:
- What place is described?
- What changed?
- Find one past passive form.
- Find one present passive form.
Privacy: Recording is optional. Keep recordings private. Do not upload them without clear permission.
Kontextwortschatz
Learn words in context, not as a long translation list.
| Word or phrase | Simple meaning in context | Example |
|---|---|---|
| process | a series of steps | The process is checked. |
| result | what comes out at the end | The result is tested. |
| collect | bring things together | Bottles are collected. |
| sort | put into groups | Paper is sorted. |
| separate | keep things apart | Glass is separated from plastic. |
| produce | make | Parts are produced here. |
| deliver | take something to a place | The boxes are delivered. |
| use | do something with an object | The room is used every day. |
Word strategy: First understand the sentence from the picture and context. Use a dictionary only for important unknown words.
Pronunciation and Fluency
For clear speech, focus on chunks:
is made
are sorted
was built
were used
Say each chunk slowly, then in a full sentence.
The product | is made | from recycled glass.
The old machines | were replaced | last year.
Do not aim for a perfect accent. Aim for clear words, clear stress and understandable rhythm.
Fluency tip: Read the sentence once silently, then aloud. Repeat it once with fewer pauses.
Functional grammar
Form and meaning together
The grammar is useful because it changes the focus.
| Active | Passive | Main focus |
|---|---|---|
| Workers sort the bottles. | The bottles are sorted. | bottles / process |
| The team repaired the machine. | The machine was repaired. | machine / result |
| People use the room for meetings. | The room is used for meetings. | room / use |
Accuracy goals for this course:
- Use the correct form of be.
- Use a past participle after be.
- Match singular and plural: is / are, was / were.
- Do not add a doer unless it is useful.
Common past participles
| Base form | Past participle | Passive example |
|---|---|---|
| make | made | It is made here. |
| build | built | It was built in 1995. |
| write | written | The report was written yesterday. |
| take | taken | The boxes are taken inside. |
| send | sent | The email is sent automatically. |
| use | used | The machine is used daily. |
Speaking
Respond
Look at the process picture.
Choose two sentence starters:
- The materials are ...
- The products are ...
- The machines are ...
- At the end, the result is ...
Keep your answer short.
Ask
If you do not understand, use one of these questions:
- “What does this word mean here?”
- “Can you say that again, please?”
- “Is this active or passive?”
- “What is the focus of this sentence?”
- “Can you give me a hint?”
Hint and improve
Partner feedback should be short and useful.
Step 1: Say what works: “I understand your sentence.”
Step 2: Give one hint: “Check is or are.”
Step 3: Let the learner improve the sentence.
Step 4: Use the corrected form again in a new sentence.
Example:
First try: “The bottles is sorted.”
Hint: “Bottles = plural.”
Improve: “The bottles are sorted.”
Use again: “The boxes are sorted too.”
Writing
A short information text
Write 4–6 sentences about a simple process. You can choose recycling, a school canteen, a library, a workshop or package delivery.
Use this frame if you need it:
First, __________ is/are collected. Then, __________ is/are checked. Next, __________ is/are moved. Finally, __________ is/are used/delivered/recycled.
Do not try to use passive voice in every sentence. Use it when the action or result is more important than the doer.
Check your text:
- Is the meaning clear?
- Is be correct?
- Is there a past participle?
- Is singular/plural correct?
- Can one sentence be made simpler?
Your text stays yours. If digital or AI feedback is used, check suggestions before accepting them. Keep your own version and decide what you want to change.
Mediation
A German visitor reads this notice:
„Die Flaschen werden gesammelt, gereinigt und wiederverwendet.“
Explain the key information in simple English. Do not translate every word.
Possible structure:
The bottles are collected. Then they are cleaned and used again.
Mediation goal: Pass on the important meaning clearly.
Hilfestufen
Use only as much help as you need.
Help 1 – Spot: Underline is, are, was, were.
Help 2 – Pair: Find the past participle after the form of be.
Help 3 – Meaning: Ask what is important: doer, action or result?
Help 4 – Frame: Use: “The ___ is/are ___.”
Help 5 – Model: “The bottles are sorted.”
Then try a new sentence without the model.
Feedback and Fehleranalyse
When a sentence is wrong, first find the type of problem.
| Example | Problem | Better form |
|---|---|---|
| The bottles is sorted. | singular/plural | The bottles are sorted. |
| The machine was repair. | past participle | The machine was repaired. |
| The boxes sorted every day. | missing form of be | The boxes are sorted every day. |
| The report is wrote. | irregular participle | The report is written. |
Feedback rule: Correct one important point at a time. Communication comes first.
Transfer
Passive voice is common when information is organised around a process or result.
Possible contexts:
- instructions and process descriptions
- reports
- news and information texts
- science and technology texts
- descriptions of buildings or products
- rules and notices
Look at the image and make one active sentence and one passive sentence about the same situation.
Example idea:
Active: Workers check the products.
Passive: The products are checked.
What changes in the focus?
Can-do-Check
Rate yourself: yes / partly / not yet.
- I can find simple passive forms in a short text.
- I can identify be + past participle.
- I can understand present simple passive.
- I can understand past simple passive.
- I can explain why the doer is sometimes not named.
- I can change one simple active sentence into a passive sentence with support.
- I can write a short process text with a sentence frame.
- I can ask for a hint when I am unsure.
- I can improve a sentence after feedback.
If you choose partly or not yet, go back to the section you need and use the next help level.
Folgekurs
Next step: E9 G - Passive voice – Use present and past passive.
In the next course, you can practise choosing and using present and past passive forms in short information and report texts.
Sicher und verantwortlich lernen
- Use only fictional names and data in profiles, applications or sample documents.
- Do not share private social-media information.
- Recordings are voluntary and should stay private unless everyone clearly agrees to another use.
- Do not upload personal material to external AI services without permission.
- Check AI facts, sources and feedback. AI suggestions can be wrong.
- Keep your own texts and versions.
- Clear communication is more important than accent-free speech.
- Avoid cultural stereotypes. Use specific, checked information.
Interaktive Aufgaben
Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen
Which sentence is passive? (The bottles are sorted every day.) (!Workers sort the bottles every day.) (!The workers are in the hall.) (!The bottles sort the workers.)
What is the basic passive pattern in this course? (be plus past participle) (!do plus infinitive) (!have plus ing form) (!modal plus noun)
What is in focus in “The machine was repaired”? (the machine and the result) (!only the person who repaired it) (!a future plan) (!a question)
Which form is correct? (The boxes are delivered every morning.) (!The boxes is delivered every morning.) (!The boxes are deliver every morning.) (!The boxes delivered every morning.)
Which sentence uses past simple passive? (The bridge was built in 1998.) (!They build the bridge.) (!The bridge is long.) (!They are building a bridge.)
Which word is the past participle in “The report was written yesterday”? (written) (!report) (!was) (!yesterday)
Why can the doer be left out in a passive sentence? (The doer may be unknown or not important.) (!English sentences cannot name people.) (!Passive sentences are always questions.) (!The action has not happened.)
Which sentence has correct subject-verb agreement? (The materials are recycled.) (!The materials is recycled.) (!The materials are recycle.) (!The materials recycled are.)
Which sentence is active? (Workers check the products.) (!The products are checked.) (!The products were checked.) (!The result is recorded.)
What should you do first with a difficult information text? (Use the title context and familiar words.) (!Translate every single word immediately.) (!Ignore all verbs.) (!Write a long grammar rule.)
Memory
| passive voice | action or result in focus |
| active voice | doer often in focus |
| is sorted | present simple passive singular |
| are collected | present simple passive plural |
| was built | past simple passive singular |
| were moved | past simple passive plural |
Drag and Drop
| Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu. | Thema |
|---|---|
| are sorted | bottles |
| is recycled | paper |
| was built | bridge |
| were delivered | boxes |
| is written | report |
...
Kreuzworträtsel
| passive | Which voice often puts the action or result in focus? |
| active | Which voice often puts the doer in focus? |
| participle | Which verb form follows be in a basic passive? |
| sorted | Complete the passive idea: Bottles are ... into groups. |
| written | What is the past participle of write? |
| process | What word means a series of steps? |
LearningApps
Lückentext
Offene Aufgaben
Leicht
- Passive erkennen: Fotografiere keine privaten Personen, sondern suche in deiner Umgebung nach einem öffentlichen Sachhinweis oder nutze ein bereitgestelltes Bild. Formuliere dazu zwei kurze passive Sätze.
- Prozess beschreiben: Wähle Recycling, Paketversand oder Schulbibliothek und schreibe drei Sätze mit is/are + past participle.
- Aktiv und Passiv vergleichen: Schreibe zu einer Handlung einen aktiven und einen passiven Satz. Markiere, was jeweils im Mittelpunkt steht.
- Hörspur finden: Höre einen Abschnitt des BBC-Videos erneut und notiere zwei Formen von be und zwei past participles.
Standard
- Infotext untersuchen: Suche in einem kurzen schulischen Informationstext fünf passive forms und erkläre bei zwei Beispielen, warum der Handelnde nicht wichtig ist.
- Mini-Erklärvideo: Erstelle freiwillig und privat ein 30–45 Sekunden langes Erklärvideo mit zwei Beispielsätzen. Kein Upload ist nötig.
- Bildbeschreibung: Nutze eines der Fabrik- oder Recyclingbilder im Kurs und schreibe 5–6 Sätze. Mindestens drei Sätze sollen passiv sein.
- Peer-Feedback: Tausche einen kurzen Text mit einer Lernpartnerin oder einem Lernpartner. Gib genau einen Grammatikhinweis und einen Verständlichkeitshinweis.
Schwer
- Prozessbericht: Schreibe einen kurzen Bericht mit 6–8 Sätzen über einen fiktiven Produktions- oder Recyclingprozess. Nutze present und past passive passend.
- Mediation: Erkläre einen kurzen deutschen Prozesshinweis mündlich auf Englisch, ohne ihn vollständig zu übersetzen.
- Fehleranalyse: Erfinde vier typische Fehler mit passive voice, korrigiere sie und erkläre knapp die Fehlerart.
- Transferaufgabe: Vergleiche einen aktiven und einen passiven Absatz zum gleichen Thema. Beschreibe, wie sich der Fokus und die Wirkung ändern.
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Lernkontrolle
- Fokus erklären: Lies zwei kurze Versionen derselben Information, eine aktiv und eine passiv. Erkläre, welche Information jeweils stärker im Mittelpunkt steht.
- Prozess rekonstruieren: Ordne fünf Prozessschritte aus einem unbekannten kurzen Informationstext und begründe deine Reihenfolge mit sprachlichen Hinweisen.
- Form und Funktion verbinden: Markiere passive forms in einem kurzen Text und erkläre bei drei Beispielen, warum passive voice dort sinnvoll ist.
- Text verbessern: Überarbeite einen verständlichen, aber fehlerhaften Kurztext. Korrigiere nur zentrale Fehler bei be, past participle und singular/plural.
- Transfer in einen neuen Kontext: Schreibe einen kurzen Informationstext zu einem neuen Bild und entscheide selbst, welche Sätze aktiv und welche passiv sein sollen.
- Mündlicher Transfer: Erkläre einer Partnerperson in 45 Sekunden, wie ein einfacher Prozess funktioniert. Nutze mindestens zwei passive forms und reagiere auf eine Rückfrage.
Lernnachweis
Für einen Lernnachweis ist wichtig:
- Du erkennst einfache passive forms in kurzen Informationstexten.
- Du identifizierst be + past participle.
- Du unterscheidest active und passive voice in einfachen Beispielen.
- Du erklärst, dass Handlung, Prozess oder Ergebnis im Mittelpunkt stehen können.
- Du verstehst present simple passive und past simple passive im Kontext.
- Du formulierst mit Hilfen kurze passende passive Sätze.
- Du kannst einen eigenen kurzen Text nach Feedback verbessern.
- Du kannst eine einfache Information mündlich weitergeben, ohne vollständig zu übersetzen.
- Du kannst eine Rückfrage stellen oder um einen Hinweis bitten.
- Du überprüfst digitale oder KI-gestützte Rückmeldungen und entscheidest selbst über Änderungen.
OERs zum Thema
Wikipedia: English passive voice
Weitere freie Medien im Kurs: Die eingebundenen Wikimedia-Commons-Dateien sind auf ihren jeweiligen Dateiseiten mit Lizenz- und Urheberangaben dokumentiert.
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