aiMOOC

E10 M - Passive voice with two objects and prepositional verbs

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Einleitung

E10 M - Passive voice with two objects and prepositional verbs

In this aiMOOC you use passive structures in workplace, community and factual contexts. The focus is not translation. You first understand English input, then respond, analyse, communicate, get feedback, revise and transfer the structure to a new situation.

Target: Klasse 10, M-Niveau, Englisch als erste Fremdsprache, Baden-Württemberg. The language is B1-oriented: longer but clear input, natural standard audio, less scaffolding and more independent speaking and writing.

Quick start: Look at the photo for 30 seconds. Then say three sentences about the meeting. Use at least one passive sentence, for example: A new plan is being discussed. Do not name or identify real people in the photo.

Medien-Einstieg

Think – pair – share:

What is being delivered?
Who is being given something?
What could be said if the courier is not important?
Change one active idea into a passive sentence.

Community prompt: Imagine this board is used by a local youth centre. Say what information is posted, what events are talked about and what visitors are told.

I-can-Ziele

After this course, I can …

use the passive when the action, result or receiver is more important than the doer.
form passive sentences with common two-object verbs such as give, send, show and offer.
keep the correct preposition in passive structures such as be dealt with, be looked after and be talked about.
control word order in statements, questions and sentences with modal verbs.
understand the main ideas in natural standard English about workplace and community situations.
discuss, negotiate and present ideas using clear B1-level English.
revise my own writing after feedback and explain typical errors.

Lernweg

Step	What you do
English first	Watch, listen and read before using German support.
Understand	Identify message, context and key vocabulary.
Respond	Give short spoken or written answers.
Analyse	Notice passive form, word order and preposition.
Communicate	Discuss, negotiate, present and write for a clear purpose.
Feedback	Use a checklist or partner feedback.
Revise	Improve accuracy and clarity.
Transfer	Use the structure in a new workplace, community or factual context.

Vorwissen

You should already be able to recognise:

active voice: The manager sent Maya the schedule.
basic passive form: The schedule was sent yesterday.
common past participles: given, sent, shown, told, offered, made, written
common prepositions after verbs: listen to, talk about, deal with, look after

Mini-check: Change They clean the room every evening. into the passive. Then explain what changes and what stays the same.

Listening and Viewing

Task 1 – understand: Watch once without pausing. Write down the main idea in one English sentence.

Task 2 – notice: Watch again. Find three passive examples or passive patterns. For each one, decide: Is the focus on the action, the result or the receiver?

Task 3 – respond: Give one new workplace example with the same pattern.

Listening focus: Listen for the form of be and the past participle. Do not try to translate every sentence.

After viewing: Create two short examples:

one present passive for a routine
one past passive for a completed action

Workplace listening: Watch a short section of the BBC English at Work material. Note useful phrases for meetings, requests or workplace problems. Then report two points with passive structures, for example: A problem was discussed. or Anna was given a task.

Reading

Riverside Community Hub – weekly update

On Monday, new volunteers were shown the safety plan. Each volunteer was given a badge and a short task list. The recycling station is looked after by Team Green, while visitor questions are dealt with at the front desk. During Friday’s meeting, the new delivery schedule was talked about in detail. Several drivers had not been told about the new entrance, so they were sent an updated map. A copy of the map was also emailed to the logistics team.

The notice board is checked every morning. New events are added when they have been confirmed, and old notices are removed. Last week, a complaint about late deliveries was dealt with quickly. The problem was discussed with the supplier, and a new time window was agreed on. The changes will be reviewed next Friday.

Reading tasks:

Find four passive forms.
Find two verbs that keep a preposition in the passive.
Find one two-object verb.
Explain why the writer often uses the passive in this factual update.
Rewrite one passive sentence as active. Decide which version fits the report better.

Kontextwortschatz

Word or phrase	Meaning in English	Example
recipient	the person who receives something	The recipient was given a badge.
schedule	a plan of times and activities	The schedule was sent to the team.
supplier	a person or company that provides goods	The supplier was contacted.
complaint	a statement that something is wrong	The complaint was dealt with.
notice board	a place where information is posted	New notices are added weekly.
delivery	the act of bringing goods	The delivery was delayed.
volunteer	a person who works without being paid	Volunteers were shown the plan.
to deal with	to take action about a problem	The issue was dealt with quickly.
to look after	to take care of something or someone	The equipment is looked after carefully.
to agree on	to reach the same decision about something	A new date was agreed on.

Vocabulary transfer: Describe the picture as a community project. Use at least three words from the table and two passive forms.

Aussprache

The aim is clear communication, not accent-free speech.

Practise these stress patterns:

vol-un-TEER
com-MU-ni-ty
de-LIV-er-y
re-CIP-i-ent
prep-o-SI-tion

In passive sentences, stress the information that matters: The REPORT was sent to the TEAM. The COMPLAINT was dealt WITH.

Speaking tip: Keep be + past participle together as one grammar unit. In prepositional verbs, do not drop the final preposition.

Functional grammar: Passive voice

The passive is useful when the action, result or receiver is more important than the person who performs the action.

Core pattern:

Function	Pattern	Example
Present passive	subject + am/is/are + past participle	The bins are emptied every Friday.
Past passive	subject + was/were + past participle	The map was sent yesterday.
Present perfect passive	subject + has/have been + past participle	The notice has been updated.
Modal passive	subject + modal + be + past participle	The problem must be discussed.

The by-agent is only added when the doer is important: The report was written by the project leader.

Factual context: Write three process sentences about recycling. Keep the focus on the process, not on unknown people.

Passive with two objects

Some verbs can have two objects:

The coordinator gave Mia a key.

person / recipient: Mia thing: a key

Two passive patterns are possible with many common verbs:

Focus	Passive
recipient	Mia was given a key.
thing	A key was given to Mia.

More examples:

They sent the volunteers the schedule. → The volunteers were sent the schedule. They sent the schedule to the volunteers. → The schedule was sent to the volunteers.

They offered the team free tickets. → The team was offered free tickets. Free tickets were offered to the team.

With some verbs, the second passive is less natural. Choose the form that sounds clear and normal in context.

Word-order check:

recipient as subject → usually no to before the remaining thing: The interns were shown the office.
thing as subject → recipient often follows to: The office was shown to the interns.
some verbs use for: A room was booked for the team.

Passive with prepositional verbs

With prepositional verbs, the preposition belongs to the verb phrase and normally stays in the passive.

Active	Passive
People talked about the plan.	The plan was talked about.
The team dealt with the complaint.	The complaint was dealt with.
Staff looked after the equipment.	The equipment was looked after.
Everyone listened to the announcement.	The announcement was listened to.
The group agreed on the schedule.	The schedule was agreed on.

Important: Do not write The complaint was dealt or The plan was talked. The preposition is part of the structure.

Photo task: Create five meeting sentences. Use talk about, agree on, listen to, deal with and one two-object verb.

Questions and modal verbs

Question: Was the schedule sent to the team? Wh-question: When was the schedule sent to the team? Modal: The issue must be dealt with today. Negative: The volunteers were not told about the change.

Check the order: question word + form of be + subject + past participle + required preposition.

Speaking

Workplace meeting – negotiation

Situation: A fictional community centre has a delivery problem. Work in pairs or groups.

Role A: You organise the centre. Role B: You represent the delivery team. Role C: You represent volunteers.

Your goal is to agree on a practical solution. Use at least:

one recipient passive: We were sent …
one thing-passive with to or for
two prepositional passives: was talked about, must be dealt with
one spontaneous follow-up question

Useful phrases: From my point of view …, Could we agree on …?, That issue needs to be dealt with., We were not told about …, A new plan could be sent to …

Writing

Task: Formal follow-up email

Write 120–160 words after a fictional workplace or community meeting. Include:

the problem
what was discussed
what different people were given or sent
what was agreed on
what still needs to be dealt with

Use a suitable opening and closing. Keep the tone clear and professional.

Grammar target: at least four passive structures, including one two-object passive and one prepositional passive.

Optional application transfer: Write a short fictional application email or CV note for an invented person only. Do not use real names, addresses, phone numbers, photos or personal data.

Mediation

Purpose before translation.

A German-speaking visitor asks what happened after a community meeting. Use the English reading text above and give a short German summary of the essential information. Do not translate sentence by sentence.

Then return to English and explain one result to an English-speaking volunteer: A new delivery time was agreed on, and the drivers were sent an updated map.

Focus on the addressee and purpose, not on reproducing every word.

Hilfe

If you are stuck …	Try this
I cannot find the passive.	Look for a form of be + past participle.
I am unsure about two objects.	Ask: Who receives something? What is the thing?
I lose the preposition.	Learn the verb and preposition as one unit: deal with, listen to, talk about.
My sentence sounds too long.	Put the most important information first.
I do not know the agent.	Leave the by-agent out.

Feedback and revise

Use this short checklist on your own or with a partner:

Check	Yes / revise
Is the passive useful for the message?
Is the correct form of be used?
Is the past participle correct?
Is the necessary preposition still there?
Is to or for correct with the second object?
Is the sentence easy to understand?

Revision step: Correct two grammar points first. Then improve one sentence for clarity. Keep your original draft so that you can see what changed.

Fehleranalyse

Correct the sentences and explain the error in English.

The complaint was dealt yesterday. The volunteers were gave new badges. A schedule was sent the volunteers. The plan was talked yesterday about. The applicants were not told the change.

Possible correction focus: missing preposition, wrong participle, missing to, wrong word order, missing about.

Transfer

Imagine your local community wants to improve recycling. Write a factual six-sentence update:

two routine passives
one two-object passive
two prepositional passives
one modal passive

Then change the context from community to workplace without changing the grammar target.

Datei:Home delivery by drone (drone video of package delivery and collection).webm

Media transfer: Watch part of the Commons video. Describe the process with passive sentences such as The package is picked up …, The route is controlled … or The parcel is delivered …. Only state what you can actually observe or safely infer from the process.

Can-do-Check

Rate yourself: secure – mostly secure – not yet.

I can …	My check
choose active or passive for a reason
make a passive with a two-object verb
use to or for correctly
keep a preposition in a passive prepositional verb
use passive questions and modal passives
use these forms while speaking without reading a script
revise my own text after feedback

Prüfungsbezug Baden-Württemberg

Stand der Prüfungstermine bei Kurserstellung: 02.10.2026. Für die ordentliche Realschulabschlussprüfung 2027 nennt das Kultusministerium Baden-Württemberg für Englisch als Pflichtfremdsprache den schriftlichen Haupttermin 03.05.2027 und den Nachtermin 07.06.2027. Die Kommunikationsprüfung in der Pflichtfremdsprache soll im Zeitraum 22.02.2027 bis 02.03.2027 stattfinden.

Aktuelle offizielle Seite: Kultusministerium Baden-Württemberg – Prüfungstermine Realschule

Der Kurs orientiert sich an den funktionalen Kompetenzen des Bildungsplans Englisch als erste Fremdsprache in der Sekundarstufe I: Hör-/Hörsehverstehen, Leseverstehen, Sprechen, Schreiben, Sprachmittlung, sprachliche Mittel und Text-/Medienkompetenz.

Bildungsplan Baden-Württemberg – Englisch als erste Fremdsprache

Prüfungsformate und Bedingungen können geändert werden. Vor einer konkreten Prüfungsvorbereitung immer die aktuelle offizielle Fassung prüfen.

Sicher und selbstständig arbeiten

Use fictional names, profiles and application data only.
Audio or video recording is voluntary. Keep recordings private unless everyone involved has agreed to another use.
Do not upload faces, voices, applications or personal documents without permission.
Do not send texts or personal data to external AI services automatically.
If AI feedback is used, check grammar claims, factual claims and sources yourself.
Keep your own drafts and revisions so that your learning process remains visible.
Clear, understandable English is more important than sounding like one particular accent.
Avoid cultural stereotypes. Describe evidence, context and individual perspectives.

Folgekurs

Next step: Passive voice in reports, processes and formal communication. There you can extend the same grammar to longer reports, formal emails, process descriptions and source-based writing.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

Which passive sentence correctly focuses on the recipient in: The coordinator gave Lena a key? (Lena was given a key.) (!Lena was gave a key.) (!A key was Lena given.) (!Lena gave was a key.)

Which sentence correctly focuses on the thing in: The coordinator gave Lena a key? (A key was given to Lena.) (!A key was given Lena to.) (!A key gave to Lena.) (!Lena was given to a key.)

What is the correct passive form of: People talked about the plan? (The plan was talked about.) (!The plan was talked.) (!The plan talked about.) (!The plan was about talked.)

Which sentence has the correct modal passive? (The complaint must be dealt with.) (!The complaint must dealt with.) (!The complaint must be deal with.) (!The complaint must be dealt.)

Which sentence correctly keeps the preposition? (The equipment is looked after.) (!The equipment is looked.) (!The equipment is after looked.) (!The equipment looked after is.)

Which word order is correct? (The applicants were sent the schedule.) (!The applicants the schedule were sent.) (!Were sent the applicants the schedule.) (!The applicants were the schedule sent.)

Which active sentence matches: The volunteers were offered free tickets? (They offered the volunteers free tickets.) (!They offered free tickets by the volunteers.) (!The volunteers offered them free tickets.) (!They were offered the volunteers.)

Which passive sentence is correct? (The announcement was listened to carefully.) (!The announcement was listened carefully.) (!The announcement listened to carefully.) (!The announcement was to listened carefully.)

When is the passive especially useful? (When the action, result or receiver is more important than the doer.) (!When every sentence must mention the doer first.) (!When the verb has no past participle.) (!When the speaker wants to remove every preposition.)

Which sentence correctly uses for with a second object? (A room was booked for the team.) (!A room was booked the team for.) (!The team was for booked a room.) (!A room booked was for the team.)

Memory

give someone something	be given something
send someone something	be sent something
deal with	be dealt with
look after	be looked after
talk about	be talked about
listen to	be listened to

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
recipient passive	New staff were shown the plan.
thing passive	The plan was shown to new staff.
prepositional passive	The complaint was dealt with.
process focus	The bins are emptied on Fridays.
modal passive	The issue must be talked about.

Kreuzworträtsel

recipient	What do you call the person who receives something?
participle	Which verb form completes the passive after a form of be?
preposition	What type of word is to, with, about or for?
passive	Which voice often focuses on an action, result or receiver?
agent	What do you call the doer that can follow by?
workplace	What is a professional setting called?

LearningApps

Lückentext

A passive sentence normally contains a form of be and a past

. In the sentence “Mia was given a key”, Mia is the

. If the thing becomes the subject, the recipient can follow the preposition

. In “The complaint was dealt with”, the final word

must stay in the passive structure. The phrase “look after” also keeps its

when it becomes passive. A by-phrase can name the

, but it is often left out when the doer is unknown or unimportant. In factual writing, the passive can put the

before the person who performs it. With a modal verb, the pattern includes modal plus

plus past participle.

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Photo description: Choose one Commons image from this course and write five English sentences. Use two passive structures.
Grammar spotting: Find six passive forms in the reading text and label two-object or prepositional structures.
Workplace vocabulary: Create eight English vocabulary cards with a definition and one example sentence. Do not translate every item.
Error repair: Write four typical passive errors and correct them. Explain each correction in one short English sentence.

Standard

Community update: Write a 120-word factual update for a fictional youth centre using at least five passive structures.
Meeting role play: Negotiate a fictional delivery problem in pairs. Include one recipient passive and two prepositional passives.
Formal email: Write and revise a formal follow-up email after a fictional workplace meeting. Keep both your first and revised version.
Private audio reflection: If you want, record a private 60-second summary of a community project. Recording is optional and should not be uploaded without permission.

Schwer

Fictional application: Create a short application email for an invented person. Use fictional details only and include two passive structures where they are natural.
Source comparison: Compare two short factual texts on the same community issue. Explain which text uses the passive more effectively and support your answer with examples.
Process presentation: Prepare a two-minute presentation explaining how a delivery or recycling process works. React spontaneously to two follow-up questions.
Grammar transfer: Rewrite a short active report into a mixed active-passive version. Justify three choices of voice and check every retained preposition.

Lernkontrolle

Purpose of voice: You receive an active workplace report. Rewrite only the sentences where passive voice improves the focus. Explain each choice.
Two-object decision: For five sentences with two objects, create a recipient-passive and, where natural, a thing-passive. Comment on which version fits the context better.
Preposition audit: Edit a short community text containing missing or misplaced prepositions. Explain the grammar pattern behind each correction.
Meeting transfer: In a role play, respond to a new problem that was not prepared in advance. Use one modal passive and one prepositional passive.
Writing revision: Improve a first draft after feedback. Mark three changes that improve grammar, word order or clarity.
Mediation choice: Mediate the key information from a German notice for an English-speaking visitor. Decide what can be left out and explain why.

Lernnachweis

Für einen Lernnachweis zu diesem Thema ist wichtig:

Du kannst erklären, wann der passive Fokus funktional sinnvoll ist.
Du kannst be + past participle in mehreren Zeitformen korrekt bilden.
Du kannst bei two-object verbs den recipient-passive sicher bilden.
Du kannst bei einem thing-passive to oder for passend verwenden.
Du kannst die Präposition bei prepositional verbs erhalten.
Du kannst passive Strukturen in Speaking und Writing verständlich einsetzen.
Du kannst Fehler erkennen, begründen und überarbeiten.
Du kannst Informationen adressaten- und zweckgerecht sprachmitteln.
Du kannst eigene Entwürfe, Feedback und Überarbeitung als Lernprozess dokumentieren.

OERs zum Thema

Weitere offene Medien in diesem Kurs stammen aus Wikimedia Commons. Die jeweilige Dateiseite enthält Urheber- und Lizenzangaben.

Verknüpfte Lernbereiche

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