I can identify and use different forms of the passive.
Real or fake?
News reader Artist Wolfgang Beltracchi has made millions of pounds from his paintings. However, many of the paintings are not signed with his own name, but with the names of other famous painters. He is the world's most successful forger, and has fooled the art world for over thirty years. Our reporter Jade Quinn has been investigating. How was he finally caught, Jade?
JQ He used the wrong kind of paint in a forgery of a Campendonk painting. The painting had been bought by a company who sent it to a forensic art scientist in London. He identified a type of paint which wasn't being used when Campendonk was alive.
NR That was careless! What happened to Beltracchi?
JQ He was prosecuted and sent to prison for six years.
NR Fifty-eight of his paintings have been identified by police as forgeries and several more are being examined by experts. Are there any more?
JQ Beltracchi himself claims that he has forged hundreds of paintings, but he won't say which ones, so they might never be discovered.
NR What has he done with the money he earned from the forgeries?
JQ He's spent a lot of it, but some of it will be returned to the people who bought his forgeries.
NR Does he still paint in the style of famous artists?
JQ Yes, but now he signs the paintings with his own name.
1 SPEAKING Discuss this question.
Why is a perfect forgery worth less than an original work of art?
2 Read the article above. Was it right to send Beltracchi to prison? Why? / Why not?
3 Match the highlighted passive forms in the article with 1-9 below. Then find two examples of 9.
| 1 present simple passive 2 present continuous passive 3 past simple passive 4 past continuous passive | 5 present perfect passive 6 past perfect passive 7 will + passive 8 modal verb + passive 9 by + agent |
LEARN THIS! The passive
a We form the passive with the verb be and the past participle of the verb.
b We use a passive infinitive after modal verbs.
c We use the passive when we want to focus on the action itself, or when we do not know who or what performed the action.
Grammar Builder 7.1 page 125
4 Read the LEARN THIS! box. Make the active sentences passive. Use by where necessary.
1 William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth.
Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare.
2 They are performing a ballet at the concert hall this evening.
3 Does Lady Gaga design the costumes?
4 How many Hobbit films have they made?
5 The artist ought to sign the painting.
6 Thousands of people will visit the gallery this year.
5 Complete the text with the verbs in brackets. Use active or passive verbs, as appropriate.
John Myatt is a British artist. He makes copies of famous works of art, but they 1_________ (not sell) as originals. (paint) with ordinary They 2_________ decorator's paint, and the word 'fake' 3_________ (write) on the back. But it wasn't always like that. In the 1990s, Myatt 4_________ (forge) about 200 paintings. In 1998, he 5_________ (catch) and (send) to prison for a year. Since his release from jail, Myatt 7_________(be) very successful,and his paintings8_________ (buy) by wealthy people all over the world. He 9_________ (be) now a rich man!
6 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Use the passive form of the verbs below to ask and answer five questions about famous works of art.
compose direct paint perform sing write
Who was E.T. directed by?
E.T. was directed by Steven Spielberg.
