Step 45: It Was Built
Processes and history — The passive: present and past
📖 Read — Made in America
Some famous things in America have amazing stories. The Statue of Liberty was built in France and was given to the United States in 1885. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was finished in 1937, and it is painted a bright orange color. It was built to last!
Today, millions of products are made in the United States. Cars are produced in Michigan, movies are created in Hollywood, and a lot of coffee is grown in Hawaii. Every day, new things are designed, invented, and delivered to homes all over the country.
🧩 Grammar — The Passive — Present and Past
Use the passive when the ACTION is more important than the person, or the person is unknown: be + past participle. Present: The bridge is painted orange. Cars are made here. Past: The statue was built in 1885. The windows were broken. Add by + person only when the doer matters: It was designed by a famous engineer.
- Coffee is grown in Hawaii.
- The bridge was built in 1937.
- English is spoken in Texas.
- These phones are sold everywhere.
🏗️ Key structures
- ___ is made / grown / produced in ___ — Wine is produced in California.
- ___ was built / finished in ___ — The museum was built in 1990.
- ___ are ___ every day — Thousands of emails are sent every day.
⭐ Idiom & natural phrases
This old truck was built to last — it's 30 years old!
🔤 New words
make or grow something, usually in large amounts
The factory produces cars.
make something new, like art, music, or an app
Artists create beautiful things.
draw and plan how something will look and work
She designs bridges.
make something completely new for the first time
The telephone was invented in 1876.
put color on something with a brush
The door was painted blue.
plant and take care of food plants (grew / grown)
Oranges are grown in Florida.
take things to people's homes or offices
Packages are delivered every day.
a very strong metal used for bridges and buildings
The bridge is made of steel.
🎧 Say it with me
The Golden Gate Bridge was built in 1937, and it is painted orange. Coffee is grown in Hawaii, and cars are produced in Michigan.
🎤 Your turn to speak
Describe how something is made or where it comes from: say two present passive sentences and one past passive sentence about famous things.
Say it out loud three times. Even better: record it on your phone and listen — your ear is your best teacher.
✍️ Your turn to write
Write 4 passive sentences: two about the present (is/are made…) and two about the past (was/were built…).
See a model answer
Millions of phones are sold every year. A lot of movies are created in Hollywood. The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States in 1885. My grandfather's house was built in 1950 — and it's still strong!
Self-check: capital letters? Full stops? Did you use the grammar of this step?
📝 Quick check
Go deeper
This step is a doorway — the full lesson goes much further:
Passive Voice: be + past participle — full lesson + 50-question quiz
🎉 Saved in your progress!