Active | Professor Villa gave Jorge an A. |
Passive | An A was given to Jorge by Professor Villa. (Emphasis on the A... not B nor C) |
Passive | Jorge was given an A by Professor Villa . (Emphasis on Jorge not Carlos nor Sonia) |
Generally in basic levels, teachers teach us to place emphasis on the object: the things, the inventions, the products, the places...
Common examples are:
Coca Cola is sold around the world.
The light bulb was created by Thomas Alva Edison.
'Romeo and Juliet' was written by Shakespeare
Examples:
Basic level: The company pays me well.
Intermediate/ advanced: I'm paid well (by the company).
Basic level: The teacher asked us to do a lot of homework.
Intermediate/ advanced: We were asked to do a lot of homework (by the teacher).
I was given thousand roses in my birth-day! (I didn't do anything... just received the roses ;) )
Some links to practise:
http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/passive1c.html
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive/exercises?07
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-4216.php
Emphasis on the two objects:
http://unamsanantoniolab.com/eng/passive/ex2.htm
TASK
You want to convince us that you have the best job and a perfect life.
Example: My job is the best one. I'm allowed to arrive late and I'm not foced to give reports. Last month, I was sent to travel around Europe. It is said that a job like mine is difficult to find.