Designing and Selling Inventions- Passive Voice

Designing and selling inventions with passive voice

Try to think of a product which is better than the things presently on the market and present it to your partner with at least one of the passive statements below. They will listen and ask you for more details when you ask “Any questions?” They will then give you points out of five for:

• Smooth presentation and dealing with questions (fluent, without silence, speaking confidently, etc)
• Desirability of that thing
• Believability of your ideas

Continue swapping roles and doing the same thing with different ideas until your teacher stops the game. 

Ask about anything below you can’t understand or can’t imagine how to use, trying to use each thing to describe a new invention each time.

Possible questions to ask about the design/ invention

• Can… be adjusted/ changed?/ How can… be adjusted/ changed?
• Can … be attached to…?
• Has it been awarded any prizes?
• Can it be bought…?/ How can it be bought?
• Can it be carried…?/ How can it be carried?
• Has it been certified…?
• How can it be (re)charged?/ Can it be recharged by…?
• Can it be checked/ monitored (…)?
• Does it need to be cleaned?/ How does it need to be cleaned?/ Can it be cleaned by…?
• What is it coated in?/ Is it coated in anything?
• Can it be connected to…?
• Can… be converted into…?
• How can… be controlled?/ Can it be controlled by/ with…?
• Can it be customised (by…)?/ How can it be customised (for…)
• Is it decorated with anything?/ How is it decorated?
• Who was it designed by?
• Does it need to be emptied?/ How can it be emptied?/ Can it be emptied…?
• Does it need to be (re)filled (with/by)…?/ How can it be (re)filled?
• Can it be fixed/ mended/ repaired (by/ without)…?
• Can it be (un)folded(…)?/ How is it (un)folded?
• Can it be held…?
• Can… be hidden…?
• Is… illuminated/ lit (…)?/ How is… illuminated/ lit?
• When was it invented?/ Who was it invented by?
• Where can it be kept/ stored?/ Can it be kept…?/ Can it be stored…?
• When was it launched?/ How many have been sold since it was launched?
• Can it be left…?
• Can it be locked…?/ How can it be (un)locked…?
• Is it made from (recycled/ recyclable/ biodegradable/…)…?/ How is it made?/ What is it made from?/ Where is it made?
• Is it manufactured…?
• Can it be moved…?/ How can it be moved?
• Can it be opened…?/ How can it be opened?
• Is it powered…?/ How is it powered?
• Is it protected…?/ How is it protected…?
• Can… be put…?
• Can… be recycled (...)?
• Does… need to be replaced (…)?/ How is… replaced?/ How often does… need to be replaced?
• Can …be seen/ watched (…)?
• Is it sold…?/ Will it be sold…?/ How many have been sold?
• Can… be taken apart (…)?
• How often is… updated?
• Can …be used…?/ It is used…?/ Can… be reused (…)?/ How is it used?

 

Useful phrases for describing USPs (= special features)

• It will be adopted by/ taken up by…
• … can be adjusted (by…)/ … can be changed (by…)
• It can be attached to…/ … can be attached to it.
• It has been awarded…/ It was awarded… (by…) (in 20…)
• It can be bought…
• It can be carried (…)
• It has been certified (…) by…
• It is (re)charged…/ It can be (re)charged…
• … can be checked…/ … can be monitored…
• It doesn’t need to be cleaned (…)/ It can be cleaned (just) by…
• It is coated in…
• It can be connected to…
• It can be converted into…/ … can be converted into… by it.
• It is controlled by…/ … can be controlled by/ with it.
• It is (usually) covered with…/ …can be covered with it.
• … can be customised (by/ for…)
• It is decorated…/ It can be decorated…
• It was designed by…
• It can be emptied…/ It doesn’t need to be emptied (…)
• It is equipped with…/ It can be equipped with…
• It can be (un)fastened…
• It is filled…/ It can be filled…/ It doesn’t need to be (re)filled with…
• It can be fixed…/ It can be mended…/ It can be repaired…
• It can be (un)folded (…)
• It can be held (in one hand/…)
• …can be hidden (…)
• It can be hung (on/ from/ in front of)…
• It is illuminated (…)/ It is lit…
• It was invented…
• It can be kept…/ It doesn’t need to be stored…
• It can be left (on its own) (to…)
• It can be (un)locked (…)/ It can be secured by…
• … are made from it./ The outside is made of…/ It is custom made./ It is made from (recycled/ recyclable/ biodegradable/…)…
• It is manufactured in…/ by robots/ by craftsmen/ by…
• It can be moved (…)/ … can be moved by it.
• It can be opened…
• It is powered by…
• It is protected by…/ It is protected against…/ … is protected by it.
• It can be put…/ … can be put on it./… can be put in it.
• It can be recycled (...)
• … is released by it.
• … doesn’t need to be replaced (often/ by…)/ It only needs to be replaced…/ … will (soon/ eventually) be replaced by this.
• It can be seen…/ … can be watched through it.
• It is sold…/ It will be sold… (in the near future)/… have already been sold.
• It is highly sought after (by…)
• It is surrounded by…
• It can be taken apart (…)
• It can be updated…
• It can be (re)used…/ It has (already) been used…/ It is (probably) being used (…) right now.
• It can be zipped up/ unzipped (when…)

 

Possible things to explain

• access
• appearance
• art
• cleanliness
• clothing
• communication
• concentrating (on your work/ studies)
• decoration
• disabled access
• disaster prevention
• environment
• flooring
• food and drink
• garbage/ rubbish/ trash
• health
• humidity
• IT
• leisure
• lighting
• living
• music
• nature
• personal hygiene
• plants
• power
• relaxation
• scheduling
• seating
• sleep
• smell
• storage
• temperature
• travel
• walls
• water
• windows
• work
• work surfaces

 

Passive voice grammar presentation

Without looking above, put one word into each gap below.

• It ______________________________________________ coated in plastic.
• It ______________ probably being used by someone in this building right now.
• It will ____________________________ sold in this country in the near future.
• It can _____________________________________________ bought online.
• It ________________________ designed by a famous French designer in 1965.
• It _________________________ been awarded many prizes since its launch.
• It has ________________________________________ used for many years.

 

• It doesn’t need _________________________________________ be cleaned.
• It is manufactured _______________________________________ craftsmen.
• The outside is made ________ steel./ It is made ___________ recycled paper.
• It can be attached ______________________________________ your wrist.

 

• How _________________________________________________ it decorated?
• Can the temperature _______________________________________ adjusted?
• When _________________________________________________ it invented?
• __________________________________ it (already) been awarded any prizes?
• ____________________________ it be sold by Amazon (in the near future)?

 

• ____________________________________________________ can it be kept?
• __________________________________________________ is it made from?
• _____________________________ often do the batteries need to be replaced?
• How _____________________________________________ have been sold?
• How ______________________________________ is the software updated?
• ___________________________________________ can it be (re)charged?
• ____________________________________________________ is it used?

Check your answers above.

Without looking above, put these phrases into the right passive form.

• It _________________________________________________ (coat) in plastic.
• It __________________ (probably use) by someone in this building right now.
• It _____________________________ (sell) in this country in the near future.
• It ________________________________________________ (can buy) online.
• It _________________________ (design) by a famous French designer in 1965.
• It _______________________________ (award) many prizes since its launch.
• It ____________________________________ (already use) for many years.

Check your answers above.

Change partners. Play the presenting new inventions/ designs game again. This time you can’t look at the worksheets above to help, but you can present the same ideas as you did before and/ or the ideas that you heard your previous partner present if you like.