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Green Level

Lesson Nineteen

Continuous Verbs: Passive and Active

What’s the difference between these two sentences?

  1. The girl has been given flowers.
  2. He has been giving flowers to the girl.

The first sentence is in the passive voice and in the present perfect tense. The second sentence is in the present perfect continuous tense. The "ing" ending makes it continuous.

Look at the difference:

 1. She has been given flowers. (passive & present perfect)

he

flowers

gives

flowers

to

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girl

the girl

 2. She has been giving flowers. (active & present perfect continuous)
girl

gives flowers to

arrow

someone

work

What a big difference!

If you are confused, you should review the yellow and green levels before you continue in the purple and orange levels.

In the pictures below, notice the words with the "ing" endings. Those are the main verbs in continuous forms.

He’s sitting on the ground.

rollerblader

The Present Continuous Tense

The baby was crying until his mother picked him up.

baby and mother

The Past Continuous Tense

We will be having a birthday party tomorrow for our daughter who turns three.

birthday cake

The Future Continuous Tense

They have been working for about two hours this morning.

meeting

The Present Perfect Continuous

This little penguin had been living in Antarctica before he was moved to the zoo where he now lives.

penguin

The Past Perfect Continuous

The house is being cleaned.

(or….The man is cleaning the house in the active voice.)

man

Present Continuous – Passive Voice

The man in the chair was being given a haircut yesterday when he got a call on his cellphone.

haircut

Past Continuous – Passive Voice

In the next lesson, you will review the verb "be"

Next: Lesson Twenty