Rent a flat
I can understand an advert for a flat and say what was done and when, without saying who did it.
Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.
Grammar
5 minWhen it matters NOT who did something but what has been done, English uses be + the third form of the verb.
| The flat is furnished. | it has furniture in it |
| Breakfast is included. | it is part of the price |
| This house was built in 1890. | someone built it in 1890; who is not important |
| I was born in Rio de Janeiro. | my life began in Rio de Janeiro |
The third form is the same as in the perfect (lessons 1 and 3). be carries the time: is — now, was — in the past.
At this point it is not a system but a set of common phrases. The passive as a whole comes at B1; for now it is enough to recognise and use the ready-made phrases:
| is made in… | comes from (a country, a factory) |
| is called… | has the name… |
| is included | is part of the price |
| is closed / is open | you can't go in / you can go in |
| was built | someone built it |
| was born | came into the world |
I was born, not I born — this is the most common of them and the one that goes wrong most often.
Who did it — with by, and people rarely say it: This book was written by my friend.
Common learner errors
written for your languageI born and I am born
✗ I born in 1990
✗ I am born in 1990
✓ I was born in 1990
When were you born? Spanish (nací), Portuguese (nasci) and Arabic (wulidtu) say it with one verb, so was gets lost. German (ich bin geboren), French (je suis né) and Italian (sono nato) say "am"; in English your birth is in the past: was.
has instead of is
✗ The flat has furnished
✓ The flat is furnished
The third form is the same as in the perfect, so learners put has before it. Here furnished says what the flat is like now, and before it you need be.
The first form instead of the third
✗ It was build in 1890
✓ It was built in 1890
After is and was there is only the third form.
How for a name
✗ How is it called in English?
✓ What is it called in English?
French Comment ça s'appelle ?, Spanish ¿Cómo se llama? and German Wie heißt das? ask with "how"; English asks for a name with what.
Pronunciation
3 minwas and is in the passive are unstressed — /wəz/, /ɪz/. The stress falls on the third form: It was built in 1890, Breakfast is included.
So when you listen, Breakfast's included and the advert Breakfast included differ by one sound, /s/ — listen for the main word and the meaning, not for be.
Text
3 minThe flat is on the third floor. It is furnished and all bills are included. The house was built in 1975, but the kitchen was renovated last year. The rooms are painted white. Pets aren't allowed. — When were you born? — I was born in 1990, in Rio de Janeiro.
Exercises
8–10 min1. Gap fill.
- Breakfast (include) in the price
- The house (build) in 1975
- Pets (not / allow)
- I (born) in Rio de Janeiro
Show the answers
2. Error correction.
- I born in 1990.
- It was build in 1890.
- The flat has furnished.
Show the answers
3. Matching.
- is included
- is called
- was built
- is closed
Show the answers
4. Transformation.
- They built this house in 1975.
- They don't allow pets.
Show the answers
Summary
Covered
- be + the third form in ready-made phrases
- was born
- by for who did it
Next — lesson 20: experience at a job interview.
End of the core
The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.
optional
Vocabulary for your deck
13 words- furnished /ˈfɜːnɪʃt/ with furniture in it (a flat, a room)
- included /ɪnˈkluːdɪd/ part of the price or of the whole
- allowed /əˈlaʊd/ that you can do; not forbidden
- built /bɪlt/ third form of build: made (a house, a road)
- born /bɔːn/ come into the world (be born)
- renovate /ˈrenəveɪt/ to repair and make like new (a flat, a kitchen)
- paint /peɪnt/ to put colour on a wall, a door and so on
- bills /bɪlz/ what you have to pay for water, gas, the phone
- rent /rent/ money you pay to live in a place; to pay to live in a place
- owner /ˈəʊnə/ the person something belongs to
- deposit /dɪˈpɒzɪt/ money you pay at the start and get back at the end
- per month /pə ˈmʌnθ/ for each month
- available /əˈveɪləbl/ free; that you can have or use
Writing
Four sentences — an advert for a flat.
Example
The flat is on the third floor. It is furnished and all bills are included. The house was built in 1975. Pets aren't allowed.
Checklist
Practise this lesson in the other sections
Got a feature idea?
⚑ optional