aiMOOC

E10 G - Passive voice with two objects

QR-Code

E10 G - Passive voice with two objects

Mini-Beschreibung: Erkenne und verwende einfache passive structures bei Verben mit zwei Objekten in klaren Kontexten wie giving, offering oder telling. Du arbeitest auf G-Niveau in Klasse 10: kurze Schritte, häufiger Wortschatz, klare Kontexte, Hilfen und meaning first.

Start question: What is more important in a message: the person who does something, the person who receives something, or the thing that is given?

I can – Lernziele

Nach diesem aiMOOC kannst Du:

Passive voice: Ich kann einfache passive sentences in einem Kontext erkennen.
Two objects: Ich kann bei give, offer, tell, send und show den Empfänger und die Sache unterscheiden.
Past participle: Ich kann wichtige dritte Verbformen passend verwenden.
Speaking: Ich kann kurze passive sentences sicher sagen und bei Bedarf nachfragen.
Writing: Ich kann kurze E-Mails oder Berichte mit einfachen Passivformen schreiben.
Feedback: Ich kann typische Fehler finden, verbessern und meinen Text überarbeiten.

Priority: Understand the meaning first. Then look at the form.

Vorwissen

You already know sentences like:

The coach gave Sam a map.

Ask yourself:

Who gave something? – the coach Who received something? – Sam What was given? – a map

Hilfe: Du musst noch keine Fachbegriffe perfekt kennen. Wichtig ist zuerst: Wer bekommt was?

English first: understand the situation

At a youth club, a new student arrives.

The coach gave Sam a map. The team offered Sam a place in the group. A student told Sam the rules.

Now the focus changes. Sam is important:

Sam was given a map. Sam was offered a place in the group. Sam was told the rules.

The meaning is almost the same. The focus is different.

Meaning first: The passive is useful when the receiver or the thing is more important than the person who did the action.

Two possible passive patterns

Active: The coach gave Sam a map.

Receiver focus: Sam was given a map.

Thing focus: A map was given to Sam.

Both passive patterns are possible with many verbs that can take two objects. Which one you choose depends on what you want to focus on.

Core form:

subject + be + past participle

Past simple: was / were + past participle

Present simple: am / is / are + past participle

Listening and Viewing

Watch the BBC Learning English video above in two steps.

First viewing – understand: What is the main idea of the passive? Do not stop the video.

Second viewing – notice: Listen for forms of be and a past participle. Pause when needed.

Listening support:

First listen for meaning.
Then listen again for the verb form.
You may replay short parts.
You do not need to copy every sentence.

Audio target: clear standard English, moderate speed, several voices and repetition. You only need to produce the simple target forms of this course.

Reading

Read the short text.

On Monday, Maya joined the Greenfield Youth Club. The coach gave her a welcome pack. She was also offered a place in the media team. Later, Maya was shown the computer room. She was told the safety rules before the first meeting. At the end, a short message was sent to her parents.

Check meaning:

Who is important in most passive sentences?
What was Maya given or offered?
Which sentence focuses on a thing instead of Maya?

Hilfe: Suche zuerst nach Maya, welcome pack, place, room, rules und message. Erst danach prüfst Du die Grammatik.

Kontextwortschatz

Word	Simple meaning	Example
give	hand something to someone	Leo was given a key.
offer	say someone can have something	Mia was offered a place.
tell	give information	Ben was told the time.
send	make a message or item go to someone	A message was sent to Ben.
show	let someone see something	Ava was shown the room.
receiver	person who gets something	Ava is the receiver.

Pronunciation

Say these sentences slowly first:

Sam was GIVEN a MAP. Mia was OFFERED a PLACE. Leo was TOLD the RULES.

The important content words usually carry more stress. The short form of was is less important.

Goal: Be clear. You do not need to sound like a native speaker.

Private practice: You may record yourself only if you want to. Keep recordings private unless you clearly choose to share them.

Functional grammar

Pattern A: receiver focus

Use this when the person who receives something is important.

The teacher gave Ana a worksheet. → Ana was given a worksheet.

The club offered Leo a role. → Leo was offered a role.

The guide told us the plan. → We were told the plan.

Pattern B: thing focus

Use this when the thing or information is important.

The teacher gave a worksheet to Ana. → A worksheet was given to Ana.

The club offered a role to Leo. → A role was offered to Leo.

The guide told the plan to us. → In everyday English, tell is more natural with the receiver pattern: We were told the plan.

G-level rule: Learn the clear and common target patterns. Do not force every verb into both patterns.

Present and past simple

Meaning	Active	Passive
routine	The club gives new students a welcome pack.	New students are given a welcome pack.
finished past event	The coach gave Sam a map.	Sam was given a map.

Accuracy target: First choose the correct form of be. Then use the past participle.

Respond: quick meaning check

Choose the sentence with the requested focus.

Focus on Nina: The organiser gave Nina a badge. → Nina was given a badge.

Focus on the badge: The organiser gave a badge to Nina. → A badge was given to Nina.

Focus on the information: Someone sent the information to the class. → The information was sent to the class.

Analyse: notice the structure

Look at:

Sam was given a map.

Part	Function
Sam	receiver and new subject
was	form of be
given	past participle
a map	thing

Now compare:

A map was given to Sam.

Here, a map is the new subject. The receiver comes after to.

Common errors

Error	Better	Why?
Sam given a map.	Sam was given a map.	The form of be is missing.
Sam was gave a map.	Sam was given a map.	Use the past participle.
A map was given Sam.	A map was given to Sam.	In this target pattern, use to before the receiver.
Sam was given to a map.	Sam was given a map.	No to before the thing in the receiver-focus pattern.
The rule was explained me.	The rule was explained to me.	explain does not use the same two-object pattern as give or tell.

Communicate: Speaking

Work with a partner. Use fictional names.

Student A gives an active sentence:

The coach offered Jamie a place.

Student B changes the focus:

Jamie was offered a place.

Then ask:

Who is important here? What was given, offered or told? Can you say that again, please?

Speaking help:

Start with the receiver.
Add was or were.
Add the past participle.
Add the thing.

Writing

Write a short message of 60–80 words about a fictional club day.

Use:

one sentence with was/were given
one sentence with was/were offered
one sentence with was/were told or was/were shown

Suggested structure:

First, ... Then, ... Later, ... At the end, ...

Keep the message clear and simple.

Structured email

Write a short fictional email.

Subject: Welcome Day

Hi Alex,

You were given a welcome pack today. You were also shown the sports hall. Before the activity, you were told the safety rules.

Best wishes, Jamie

Task: Change two details and keep the structure.

Mediation

Do not translate every word. Pass on only the key information.

German source: „Neue Mitglieder bekommen am ersten Tag einen Ausweis. Ihnen wird außerdem der Computerraum gezeigt. Vor dem Start erklärt die Leitung die Sicherheitsregeln.“

Your task: Tell an English-speaking student the three key points. Use at least one passive sentence.

Hilfe: Badge – computer room – safety rules.

Feedback and revise

Use this short check after speaking or writing:

Is the receiver or thing clear?
Is the form of be correct?
Is the past participle correct?
Do I need to before the receiver?
Is the sentence easy to understand?

Give partner feedback with:

I understand your meaning. Check the form of be. Check the past participle. Try receiver focus here.

Then revise one sentence.

Transfer

Use the passive when the receiver or result matters more than the doer.

Examples:

School: New students are given an ID card. Club: Members were offered a free workshop. Work experience: We were shown the office. Event: Visitors were told the rules.

Do not use the passive just because it is possible. Choose it because the focus fits.

Responsible media and AI use

Use only fictional names and fictional profiles in course tasks. No real applications or personal data are needed.

Recordings are voluntary and can stay private. Do not upload recordings, texts or profiles unless you clearly choose to do so and your school rules allow it.

If you use an external AI tool, do so only with permission. Check grammar claims with reliable sources, keep your own original text, mark useful changes and decide yourself which revisions to accept.

Can-do check

I can ...	Yes	With help	Not yet
understand who receives something	□	□	□
recognise receiver-focus passive	□	□	□
build was/were + past participle	□	□	□
use given, offered, told, sent or shown	□	□	□
explain why the passive is useful in a context	□	□	□
revise one sentence after feedback	□	□	□

Folgekurs

Next step: E10 G - Passive voice in reports and news.

There you can transfer the same meaning-first strategy to short reports and news texts.

Geprüfte Quellen und Medien

Cambridge Dictionary – Passive forms: Regel und Beispiele zu verbs with two objects.
English passive voice – Wikipedia: Hintergrund zur englischen Passivkonstruktion.
Englische Grammatik – Wikipedia: Überblick zum englischen Passiv.
Wikimedia Commons: Die eingebundenen Bilder stammen aus frei lizenzierten oder gemeinfreien Commons-Dateien.
BBC Learning English – Present and past passives: Listening/Viewing.
English with Us – Passive Voice of Two Objects: Zusatzbeispiele zu two objects.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

Why do we often use the passive? (To focus on the receiver, thing or result) (!To make every sentence longer) (!To remove every object) (!To change the time automatically)

Which sentence focuses on Sam? (Sam was given a map.) (!The coach gave Sam a map.) (!A map gave Sam the coach.) (!Sam was gave a map.)

Which sentence focuses on the map? (A map was given to Sam.) (!Sam was given to a map.) (!A map was gave Sam.) (!Sam gave by a map.)

How do you form the simple past passive? (was or were plus past participle) (!did plus infinitive) (!has plus infinitive) (!was plus simple past)

What is the past participle of give? (given) (!gave) (!giving) (!gives)

Which sentence is correct? (Leo was offered a place.) (!Leo offered was a place.) (!Leo was offer a place.) (!Leo did offered a place.)

Which passive sentence matches Someone told Mia the news? (Mia was told the news.) (!Mia was tell the news.) (!The news was told Mia.) (!Mia told was the news.)

When is a by-agent useful? (When the doer is important) (!When the receiver is unknown) (!In every passive sentence) (!Only with the verb tell)

Which present simple passive is correct? (New students are given a welcome pack.) (!New students is given a welcome pack.) (!New students are gave a welcome pack.) (!New students given a welcome pack.)

How do you correct Sam was gave a map? (Sam was given a map.) (!Sam given was a map.) (!Sam did given a map.) (!Sam was giving a map.)

Memory

given	past participle of give
offered	past participle of offer
told	past participle of tell
sent	past participle of send
shown	past participle of show
receiver focus	Sam was given a map
thing focus	A map was given to Sam

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
receiver focus	Mia was offered a place.
thing focus	A message was sent to Leo.
active sentence	The coach gave Sam a key.
past passive	We were told the rules.
present passive	New members are given a badge.

...

Kreuzworträtsel

given	What is the past participle of give?
told	What is the past participle of tell?
shown	What is the past participle of show?
sent	What is the past participle of send?
offered	Which past participle belongs to offer?
receiver	What do we call the person who gets something?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Meaning first: Markiere in fünf Beispielsätzen zuerst receiver und thing. Entscheide danach, was im Satz wichtig ist.
Sentence builder: Bilde mit give, offer und tell je einen einfachen Satz im receiver-focus passive.
Reading aloud: Lies drei Passivsätze klar vor. Eine private Aufnahme ist freiwillig; ein Upload ist nicht nötig.
Mini dialogue: Schreibe vier kurze Dialogzeilen mit mindestens einem Satz wie You were given a badge.

Standard

Club email: Schreibe eine fiktive E-Mail mit 60–80 Wörtern über einen welcome day und nutze drei Zielstrukturen.
Error detective: Erfinde vier typische Fehler mit was/were plus past participle und verbessere sie mit kurzer Begründung.
Mediation: Gib die Kerninformationen eines kurzen deutschen Hinweises auf Englisch wieder, ohne Vollübersetzung.
Speaking task: Führe mit einem Partner ein kurzes Rollenspiel zu einem fiktiven club event. Frage nach, begründe eine Formwahl und korrigiere einen Satz.

Schwer

Focus change: Schreibe fünf aktive Sätze mit zwei Objekten und forme jeden einmal mit receiver focus und, wenn passend, einmal mit thing focus um.
Mini report: Verfasse einen kurzen Bericht über einen fiktiven school event. Nutze Aktiv und Passiv bewusst und erkläre zwei Fokusentscheidungen.
Peer feedback: Tauscht Texte aus, markiert be-form, past participle und receiver/thing. Überarbeitet danach jeweils zwei Sätze.
Transfer project: Gestalte eine kleine Lernkarte oder ein 60-Sekunden-Erklärvideo zu two-object passives. Nutze nur eigene oder frei lizenzierte Medien und keine persönlichen Daten.

Lernkontrolle

Focus and meaning: Ein Satz soll den Empfänger betonen, ein anderer die Sache. Formuliere beide Versionen und erkläre den Bedeutungsfokus.
Context choice: Du schreibst einen kurzen Bericht über einen welcome day. Entscheide bei drei Informationen, ob Aktiv oder Passiv besser passt, und begründe.
Error analysis: Untersuche Sam was gave a key und A key was given Sam. Korrigiere beide Sätze und erkläre die zwei unterschiedlichen Fehler.
Transfer to email: Schreibe eine kurze strukturierte E-Mail, in der Du zwei passive structures verwendest, ohne dass der Text künstlich wirkt.
Mediation transfer: Gib drei Kernaussagen aus einem deutschen Schulhinweis auf Englisch wieder und nutze mindestens eine passende Passivform.
Revision: Überarbeite einen eigenen Absatz nach Feedback. Markiere eine Änderung an meaning/focus und eine Änderung an grammar/accuracy.

Lernnachweis

Für einen Lernnachweis ist wichtig:

Du erkennst in einem klaren Kontext receiver und thing.
Du erklärst, warum ein Passivsatz den Fokus verändert.
Du bildest einfache present und past passives mit be plus past participle.
Du verwendest häufige Formen wie given, offered, told, sent und shown korrekt.
Du unterscheidest Sam was given a map von A map was given to Sam.
Du findest typische Fehler und verbesserst sie nachvollziehbar.
Du schreibst oder sprichst einen kurzen verständlichen Text und überarbeitest ihn nach Feedback.
Verständlichkeit ist wichtiger als Akzentfreiheit.
Eigene Texte bleiben erkennbar Deine Texte; Hilfsmittel und Quellen werden geprüft.

OERs zum Thema

Verknüpfte Lernbereiche

Englische Grammatik

aiMOOC-Projekte

Inhalte werden geladen ...

Mediathek wird aus dem Wiki geladen ...

Frag mich zum aktuellen Lerninhalt oder wähle eine kurze Hilfe.

Textmodus bereit

Sprache