Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Triban]

I am stumped on this one tense/form, can anyone give me a definite answer?

Many types of crops are grown on British farms.

I know grown is future, but it seems like present continuous? I am so conflicted right now.

[nyenglish]

It's not future or continuous, it's passive voice, present tense.

passive voice: be+p.p.
the "be" verb always takes the tense
grown is the past participle

Usually this form is used when you don't know the "doer" of the action, or if the "doer" is not important.

"The bank was robbed last night."

Many crops are grown by ______ on British farms. "Who" does the growing is not really important in this case.

You can always make the sentence active by switching the "doer" and "receiver" (in this case, crops).

______ grows many crops on British farms.

[Triban]

If that is the case, can you tell me what tense this one is in?

When we got home, we found that someone had broken into the house.

[blackjack]

[ajgeddes]

[Triban]

Yeah, figured it out right before you responded. Thanks all, I suck at theory.

[nyenglish]

I did too...had to learn it all from scratch.

This book saved me: Swan, "Practical English Usage"

Very clear and reads like a dictionary so you can look up things quickly.

Also, for verb tenses: Azar, "Understanding and Using English Grammar"