140
Ace the TOEFL Essay (TWE)
Change DO to S.
The class
Bring down main verb—change to v3
The class_____ _____taught
Add auxiliary verb. If there is already an auxiliary verb, we bring it
down, too, before we add a new one.
Aux./ add/ v3(perfect form)
The classes were being (added) taught.
Because the main verb was progressive, the auxiliary verb we added
must be progressive, as well. Also, we changed the auxiliary verb
was
from the active sentence to were in the passive sentence, because the aux-
iliary verb must agree in number with the subject of the sentence. The
subject
classes is plural, so the auxiliary must be plural.
Change the subject of the active sentence to the object of the preposi-
tion
by in the passive sentence.
The classes were being taught by me.
Exceptions:
It rained last night. No passive.
It happened. No passive.
Verbs as Adjectives
We mentioned the grammatical and syntactic functions of a word and
how the functions change when the positioning of a word changes in a
sentence. Probably, the most confusing case in regard to that is the use of
the verb as an adjective. The third form of the verb, the perfect form, is
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The words are hard-forgotten. The well-remembered man is a credit.
It is a hard-fought battle.
The fallen educator is a sad sight.
The proudly worn battle scar is scary.
The embattled factions reached a truce.
The well-meant word was taken wrongly.
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Ace the TOEFL Essay (TWE)
Sentence Patterns
Causative Verb Constructions
Causative verbs are used when (1) a person influences another person to
perform an action or (2) a person has something done to a thing. The
three generally used causative verbs are
get, have, and make.
Get = p + get + p + to + v1
Person + person (person = p)
I get Tom to write my letters.
He gets Tom to write his letters.
I got Tom to write my letters.
I have gotten Tom to write my letters.
I had gotten Tom to write my letters.
I am getting Tom to write my letters.
I will get Tom to write my letters.
I will be getting Tom to write my letters.
I will have gotten Tom to write my letters.
Get = p + get + t + v3
Person + get + thing (t) + v3
I get my car fixed.
I got my brakes repaired.

He is having his tonsils removed tomorrow by Dr. Fry.
He has had the panel reviewed by another agency.
He will have the test administered by the captain.
He will have had the procedure completed by tomorrow.
He had been having the treatment performed for over a year.
He will have been having his teeth cleaned for fifty minutes at 1:00.
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Ace the TOEFL Essay (TWE)
Make = p + make + p + v1
P +
make + t + v1
He makes his brother clean his car.
He is making his car clean. (He is cleaning the car himself.)
He made his car clean.
He is making the men run the track.
He was making the girls sing.
He had made them do pushups.
He made the car stop. (He physically stopped the car himself
with the brake.)
The boy made the little girl scream.
He made the child steal.
He made the car be stolen. (It was his fault.)
The principal made the student be quiet.
The mother made the girl apologize.
Other Causative Patterns
He is forcing the employee to work.
He forced the men to eat.
The dictator ordered the men imprisoned.
He wanted the animal slaughtered.