Exercise 1: Vocabulary

Match the two words that go together.

Complete the sentences using the words related to government from the previous exercise.

1. I know someone who works as a {{{civil servant}}}. She serves the public with pride.

2. Some countries have a {{{Prime Minister}}} instead of a President.

3. The {{{town hall}}} in this city is a historic building.

4. {{{Red tape}}}, which is the informal term for bureaucracy, is a major problem in many countries.

5. If you commit a minor offence, you will need to {{{pay a fine}}}.

6. Canada has three major {{{political parties}}}: the Conservatives; the Liberals and the New Democratic Party.

7. He works in the {{{government department}}} of Health.

8. To get a visa, you will need to {{{complete}}} a lot of {{{forms}}}.

Exercise 2: Grammar – Passive Voice

In a sentence in the active voice, the subject does the action, whereas in sentence in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The passive verb is formed with be + PP. We use the passive voice when we want to emphasise the action (the verb) and the object of the verb, rather than the subject. This mean that the subject is either less important than the action itself, or that we don’t know who or what the subject is.

Re-write the sentences using the passive voice.