General attitudes, beliefs, and expectations

(Complex Passive)

* PASSIVE *

ACTIVE: People understand that murder is wrong.
 
PASSIVE:
It
is understood that murder is wrong.
Murder is understood to be wrong.

Finish these sentences. Then restate each with a sentence beginning "It..." and one beginning with the direct object of the original sentence. ("Murder, Americans, English," etc.) (Note that with some verbs, only one of these variations is possible.)

1. People have often assumed that Americans

2. Some people believe that English

3. In the past, people believed that the earth

4. Everyone knows that English grammar

5. Someone reported that President Bush

6. Some people say that learning a language

7. In the past, people thought that the sun

8. Everyone understood that alcohol

9. Some people argue that meat

10. (We) should note that IEI students

11. (People) consider English to

12. (We) expect IEI students to

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Ann Salzmann
Intensive English Institute
University of Illinois