Advanced Passive Voice — English Grammar Exercises
The lift is being repaired, the castle is said to have been built in 1150, I had my car serviced — the passive beyond the four basic tenses.
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One formula, every form
The basic passive is be + past participle. At B2 only the form of be changes:
| form of be | passive |
|---|---|
| is / was being | The lift is being repaired. |
| had been | Everyone had been taken outside. |
| to be | I hope to be chosen. |
| being | I hate being told what to do. |
| to have been | It is said to have been built in 1150. |
| modal + have been | It should have been sent last week. |
being = in progress · had been = finished before another past moment: our room was being cleaned (we waited) vs our room had been cleaned (it was ready).
Passive infinitive and -ing
After hope, expect, want, deserve: to be + participle — Freelancers expect to be paid on time. After avoid, enjoy, remember and usually hate: being + participle — I don't remember being told.
Compare: I hate telling people what to do (I tell them) — I hate being told what to do (they tell me).
It is said that… / He is said to…
- It is said that + clause: It is said that the café is the best in town.
- Subject + is said to + infinitive: The café is said to be the best in town.
- Earlier than the saying → to have + participle: He is thought to have left. Passive and earlier → to have been: It is believed to have been painted in 1650.
❌ He is said that he is rich. → ✅ It is said that he is rich. / He is said to be rich.
Have / get something done
have / get + object + participle = someone else does it for you: I had my car serviced. You should get your eyes tested. It can also describe something bad: She had her bag stolen.
Word order matters: I had my car repaired (a mechanic did it) vs I had repaired my car (past perfect — I did it). Questions use did: Did you have them cleaned?
Without an object, get + participle is an informal passive: My phone got stolen. He got fired.
Two objects and prepositions
With give, offer, send, show, tell the person can be the subject: I was given a laptop. With explain, describe, suggest it can't: ❌ I was explained the rules → ✅ The rules were explained to me.
A verb's own preposition stays after the participle: She's being looked after. I wasn't being listened to.
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ |
|---|---|
| The kitchen is painting. | The kitchen is being painted. |
| I hope to choose for the team. | I hope to be chosen for the team. |
| He is said that he is rich. | He is said to be rich. |
| I cut my hair at the hairdresser's. | I had my hair cut. |
| I was explained the problem. | The problem was explained to me. |
| The children were looked by her. | The children were looked after by her. |
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Sorry about the mess — the kitchen ___ at the moment.
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is being painted
Someone is painting the kitchen right now → present continuous passive: 'is being' + past participle. 'Is painting' would mean the kitchen itself is holding a brush.
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I really hope ___ for the school team this year.
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to be chosen
The coach chooses — I am chosen. After 'hope' we use the infinitive, and the passive infinitive is 'to be' + past participle. 'To choose' would mean I'm the one picking players.
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The new café on the corner ___ to be the best in town.
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is said
People in general say this about the café → 'is said to be'. The café doesn't say anything itself, so the active 'says' doesn't work.
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My car's running much better now — I ___ at the garage on Monday.
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had it serviced
A mechanic did the job for me → 'have' + object + past participle: 'had it serviced'. 'Had serviced it' is past perfect and means I did it myself; 'I was serviced' says the mechanic worked on me.
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On my first day at work, I ___ a laptop and a new phone.
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was given
The company gave me a laptop. With 'give' the person can become the subject of the passive: 'I was given a laptop'. 'I gave' would mean I handed them out.
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When we got to the hotel, our room ___, so we waited in the bar.
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was being cleaned
The cleaning was in progress when we arrived → past continuous passive: 'was being' + past participle. A room can't clean anything, so 'was cleaning' and 'had cleaned' are wrong.
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I hate ___ what to do — I prefer to work things out myself.
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being told
Other people tell me what to do → passive -ing form: 'being' + past participle. 'I hate telling' would mean I'm the one giving the orders.
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You've had headaches every day this week — you should get your eyes ___.
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tested
An optician will test your eyes, not you → 'get' + object + past participle: 'get your eyes tested'.
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My grandmother is very ill, so she's being looked ___ by a nurse at home.
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after
'Look after' = take care of. In the passive the preposition stays with the verb: 'she's being looked after'. 'Looked for' means searched for; 'looked up' is for information in a dictionary.
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By the time the firefighters arrived, all the guests ___ to safety by the hotel staff.
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had been taken
'By the time' shows the guests were safe before the firefighters arrived → past perfect passive: 'had been' + past participle. 'Were taken' doesn't work with 'by the time': the guests were already safe before the firefighters came. 'Had taken' would mean the guests took someone.
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___ that the company will close two of its shops next year.
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It is expected
When nobody in particular is expecting it, start with 'It is expected that…'. English needs the subject 'it' — 'Is expected that' has none.
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The report should ___ last Friday, but nobody finished it in time.
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have been sent
We're criticising something in the past that didn't happen → 'should have been' + past participle. 'Should be sent' talks about now or the future, and 'should have sent' would mean the report sent something.
The Passive at B2: Beyond Four Tenses
At B1 the passive is a matter of putting be into the right tense: is made, was built, has been sent, will be delivered. At B2 the same formula has to work everywhere a verb can appear — in continuous and perfect forms, after other verbs, inside reporting structures, and in patterns where the subject is a person rather than a thing. Nothing new is added to the core rule: the past participle stays fixed and only be changes. What changes is how many forms be can take: being, been, to be, to have been. Corpus studies of written English show that a large share of passives in news and academic prose occur in exactly these less obvious positions — after modals, inside infinitives, and after reporting verbs like said, believed and thought. A learner who controls only the four basic tenses can recognise these sentences but cannot produce them, which is why the typical B2 error is not a wrong tense but a missing piece: is repairing for is being repaired, to choose for to be chosen.
Continuous and Past Perfect Passive: Being and Had Been
Being marks an action in progress: The lift is being repaired, Our room was being cleaned when we arrived. Had been marks an action already finished before another moment in the past: By the time the firefighters arrived, everyone had been taken outside. The contrast is about timing, not about who did the action, and a single sentence can turn on it. When we got to the hotel, our room was being cleaned means we had to wait; our room had been cleaned means it was ready. The most common mistake is dropping being and using the active continuous instead — The road is repairing — which makes the road the one doing the work.
Passive Infinitive and -ing: To Be Done, Being Done
Verbs that are followed by an infinitive or an -ing form keep that pattern in the passive; only the action changes direction. After hope, expect, want and deserve, use to be + past participle: I hope to be chosen, Freelancers expect to be paid on time. After avoid, enjoy, remember and usually hate, use being + past participle: I hate being told what to do. The active form is grammatical but means the opposite: I hate telling people what to do puts you in charge. With modals, the past passive is have been + participle: The report should have been sent last Friday criticises something that did not happen.
Reporting with the Passive: It Is Said That, He Is Said To
News reports and formal writing use the passive to report what people in general say, think or believe, without naming them. There are two patterns with the same meaning: It is said that the castle was built in 1150 and The castle is said to have been built in 1150. The first starts with it and continues with a that-clause; the second starts with the real subject and continues with an infinitive. Mixing them produces the classic error He is said that he is rich. The infinitive also carries time: to be for the same time as the reporting (He is thought to be in Spain), to have + participle for earlier events (He is thought to have left), and to have been + participle when the earlier event is itself passive.
Have Something Done and the Get-Passive
Have + object + past participle means someone else does a job for you: I had my car serviced, We are having the living room painted. Get works the same way in informal English: You should get your eyes tested. The same pattern describes something unwelcome that happened to you: She had her bag stolen. Word order carries the meaning — I had my car repaired (a mechanic did it) is not I had repaired my car (past perfect, I did it). Without an object, get + participle is an informal passive that corpus research finds almost only in conversation, most often for events that are sudden or unwelcome: My phone got stolen, He got fired.
Common Mistakes with the B2 Passive
- ✗ The kitchen is painting at the moment. → ✓ The kitchen is being painted at the moment.
- ✗ I hope to choose for the team. → ✓ I hope to be chosen for the team.
- ✗ He is said that he is rich. → ✓ He is said to be rich.
- ✗ I cut my hair at the hairdresser’s. → ✓ I had my hair cut at the hairdresser’s.
- ✗ I was explained the problem. → ✓ The problem was explained to me.
- ✗ The children were looked by their grandmother. → ✓ The children were looked after by their grandmother.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between 'it is said that' and 'he is said to'?
They mean the same thing but are built differently. 'It is said that' is followed by a full clause: 'It is said that he is very rich.' 'He is said to' starts with the real subject and is followed by an infinitive: 'He is said to be very rich.' Never mix them — 'He is said that he is rich' is wrong. Use 'to have' + past participle for an earlier event: 'He is said to have left the country.'
What is the difference between 'I had my car repaired' and 'I had repaired my car'?
Word order changes the meaning. 'I had my car repaired' (have + object + past participle) means someone else, such as a mechanic, repaired it for you. 'I had repaired my car' is the past perfect and means you repaired it yourself before another moment in the past. The same pattern with 'get' is more informal: 'I got my car repaired.'
Can you say 'I was explained the rules'?
No. 'Explain', 'describe' and 'suggest' don't let the person become the subject of a passive. Say 'The rules were explained to me.' Verbs like 'give', 'offer', 'send', 'show' and 'tell' are different: 'I was given a laptop' and 'We were offered a discount' are both natural.
How do you form the continuous passive?
Use 'being' between 'be' and the past participle: 'The lift is being repaired' (present continuous), 'Our room was being cleaned' (past continuous). It describes an action in progress at a particular moment. Don't drop 'being' — 'The road is repairing' means the road is doing the repairs.
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