Describing packaging with passive voice

Describing packaging with passive voice

Choose one of the things related to packaging in the right-hand column of the table below and describe it using sentences such as those on the left about its uses, production, history etc until your partner guesses what you are speaking about. They can only guess once per hint. Your teacher will tell you if, how and when you can or should use the example descriptions on the following pages.

Useful phrases to describe packaging It will (probably) be banned… It is bought by… It can (easily) be broken. It cannot be (fully) closed/ replaced once… It is covered with… …are covered with it. It has been criticised for… It can be decorated… It is (mainly) found in… The raw materials are (mainly) imported (from…) It was invented… … is kept in(side) it. … were launched… … are made from it. It is made from/ up of… It can be microwaved. It mustn’t be…/ It shouldn’t be… It is opened with… … are protected by it. It is read by… It can be/ is (often) recycled. It is (slowly) being replaced by… It is (usually) required by law. It is (often) reused… It is (often) (slightly) stained by… It has been used for… It used to be… More and more is used every year. It is (most often) used for/ to… … are wrapped in it (when…)

Things related to packaging to describe adhesive/ glue                         aerosol                                    aluminium baby food                                            barcode                       best before date/ expiration date blister pack                                          bubble wrap                                         braille can/ tin             ceramic/ china/ pottery/ porcelain            cork (corrugated) cardboard             desiccant                                             glass jar                                                       paper                                                  PET plastic carrier bags/ shopping bags sachet                         steel

When your teacher stops the game, ask about any descriptions above or below which you don’t understand, are not sure how to use, don’t agree with, etc, matching descriptions to vocabulary as a class each time.

Do the grammar presentation and/ or extension stage below.

 

Suggested descriptions

adhesive/ glue

• The back of sticky labels are covered with it.
• Things are stuck together with it.
• It is used every day in offices and schools.

aerosol

• The hole is the ozone layer was caused by it, so one kind has been banned.
• It is used with sprays such as hairspray and air freshener.
• Gas is kept inside it under high pressure.
• It shouldn’t be burnt.

aluminium

• The first cans using it were launched in 1959.
• Cans are made from it.
• It is dug from the earth.
• It can be recycled.
• It is often recycled.

baby food

• It is highly sterilised.
• Food safety scandals have been caused by it.
• It is often bought by Chinese tourists because they don’t trust the quality in their own country.

barcode

• It is made up of black and white lines.
• It is scanned in a factory, warehouse, shop etc.
• It is slowly being replaced by QR codes and RFID chips.

best before date/ expiration date

• It is written on most food and drink packaging.
• It is usually required by law.
• It is ignored by many consumers.
• It has been criticised for causing food waste.
• Food cannot be sold if it exceeds this.

blister pack

• Tablets are kept in it.
• It is mainly found in pharmacies but some sweets are packaged in it.
• It is made from plastic and metal and a thin sheet on metal foil.

bubble wrap

• Fragile goods are protected by it.
• Some things are wrapped in it when people move house.
• It is often popped after it is removed from the product, especially by children.
• It is made from clear plastic and air.

braille

• It is read by people with bad eyesight.
• It is most often used to give warnings about dangerous contents.
• It is made up of small raised dots.

can/ tin

• It is made of steel or aluminium.
• It used to be made of tin.
• It is opened with a pull tag or a special opener.
• It used to be opened with a hammer.
• It can be recycled.

ceramic/ china/ pottery/ porcelain

• It is made from clay which is taken from the ground.
• It is glazed and heated to make it waterproof.
• It can be decorated many different ways.
• It has been used for thousands of years.
• It can been seen in many museums.

cork

• It is made from a kind of light wood.
• It is often slightly stained by the contents.
• It is slowly being replaced by plastic stoppers and metal screwcaps.
• It is pulled out of the bottle.
• It cannot be fully replaced once it is removed.
• It is usually used with wine, but it is sometimes used with beer, cider, etc.
• Sometimes the liquid is quickly released when it is removed.
• A special opener is usually needed to open it, but sometimes it can be removed with two thumbs or with a vacuum.
• People have been injured by it flying out of the bottle.

(corrugated) cardboard

• Products are protected by the air between the two layers.
• It was invented in the 1850s.
• It is made from paper.
• Boxes are made from it.
• The first box made from it was sold in England in 1817.
• Parcels are often protected by it.
• It is used by children to do crafts.

desiccant

• It is used to keep the contents dry.
• It mustn’t be eaten.
• It is usually made of silica.

glass

• It has been used for over 3000 years.
• Bottles and jars are made from it.
• It is shaped while it is a liquid and then cooled.
• It can easily be broken.
• Most fizzy drinks used to be stored in it, but is has mainly been replaced by plastic.

jar

• Jam is kept in it.
• It is usually made from glass.
• It is covered with a metal or plastic screw top.

paper

• It is made from trees, especially the parts that cannot be used as wood.
• Sachets are made from it.
• Some shopping bags are made from it.
• It can easily be recycled but sometimes it isn’t economic to do so.

PET

• Plastic bottles are made from it.
• It is usually made from oil, but it can also be made from plant cellulose.
• It is often recycled.
• More and more is used every year.
• Twenty one point one million tonnes will be used annually by twenty thirty one.

plastic carrier bags/ plastic shopping bags

• People are charged five Euro cents if they need one in an Irish supermarket.
• It will probably be banned in many countries in the near future.
• It is being replaced by cotton, jute, etc, because they are reusable.
• It is often reused as a rubbish bag.
• It is often found polluting the environment.
• It isn’t broken down quickly in the ground, so it can last hundreds of years.

sachet

• It is made from paper.
• Sugar and sweetener are kept in it.
• It is used in restaurants and cafés.

steel

• Bottle caps are made from it.
• It was invented a long time ago.
• It is made from iron and carbon.
• The raw materials are mainly imported from countries like Australia.

Passive voice grammar presentation

Without looking above, put the verbs in brackets in the right form and/ or with the right other verbs in the gaps given.

It ______________________________________ (use) every day in offices and schools.

Gas ______________________________________ (keep) inside it under high pressure.

The first cans using it _______________________________________ (launch) in 1959.

The first box made from it _______________________________ (sell) in England in 1817.

It _____________________________________ (replace) by QR codes and RFID chips.

It _____________________________________________ (use) for thousands of years.

People ____________________________________ (injure) by it flying out of the bottle.

It used to _____________________________________________________ (make) of tin.

It can ___________________________________________________________ (recycle).

It shouldn’t _________________________________________________________ (burn).

Compare with the sentences above. Other forms might be possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

Extension

Play the same game, but this time with the list below and without any help above.

• barrel
• beer and cider packaging
• beverages
• biodegradable packaging
• bottle opener
• cellophane
• cereal packaging
• chemicals
• childproof packaging
• conveyor belt
• corkscrew
• corrugated cardboard
• cosmetics (packaging)
• crate
• dairy packaging
• easy-open packaging
• EVOH
• filling machines
• food
• food poisoning
• HDPE
• heat sealing
• hemp
• incineration
• jute
• label
• lamination
• landfill
• laser
• LDPE
• litter
• MAP
• microwaveable packaging
• modified atmosphere packaging/ vacuum packaging
• packaging engineering
• packaging machinery
• pallet
• pasteurisation
• PE
• peelable label
• pouch
• PP
• primary packaging
• pull cap/ pull top
• pulp
• PVC
• PVdC
• QR code
• recommended retail price
• resealable packaging
• RFID chip
• robot
• rPET
• screw top/ twist cap
• secondary packaging
• shrink wrapping
• single-serving packaging/ single-dosage packaging
• soup
• sports drink
• sterilising
• stopper
• tin/ tinplate
• tobacco
• transit packaging
• wine packaging
• wood
• wrapping
• wrapping machine