Have a go — no notes, and don't worry about getting it perfect.
You already know one passive form. Complete this sentence:
"That antique clock in the hallway is beautiful — it made by my grandfather."
Out loud: think of something in your home that was made, built or bought a long time ago. Say one sentence about it using was or were + a past participle.
Sam: So how's the house?
Alex: Mad, honestly. By the time the electrician turned up on Monday, half the kitchen had already been ripped out — the builders started early without telling us. Now the bathroom's being retiled, so we're showering at the gym. And guess what — I've just had the front door repainted, because the wind wrecked it last month.
Look at what Alex packs into four sentences. Three different structures, all doing different jobs. Can you spot all three? Say them before you check.
For showing that one thing was already finished before another moment in the past.
What's the shared structure, and what job is it doing? Say it, then check.
1. You got home from work and breathed a sigh of relief — someone had already sorted the leak while you were out. Tell a friend:
"I got home from work and breathed a sigh of relief — the leak while I was out."
2. You called the company to complain, but it turned out someone had replied to your email before you even picked up the phone. Explain:
"I called to complain, but by the time I picked up the phone, my email ."
Think of a day when you arrived somewhere and found something had already happened without you. Say two sentences with had been + past participle — a delivery, an event, some news, anything.
For something happening right now, in progress, not yet finished.
What's the structure, and how is it different from the news form you already know ("has been done")? Say it, then check.
1. Workmen are repainting the garden fence right now — the paint's still wet.
"Careful — the fence , so don't lean on it."
2. A company is currently reviewing a complaint you made — they're reassuring you it hasn't been forgotten.
"Thanks for your patience — your complaint by our team right now."
3. You walk past the corner where the old flats used to stand — cranes are everywhere, work clearly underway.
"Have you seen? The old flats on the corner right now — cranes everywhere."
Look around you right now, or picture your street. Say three things that are being done at this exact moment — built, fixed, cleaned, delivered, anything in progress.
For work someone else does for you — whether you arranged it, or it just happened to you.
None of these people are doing the work themselves. What's the structure? Say it, then check.
Nobody arranged any of this! Same structure, different job. Say the difference, then check.
1. You're hopeless with cars, so when yours needed a service last week, someone else did it for you.
"I'm hopeless with cars, so when it needed a service last week, I just ."
2. A friend doesn't own any scissors — a salon sorted her hair before the interview.
"She doesn't own a pair of scissors, so before the interview she ."
3. You weren't careful with your things on the train — a thief took advantage. Use the same have/get pattern to admit your bad luck:
"I wasn't looking after my things properly on the train, and by the end of the journey, using that same pattern, I ."
Say one thing you've had done for you recently (a haircut, a repair, a delivery), and one unlucky thing that has happened to you or someone you know. Use have/get + something + past participle for both.
All three forms together, in one real story. This is the whole point of the lesson.
Think of a stretch of time — a house move, a trip away, a busy week — when a lot happened around you.
Talk for one minute. Try to include:
Now go again, but this time answer three quick questions out loud: what had already happened before you got involved? What was being sorted out while it was all going on? And what did you have done, or what went wrong for you?
Write the 3–5 sentence version of the same story — a message you might actually send someone. Use all three forms from today; the checker will tell you which ones it finds.
Real conversation never tells you which form to use. Here everything's shuffled.
Each sentence has one grammar mistake. Say the correct version out loud first, then type the whole sentence.
1. "I cut my hair yesterday for the party." (she actually went to a salon)
2. "She had stolen her purse at the market." (she's the unlucky one, not the thief)
3. "The lift is been fix right now, so use the stairs."
4. "The tickets have been sold before we arrived, so we missed the show."
5. "By the time the ambulance arrived, the man ___ by a passer-by."
6. "Don't go in the kitchen — the floor ___."
7. "My neighbour doesn't trust himself with tools, so every time something breaks, he ___."
Tell me about the last time something was being done to your home or street while it was happening, and the last time you had something done that you'd arranged. Mix your tenses naturally — don't announce which form you're using.
1. The simple passive you already knew — complete it: "That mural on the side of the building decades ago."
2. Say it first: what's the future passive form, and how is it different from "is being done"? Give an example out loud.
3. Your guests turned up right on time, but the cooking was finished well before they arrived.
"By the time the guests arrived, dinner ."
4. The gym you go to is a building site this month — dust everywhere, machines out of place, work clearly ongoing.
"Sorry for the mess — the gym this month."
5. A friend wasn't careful with his belongings at a festival — a thief got to his wallet before the weekend was over.
"He wasn't careful with his belongings at the festival, and by the end of the weekend he ."
Which of today's three forms felt most natural — sequencing the past, describing something in progress, or admitting something was arranged or unlucky? Say why you think that one worked for you.
We said: three forms so you can tell a fuller, more natural story. Tick what's true: