module 06
Writing
scripts
for
radio
commercials
features and
drama
Radio Commercials
Commercials are sponsored radio dramas. Drama in 30 seconds.
In other words a mini-drama.
Commercials can vary in length from 15", 30", 40",
45" or longer. This time is bought in chunks from the radio station and
the commercial is tailor made for that allotment of time.
It’s best to have a background in Marketing if you want to write copy or
produce radio commercials as you have to match up to the Company’s brand values
and what they stand for.
When writing copy for a realistic commercial you have to think
'mini-drama'. Think about your target listener and speak the language he or she
can relate to. If you are writing a story/drama scenario make sure you have a
clear story line with a beginning, middle and ending.
When creating characters ask yourself WHO they are, WHERE they are, and
WHAT they are doing.
Ask Yourself:
a. Will the listener zone in?
b. Is what they zone in for linked to the brand or offer?
c. Does the advertising dramatise the benefit in a way the listener can relate
to?
d. Does it sound like the brand?
e. Instinctively, how do you believe your listener will react/feel/think?
f. Will it generate the Desired Response?
g. What overall brand impression will it leave with the listeners (including
those who may not yet be in the market)?
Effective
Communication
Commercials start off life as an idea between client their
agency and or the radio station sales team who sometimes employ in-house copy
writers. The commercial is written
as a brief with client details, the reason, aim and important information that
the advert must say.
Effective commercial communicate with the audience they are
aimed at and generate sales or a response. A number of obstacles can get in the way of that message,
that include, the client, the radio station copy writer, the voice talent and
sometimes the need to make an ‘award winning’ commercial that might be
artistically interesting but not empathetic to the audience.
Here is an article by Dan McCurdy
The 7 Guidelines To
Writing A Good Radio Commercial
In your search to make the perfect radio commercial there
are a number of category guidelines you might find useful should you bear them
in mind. This is assuming of course your aim is to produce an expertly crafted
and effective ad, a piece of audio that is perhaps lauded by your work
colleagues and your client(s), not to mention applauded by the industry.
Rules on creativity are notorious difficult not only to cite
but also to apply so let’s just say that practice and perfection seem to demand
and you should bear a nod these guidelines. There are seven of them.
Seven Guidelines to Perfect Radio Creativity.
There is no golden rule that this number should be seven,
but if you read all the experts on radio, and listen to their advice, most of
what they say can fall into the following 7 categories, or at least some of
them:
Audience
Language
Entertainment
Simplicity of Approach
Judging
your work
Good production
Rules or Restrictions
Let’s look at each of these categories in turn.
1. The Radio Audience - Know your surroundings.
When you’re knocking on someone’s door without an invitation
you should at least know whose door you’re knocking on. Take the time to find
out about that radio station’s audience and what your listener, who’s about to
listen to you, is already listening to. It will have an effect on your work,
and how the listener perceives it. Listenership demographics, who listens when,
will help you build a profile of the station’s typical listener. Bear this in
mind when you’re writing the script.
2. Language – The Words, Sounds and Audio Package.
Know how to talk to your listener. 20 year olds talk
differently from 60 year olds (generally); Men often use different language
from Women; Women use a different language to talk to each other (generally);
one part of the country uses different words to another; some speech we all
have in common. The media you’re about to use may have an inherent style or use
a particular voice, effective with that audience. It’s worth considering
whether you want to work with or against this style, and how much you want to
use this language. The differences and similarities can be useful to you.
Popular topics
How to Write a Radio Script
Interviewing for Radio by Jim Beaman A Book Review
Creative Radio Writing and Production
3. Entertainment – Know what entertains your audience.
There is an argument you may have heard that “Bad radio
advertising works because people remember it.” Generally this is false so
disagree whenever you hear it. Bad, poorly made, corny and embarrassing ads
don’t work certainly not in the long term interests of the product or brand.
Good advertising that entertains your audience and engages them always works
better.
4. Simplicity of Approach - Keep it Simple.
This is a guideline that applies to radio more than any
other media. Keep it simple and get rid of anything that stops you doing this.
Leave your listener with one or two abiding thoughts and feelings. They’re more
likely to find it easier to act on this than a raft of confusing suggestions
and facts you want them to remember. They’re not cramming for an exam.
5. Judging your work – What Makes a Good Ad?
Get to know how to judge a good script from a bad script.
You do this by listening to other ads, lots of them. If you’re writing the
script – read it out loud. After all, this is what you’re going to ask someone
else to do soon. If you can’t read it comfortably in the time you want, book a
longer commercial or edit something out. If you’re reading someone else’s
script – get them to read it out loud, or ask for a demo. The listener doesn’t
get to read the script.
6. Good Production – Know What Works.
Production know how is invaluable and so are good radio
producers. Good Radio isn’t cheap, and neither is it necessarily easy, and
cheap radio isn’t good. If you’re making a TV commercial, you’d probably hire a
TV director. When you’re making Radio Commercials experience pays off hire
until you feel confident or hire someone who’s produced radio commercials
before. They’ll tell you things you won’t even know to know about, because the
more you do something, the better you get at it. A Pre-production meeting
although not common is some of the best use of everybody’s time, and you’ll
know what you’re doing before you start paying for studio time.
7. Rules or Restrictions.
Having said earlier there are no rules, only guidelines,
this is true for creativity. There will be statutory and legal restrictions
that will apply to the media in whatever territory you’re working. If you’re
not you should be familiar with these. In terms of make great ads you should
know when to stop, and when to start, and don’t do something because everyone
else does it.
Finally don’t be so
clever or creative that you forget what you’re doing – SELL. Give the listener
a reason to do something. NOW - Stand back and ask yourself, when you hear it,
would you do it?
How To Tell A Good Radio Script
If someone presents you with a radio script or any audio
script for that matter, there should be a few tick-boxes in your head that
spring to life. The first thing you should always do if possible is either read
the whole script aloud yourself, or better still, get the person who’s
presenting it to you to read it out loud. This stops it being just words on a
page and somehow by the miracle of sound it lives and breathes, much as the
person who’s reading it does and no less the people who will hear it.
Contents and Layout of the Radio Script
In the script there will be clues to the production that
will help the producer of the script, the sound engineer(s) recording it and
the actors who will voice it turn the script into meaningful audio. These will
normally be on the left hand side of the script in abbreviations such as:
Sfx – sound effects
Mvo – male voice over
Fvo – female voice over
Cvo – child voice over
Mx
– mix or music mix
Atmos – Atmosphere
There may of course be less or more of these instructions
depending on how complicated the soundscape of the audio is, and how many
voices and/or effects and music the writer has chosen to include. There might
and certainly should also be descriptions of the style and delivery of the
voices the writer had in mind writing the script.
These are descriptions relevant to the writer and may make
sense to you. If you’re not sure, ask the writer or whoever is presenting the
script to explain them. Better still, ask to hear some audio samples of the
voices and indeed also the music and effects if it helps you understand and
imagine the script better.
Radio as Pictures in the Listener’s Mind
You’ll hear the often used expression that ‘radio is the
theatre of the mind,’ but what des it mean? It’s just a way of describing the
effects of the audio on a listener but judging what is effective theatre and
pictures in other people’s minds is not always easy.
The pictures radio can offer are ALL individual and ALL
inside the listeners mind and imagination. And the beautiful thing about radio
is that they’re all made entirely of sound, while they don’t physically exist
to each individual person these pictures are as real and concrete as any
picture you can touch, and any picture you can see with normal vision. This
many say is real power of radio as a broadcast medium.
Popular topics
Secrets to Writing for Radio
A
Guide to Good Creative Radio
Creative Radio Writing and Production
Judging a Radio Script.
To read or preferably listen to a radio script before you’re
be asked to approve it before broadcast there are a number of questions you
could ask.
Does it make sense?
Do
the characters seem real and are they human?
Are the situations believable, no matter how unbelievable at first?
Is
it simple for the listener or unnecessarily complicated?
Do
you get the point of it?
If
it’s a commercial script, what are you being asked to do?
If
it’s a radio drama – can you imagine the scenario(s) you’re being asked to
picture?
Is
there a beginning, middle and an end or does it just work anyway?
Will it come alive and will the listener relate to it, will it live?
In essence the script is asking the listener to use her or
his imagination but you can make it easier for them to do this and we all like
things that are easier to do in preference to things that are hard to do don’t
we? Sometimes this is as simple as writing for the voices or an announcer to
describe or say where the action is taking place rather than relying on sound
effects and hoping the listener figures it out.
Radio as a Medium for Drama and for Selling
Why should different rules apply to engaging the listener in
a drama production, yet radio commercials are often produced to a whole different
set of values? The same value judgements apply to both. So on reading the
script remember:
Does the script engage the listener?
Does it work read out loud (especially if there are time constraints)?
It
might be worth making a demo (if budgets allow)
A
radio script is audio, not words on paper
Can you read it comfortably in the time allowed?
If
not - book a longer commercial, make a longer play or edit something out.
Ask to attend the production session.
And finally in production trust the actors, they’re trained to use their
voice and will often suggest changes that make the whole thing better.
If you’re being asked to judge a radio script you’re being
asked to judge the final audio commercial and remember after all that, the
listener doesn’t get to read the script.
Top Tips from the BBC
·
Think about your audience and use appropriate
language.
·
Write as you speak. You don't have to use formal
language.
·
Keep reading your scripts out loud to check how
they sound.
·
Avoid repeating the same word too often.
·
Write any words which are tricky to pronounce
phonetically.
·
Liven up your reports with lots of interviews
and sound or video clips. Long sections of script, containing only the
presenter's words, can become boring.
·
Remember to tell the audience who said what. In
other words, credit your sources.
·
If you did not manage to record the best quote
of the interview, but you did write it down, do not be tempted to read the
quote out loud. It's better to paraphrase.
Writing Drama Scripts
From eHow
1
·
Formulate a story idea. Outline your characters,
plot, setting, conflict and resolution.
·
Write a narrative of the story. Put the “meat”
of the story on the bones of your outline. Always keep the limitations of radio
in mind. You are writing for listeners, not viewers.
·
Divide the narrative into scenes, with good
descriptions of setting, character, and sound effects.
·
Write the dialogue based on your narrative. Let
your characters and sound effects give the listener a clear picture of the
action in their mind.
Put the story into radio
script format. This includes:
·
Write a page heading. This is used to specify
what program or episode you’re working on and what page you are on in the
script. It should be placed across the top of the page.
·
Write a scene heading. This specifies the scene
number, description of the scene’s location, and time of day.
·
Include script cues. There are three things a
listener mainly retains from a radio drama: dialogue, music, and sound effects.
Each of these audio components is identified as a “cue”-because they happen at
a given time in the script and the director may have to instruct someone (“cue
them”) to produce it.
·
Insert music cues. Varying emotions can be
achieved through the choice of music. Clearly written instructions regarding
music cues will greatly assist the cast and crew in influencing the mood of a
given scene.
·
Include the dialogue cues. This helps the
director and the actors prepare themselves for proper timing and execution.
·
Insert the sound effect cues. Sound effects help
to establish the scene or depict action. Sound effect cues are always
underlined.
·
Compose your production notes. Engineers, cast
or crew require specific instructions that are handled as production notes—comments
from the writer on how to coordinate cues or achieve particular effects. These
need to be clear and precise.
·
Edit your radio script after letting it sit for
a few hours or days. A fresh set of eyes will help you catch any mistakes in
grammar or plot. Consider having a third-party scrutinize the script for you.
Present the script to your producer or editor and make
revisions as necessary.
Tips & Warnings
Radio scripts are the blueprints of your presentation. There is seldom
time in radio programs for script memorization so your notes and cues must be
precise to achieve the results in real time.
Detail the setting and characters as much as possible, so the actors and
actresses can embody the characters, and the sound-effects operator can plan
his effects.
Always remember you are writing for listeners, not viewers or readers.
How to write a news
script from eHow
News on the radio is a lot more audio focused and a lot less
a visual focus than other news.
Writing a radio news story means that you have to you use
the audio medium to a larger degree.
If you're interviewing a train conductor, some audio of the
train will be really helpful in making your story engaging.
At the same time, you want to keep your radio news story very
concise, use short sentences and sentences with just one piece of information.
That will allow your listener to absorb it without dragging on too long,
possibly losing the listener’s attention and, thus, defeating the purpose of
your news story.
You want to keep your radio news story to about thirty
seconds, if possible. Longer news pieces are possible in some mediums but if
it's a radio news hourly update, this story should be about thirty seconds
long. Just to sum up, some things to remember when writing a radio news story
is to keep your sentences short, use the a sound that can help engage the
listener and keep it short, keep it about thirty seconds long.
Writing Radio Drama
From my dear friend
Tim Crook
The
Beginning
The
beginning is everything. If this part of it does not work you are 'up shit
creek without a paddle'. Your listeners will desert you. You have failed. You
do not exist as a dramatist. Booo!
The
Moment of Arrival
This
is how you drop your listeners into the story. Don't give them a warm bed with
comfortable pillows and a hot water bottle. The background and sub-text of
previous histories is better explored through revelation in dramatic action. So
parachute your listener into a top dramatic moment. Not the climax. That would
be premature. Find the MOMENT to join the story. Avoid the slow snail's
explicatory route. Kick 'em into a high energy trip and whoosh them through the
rapids.
Structure
Set
up...struggle...resolution. You can reverse this if the set-up is more dramatic
and explosive than the resolution. Regard your play as a series of phases
The
Plot
This
is the story with lots of twists and turns. The more the merrier. Most
listeners like good exciting plots. Without a good plot you're eating a souffle
that has gone flat. You need plot, more plot and more plot. Run at least two
story lines. Two sub plots would be interesting. Keep the plots linked
logically within the same play. The best system is a major and a minor
storyline linked to one another. Get them to come together at the end.
Surprise
People
are hungry for entertainment. If they wanted boredom they would be filling out
their tax returns instead of listening to your radio play. Make people afraid,
but also excited.
Character
Your
main character must have the sympathy of the audience. Your audience has to
identify with your main character. If this does not happen you have created a
failure. Booo!
Conflict
Drama
= conflict = audience. There has to be an emotional, financial, human, moral,
physical struggle so your listeners can laugh or cry. Yes, you want your
listeners to laugh or cry or laugh and cry. If you don't, give up.
Polarities
or Extremes
The
art of story telling is exploring the extreme limits of our psychological or
physical existence. To pitch one polarity against another.
The
Climax
I
apologize for the sexual metaphor. But there is something in this. The better
sex has foreplay, development, sustained excitement, surprise and affection,
nay love followed by an explosion of ecstasy. Good radio drama is not all that
different. If you don't use it, you lose it.
Dialogue
This
is how we engage dramatically with the world. Characters inform, argue, amuse,
outrage, argue through the ebb and flow of dialogue. When we do we talk and that
is how great radio plays are made.....by talking in dramatic dialogue.
Atmosphere
/ Ambience
This
sets the emotional spirit of the play. It determines whether your listeners
believe in the world that you have created. Worlds are not created by dramatic
dialogue alone. There is attitude and atmosphere. This is determined by detail
and relevant detail. It could be in a sound effect. It could be in the writing.
It could be in the music. It could be in everything. But the result is that the
fifth dimension of radio writing - the imagination of the listener - is
stimulated to become a picture palace of the mind.
Emotion
Got
to be there. You have to generate an emotional response from the
audience....preferably to the main character....also not so strongly in
relation to the other characters. Emotion = love, hate, admiration. Never mind
about the type of emotion.....concentrate on whether it is there or not.
Emotional connection between the writing and the listener = good radio drama.
Balance
Character and Plot
You
have to have both. You cannot trade. One can predominate over the other. Where
they are balanced equally....it can only work if characterisation relates to
plot development. If your main plot is character intensive, make sure that your
minor plot is plot intensive.
Purpose
Crook's
golden rule is that every word, every line, every scene must serve a dramatic
purpose in terms of characterisation and plot development. Drop anything that
does not have a dramatic purpose.
Tension
and Humour
To
stop the listener dropping off or switching off, maintain the tension always
and throw in the humour. Tension, humour, tension, humour, tension
humour...like the foxtrot..Make the emotional rhythm of the play dance on the
listener's heart and mind. Charm and alarm, charm and alarm. But they've got to
be linked. Your character uses humour to react to the tension in the scene or
play. Keep one character who uses humour to deal with difficult situations.
Make sure the humour is verbal. Slapstick belongs to a different type of play
or entertainment. Make sure you do not have characters taking it in turns to be
funny. This is not stand up comedy or sitcom. Make sure that the character who
uses humour has a consistent sense of humour.
Get
your listener inside the world of your play. How?
a.
Sympathy or empathy with the main character.
b.
A bloody good set up.
c.
A big, nasty antagonist or villain.
d.
Great Plot...Great Story....twists and turns.
e.
Crisis at the beginning is dramatic and a great start.
f.
Emotional intensity. Hit some high points.
g.
Escalating conflict so the structure climbs with tension and humour.
h.
Strike the colours with detail so there's an atmosphere, mood...ambience.
I.
Modulate charm with alarm...humour with tension...tension with humour...funny
policeman nasty policeman.
j.
Surprise, surprise...that's what you do to the listener, through the plot.
The
principle of developing scenes
1. Introduction.
2. Character one...goal and
objective.
3. Character two...goal and
objective.
4. Purpose of scene in overall plot.
5. One of the characters achieves a
goal.
6. Link to the next scene by
introducing or pointing to location of next scene or presence of character in
next scene.
Question
marks in the mind of the listener. Always keep one, better two or three
The
Principle of Character
1. Believable and recognisable.
2. Purpose within the plot.
3. Characters have to have function.
Character has to be consistent with function.
4. Characters have to be intentional.
5. Start with a stereotype to ensure
rapid recognition, then twist the stereotype. Challenge the homily that there
is nothing new under the sun by making it new under the moon.
6. Give each character a dominant
physical or behavioural characteristic. Make the dominant characteristic
purposeful. Make it extreme.
7. Your main character must be
active.
8. Active character / urgent plot.
The character's energy has to fight the urgency of the plot and the urgency of
the plot makes the character more energetic.
The
principle of Hero / Heroine
1. Listeners look up to main
characters, want to admire them because we all want heroes and heroines in our
lives. Life's eternal fantasy that transcendent people and transcendent moments
conquer adversity.
2. If you are very clever you can
transfer the hero from the obvious to the humble and make great the inferior or
character who has greater potential for human dignity.
3. Charisma. Characters need
intensity and conviction. They may not be perfect but they are attractive. You
cannot identify with people who are unlike ourselves...too perfect, no beliefs...take
themselves too seriously...lack a sense of humour..
4. Give your characters private
moments when they drop their guards and allow us into their minds and hearts.
Make the listener privileged. Use this moment for revelation.
5. The main character has to change
and has to be changed by the plot.
6. You must have a main character and
secondary characters. Your main character changes. Your secondary characters
are probably more singular in their characteristics. Your secondary characters
are already committed. Your main character is still weighing up the options.
7. You must have characters who are
extreme in relation to each other...characters that are different make drama.
Where
are we now?
Well,
we should be here....
a.
The main character is in the middle of the story.
b.
You've used dominant characteristics.
c.
The listener likes the main character.
d.
The listener cares what happens to the main character.
e.
The listener hates the antagonist.
f.
The main character is developing.
Principles
of Dialogue
a.
Dialogue must be a response to a situation, plot or action.
b.
Dialogue must be a response to each character in the scene.
c.
Dialogue must be comic relief.
d.
Dialogue must connect to the next scene.
e.
Avoid reflective, passive and neutral. Go for active, and direct and emotional.
f.
Dialogue must be believable by being specific...by being specific to the
character's background and emotional state.
g.
If dialogue is reacting to action or situation then it must be dramatic and
poised on polarities. The goals of the characters in each scene should be
different.
h.
Dialogue should be continuous. Tip...characters often take a tag by repeating
the last word spoken by the first character.
i.
Dialogue must relate to function.
j.
You can mix direct with indirect between two characters because they have
different goals.
k.
Humorous dialogue is not a character telling a joke but a line or lines
responding to the dramatic situation.
l.
Heightened dialogue vs naturalistic dialogue. Heightened language is the
language of the theatre...high octane communication...poetic,
philosophical...charged..the expression of the playwright...It serves not only
the development of the plot and character, but it also presents the view of the
writer. Works well in radio. But there is now a tendency for more naturalism.
Radio producers like to go out on location and explore realism. In these
situations you must stick to natural dialogue.
Principles
peculiar to Radio
1. The inner existence.
2. The tension and conflict between
the interior and exterior.
3. More psychological.
4. Easier to explore the real and the
surreal and to delineate the line between the two.
5. Have to work in the fifth
dimension...the energy of the listener's imaginative participation.
6. The interior existence offers
exploration of personal thoughts, fantasies, emotions and conflicts.
7. All levels of external conflict
can be explored.
8. The precipitating event through
plot has to threaten the inner life of the main character. This is the kick-off
in radio drama.
9. The end or resolution in radio
drama is more deeply rooted in the emotional equilibrium and insight of the
main character. Changes are internal as well as external.
10.Time transposition and
translocation are faster and more rapid and more complicated.
Flashbacks...flashforwards... different ages.
11.Radio requires less rather than
more characters. Characterisation needs to be strong and fascinating.
12.Maintain the focus of the main
character and plot.
13.Economy of words underlines
subtextual surprise and engagement with the listener's imagination.
14.Wit is vital because language is
so important...cleverness with words...energy with words..humour with
words...Wit is advanced by surprising the listener...being aggressive with the
listener..being fast, short and clever with the listener.
15.Irony is pathos and bathos. It's
conflict between the inner life and outer action.
Writing Radio News (Worldwide
David Brewer)
Writing a script for a radio news package
The importance of the words
The script is what makes sense of the information
you have gathered. It is the framework for your story. It brings together the
most important elements, and helps your audience understand the significance of
the points the people you have interviewed have made.
Your script is the framework for the
facts you have uncovered
Keep it short and simple
The script should be written in simple, short
sentences. Try to use everyday language and terms your audience will
understand. It should not contain any complicated concepts that could confuse
and distract.
Use everyday language and avoid
complex concepts
Use the script to introduce the audio
The script should offer the audience introductions
to the audio you are including. It should tell the listener what’s coming up
without repeating the words they are about to hear. Don’t summaries too much;
you should not take away the power of the clips in your piece.
If you have good clips you need good
scripted links
Grab the attention of the audience
You are crafting a tease into material that is
designed to make people stop and listen. The language should be in the active
tense. The most important information must feature in the first few sentences.
However, the quality should be consistent throughout and the script must not
tail off at the end.
The script has to be good from start
to finish
Your opinions don’t matter
Your script should be factual and without comment
or descriptive words. Don’t try to attract listeners by including your own
emotions. That’s not your job. Those who listen to your radio package will make
their own decisions about the power of the information you are broadcasting.
You are not paid to add comment
Deliver a complete and fair report
Your script should weave together all the elements
you have gathered for your story without suggesting that any one is more
important than the other; that’s for the audience to decide, not you. You have
a responsibility to set out the information in a way that doesn’t lead or
mislead.
You should never construct a radio
news package to make a personal point
Scripting before interviewing
Some journalists choose to draft a script before
they have conducted the interview. That’s fine as long as the journalist
retains an open mind and does not orchestrate or stage manage the interviews to
fit into the structure they have already planned.
Always be ready to change your script
if new information comes to light
Scripting after interviewing
Some journalists prefer to listen to the material
before they start their script. This approach can lead to a fresher sounding
piece. However it can also lead to confusion if you have too much material and
no idea how it is going to be edited and scripted together.
Writing down a script outline will
help when you are editing the audio
Fact checking
Fact check every piece of information that you are
including in the script. Also fact check what has been said by those you have
interviewed. Decide whether the fact checking has raised any issues that need
to be covered in the script.
Be prepared to do further research if
needed
Editorial ethics
Check the script against the editorial ethics of
objectivity, impartiality and fairness. Do not give extra weight to one point
of view. Most of the people you interview will have strong points of view – you
wouldn’t be interviewing them if that were not the case. However your script
needs to be fair to all.
You must be objective in your
selection of clips and your choice of words
The beginning
Start the script by addressing the main point made
in your introduction. Later in the script you can add context and analysis that
may help the audience understand the issues raised by those you are
interviewing. But start with a crisp and sharp introduction that highlights the
main points.
Start with the news angle and add
context later
The ending
Always end your script with a fact and not a vague
line such as ‘we will have to wait to see.’ Your audience wants information not
overused clichés. Consider asking your interviewees what’s likely to happen
next and summarise their expectations in your last paragraph.
Avoid vague final words and always
end the piece with facts
Does it make sense?
Read the script back to yourself. Have you left any
gaps? Do you need to do any further research? Check it with a colleague. A
second pair of eyes works for radio scripts as well as print. Check your choice
of audio, too, you may have missed a more important clip.
If your script doesn’t make sense to
you it won’t make sense to the audience
Active / Passive Verb Forms
Sentences
can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms"
and "passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to
successfully speak English.
Active Form
In
active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and
the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.
[Thing
doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]
Passive Form
In
passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the
sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of
the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing
receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use
the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not
want to mention who is doing the action.
[Thing
receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing
action]
Examples:
Active / Passive Overview
|
Active
|
Passive
|
Simple Present
|
Once a week, Tom cleans
the house.
|
Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
|
Present Continuous
|
Right now, Sarah is
writing the letter.
|
Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
|
Simple Past
|
Sam repaired
the car.
|
The car was
repaired by Sam.
|
Past Continuous
|
The salesman was
helping the customer when the thief came into the store.
|
The customer was
being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the
store.
|
Present Perfect
|
Many tourists have
visited that castle.
|
That castle has
been visited by many tourists.
|
Present Perfect Continuous
|
Recently, John has
been doing the work.
|
Recently, the work has
been being done by John.
|
Past Perfect
|
George had
repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.
|
Many cars had
been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's
license.
|
Past Perfect Continuous
|
Chef Jones had
been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two
years before he moved to Paris.
|
The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by
Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.
|
Simple Future
will
|
Someone will
finish the work by 5:00 PM.
|
The work will
be finished by 5:00 PM.
|
Simple Future
be going to
|
Sally is
going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.
|
A beautiful dinner is
going to be made by Sally tonight.
|
Future Continuous
will
|
At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes.
|
At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by
John.
|
Future Continuous
be going to
|
At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes.
|
At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed
by John.
|
Future Perfect
will
|
They will
have completed the project before the deadline.
|
The project will
have been completed before the deadline.
|
Future Perfect
be going to
|
They are
going to have completed the project before the deadline.
|
The project is
going to have been completed before the deadline.
|
Future Perfect Continuous
will
|
The famous artist will
have been painting the mural for over six months by the time
it is finished.
|
The mural will
have been being painted by the famous artist for over six
months by the time it is finished.
|
Future Perfect Continuous
be going to
|
The famous artist is
going to have been painting the mural for over six months by
the time it is finished.
|
The mural is
going to have been being painted by the famous artist for
over six months by the time it is finished.
|
Used to
|
Jerry used
to pay the bills.
|
The bills used
to be paid by Jerry.
|
Would Always
|
My mother would
always make the pies.
|
The pies would
always be made by my mother.
|
Future in the Past
Would
|
I knew John would
finish the work by 5:00 PM.
|
I knew the work would
be finished by 5:00 PM.
|
Future in the Past
Was Going to
|
I thought Sally was
going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.
|
I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by
Sally tonight.
|
