C1 Advanced · Grammar

The Advanced Passive

Beyond was made — the passive structures that mark formal, objective English: impersonal reporting (it is said that…), the causative (have something done), and passive infinitives.

Level: C1 Focus: Register & reporting 10 scored questions

The Grammar Transformer

Press a button. Make it impersonal.

Advanced English reports a claim without naming who said it. Switch the reporting verb and the structure, and watch the same idea become impersonal and formal.

It is said that he is rich.

Structure: It + is + past participle + that-clause

Impersonal passive with 'it': It is said / believed / thought + that-clause. It distances the writer from the claim.

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Why the advanced passive matters

At C1, the passive is a tool for register and focus, not just a transformation. It lets you sound objective, report claims without naming a source, foreground the action rather than the doer, and say that you arranged for something to be done.

The same news, three levels of distance: Active: The committee has rejected the proposal. Passive: The proposal has been rejected. (focus on the proposal; doer hidden) Reported passive: The proposal is said to have been rejected. (distancing — an unverified claim)

When — and why — to choose it

Reaching for the passive is a deliberate choice about focus, tone and tact. Here is when it earns its place over the active — and the thinking behind each case.

1 · There is no useful doer

The shop was broken into overnight.

When the agent is unknown, obvious or simply irrelevant, the passive lets you leave it out instead of inventing a vague subject like “someone”.

2 · To control focus & flow

Penicillin changed medicine. It was discovered by Fleming in 1928.

Keeping the topic (it / penicillin) as the subject links sentences smoothly, and lets you push new or “heavy” information to the end, where English prefers it.

3 · For an objective, impersonal tone

The data were collected over six months and then analysed.

Academic and scientific writing foregrounds the method and the results, not the researcher. The passive removes the “I / we” and sounds neutral.

4 · For tact, diplomacy or caution

A number of mistakes were made in the report.

When naming the doer would be impolite, awkward or risky, the passive reports the fact without pointing a finger — useful in complaints, apologies and bad news.

5 · To keep your distance from a claim

The minister is alleged to have misled parliament.

Reporting passives pass on information you cannot — or do not want to — personally vouch for. They are the backbone of careful journalism and hedged opinion.

Key advanced passive patterns

Five structures separate confident C1 writers from the rest.

Impersonal reporting passive

It + is + said / believed… + that-clause · subject + is + said + to-infinitive

It is believed that the painting is a fake. (= People believe…)

The painting is believed to be a fake. (subject moved to the front)

He is thought to have left the country. (earlier event → to have + p.p.)

When & why: to pass on a claim while keeping your distance from it — you report what is said without naming the source or guaranteeing it is true. It is the standard move in news writing, academic summaries and carefully hedged opinions. The “subject + to-infinitive” version (He is said to…) sounds more formal and more concise than the It is said that… version. Common verbs: say, believe, think, know, report, expect, consider, allege.

The causative: have / get something done

have / get + object + past participle

I had my car serviced last week. (I arranged it; a mechanic did it)

She’s getting her hair cut tomorrow. (get = more informal)

We had our flight cancelled. (something happened to us)

Use it to: say that you arranged for someone else to do something — not that you did it yourself. It can also describe an (often unwelcome) experience.

Passives with two objects

give, send, offer, show, tell, pay… → either object can be the subject

person as subject (common)

I was given a second chance.

thing as subject

A second chance was given to me.

Use it to: choose your focus. With verbs that take two objects, you can start with the person or the thing — English usually prefers the person.

Passive infinitives & gerunds

(to) be + past participle · being + past participle

He expects to be promoted soon. (passive infinitive)

She hates being interrupted. (passive gerund)

The report needs to be finished — or needs finishing. (both passive in meaning)

Use it to: keep the passive after another verb or a preposition. Note that need + -ing carries a passive meaning (= needs to be done).

The agent (by…) — keep or cut?

… + by + agent (only when it adds information)

The novel was written by Orwell. (the doer matters — keep it)

My bike was stolen. (doer unknown — cut it)

English is spoken here. (doer general / obvious — cut it)

Use it to: add by + agent only when the doer is important, surprising, or specific. Otherwise leave it out — hiding the doer is the whole point of the passive.

The golden rule — and the traps

Choose the passive for a reason, and watch the verbs that don’t behave.

The golden rule

Use the passive on purpose — for objectivity, focus, or to arrange an action — never as a default. If naming the doer makes the sentence clearer or stronger, stay active.

Avoid I was explained the rules. Use The rules were explained to me. Verbs like explain, suggest, describe, say don’t take a person as the passive subject — use to me.

Avoid He is said to be rich last year. Use He is said to have been rich. (or: He was said to be rich.) For an event before the reporting, use to have + past participle, or report in the past (was said).

Mind the meaning I cut my hair. (= you did it yourself) Causative I had my hair cut. (= a hairdresser did it) The causative have something done shows someone else did the work for you.

Register Mistakes were made and the decision was taken… Note Don’t make everything passive — a wall of passives is vague and evasive. Use the passive selectively; over-using it weakens, rather than strengthens, formal writing.

Practice & score yourself

Ten questions — reporting passives, the causative, and passive infinitives. Instant scoring and a full explanation for every answer.

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Part A — Choose / transform

The one rule to remember

The advanced passive is about register and focus: use it to sound objective and impersonal (It is believed that…, He is said to…), to put the action centre-stage, and to say you arranged for something (have / get something done). Keep the agent (by…) only when it adds real information.

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