APIEGet-Passive vs Be-Passive
Lightning and thunderstorms
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
Get-Passive vs Be-Passive
Learn how to choose between the get-passive and the be-passive in real-life contexts.
📌 How to use this lesson
👨🏫 For Teachers
Guide students through the 4 rule boxes in about 3 minutes. Have them check their answers together using the context clues provided in each task.
🎓 For Learners
First, read the 4 grammar rules and pay attention to the underlined structures in the examples. Next, complete all 12 practice questions from easy to hard.
"Two hikers got caught in the storm, and a tree was hit by lightning."
📖 Grammar Rules
| Rules & Explanations | Topic Examples |
|---|---|
|
Use get + past participle for a sudden event, an accident, or an unlucky change that happens to someone. It sounds informal, so it is common in speech. |
• "My umbrella got blown away in the wind." • "The hiker got drenched by sudden hail." |
|
Use be + past participle for a fact, a process, or a rule. The get-passive sounds wrong in formal descriptions. |
• "Rainwater is collected in a large tank." • "Heavy rainfall is recorded after every muggy afternoon." |
|
Use be + past participle in formal writing and when you name the person or thing that did the action with by. |
• "The road was closed by the police." • "The old cabin was struck by lightning last night." |
|
Make questions and negatives of the get-passive with do, does, or did. The be-passive needs no do, so it uses forms of be directly. |
• "Did anyone get hurt in the crash?" • "Did the window get broken in the thunderstorm?" |
✏️ Practice Exercises
Complete the 12 items below. Pay attention to context hints in brackets like [accident] or [fact].
Task 1: Choose the correct sentence
1. Choose the correct sentence: [accident]
2. Choose the correct sentence: [fact]
3. Choose the correct sentence: [negative]
Task 2: Rewrite the sentences
4. Rewrite using the get-passive: "A sudden thunderclap startled the dog." [accident]
____ (Type full sentence here...)5. Rewrite using the be-passive: "The city council measured the heavy rainfall." [formal]
____ (Type full sentence here...)6. Rewrite using the be-passive: "Large hail damaged the greenhouse roof." [agent]
____ (Type full sentence here...)Task 3: Fill in the gaps
7. Select the correct form: "The mountain road _____ by the police because of the storm." [agent]
8. Select the correct form: "Safety rules _____ on a big sign at the start of the mountain trail." [rule]
9. Select the correct form: "Did your car _____ during the storm last night?" [accident]
Task 4: Correct the errors in text messages
10. Correct the bold error in this message: "Hey! The wooden fence gets knocked down by the hail an hour ago!" [accident]
____ (Type corrected phrase...)11. Correct the bold error in this message: "Did you know? Hail gets formed inside tall storm clouds." [fact]
____ (Type corrected phrase...)12. Correct the bold error in this message: "Great news! The big oak tree was not get hit by lightning, but the roar of thunder woke us all." [negative]
____ (Type corrected phrase...)Related lessons
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