Advanced Passive – English Grammar Exercises for B2
An entertainment magazine’s investigative report on the mysterious, unexplained disappearance of Hollywood’s biggest actress, Isabella.
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete the showbiz article.
1 ______ is rumored that Isabella has secretly moved to a remote private island.
(A) That
(B) She
(C) It
(D) There
2 Before her sudden disappearance, she had her luxurious Beverly Hills mansion ______.
(A) renovating
(B) renovated
(C) renovate
(D) to renovate
3 The famous actress is currently thought ______ a much-needed break from the spotlight.
(A) to need
(B) need
(C) needs
(D) needing
4 She recently got her personal security team ______ by a highly secretive agency.
(A) to replace
(B) replaced
(C) replace
(D) replacing
5 It is widely ______ by tabloid magazines that she is ignoring calls from her director.
(A) to report
(B) report
(C) reporting
(D) reported
6 According to our inside sources, Isabella is currently said ______ on a tell-all autobiography.
(A) to work
(B) working
(C) to be working
(D) that she works
7 To avoid the aggressive paparazzi last week, she ______ to the airport in an unmarked delivery van.
(A) had her luggage transport
(B) had her luggage transported
(C) got her luggage to transport
(D) transported her luggage had
8 The A-lister is believed ______ her controversial multi-million dollar contract with the studio last month.
(A) to cancel
(B) cancelled
(C) having cancelled
(D) to have cancelled
9 Rumor has it that she ______ by hackers who were trying to expose her private life.
(A) had deleted her social media accounts
(B) her social media accounts were had deleted
(C) had her social media accounts deleted
(D) got her social media accounts to delete
10 ______ understood that her management team is panicking behind closed doors.
(A) It is
(B) She is
(C) Is
(D) There is
11 Despite her recent silence, she is known ______ extremely protective of her inner circle.
(A) being
(B) is
(C) to be
(D) that she is
12 Paparazzi spotted moving trucks at her estate. She is clearly having her belongings ______ to an undisclosed location.
(A) moving
(B) to move
(C) moved
(D) move
13 Her upcoming blockbuster movie is rumored ______ indefinitely due to her unexplained absence.
(A) to have delayed
(B) to have been delayed
(C) having been delayed
(D) to be delay
14 Her publicist finally got a vague statement ______ to the press this morning to calm the fans.
(A) released
(B) to release
(C) releasing
(D) release
15 Before she vanished from the public eye, Isabella was alleged ______ from severe burnout for several months.
(A) to suffer
(B) to be suffered
(C) to have been suffering
(D) suffering
16 The actress reportedly won’t return to Hollywood until she ______ by her new legal team.
(A) has the contract reviewed
(B) will have the contract reviewed
(C) get the contract review
(D) has reviewed the contract
17 The paparazzi ______ to be tracking her private jet, but they suddenly lost the GPS signal over the ocean.
(A) thought
(B) are thinking
(C) have thought
(D) are thought
18 In a bold move before disappearing, she not only fired her manager but also ______ from all promotional materials.
(A) had his name removed
(B) had his name remove
(C) got his name to remove
(D) had removed his name
19 A highly controversial interview is now considered ______ by her former PR agency without her consent.
(A) to have been leaked
(B) to have leaked
(C) having been leaked
(D) to be leaking
20 Her biggest rival, another famous actress, is alleged ______ these terrible rumors to ruin Isabella’s career.
(A) to start
(B) having started
(C) to have started
(D) that she started
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
Key: It
Why it’s correct: This is the Impersonal Passive structure (It + is rumored + that + clause).
Error Analysis: * (A) That: Strong Distractor. “That” cannot function as the dummy subject here.
- (B) She: Common Mistake. “She is rumored that…” is grammatically incorrect. It must be “She is rumored to…”.
- (D) There: Structural Error. “There” indicates existence, not a placeholder for a reporting clause.
2 (B)
Key: renovated
Why it’s correct: Causative passive (have + object + V3). She arranged for someone else to renovate it.
Error Analysis: * (A) renovating: Strong Distractor. Looks like an active continuous form, but incorrect for the passive causative.
- (C) renovate: Common Mistake. Confusing “have someone do” (base verb) with “have something done” (V3).
- (D) to renovate: Structural Error. “To V” is used with “get someone to do”, not “have”.
3 (A)
Key: to need
Why it’s correct: Personal passive structure (Subject + is thought + to-infinitive).
Error Analysis: * (B) need: Structural Error. Missing the required “to”.
- (C) needs: Common Mistake. Using the present simple tense instead of the infinitive after the passive reporting verb.
- (D) needing: Strong Distractor. Using a gerund instead of an infinitive.
4 (B)
Key: replaced
Why it’s correct: Causative passive using “get” (get + object + V3).
Error Analysis: * (A) to replace: Common Mistake. Confusing active causative (get someone to replace) with passive causative.
- (C) replace: Structural Error. Base verb is never used after “get”.
- (D) replacing: Strong Distractor. Active participle implies the team is doing the replacing.
5 (D)
Key: reported
Why it’s correct: Passive voice past participle (is + V3).
Error Analysis: * (A) to report: Strong Distractor. Looks like an infinitive of purpose, but fails the passive structure.
- (B) report: Structural Error. Missing the ‘ed’ for the past participle.
- (C) reporting: Common Mistake. Active voice; magazines report, but “It is reported by magazines”.
6 (C)
Key: to be working
Why it’s correct: Continuous infinitive (to be + V-ing). “Currently” indicates the action is happening right now.
Error Analysis: * (A) to work: Common Mistake. Refers to a general fact, missing the ongoing “currently” nuance.
- (B) working: Structural Error. Missing “to be”.
- (D) that she works: Strong Distractor. Incorrect structure. “That” follows “It is said”, not “She is said”.
7 (B)
Key: had her luggage transported
Why it’s correct: Causative passive in the past tense (had + object + V3).
Error Analysis: * (A) had her luggage transport: Common Mistake. Missing the ‘ed’ on the verb.
- (C) got her luggage to transport: Strong Distractor. Grammatically makes the luggage the active agent doing the transporting.
- (D) transported her luggage had: Structural Error. Completely wrong word order.
8 (D)
Key: to have cancelled
Why it’s correct: Perfect infinitive (to have + V3). Used because the cancellation happened “last month”, before the current belief (“is believed”).
Error Analysis: * (A) to cancel: Common Mistake. Implies present or future, contradicting “last month”.
- (B) cancelled: Structural Error. Past simple cannot follow a passive reporting verb.
- (C) having cancelled: Strong Distractor. Sounds like a perfect form, but we need the infinitive “to”, not a gerund.
9 (C)
Key: had her social media accounts deleted
Why it’s correct: Causative passive used for a negative experience (have + object + V3). The hackers did it to her.
Error Analysis: * (A) had deleted her social media accounts: Common Mistake. Past perfect active. Means she deleted them herself.
- (B) her social media accounts were had deleted: Structural Error. Ungrammatical double passive.
- (D) got her social media accounts to delete: Strong Distractor. Makes the accounts the active subject deleting things.
10 (A)
Key: It is
Why it’s correct: Impersonal passive dummy subject.
Error Analysis: * (B) She is: Common Mistake. “She is understood that” is structurally invalid.
- (C) Is: Structural Error. Missing the subject completely.
- (D) There is: Strong Distractor. Used for existence, not reporting clauses.
11 (C)
Key: to be
Why it’s correct: Personal passive structure requiring a to-infinitive.
Error Analysis: * (A) being: Common Mistake. Gerund instead of an infinitive.
- (B) is: Structural Error. Two main verbs clashing.
- (D) that she is: Strong Distractor. Would be correct if the sentence started with “It is known…”.
12 (C)
Key: moved
Why it’s correct: Causative passive in the present continuous (is having + object + V3).
Error Analysis: * (A) moving: Strong Distractor. Active participle.
- (B) to move: Structural Error. “To” is not used with “have”.
- (D) move: Common Mistake. Confusing active causative with passive.
13 (B)
Key: to have been delayed
Why it’s correct: Perfect passive infinitive (to have been + V3). The delay happened in the past and is a passive action done to the movie.
Error Analysis: * (A) to have delayed: Common Mistake. Perfect active. A movie cannot delay itself.
- (C) having been delayed: Structural Error. Missing the required “to”.
- (D) to be delay: Strong Distractor. Missing the ‘ed’ for passive.
14 (A)
Key: released
Why it’s correct: Causative passive with “got” (got + object + V3).
Error Analysis: * (B) to release: Common Mistake. Confusing active causative (got someone to release) with passive.
- (C) releasing: Strong Distractor. Means the statement is releasing something else.
- (D) release: Structural Error. Base verb is not used with “get”.
15 (C)
Key: to have been suffering
Why it’s correct: Perfect continuous infinitive (to have been + V-ing). Shows an ongoing action (suffering) that happened before the reporting time (was alleged).
Error Analysis: * (A) to suffer: Common Mistake. Simple infinitive, misses the “for several months” ongoing past context.
- (B) to be suffered: Strong Distractor. Passive infinitive. “Suffer” is intransitive here; she wasn’t suffered by anyone.
- (D) suffering: Structural Error. Missing the “to”.
16 (A)
Key: has the contract reviewed
Why it’s correct: Present simple causative passive. In time clauses (after “until”), we use present tenses to refer to the future.
Error Analysis: * (B) will have the contract reviewed: Strong Distractor. “Will” is generally not used directly after “until” in time clauses.
- (C) get the contract review: Structural Error. Missing ‘s’ on get and ‘ed’ on review.
- (D) has reviewed the contract: Common Mistake. Active voice. Means she reviews it herself, not the legal team.
17 (D)
Key: are thought
Why it’s correct: Present passive reporting verb matching the plural subject “paparazzi”.
Error Analysis: * (A) thought: Structural Error. Missing the “are” to form the passive.
- (B) are thinking: Common Mistake. Active continuous. Doesn’t fit the “to be tracking” structure logically.
- (C) have thought: Strong Distractor. Active present perfect.
18 (A)
Key: had his name removed
Why it’s correct: Causative passive (had + object + V3).
Error Analysis: * (B) had his name remove: Structural Error. Missing ‘d’ on removed.
- (C) got his name to remove: Strong Distractor. Makes the name the active agent.
- (D) had removed his name: Common Mistake. Active past perfect. Changes the nuance; she did the physical removal herself instead of arranging it.
19 (A)
Key: to have been leaked
Why it’s correct: Perfect passive infinitive. The leaking happened in the past (to have), and it was done to the interview (been leaked).
Error Analysis: * (B) to have leaked: Common Mistake. Active voice. An interview doesn’t leak itself in this context (it was leaked by the PR agency).
- (C) having been leaked: Structural Error. Missing “to”.
- (D) to be leaking: Strong Distractor. Present continuous active.
20 (C)
Key: to have started
Why it’s correct: Perfect infinitive (to have + V3). The rival started the rumors in the past, before the current allegation.
Error Analysis: * (A) to start: Common Mistake. Refers to present/future.
- (B) having started: Structural Error. Gerunds don’t follow “is alleged”.
- (D) that she started: Strong Distractor. Incorrect syntax after “is alleged” (requires “It is alleged that…”).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The “Showbiz Gossip” Passive (Impersonal & Personal)
- Impersonal Structure: It + is rumored / alleged / thought + that + S + V
- Usage: Used by reporters to state unconfirmed rumors without taking blame.
- Example: It is rumored that she left the country.
- Personal Structure: Subject + is rumored / alleged + Infinitive
- Usage: Focuses on the person being gossiped about. The infinitive changes based on time:
- Present action: to V (She is thought to need a break).
- Ongoing action right now: to be V-ing (She is said to be hiding).
- Past completed action: to have V3 (She is believed to have cancelled her contract).
- Past passive action: to have been V3 (The script is considered to have been leaked).
2 The Causative Passive (Delegation & Misfortune)
- Structure: have / get + Object + V3 (Past Participle)
- Context 1 (Delegating a task): When A-listers pay or arrange for professionals to do things for them.
- Example: She had her mansion renovated (She didn’t paint the walls herself; she hired a team).
- Context 2 (Experiencing a negative event): When something bad happens to a person, outside of their control.
- Example: She had her social media deleted by hackers. (She didn’t hire the hackers; she was the victim).