Advanced Passive – English Grammar Exercises for B2
You are an archaeology student writing a final term paper on a newly excavated ancient site. You need to use academic English to present scientific hypotheses about the site’s origins, historical events that lack 100% concrete evidence, and the specialized research methods the team outsourced to experts.
Choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence in the essay.
1 Based on the preliminary findings, ______ that the newly discovered ruins date back to the late Bronze Age.
(A) is believed
(B) it is believed
(C) has believed
(D) there is believed
2 The ancient civilization ______ to have collapsed due to a severe, century-long drought.
(A) is thought
(B) thinks
(C) is thought that
(D) was thought
3 To determine the exact age of the pottery shards, the research team ______ by a specialized laboratory in Switzerland last week.
(A) got the fragments to carbon-date
(B) had carbon-dated the fragments
(C) had the fragments carbon-dated
(D) had the fragments carbon-date
4 The massive stone walls surrounding the central plaza ______ to have been built by thousands of skilled laborers over several decades.
(A) are estimated
(B) are estimated that
(C) estimate
(D) is estimated
5 Before publishing the controversial findings, the lead archaeologist ______ by an independent panel of geological experts.
(A) got analyzed the soil samples
(B) had analyzed the soil samples
(C) made the soil samples analyzed
(D) had the soil samples analyzed
6 Based on the latest georadar scans, ______ to be a hidden burial chamber beneath the main temple.
(A) it is believed
(B) there is believed
(C) there believes
(D) they are believed
7 The original inhabitants of this valley are known ______ a highly advanced underground irrigation system.
(A) to develop
(B) to have developed
(C) to have been developed
(D) having developed
8 In the early 19th century, it ______ that the site was merely a natural rock formation, not a human-made structure.
(A) assumes
(B) was assumed
(C) had assumed
(D) is assumed
9 After months of negotiation, the university museum finally ______ and transported to their main exhibition hall.
(A) got the statues to restore
(B) got the statues restored
(C) had restored the statues
(D) got restored the statues
10 Recent isotopic evidence suggests the settlement ______ as a vital trading hub for centuries before it was mysteriously abandoned.
(A) is considered that it functioned
(B) is considered to function
(C) is considered to have been functioning
(D) considers to have functioned
11 According to ancient texts, the emperor wanted a monument that would outlast time, so he ______ out of solid marble.
(A) got the central pyramid to be carved
(B) had the central pyramid carved
(C) had carved the central pyramid
(D) got to carve the central pyramid
12 Not only ______ to have been a place of worship, but it also served as an ancient astronomical observatory.
(A) the temple is theorized
(B) is theorized the temple
(C) does the temple theorize
(D) is the temple theorized
13 Tragically, the priceless golden artifacts ______ from the royal tombs by grave robbers long before the official excavation began.
(A) are reported that they were stolen
(B) are reported to have stolen
(C) are reported to have been stolen
(D) reported to have been stolen
14 Because the site is highly prone to flooding, the excavation trenches must ______ before the rainy season starts next month.
(A) be had their protective covers installed
(B) have installed their protective covers
(C) get installed their protective covers
(D) have their protective covers installed
15 The intricate murals on the eastern wall ______ to have been painted using rare pigments imported from distant lands.
(A) are widely understood
(B) is widely understood
(C) widely understand
(D) are widely understanding
16 Unfortunately, due to severe budget cuts last year, the research team couldn’t ______ from the fragile lower layers.
(A) got the fossilized remains extracted
(B) have extracted the fossilized remains
(C) get the fossilized remains extracted
(D) have the fossilized remains extract
17 At the time of its initial discovery in 1920, the ancient king ______ assassinated by his own guards.
(A) is rumored to have been
(B) was rumored to have been
(C) was rumored to be
(D) was rumored that he was
18 Since the beginning of the project, the university ______ by a specialized aviation company to map the entire archaeological zone.
(A) had several aerial surveys conducted
(B) has conducted several aerial surveys
(C) has got several aerial surveys conduct
(D) has had several aerial surveys conducted
19 Before the new radiocarbon dating technology emerged, ______ a significant gap of 500 years in the historical record.
(A) it was assumed to be
(B) there was assumed to be
(C) there assumed to be
(D) they were assumed to be
20 Local legend dictates that the ruthless warlord ______ in a hidden valley, though its exact location remains a mystery to this day.
(A) got buried his vast treasure
(B) had his vast treasure buried
(C) had buried his vast treasure
(D) had his vast treasure to bury
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) it is believed
- Why it’s correct: The standard impersonal passive structure It + is believed + that… is used to make formal academic statements.
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Missing the dummy subject “It”). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice implies “it” is doing the believing). (D) Strong Distractor (“There is” cannot be paired with a “that” clause in this manner).
2 (A) is thought
- Why it’s correct: Impersonal passive with a raised subject: Subject + be + thought + to have V3 (The civilization is thought to have collapsed).
- Error Analysis: (B) Common Mistake (Active voice -> a civilization cannot actively “think”). (C) Structural Error (Cannot use “that” once the subject has been raised to the front). (D) Strong Distractor (Using the past tense “was thought” is incorrect because the belief is held now in the present; only the collapse happened in the past).
3 (C) had the fragments carbon-dated
- Why it’s correct: Causative passive have + object + V3/ed indicating the team outsourced the task to a specialized lab.
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (Incorrect meaning -> forcing the fragments to carbon-date something else). (B) Common Mistake (Past Perfect Active means the archaeologists performed the complex dating themselves). (D) Structural Error (“Carbon-date” lacks the necessary -d suffix).
4 (A) are estimated
- Why it’s correct: The walls (plural subject) are estimated to have been built.
- Error Analysis: (B) Structural Error. (C) Common Mistake (Active voice implies the walls are estimating something). (D) Strong Distractor (Singular “is” does not agree with the plural “walls”).
5 (D) had the soil samples analyzed
- Why it’s correct: Used a professional service/panel to analyze the soil (have sth done).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Incorrect word order). (B) Common Mistake (Active voice means the lead archaeologist did the analysis alone). (C) Strong Distractor (“Make” is not used in the passive causative structure).
6 (B) there is believed
- Why it’s correct: A variation of the impersonal passive: There is believed to be… (People believe that there exists a…).
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (If using “It is believed”, it must be followed by “that there is”, not “to be”). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice). (D) Structural Error.
7 (B) to have developed
- Why it’s correct: The development of the irrigation system was completed entirely in the past (before the present “are known”), requiring the Perfect Infinitive (to have V3).
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (“To develop” implies a present or future action). (C) Strong Distractor (Incorrect passive meaning: the inhabitants actively developed it; they were not developed by the system). (D) Structural Error.
8 (B) was assumed
- Why it’s correct: This assumption took place in the early 19th century, so the impersonal passive reporting verb must be shifted to the past tense: It was assumed that….
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (Active voice). (C) Structural Error. (D) Strong Distractor (Present tense “is assumed” contradicts the time marker “In the early 19th century”).
9 (B) got the statues restored
- Why it’s correct: Causative passive structure get sth V3/ed (hiring experts to restore the statues).
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (Incorrect meaning -> forcing the statues to restore something). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice means the museum staff restored the statues themselves). (D) Structural Error (Incorrect word order).
10 (C) is considered to have been functioning
- Why it’s correct: A highly advanced structure: A present belief (is considered) regarding a continuous, ongoing action in the past (to have been functioning – Perfect Continuous Infinitive).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error. (B) Strong Distractor (Fails to express the past, completed aspect). (D) Common Mistake (Active voice).
11 (B) had the central pyramid carved
- Why it’s correct: The emperor ordered/hired laborers to carve the monument for him (had sth done).
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (Do not use a passive infinitive “to be carved” inside this causative structure). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice means the emperor carved it with his own hands). (D) Structural Error.
12 (D) is the temple theorized
- Why it’s correct: When starting a sentence with the negative adverbial phrase “Not only,” the subject and the passive auxiliary verb must be inverted (is the temple theorized).
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (Fails to apply the inversion rule). (B) Strong Distractor (Incorrect inversion syntax). (C) Structural Error (Uses the active auxiliary “does” instead of the passive “is”).
13 (C) are reported to have been stolen
- Why it’s correct: The report is in the present (are reported), the theft happened in the past (to have), and the artifacts were the victims of the action (been stolen).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error. (B) Common Mistake (Active perfect infinitive means the artifacts stole something else). (D) Strong Distractor (Missing the passive auxiliary “are”).
14 (D) have their protective covers installed
- Why it’s correct: Have sth V3/ed placed after the modal verb “must” to dictate that the team needs to get someone to install the covers.
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (Unnecessary use of “be”). (B) Common Mistake (Active voice). (C) Structural Error (Incorrect word order).
15 (A) are widely understood
- Why it’s correct: The murals (plural) are widely understood to have been painted…
- Error Analysis: (B) Strong Distractor (Singular “is” does not match the plural “murals”). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice implies the murals understand something). (D) Structural Error (Uses V-ing).
16 (C) get the fossilized remains extracted
- Why it’s correct: Uses get sth V3/ed after the modal verb “couldn’t” (They were unable to hire professionals to extract the remains).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Must use the base form “get” after “couldn’t”, not the past form “got”). (B) Common Mistake (Active voice means the team extracted them). (D) Strong Distractor (“Extract” lacks the -ed suffix).
17 (B) was rumored to have been
- Why it’s correct: The rumor itself circulated in the past (“At the time of its initial discovery in 1920” -> was rumored), and the assassination happened BEFORE the rumor (to have been).
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (Uses present “is rumored”, which contradicts the 1920 context). (C) Common Mistake (“To be” fails to convey that the assassination happened prior to the rumor). (D) Structural Error.
18 (D) has had several aerial surveys conducted
- Why it’s correct: Combines the Present Perfect tense (“Since the beginning…”) with the causative passive (has had sth done).
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (Wrong tense; missing the present perfect “has”). (B) Common Mistake (Active voice implies the university flew the planes themselves). (C) Structural Error (“Conduct” lacks the -ed suffix).
19 (B) there was assumed to be
- Why it’s correct: Impersonal passive assuming the existence of something in the past: there was assumed to be (researchers assumed that there existed…).
- Error Analysis: (A) Strong Distractor (If using the dummy subject “it”, it cannot be followed directly by “to be” in this structure). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice). (D) Structural Error.
20 (B) had his vast treasure buried
- Why it’s correct: The warlord forced or ordered his subordinates to bury the treasure for him (had sth V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Wrong word order). (C) Common Mistake (Past Perfect Active means the warlord dug the hole and buried it all by himself). (D) Strong Distractor (Incorrect causative meaning).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Impersonal Passive in the Past (Academic Reporting)
- In academic writing, particularly in history or archaeology, you frequently need to express a current consensus (is believed/thought) about an action completed in the past (to have V3).
- Active Past Action: Subject + is/are thought + to have + V3/ed
- Example: The Mayans are thought to have built this structure. (Current belief about their past action).
- Passive Past Action: Subject + is/are thought + to have been + V3/ed
- Example: The site is thought to have been destroyed by fire. (Current belief about what happened to the site).
- Note: If the belief or rumor also existed in the past, shift the first verb to the past tense (e.g., The king was rumored to have been assassinated).
2 Causative Passive in Scientific Research
- In academic and scientific research, scientists rarely perform every specialized test themselves. They outsource samples to labs, aviation companies, or independent experts.
- Structure: Subject + have / get + Object + Past Participle (V3/ed)
- Comparison:
- We analyzed the soil. (Active – The archaeologists sat in the tent and tested the dirt themselves).
- We had the soil analyzed. (Causative Passive – They sent the dirt to a professional geological lab for testing). This is the accurate, professional way to describe academic methodology.