What is the passive voice all about? Sigrid takes us through the basics, step by step. In the active voice, we focus on "who" does something and in the passive voice we focus on "what" someone does.

Although we use the passive tense in the present tense, it's used in other tenses, too, and that's what we look at in this lesson.

Here are some examples of sentences using both the active and passive voices. Different tenses are used, too!

What are causatives? Causal verbs are used to cause things to happen. They're used in causative constructions. Although there are various specific verbs in this category, we commonly use four ordinary verbs for this: ("have," "let," "get," and "make"). Let's make some sense of them.

Now that you have an idea about what causal verbs and causal constructions are, let's give them some context. We're still using the verbs "have," "let," "get," and "make," and the theme is housepainting.

Let's look "under the hood," and see how to build causative constructions using "have," "let," "get," and "make."

Sigrid introduces passive causative constructions, which combine causal verbs and the passive voice. We use them all the time in everyday conversation when we focus on the object rather than the subject.

This segment lays out the building blocks of a passive causative construction. We also compare and contrast causative constructions with other similar constructions. Sigrid uses the expression "to mix and match," which means putting different things together in different ways.

It's time to mix and match the formulas we've talked about. Sigrid mixes and matches them to talk about stuff she can't or doesn't want to do herself. She invites you to do the same.

In the United States, there are rights that allow all people who are accused of something to defend themselves: "the rule of law" and "due process of law." Right now, these rights are being challenged, and so it's important to know what they're all about.

What a time to be learning English! Things are happening quickly in the United States and history is being made right now, so don't miss out on the words and expressions you need to know.

We keep seeing the "Black Lives Matter" slogan all around — what's it all about? Well, it's a long story. Here's part of the story in a nutshell.

Lots of English words can serve as nouns, verbs, or adjectives depending on the context. Sometimes even the pronunciation changes. Let's look at the slogan "Black Lives Matter" in both a grammatical and historical context.

Sigrid describes an object and gives you about 4 seconds to come up with the name of the object. Then she gives you the answer. Watch the video twice to see if you can come up with the answer on your own.

Are you ready to think fast again? You've got this! You get four seconds to come up with each answer. Then repeat the video to make sure you really know all the words!