Advanced Passive and Causative: B2 Exercises

Every answer with the reason behind it. Read the explanation for the ones you got right as well — that is where you find out whether you were right for the right reason.

Multiple choice questions — answers

1. It ___ that the negotiations collapsed over a single clause. → is believed

The impersonal reporting passive is it plus be plus the past participle plus a that clause.

2. The company ___ to be considering several hundred redundancies. → is understood

The personal reporting passive puts the topic first: subject plus be plus participle plus to.

3. He claims ___ by the newspaper that first ran the story. → to have been misquoted

A passive event earlier than the claim takes the perfect passive infinitive, to have been plus participle.

4. Nobody enjoys ___ in front of their own team. → being corrected

Enjoy takes a gerund, and the passive gerund is being plus the past participle.

5. We ___ the electrics inspected before we exchanged contracts. → had

Have something done reports a service arranged and paid for, not work you did yourself.

6. After an hour of argument I finally ___ him to reconsider. → got

Get someone to do something is the causative of persuasion and takes a to-infinitive.

7. The head of department ___ them rewrite the entire section. → had

Have someone do something uses a bare infinitive and signals authority rather than persuasion.

8. Which sentence means the speaker did NOT do the work personally? → I had the kitchen painted last weekend.

Have plus object plus past participle always means somebody else carried the work out.

9. The samples ___ refrigerated within two hours of collection. → need to be

Need takes a passive infinitive when the subject is what receives the action.

10. Which sentence is INCORRECT? → She was made apologise.

Make takes a bare infinitive in the active but a to-infinitive when it becomes passive.

11. The bridge ___ to have been designed by an engineer who never saw it built. → is said

Is said to have been plus participle reports a claim about a completed past action.

12. She resents ___ about decisions after they have already been taken. → being told

Resent takes a gerund, and the passive gerund is being plus the past participle.

13. The difference between 'I had my car repaired' and 'I had to repair my car' is that ___. → the first means a garage did it, the second that you were obliged to

The causative arranges a service; had to is simply the past of the obligation modal.

14. ___ tested annually is a condition of keeping the licence. → Being

A passive gerund can act as the subject of a sentence in formal or technical writing.

15. Two of the paintings are thought ___ during the occupation. → to have been destroyed

A past destruction reported now needs the perfect passive infinitive.

16. I couldn't ___ anyone to take the complaint seriously. → get

Get plus object plus to-infinitive is the persuasion causative, and persuasion can fail.

17. The scheme ___ widely criticised long before the figures were published. → had been

A passive state completed before a later past event takes the past perfect passive.

18. Which sentence uses the reporting passive to avoid naming a source? → The merger is reported to have collapsed.

The reporting passive attributes the claim to nobody in particular, which is its point.

19. She insisted on ___ the original document rather than a scan. → being shown

A preposition must be followed by a gerund, so the passive form here is being shown.

20. Where is the difference between 'get' and 'have' in the causative? → get with a person implies persuasion, have implies authority or arrangement

Get someone to do something means you talked them round; have someone do it assumes you can simply ask.

Fill-in-the-blank questions — answers

1. It is widely ___ that the figures were adjusted before publication. → assumed

The impersonal reporting passive needs a past participle after the verb be.

2. The minister is understood ___ have offered his resignation twice. → to

The personal reporting passive links to the infinitive with to.

3. He denies ___ shown the document at any point during the inquiry. → being

Deny takes a gerund, and the passive gerund is being plus the past participle.

4. We are having the roof ___ before the winter sets in. → replaced

The service causative is have plus object plus past participle.

5. I finally ___ the landlord to fix the boiler after three weeks of emails. → got

Get plus person plus to-infinitive expresses persuasion that eventually succeeded.

6. They ___ him apologise in front of the entire department. → made

Make plus person plus bare infinitive expresses compulsion rather than a request.

7. She was ___ to withdraw the remark by the chair of the committee. → made

In the passive, make takes a to-infinitive even though the active uses a bare one.

8. The manuscript is thought to have ___ written some time before 1400. → been

The perfect passive infinitive is to have been plus the past participle.

9. Nobody likes ___ interrupted halfway through an explanation. → being

Like takes a gerund here, and the passive gerund begins with being.

10. The equipment needs ___ be serviced every six months without exception. → to

Need takes a passive infinitive when the subject receives rather than performs the action.

11. Our accounts ___ audited by an external firm every March. → are

A regular procedure takes the present simple passive with a plural subject.

12. It ___ reported at the time that no warning had been issued. → was

The past impersonal reporting passive uses was plus the past participle.

13. She expects ___ be offered the post before the end of the month. → to

Expect takes an infinitive, and the passive version begins with to be.

14. We had the whole system ___ after the second security breach. → rebuilt

The past participle completes the causative and shows the work was done for us.

15. Having ___ warned twice, he could hardly claim ignorance. → been

The perfect passive participle clause is having been plus the past participle.

16. Talks ___ believed to have broken down over the pension clause. → are

The personal reporting passive puts the topic first and takes are with a plural subject.

17. The samples must ___ kept below four degrees at all times. → be

A modal passive is the modal plus be plus the past participle.

18. I would rather not ___ associated with that campaign at all. → be

The passive infinitive after would rather drops to and keeps be plus the participle.

19. The tenants were ___ to leave with only a fortnight's notice. → told

The passive of tell someone to do something keeps the to-infinitive after the participle.

20. Let me ___ your suit pressed before the ceremony. → get

Get plus object plus past participle is an informal alternative to the have causative.

Sentence structure: word ordering — answers

1. Report a claim impersonally, starting with it. → It is believed that talks have stalled.

Report a claim impersonally, starting with it.

2. Report the same claim with the topic in front. → Talks are believed to have stalled.

Report the same claim with the topic in front.

3. Use a passive infinitive after a verb of expectation. → She expects to be promoted within the year.

Use a passive infinitive after a verb of expectation.

4. Claim something was done to you before you spoke. → He claims to have been misled by his advisers.

Claim something was done to you before you spoke.

5. Say you arranged for professional work to be carried out. → We had the system audited last November.

Say you arranged for professional work to be carried out.

6. Use the causative of persuasion. → I got him to reconsider his decision.

Use the causative of persuasion.

7. Use the causative of authority with a bare infinitive. → She had them rewrite the opening chapter.

Use the causative of authority with a bare infinitive.

8. Express compulsion rather than a polite request. → They made him apologise in writing.

Express compulsion rather than a polite request.

9. Use a passive gerund after a verb of preference. → She dislikes being interrupted during a briefing.

Use a passive gerund after a verb of preference.

10. Keep the topic in subject position and name the agent late. → The proposal was rejected by a committee nobody had consulted.

Keep the topic in subject position and name the agent late.

11. State a requirement about something that receives the action. → The samples need to be refrigerated immediately.

State a requirement about something that receives the action.

12. Start a sentence with a passive gerund as its subject. → Being tested regularly is a condition of the licence.

Start a sentence with a passive gerund as its subject.

13. Report a past theft as an unattributed belief. → The painting is thought to have been stolen in 1974.

Report a past theft as an unattributed belief.

14. Put a compulsion sentence into the passive. → He was made to hand over his pass.

Put a compulsion sentence into the passive.

15. Use the informal service causative for an appointment. → I am getting my hair cut on Saturday.

Use the informal service causative for an appointment.

16. Use a past perfect passive to reach behind the narrative. → Nothing had been decided before the meeting began.

Use a past perfect passive to reach behind the narrative.

17. Announce an official arrangement in the passive. → The results are to be released at midday.

Announce an official arrangement in the passive.

18. Open with a perfect passive participle clause. → Having been warned once, she said nothing further.

Open with a perfect passive participle clause.

19. Combine a modal with a passive in a formal notice. → Applicants may be asked to supply references.

Combine a modal with a passive in a formal notice.

20. Report persuasion that failed. → We could not get anyone to take responsibility.

Report persuasion that failed.