Unit : 8 River Life - Active and passive Voice

Unit 8: River Life

Rivers play an important role in our daily lives, especially in Cambodia. Many Cambodian people depend on rivers for fishing, transportation, farming, irrigation, and tourism.

However, rivers can also face problems such as pollution, flooding, and garbage. Therefore, we should understand the importance of rivers and learn how to protect them.

In this lesson, we will learn new vocabulary related to river life, practise the present and past simple passive voice, and develop our speaking and writing skills by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of living near a river.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Understand vocabulary related to rivers and river life.
• Use the present simple passive voice correctly.
• Use the past simple passive voice correctly.

Vocabulary ( English and Khmer) 

1. Transportation (n) ការដឹកជញ្ជូន

Reading guide: trans-por-TAY-shun
Meaning: The movement of people or goods from one place to another.
Example: Transportation by bus is cheap.

2. Pollution (n) ការបំពុល

Reading guide: puh-LOO-shun
Meaning: Harmful substances that make air, water, or land dirty.
Example: Air pollution is bad for our health.

3. Irrigation (n) ធារាសាស្ត្រ

Reading guide: ir-ri-GAY-shun
Meaning: The process of supplying water to plants or crops.
Example: Farmers use irrigation to water their rice fields.

4. Flood (n) ទឹកជំនន់

Reading guide: flud
Meaning: A large amount of water covering land that is usually dry.
Example: The flood damaged many houses.

5. Crop (n) ដំណាំ

Reading guide: krop
Meaning: A plant grown by farmers for food or other uses.
Example: Rice is an important crop in Cambodia.

6. Garbage (n) សម្រាម

Reading guide: GAR-bij
Meaning: Things that people throw away because they do not need them.
Example: We should put garbage in a bin.

7. Disaster (n) គ្រោះមហន្តរាយ

Reading guide: di-ZAS-ter
Meaning: A very bad event that causes great damage or suffering.
Example: A strong earthquake can cause a disaster.

8. Replant (v) ដាំឡើងវិញ

Reading guide: ree-PLANT
Meaning: To plant something again.
Example: We should replant trees after cutting them down.

9. Sow (v) ព្រោះ

Reading guide: soh
Meaning: To put seeds into the ground so that plants can grow.
Example: Farmers sow rice seeds in the rainy season.

10. Source (n) ប្រភព

Reading guide: sors
Meaning: The place where something comes from.
Example: The sun is a source of energy.

11. Chemical (n) សារធាតុគីមី

Reading guide: KEM-i-kul
Meaning: A substance that can be used for different purposes.
Example: Some chemicals can harm the environment.

12. Waterway (n) ផ្លូវទឹក

Reading guide: WAW-ter-way
Meaning: A river, canal, or other route through which water flows.
Example: Boats travel along this waterway.

13. In advance (phrase) ទុកជាមុន

Reading guide: in ad-VANS
Meaning: Before something happens or before a particular time.
Example: We should prepare for the exam in advance.

14. Seed (n) គ្រាប់ពូជ

Reading guide: seed
Meaning: The part of a plant that can grow into a new plant.
Example: I planted a seed in the garden.

15. Destination (n) គោលដៅ

Reading guide: des-ti-NAY-shun
Meaning: The place where someone or something is going.
Example: Phnom Penh is our destination.

Present Passive Voice

Before diving deep into the structure of Present Passive Voice, let's have a quick look at the fundamental use of the passive voice. An active voice is used, when the speaker doesn't know the doer of the action, focuses on the result, doesn't want to mention the doer of the action. Please note that the subject in passive voice receives the action. 

How is Present Passive Voice formed? 

To form the present passive voice, use a subject, verb to be and past participle as shown below.

Positive : Sub + be + V3 ( Past Participle) + by ... 

Example 1 : Many kinds of crops are grown along the bank of Mekong River. 

Now let's break down the above example into detail.

Subject : crops ( receives the action) 

Be : are

Past Participle or V3 : grown

Example 2 : Plants are watered by my mom every morning.

Subject : plants ( receiver) 

Be : are

Past participle or V3 : watered

Doer : my mom

Negative : Sub + be ( am/is/are) + not + past Participle....(by)....

- Rice is not grown near the sea.

- Khmer New Year is not celebrated in January.

- Volcanic eruption is not caused by human.

- Students are taught at school by the teachers.

Yes/No Question : Be + sub + past participle? 

- Is rice grown near the sea?

- Is Khmer New Year celebrated in January? 

- Are the students taught at school by the teachers? 

Wh-Question : Wh-word + be + sub + past participle? 

- Why are a lot of trees grown every year?

- How is it done? 

- What crops are along the Mekong River? 

Past Passive Voice

The use of past passive voice is quite the same to present passive voice. One key difference is that past passive voice is used to talk about the past. All the four forms are the same to present passive voice. What changes is the verb to be. Am/is/are are changed to was/were. Was is used with I, he, she, it or a singular noun and were is used with you, we, they and plural nouns. 

Example 1 : Animals were used in the past for transportation. 

Subject or receiver : animals

Be : were 

Past Participle : used 

Past Expression : in the past

More Examples

• Cluster bombs were used by Thailand on the Cambodian soil.
• Many scammers were arrested a few months ago.
• I was not invited to her birthday last night.
• Were you invited to the party last night? 
• How was the first plane made?

Changing from an active to passive voice sentence.

When change any active voice to a passive voice sentence, follow key tips below.

In Active Voice

- Find the subject in the active voice

- Find the verb

- Identify the tense

- Find the object

 In Passive Voice

- The subject or the doer become the object in passive voice.

- The object in active voice becomes the subject in passive voice.

- The main verb becomes past participle or V3.

Example

Active : ROZA waters her plants every morning.  

Passive : The plants are watered by ROZA every morning. 

From the examples above we can see that : 

• ROZA, which is the subject in active voice becomes the object in passive voice.
• The plants, which in the object in active voice becomes the subject in passive voice.
• The main verb water becomes watered, which is the past participle. 

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🌊 Unit 8: River Life

Choose the correct answer and test your knowledge!

📝 Part 1: Gap Filling

Complete each sentence using the correct word from the word bank.

Word Bank
transportation · pollution · irrigation · flood · crop · garbage · disaster · replant · sow · source · chemical · waterway · in advance · seed · destination

✍️ Part 2: Passive Voice

Choose the correct passive voice form.

Question 1 of 20

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