Present continuous passive: rules, features, examples

Times in English cause difficulties for most people. English abounds with them, unlike our native Russian language.

Present Continuous Passive is one of the most difficult times to understand and remember. This is not only a continuing time that is absent in the Russian language, it is also its passive form.

In this article, you will be able to understand the features of English collaterals and the Present Continuous passive voice.

Active and passive voice in English

Almost all times in English can stand in two pledges. The first of them is active, the second is passive.

1. In the active (it is also called real) the role of the subject (subject) is assigned to the active person, who performs the action on a certain object (addition).
2. In the passive voice, the subject, which is subjected to action, acts as the subject. This pledge is also called passive.

At school we are taught where we should use the valid voice, and where - the passive. Nevertheless, a pledge is a peculiar form of grammatical choice that a person makes in his speech independently.

It is wrong to consider an active voice more appropriate. A suitable pledge is chosen depending on what they want to focus on. There is only one difficulty - to determine such a speech situation.

It’s quite simple to find out the security deposit on the letter. For example, forms of the auxiliary verb to be, such as am / is / are or was / were or have / has been, as well as past participles (cooked, built, taught, closed, etc.) indicate a passive voice.

Passive Voice: Passive Voice Education in English

For all times of the passive voice in English, there is a single way of education. After the subject stands the auxiliary verb to be and the semantic participle of the past tense.

Active voice: Betty cooks dinner - Betty is cooking dinner.
Passive voice: The dinner is cooked - Lunch is getting ready.

Lunch is not cooked by itself; it is cooked (by whom?) By mom or grandmother. The action itself is important here, not who it is done by.

If the proposal has a specific subject and we want to emphasize this, then prepositions come to the rescue. To indicate the executor of an action, the preposition by (sometimes with) is used. For instance:

The dinner was cooked by my grandmother. - Lunch was prepared by my grandmother.

Passive pledge of real ongoing time

Present Continuous is a real ongoing time in English. It indicates the action that occurs at the time of speech. This time can also be used in both pledges.

PP - Past Participle. It is simple to form it: to the infinitives of regular verbs you need to add the ending -ed. For irregular verbs, it corresponds to the "3rd form of the verb", as it is commonly called in schools.

1. Active Voice.

When the subject (subject) performs an action, this indicates an active voice. An action can be addressed to some object (addition). Addition may not be available.

Present Continuous Active Examples:

• A boy is vacuuming the carpet. - The boy is vacuuming the carpet.
• A girl is laughing. - The girl is laughing.

In the first sentence, 'vacuuming' is a verb of action. 'A boy' - subject; the one who performs the action. 'The carpet' - addition; what the action is aimed at.

'Laughing' in the second sentence is also an action. 'A girl' - subject; executor. But there is no addition, that is, there is not something that this action is aimed at.

2. Passive Voice (Passive voice).

When an object becomes the subject and expresses its susceptibility to action, we are talking about a passive voice. An addition in this case is the one who (or that) performs the action.

Present Continuous Passive Examples:

• The film is making by Quentin Tarantino. - The film is shot by Quentin Tarantino.
• The research is being conducted by the outstanding scientists. - The study is conducted by prominent scientists.

Negative and interrogative sentences

To put a sentence in Present Continuous Passive in negative form, you need to put the particle not after the auxiliary verb to be. For instance:

I am not being mocked at. - They don’t laugh at me.

To ask a question, you need to put the auxiliary verb to be to the beginning. For instance:

Is the living room being cleaned now? “Is the living room now cleaned?” (Is the living room being cleaned now?)

Transitive and intransitive verbs: the nuances of the transfer from active to passive

Present Continuous Passive offers are sometimes transferred from active voice. The goals can be different: for euphony, for logic, etc.

However, there is one caveat in the form of transitive verbs. Transitional and intransitive verbs are distinguished. After transitional there should be direct or indirect additions. Intransitive, on the contrary, do not require such a condition.

Remember that only sentences with transitive verbs can be translated into a passive voice! Try to see for yourself with examples:

• A man is washing his car (active voice, wash - transient). - A man washes his car.
• The car is being washed by a man (passive voice). - The machine is washed (by whom?) By a man.

A bird is flying (active voice, fly - intransitive). - The bird is flying.
Look, the passive voice cannot be formed, since there is no addition.

Using Present Continuous in Passive Voice

Typically, Present Continuous Passive is used without specifying the performer of the action. For instance:

The Jones' house is being destroyed. “The Jones house is collapsing.”

If the performer is important, then you can add the supplement with the preposition by. For instance:

The supermarket is being renovated by the building company. - The supermarket is being repaired by a construction company.

It is worth mentioning the place of the adverb of manner in Present Continuous Passive. The adverb is put before the past participle. For instance:

This information is being easy learnt by her. - This information is easily given to her.

If the proposal has two additions in the active voice, then the one that indicates the person will be the subject. For instance:

John is packing her a gift. (Active guarantee)
She is being packed her gift. (Passive voice)

Conclusion

Times in English is the problem of most beginners to learn it. The task is complicated by the presence of two collaterals. Each of them requires its own grammatical "formula".

To know the language, you need not only to remember the rules, but also to distinguish between speech situations. To do this, you need to regularly practice grammar. Particularly useful exercises for comparing times and collaterals of one time, as they teach to distinguish speech situations.