Advanced Passive – English Grammar Exercises for B2
You are at the office and notice Mark constantly squinting and wincing at his computer monitor. Meanwhile, Sarah is complaining that her unreliable old car has broken down in the middle of the road again. You decide to give them firm advice, urging them to seek professional help from a doctor and a mechanic immediately instead of trying to endure it or fix it themselves.
Choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 Mark, you’ve been squinting at your monitor all morning. You really should ______.
(A) get checked your eyes
(B) get your eyes checked
(C) have your eyes to check
(D) check your eyes
2 ______ that staring at a computer screen without breaks causes severe long-term eye strain.
(A) They are known
(B) It knows
(C) It is known
(D) There is known
3 Your car engine sounds absolutely terrible, Sarah. You need to ______ by a mechanic before driving home.
(A) have it looked at
(B) make it looked at
(C) have it to look at
(D) have looked at it
4 If your back hurts that much from our office chairs, you ought to ______ by a chiropractor.
(A) get it examine
(B) get it examining
(C) have examined it
(D) have it examined
5 ______ to be highly beneficial for your vision to take a five-minute screen break every hour.
(A) It considers
(B) There is considered
(C) It is considered
(D) They are considered
6 Mark, your glasses are completely scratched and outdated. You must ______ as soon as possible.
(A) get the lenses replace
(B) have replaced the lenses
(C) have the lenses replaced
(D) get replaced the lenses
7 The blue light emitted from our office monitors ______ our sleep cycles if we work late into the night.
(A) is proven to disrupt
(B) proves to disrupt
(C) is proven that it disrupts
(D) is proven disrupting
8 I honestly wouldn’t drive that car on the highway until you ______ by a professional.
(A) get the brakes fix
(B) have fixed the brakes
(C) get the brakes fixed
(D) have the brakes fixing
9 In the modern IT industry, ______ that regular eye exams prevent irreversible vision damage.
(A) it is widely accepted
(B) is widely accepted
(C) it widely accepts
(D) there is widely accepted
10 You can’t keep taking painkillers for that severe toothache, Mark; you must ______.
(A) get it pull out
(B) have it pulled out
(C) have pulled it out
(D) make it pulled out
11 Sarah’s unreliable old car ______ down on the freeway at least three times this month.
(A) is reported that it broke
(B) is reported to break
(C) reports to have broken
(D) is reported to have broken
12 Instead of trying to fix the leaking radiator yourself and making it worse, why don’t you ______ at the local garage?
(A) have it repair
(B) get repaired it
(C) have it repaired
(D) have repaired it
13 Constant headaches and neck pain ______ by poor posture and an unergonomic desk setup.
(A) know to be caused
(B) are known that they are caused
(C) are known to be caused
(D) are known to cause
14 Look at that huge crack on your windshield! You definitely should ______ before it shatters completely.
(A) get it replaced
(B) have it replace
(C) have replaced it
(D) get it replacing
15 The new ergonomic office chairs we requested from HR ______ to our department by next Monday.
(A) expect to be delivered
(B) are expected to be delivered
(C) are expected to have delivered
(D) are expected that they will be delivered
16 Honestly Sarah, if you ______ last month like I suggested, your car wouldn’t have broken down today.
(A) had the engine serviced
(B) had got serviced the engine
(C) have had the engine serviced
(D) had had the engine serviced
17 Not only ______ to be extremely dangerous, but driving with severely worn tires is also illegal.
(A) it is said
(B) is it said
(C) does it say
(D) is said it
18 Your health is visibly worsening. You really need to stop delaying and ______ immediately.
(A) get checked your blood pressure
(B) have checked your blood pressure
(C) get your blood pressure checked
(D) have your blood pressure to check
19 I heard that the cheap mechanic Sarah previously used ______ fake parts in her car engine.
(A) alleges to have installed
(B) is alleged to have installed
(C) is alleged that he installed
(D) is alleged to install
20 After seeing our health issues, the HR manager strongly recommended ______ to ensure a healthier working environment.
(A) to get the office ventilation system upgrade
(B) having upgraded the office ventilation system
(C) to have the office ventilation system to be upgraded
(D) having the office ventilation system upgraded
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) get your eyes checked
- Why it’s correct: The causative passive structure get/have + object + V3/ed expresses the act of having a professional (an eye doctor) examine your eyes for you.
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Incorrect word order). (C) Strong Distractor (Unnecessary “to”, wrong verb form). (D) Common Mistake (Active voice implies you will manually examine your eyes yourself).
2 (C) It is known
- Why it’s correct: The impersonal passive It is + V3 + that… is used to state a general truth or common medical knowledge.
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (“They” cannot serve as a dummy subject for a “that” clause). (B) Common Mistake (Active voice – the pronoun “It” cannot actively know something). (D) Strong Distractor (“There is” is not used with this specific “that” clause structure).
3 (A) have it looked at
- Why it’s correct: The have sth done structure. “Look at” is a phrasal verb, so when it is converted to a past participle (V3), the preposition “at” must be retained.
- Error Analysis: (B) Strong Distractor (“Make” is not used in this causative structure). (C) Structural Error (Unnecessary “to”). (D) Common Mistake (Past Perfect Active implies Sarah should look at the car herself).
4 (D) have it examined
- Why it’s correct: Getting your back checked by a medical professional (have sth done).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (“examine” lacks the -ed suffix). (B) Common Mistake (Active continuous). (C) Strong Distractor (Incorrect word order).
5 (C) It is considered
- Why it’s correct: Impersonal passive expressing a general consensus or opinion (It is considered to be…).
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (Missing the passive “is”). (B) Strong Distractor (Wrong dummy subject). (D) Structural Error.
6 (C) have the lenses replaced
- Why it’s correct: The causative structure for having optician change the lenses (have sth V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (“replace” lacks the -d suffix). (B) Common Mistake (Present Perfect Active implies you bought lenses and installed them yourself). (D) Strong Distractor (Incorrect word order).
7 (A) is proven to disrupt
- Why it’s correct: Impersonal passive with the subject raised to the front: Subject + be proven to + V (Blue light is proven to cause disruption…).
- Error Analysis: (B) Common Mistake (Blue light cannot “prove” itself). (C) Structural Error (Cannot use “that” once the subject has been raised). (D) Strong Distractor (Using a gerund V-ing is structurally incorrect here).
8 (C) get the brakes fixed
- Why it’s correct: Advice to take the car to a mechanic to fix the brakes (get sth V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (“fix” lacks the -ed suffix). (B) Common Mistake (Active voice means you fix them yourself). (D) Strong Distractor (Wrong verb form).
9 (A) it is widely accepted
- Why it’s correct: Impersonal passive structure: It is + adverb + V3 + that…
- Error Analysis: (B) Structural Error (Missing the dummy subject “It”). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice). (D) Strong Distractor (Wrong dummy subject).
10 (B) have it pulled out
- Why it’s correct: Getting a tooth extracted by a dentist (have sth V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (“pull” lacks the -ed suffix). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice implies you will extract it yourself with pliers). (D) Strong Distractor (“Make” is not used here).
11 (D) is reported to have broken
- Why it’s correct: The breakdown happened in the past, but the reporting is happening in the present -> You must use the Perfect Infinitive (to have V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Cannot use “that” when the subject is raised). (B) Strong Distractor (Using the simple infinitive “to break” loses the past aspect of the event). (C) Common Mistake (Active voice).
12 (C) have it repaired
- Why it’s correct: Taking the vehicle to a garage to be fixed (have sth V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (“repair” lacks the -ed suffix). (B) Strong Distractor (Incorrect word order). (D) Common Mistake (Active voice implies doing the manual labor yourself).
13 (C) are known to be caused
- Why it’s correct: The headaches “are known” to be “caused by”. Both clauses require the passive voice structure.
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Missing “to be” in the first clause). (B) Strong Distractor (Incorrect “that” clause syntax). (D) Common Mistake (Active voice implies the headaches cause something else).
14 (A) get it replaced
- Why it’s correct: Taking the car to a shop to replace the windshield (get sth V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (B) Common Mistake (“replace” lacks the -d suffix). (C) Strong Distractor (Active voice implies doing it yourself). (D) Structural Error.
15 (B) are expected to be delivered
- Why it’s correct: Impersonal passive with a future implication (are expected to be V3). The chairs are expected to be delivered by the shipping company.
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (Active voice implies the chairs are actively expecting something). (C) Strong Distractor (Wrong tense; implies the chairs delivered something in the past). (D) Structural Error.
16 (D) had had the engine serviced
- Why it’s correct: Placing the have sth done structure inside a Third Conditional sentence. The past perfect of the main verb “have” becomes “had had”.
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (Learners often forget to change “have” into its V3 form “had”, leaving only one “had” which mistakenly turns it into the Past Simple). (B) Structural Error. (C) Strong Distractor (Incorrect conditional grammar).
17 (B) is it said
- Why it’s correct: Subject-verb inversion is required when “Not only” is placed at the beginning of the sentence -> The auxiliary verb “is” is placed before the dummy subject “it”.
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (Forgetting the inversion rule). (C) Structural Error (Using the active auxiliary “does” instead of the passive “is”). (D) Strong Distractor (Incorrect inversion syntax).
18 (C) get your blood pressure checked
- Why it’s correct: Having a doctor measure your blood pressure (get sth V3/ed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (Incorrect word order). (B) Common Mistake (Active voice implies measuring it yourself). (D) Strong Distractor.
19 (B) is alleged to have installed
- Why it’s correct: The allegation is in the present (is alleged), but the act of installing the fake parts happened in the past (to have installed).
- Error Analysis: (A) Common Mistake (Active voice means the mechanic makes allegations about himself). (C) Structural Error (Incorrect structure when the subject is raised). (D) Strong Distractor (Loses the past aspect).
20 (D) having the office ventilation system upgraded
- Why it’s correct: The causative passive structure (have sth V3/ed) must be turned into a gerund (V-ing) because it follows the verb “recommend”.
- Error Analysis: (A) Structural Error (“upgrade” lacks the -d suffix). (B) Common Mistake (Implies the HR manager should manually upgrade the system with their own hands). (C) Strong Distractor (Incorrect grammatical structure following “recommend”).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Causative Passive (Giving Advice)
- Structure: Should / Must / Need to + have / get + Object (thing) + Past Participle (V3/ed)
- Function: When someone is experiencing health or mechanical issues, use this structure to advise them to seek a professional or service to resolve it, rather than attempting to do it themselves.
- Example:
- You should repair your car. (Incorrect context – This advises the person to grab a wrench and fix it manually).
- You should have your car repaired. (Correct – This advises them to take the car to a garage).
2 Impersonal Passive (Adding Authority to Advice)
- Function: When you want your advice to carry more weight, you can cite general medical or scientific knowledge using the impersonal passive (e.g., It is said that, science proves that…).
- Structure 1 (Dummy ‘It’): It + is + known/proven/accepted + that + Clause
- Example: It is known that blue light disrupts sleep.
- Structure 2 (Raised Subject): Subject + be + known/proven + To-Infinitive
- General/Present action: Use to V (Blue light is proven to disrupt sleep).
- Past action: Use to have V3/ed (The mechanic is alleged to have installed fake parts).