Special forms, spelling and an exam checklist
#used-to#would#future-in-the-past#spelling#revision
Construit sur :Transform an active sentence step by step
Forms that also have a passive
| Form | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Used to | Jerry used to pay the bills. | The bills used to be paid by Jerry. |
| Would always | My mother would always make the pies. | The pies would always be made by my mother. |
Future in the past (would) | I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM. | I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM. |
Future in the past (was going to) | I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. | I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally tonight. |
Spelling note
Before adding -ing or -ed, double the final consonant when both conditions are true:
- the verb ends in one vowel followed by one consonant;
- the last syllable is stressed, or the verb has only one syllable.
To decide whether the last syllable is stressed, consult a dictionary. This
rule changes the spelling (stop → stopped, begin → beginning), but it does
not change the passive construction.
Final checklist
- Find the active subject (the doer) and object (the receiver).
- Move the object to the beginning.
- Keep the original tense in be (or in have / will / going to).
- Add being for a continuous form and been for a perfect form.
- Add the past participle, then add by + agent only if useful.
- Check agreement: The car was, but The cars were.
The central idea is unchanged across every table in this lesson: the receiver becomes the subject, while the tense and the past participle preserve the meaning of the original sentence.