Advanced Passive – English Grammar Exercises for B2
A live news broadcast covering the ongoing manhunt for a highly dangerous bank robbery suspect. Choose the most appropriate answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete the news anchor’s report.
1 It ______ that the suspect is heavily armed and extremely dangerous.
(A) has reported
(B) is reported
(C) reports
(D) is report
2 Immediately after the robbery, the local police had the crime scene ______ by forensic experts.
(A) to examine
(B) examine
(C) examining
(D) examined
3 The fugitive is known ______ a highly skilled driver.
(A) to be
(B) being
(C) is
(D) be
4 The bank manager got the security footage ______ to the intelligence unit within minutes.
(A) sending
(B) to send
(C) sent
(D) send
5 ______ is alleged that the suspect acted entirely alone during the initial breach.
(A) It
(B) He
(C) That
(D) There
6 The suspect is believed ______ the city shortly after the alarm was triggered yesterday.
(A) to leave
(B) to have left
(C) left
(D) having left
7 Following the chaotic incident, the mayor ______ to reassure the terrified public.
(A) had a press conference organized
(B) had organized a press conference
(C) got a press conference organize
(D) have a press conference organized
8 Currently, the fugitive is reported ______ in the dense mountainous region on the outskirts of town.
(A) to hide
(B) hiding
(C) that he hides
(D) to be hiding
9 The authorities ______ to locate the suspect’s exact coordinates as we speak.
(A) are tracking his phone had
(B) had his phone track
(C) are having his phone tracked
(D) have his phone tracking
10 It ______ confirmed that over two million dollars were stolen from the main vault.
(A) is being
(B) has been
(C) was been
(D) had
11 The witnesses are currently getting their official statements ______ at the downtown precinct.
(A) recorded
(B) to record
(C) recording
(D) record
12 Despite the heavy police presence, the mastermind is expected ______ again if cornered.
(A) striking
(B) to strike
(C) strike
(D) to have struck
13 One unlucky civilian ______ by the fugitive during the desperate getaway.
(A) got his car to steal
(B) had stolen his car
(C) his car was had stolen
(D) had his car stolen
14 The stolen money is estimated ______ nearly two tons, making it hard to transport.
(A) to weigh
(B) weighing
(C) to be weighed
(D) weigh
15 The ringleader is alleged ______ the heist for several months prior to the execution.
(A) to plan
(B) to be planning
(C) to have been planning
(D) having planned
16 Before he could electronically transfer the funds offshore, the federal court ______.
(A) had frozen his assets
(B) have his assets frozen
(C) got his assets to freeze
(D) had his assets frozen
17 The primary suspect is understood ______ by a high-level insider who bypassed the security system.
(A) to be helped
(B) to have helped
(C) to have been helped
(D) having been helped
18 ______ feared that several hostages might have been taken during the escape via the service elevator.
(A) He is
(B) There is
(C) The police are
(D) It is
19 The stolen bearer bonds are reported ______ out of the country already by an accomplice.
(A) to have been smuggled
(B) to have smuggled
(C) to be smuggled
(D) that it is smuggled
20 We have just received word that the police ______ by a specialized SWAT team right now.
(A) are getting the building surrounded
(B) are having the building surround
(C) have got surrounded the building
(D) had the building surrounded
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B)
Key: is reported
Why it’s correct: This is the standard Impersonal Passive structure (It + be + V3 + that clause) used in formal news reports.
Error Analysis:
- (A) has reported: Strong Distractor. Sounds grammatically correct but it is active. “It” cannot report something.
- (C) reports: Common Mistake. Active voice instead of passive voice.
- (D) is report: Structural Error. Missing the past participle (V3) form.
2 (D)
Key: examined
Why it’s correct: Causative passive structure (have + object + V3). The police arranged for the scene to be examined by experts.
Error Analysis:
- (A) to examine: Structural Error. “To V” is used in active causative (get someone TO do something), not passive.
- (B) examine: Common Mistake. Students often confuse “have someone do” with “have something done” and use the base verb.
- (C) examining: Strong Distractor. Looks like an active continuous form, but incorrect in this causative structure.
3 (A)
Key: to be
Why it’s correct: Personal passive structure (Subject + be + V3 + to-infinitive).
Error Analysis:
- (B) being: Common Mistake. Using gerund instead of infinitive after the passive form of reporting verbs.
- (C) is: Structural Error. Two conjugated verbs without a connector.
- (D) be: Strong Distractor. Missing the “to” particle required in this passive construction.
4 (C)
Key: sent
Why it’s correct: Causative passive structure using “get” (get + object + V3).
Error Analysis:
- (A) sending: Strong Distractor. “Get something doing” is a structure, but it means to start something moving, not a passive action done by someone else.
- (B) to send: Common Mistake. Confusing “get someone to send” (active) with “get something sent” (passive).
- (D) send: Structural Error. Base verb is never used after “get + object”.
5 (A)
Key: It
Why it’s correct: Dummy pronoun “It” is required for the Impersonal Passive structure “It is alleged that…”.
Error Analysis:
- (B) He: Common Mistake. If using “He”, the structure must be “He is alleged to have acted…”, not “He is alleged that…”.
- (C) That: Structural Error. “That” cannot function as the dummy subject here.
- (D) There: Strong Distractor. “There” is used for existence (There is a suspect), not as a dummy subject for reporting verbs.
6 (B)
Key: to have left
Why it’s correct: The perfect infinitive (to have + V3) shows that the action (leaving) happened before the time of reporting (is believed).
Error Analysis:
- (A) to leave: Common Mistake. Refers to a present or future action, but the context says “yesterday”.
- (C) left: Structural Error. A past tense verb cannot follow a passive reporting verb directly.
- (D) having left: Strong Distractor. Sounds like a perfect form, but we need the full infinitive “to” after the passive verb.
7 (A)
Key: had a press conference organized
Why it’s correct: Causative passive (had + object + V3). The mayor arranged for it to be organized.
Error Analysis:
- (B) had organized a press conference: Strong Distractor. This is past perfect active. It changes the meaning (the mayor organized it himself before another past action), missing the causative intent.
- (C) got a press conference organize: Structural Error. Missing the ‘d’ for V3
- (D) have a press conference organized: Common Mistake. Tense error; “Following the incident” requires past tense (“had”), not present (“have”).
8 (D)
Key: to be hiding
Why it’s correct: Continuous infinitive (to be + V-ing) emphasizes that the action is happening right now (“Currently”).
Error Analysis:
- (A) to hide: Common Mistake. Refers to a general fact rather than a continuous action in progress.
- (B) hiding: Structural Error. Missing the “to be” required after the passive reporting verb.
- (C) that he hides: Strong Distractor. Would be correct if it was “It is reported that he is hiding”, but with the subject “the fugitive”, we must use the infinitive.
9 (C)
Key: are having his phone tracked
Why it’s correct: Present continuous form of the causative passive (be + having + object + V3).
Error Analysis:
- (A) are tracking his phone had: Structural Error. Word order makes no sense.
- (B) had his phone track: Common Mistake. Wrong tense (past instead of present continuous for “as we speak”) and missing V3
- (D) have his phone tracking: Strong Distractor. Confusing passive causative with active participle.
10 (B)
Key: has been
Why it’s correct: Present Perfect passive “It has been confirmed” fits the news context of a recent past event with present relevance.
Error Analysis:
- (A) is being: Strong Distractor. Means the confirmation is in progress right now, but the context implies it’s already a proven fact.
- (C) was been: Structural Error. Grammatically impossible combination of “was” and “been”.
- (D) had: Common Mistake. Missing the “been” for the passive voice (It had confirmed = active, which is wrong).
11 (A)
Key: recorded
Why it’s correct: Causative passive with “getting” (getting + object + V3).
Error Analysis:
- (B) to record: Common Mistake. Confusing active (get someone TO do) with passive (get something DONE).
- (C) recording: Strong Distractor. Sounds like an active gerund phrase, but incorrect for receiving an action.
- (D) record: Structural Error. Base verb cannot be used here.
12 (B)
Key: to strike
Why it’s correct: Simple infinitive (to + V) is used for a future expectation (“again if cornered”).
Error Analysis:
- (A) striking: Common Mistake. Using V-ing instead of the to-infinitive after “is expected”.
- (C) strike: Structural Error. Missing the particle “to”.
- (D) to have struck: Strong Distractor. Perfect infinitive refers to the past, but the context points to the future (“again”).
13 (D)
Key: had his car stolen
Why it’s correct: The “experience” passive. The structure (have + object + V3) is used when something bad happens to someone, out of their control.
Error Analysis:
- (A) got his car to steal: Structural Error. Makes it sound like he convinced his car to commit a robbery.
- (B) had stolen his car: Common Mistake. Active Past Perfect. Means the civilian was the thief!
- (C) his car was had stolen: Strong Distractor. Over-complicating the standard passive voice.
14 (A)
Key: to weigh
Why it’s correct: Personal passive of reporting verb + infinitive. “Weigh” is a stative verb describing the money’s property, so active infinitive is correct.
Error Analysis:
- (B) weighing: Common Mistake. Gerunds do not follow “is estimated”.
- (C) to be weighed: Strong Distractor. Passive infinitive implies someone is going to weigh it, but the sentence means “its weight is…”.
- (D) weigh: Structural Error. Missing “to”.
15 (C)
Key: to have been planning
Why it’s correct: Perfect Continuous Infinitive (to have been + V-ing). Shows an action was ongoing (“planning”) before the main verb (“is alleged”).
Error Analysis:
- (A) to plan: Structural Error. Refers to present/future, not “several months prior”.
- (B) to be planning: Common Mistake. Refers to right now, which contradicts “prior to”.
- (D) having planned: Strong Distractor. Sounds advanced, but infinitive “to” is mandatory here.
16 (D)
Key: had his assets frozen
Why it’s correct: Causative passive (had + object + V3) indicating the court caused this action to happen to the suspect.
Error Analysis:
- (A) had frozen his assets: Strong Distractor. Past Perfect active. Grammatically okay, but focuses on the court doing the physical freezing rather than the causative legal action. Option D is a stronger fit for legal/institutional context.
- (B) have his assets frozen: Common Mistake. Tense disagreement (“could transfer” is past, “have” is present).
- (C) got his assets to freeze: Structural Error. “To freeze” makes the assets the active agent doing the freezing.
17 (C)
Key: to have been helped
Why it’s correct: Perfect Passive Infinitive (to have been + V3). The helping happened in the past (“bypassed”), and the suspect received the help (passive).
Error Analysis:
- (A) to be helped: Common Mistake. Present passive, ignoring the past context of the break-in.
- (B) to have helped: Strong Distractor. Perfect active. This means the suspect helped the insider, which is opposite to the meaning.
- (D) having been helped: Structural Error. Missing the necessary “to”.
18 (D)
Key: It is
Why it’s correct: Impersonal Passive introductory pronoun.
Error Analysis:
- (A) He is: Structural Error. “He is feared that” is grammatically invalid.
- (B) There is: Common Mistake. Confusing “There is a fear” with the passive structure “It is feared”.
- (C) The police are: Strong Distractor. Plausible in meaning, but structurally incorrect because it must be followed by “afraid”, not “feared that”.
19 (A)
Key: to have been smuggled
Why it’s correct: Perfect Passive Infinitive (to have been + V3). The action (smuggling) is completed (“already”) and done to the bonds (passive).
Error Analysis:
- (B) to have smuggled: Common Mistake. Perfect active. Bonds cannot smuggle themselves.
- (C) to be smuggled: Strong Distractor. Present passive. Contradicts “already”.
- (D) that it is smuggled: Structural Error. The subject “The stolen bearer bonds” is already at the front, so a “that” clause cannot follow “are reported”.
20 (A)
Key: are getting the building surrounded
Why it’s correct: Present continuous causative passive (are getting + object + V3). Describes an action being arranged right now.
Error Analysis:
- (B) are having the building surround: Structural Error. Missing the V3 (ed).
- (C) have got surrounded the building: Common Mistake. Incorrect word order for causative (have got + V3 + object is wrong).
- (D) had the building surrounded: Strong Distractor. Past tense contradicts the time marker “right now”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 Impersonal Passive
- Structure: It + is / was / has been + reported / said / alleged + that + Subject + Verb
- Usage: Used extensively in formal contexts, particularly in journalism and legal broadcasting. It allows the speaker to report information neutrally, distancing themselves from the claim without specifying the exact source.
- Example: It is alleged that the suspect acted entirely alone.
2 Personal Passive with Infinitives
- General Structure: Subject + is / are / was / were + reported / expected / alleged + Infinitive
- The form of the infinitive changes depending on the time of the action being reported:
- Present/Future Fact: to + V (e.g., The mastermind is expected to strike again.)
- Action Currently in Progress: to be + V-ing (e.g., The fugitive is reported to be hiding in the mountains.)
- Past Completed Action: to have + V3 (e.g., He is believed to have left the city.)
- Past Passive Action: to have been + V3 (e.g., He is understood to have been helped by an insider.)
- Past Ongoing Action: to have been + V-ing (e.g., The ringleader is alleged to have been planning the heist for months.)
3 Causative Passive
- Structure: have / get + Object + V3 (Past Participle)
- Usage 1 (Professional Service/Arrangement): Used to indicate that you arranged, instructed, or paid for someone else to perform a task for you, rather than doing it yourself.
- Example: The local police had the crime scene examined by forensic experts.
- Usage 2 (Experience/Misfortune): Used to describe an unfortunate event that happened to someone, usually completely out of their control.
- Example: One unlucky civilian had his car stolen by the fugitive. (Note: This means someone else stole his car; it does NOT mean he hired someone to steal it).