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SEMAINE 22 – JOUR 2 Vocabulaire + Listening Thème : Describing Actions and Processes

Hier, tu as appris :

✔️ le Passive Voice au présent

✔️ le Passive Voice au passé

Aujourd’hui, tu vas apprendre le vocabulaire utilisé pour :

👉 décrire des processus

👉 expliquer comment les choses sont faites

👉 parler des résultats d’une action

Passive Voice – Actions & Processes
English Grammar · Lesson

Passive Voice

Describing Actions & Processes

📖 Course

1. What is the Passive Voice?

In the active voice, the subject performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The passive is used when the action or result matters more than the person doing it.

Subject + to be (conjugated) + Past Participle + (by + agent)

Active: Scientists discovered a new planet.
Passive: A new planet was discovered (by scientists).

2. Passive Voice Across Tenses

  • Present Simple: Water is purified before distribution.
  • Past Simple: The bridge was built in 1920.
  • Present Perfect: The report has been submitted.
  • Future: The results will be announced tomorrow.
  • Present Continuous: The machine is being repaired.
  • Modal Verbs: The document must be signed.

3. When to Use the Passive

  • When the agent is unknown — The window was broken.
  • When the agent is obvious — He was arrested. (by police)
  • In scientific / technical writing — The sample was heated to 200°C.
  • To describe industrial or natural processes — Coffee is grown in Colombia.
  • To avoid responsibility — Mistakes were made.

4. Key Vocabulary — Actions & Processes

be manufactured
to be produced in a factory
Cars are manufactured here.
be assembled
to be put together
Parts are assembled by robots.
be processed
to be treated / handled
Data is processed automatically.
be distributed
to be sent out widely
Goods are distributed globally.
be extracted
to be taken out of something
Oil is extracted offshore.
be refined
to be purified / improved
Sugar is refined in mills.
be transported
to be moved from place to place
Goods are transported by ship.
be approved
to receive official acceptance
The plan was approved last week.
be launched
to be officially started/released
The rocket was launched at dawn.
be detected
to be discovered / noticed
A fault was detected in the system.
be stored
to be kept for future use
Wheat is stored in silos.
be recycled
to be converted for reuse
Plastic is recycled at the plant.
✏️ Exercise — Apply your knowledge

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