Take the passive beyond the basics: modals, perfect forms, infinitives and gerunds.
You already know the basic passive: The bread is baked every morning. The B2 skill is using the passive in every tense and structure — with modals, in the perfect, after other verbs as an infinitive or a gerund. We choose the passive when the action is more important than the person who did it, when the doer is obvious or unknown, or when we want to sound formal and objective.
This is the language of reports, rules, science and news. Master it and your written English immediately sounds more professional and precise, because you can put the important information first and keep the doer in the background.
To make any modal passive, keep the modal and add be + past participle. The modal never changes; only be links it to the participle. This is how we express rules, ability, possibility and advice in an impersonal way.
| Modal | Passive form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| obligation | must / have to + be + V3 | Helmets must be worn on the climbing wall. |
| advice | should / ought to + be + V3 | This invitation should be sent today. |
| ability / possibility | can / could + be + V3 | The whole park can be seen from up here. |
| uncertainty | may / might + be + V3 | The school trip might be delayed by the storm. |
Every perfect tense has a passive. The pattern is always the same: take the perfect (have / has / had / will have) and add been + past participle. The tricky word is been — it is easy to forget, but the sentence is wrong without it.
| Tense | Passive form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present Perfect | has / have + been + V3 | The report has been finished. |
| Past Perfect | had + been + V3 | The palace had been built before 1900. |
| Future Perfect | will have + been + V3 | By Friday it will have been tested twice. |
After many verbs and adjectives we need a passive infinitive (to be + V3) or a passive gerund (being + V3). Choose the infinitive after verbs like need, want, have and after must/should; choose the gerund after prepositions and verbs like hate, enjoy, avoid, remember.
| Form | Use it after... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to be + V3 | need, want, would like, have to | The engine needs to be checked. |
| to be + V3 | it is + adjective (important, easy) | This point is easy to be misunderstood. |
| being + V3 | hate, enjoy, avoid, remember | She avoids being interrupted. |
| being + V3 | a preposition (of, about, without) | I'm tired of being told what to do. |
When we report what people generally say or believe — without naming who — English uses two impersonal passive patterns. You will study reporting in detail in Unit 9; here is the essential shape.
| Pattern | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| impersonal | It is said / believed / thought + that + clause | It is said that the acoustics are perfect. |
| personal | Subject + is said / believed + to + infinitive | The theatre is said to have perfect acoustics. |
Certain situations almost always call for the passive. Learn to recognise them and the right form will follow.
| Situation | Why passive? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| rules & instructions | the doer is obvious (you / people) | Bags must be left at the door. |
| news & reports | the action matters, not the agent | Three people have been arrested. |
| processes & science | objective, impersonal tone | The sample is then heated to 100°C. |
| unknown doer | we do not know who did it | My bike has been stolen. |
These are the errors B2 students still make with the passive. Check your own writing against every row.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| This form must completed today. | This form must be completed today. | a modal passive needs "be": modal + be + V3. |
| The bridge has completed. | The bridge has been completed. | a perfect passive needs "been": has + been + V3. |
| The letter should be wrote again. | The letter should be written again. | use the past participle (written), not the past simple. |
| I hate to be told what to do. | I hate being told what to do. | "hate" takes the passive gerund: being + V3. |
| It is said he is very rich. / He is said he is rich. | He is said to be very rich. | personal passive = subject + is said + to + infinitive. |
Two friends check the newly-repaired tree house in the park. Read it twice and watch how the passive works across modals and perfect tenses: a rule with must, a result with the present perfect, an earlier event with the past perfect, and a forecast with the future perfect.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them in your own passive sentences about processes and rules.
Write 8 sentences about how something is made, built, looked after or protected — a tree house, a playground, a school garden, a club, or the rules of a place you know. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): restore · preserve · neglect · renovate · inspect · construct · demolish · maintain
The old tree house in the town park has finally been saved. For nearly thirty years it stood empty, and many people believed that it would eventually be demolished. However, after a long public campaign, it has been restored to its former glory, and it will be reopened to the public next spring.
For most of those thirty years, the tree house had simply been forgotten. Its wooden ladder was broken, its little windows were boarded up, and weeds were allowed to grow around the great oak that held it. Local children invented stories about the 'haunted tree', and photographs of its peeling paint were shared online, whereas older neighbours still remembered the laughter that had once echoed from it. Every so often someone would suggest that the platform could be taken down and cleared away, and each time the idea was quietly dropped, since no one could agree on what should replace such a beloved landmark.
What made the tree house special was not only its size but its history. It had been built as a meeting place for every child in the town, a place where ordinary families could play and read together for free. When it was closed, that shared space was lost, and the park felt emptier because of it. Therefore, when a small group of volunteers announced a plan to rescue it, hundreds of people signed up within a week, and donations were collected in shops, schools and cafés across the town.
The tree house was built in 1965 by a famous local carpenter. For decades it was loved across the whole town; games were played there every weekend, whereas today many children stay indoors with their screens. Nevertheless, by the 1980s the tree house had been neglected for years. The roof had been damaged by winter storms, and the beautiful little rooms had been ruined by damp.
The decline had not happened overnight. In its golden days, the tree house had been filled from morning to night, and children had been invited from every school in the area. Gradually, however, fewer families came, the money for repairs dried up, and small jobs were postponed year after year. Once the rain had been allowed to soak through the roof, the damage spread quickly: the floor rotted, the bright paint flaked, and the old rope ladder had to be taken down before it could snap. By the time the little door was finally locked, the tree house that had once been the pride of the park was considered too dangerous to save.
When the restoration finally began, hundreds of problems had to be solved. The roof had to be rebuilt completely, and every plank needed to be checked for safety. The original colours were discovered under later layers of paint; therefore, experts decided that the colours should be returned to their 1965 design. Although the work was slow and expensive, it was never rushed.
The restoration turned out to be a journey into the past. As the later layers were carefully removed, the helpers uncovered tiny carvings that had been hidden for decades, and old drawings were even found beneath the floorboards. Skilled carpenters were brought in to copy the original woodwork by hand, because machine-made copies would not be accepted. Every piece of timber had to be treated against damp, and the little windows were cleaned one by one. Wherever possible, the original wood was preserved rather than replaced, so that the tree house would keep its true character.
None of this could be done cheaply. Grants had to be applied for, and each stage of the work had to be approved by the town committee before it could continue. Moreover, strict rules were introduced around the tree: hard hats must be worn at all times, and nothing could be touched until it had been inspected. Volunteers helped in other ways too — old photos were sorted, fundraising picnics were organised in the park, and the story of the tree house was told again and again until almost everyone in the town felt part of it.
Since the project was announced, thousands of tickets have been requested. It is said that the view from the top is better than ever, and the opening day has already been sold out. Moreover, the tree house must be protected for future generations, so a special trust has been created to look after it. The work is not quite finished yet, yet the main platform is ready.
Not everyone had believed the rescue was possible. 'We were told the tree house could not be saved, and that it would have to be pulled down,' remembers one long-time neighbour who joined the campaign. 'Nevertheless, we refused to give up. Now my granddaughter will climb the same ladder where I first played as a child, and that is something money cannot buy.' Stories like hers have been repeated in newspapers and online, and they have helped to keep public support strong throughout the long years of work.
Plans for the reopening are already being prepared. A weekend of games has been arranged, and local schools will be given free passes so that a new generation can play safely in the tree. The tree house will also be maintained regularly from now on, and a small display is being created at its foot to explain how the rescue was carried out. Although a few finishing touches still remain, the trust is confident that everything will have been completed before the first party.
'A place like this should never be allowed to fall apart,' says the head of the trust. 'It has been given a second life, and it will be enjoyed by our grandchildren.'
For the people who fought to save it, the lesson is simple. When a place is loved and looked after, it can be kept alive for generations; when it is neglected, even the finest tree house can be lost in a single childhood. The old tree house was very nearly lost, yet it was rescued in time. Now, as the lanterns are lit once more, it stands as proof of what a determined community can achieve together.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text. Mind the passive auxiliary (be / been / being).
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. Why did many people think the tree house would be demolished?
2. What decisions were made about the interior colours, and why?
3. What do you think the head of the trust means by giving the building 'a second life'?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: however, therefore, nevertheless, although, whereas, moreover, since, yet. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Rewrite an active description in the passive, then drill the grammar with 10 quick questions.
Below is a short active description of how a small lemonade stand works. Your job is to rewrite every sentence in the passive, so the focus falls on the process, not on the people.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
10 quick questions on the advanced passive. Each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
At B1 you linked ideas with and, but, so, because. At B2 you sound noticeably more advanced when you use formal, precise connectors. Four of them are essential this unit — and two familiar ones, although and however, become sharper tools.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| moreover | add a stronger, extra point | The roof was repaired. Moreover, new lights were installed. |
| therefore | show a logical result | The paint was damaged; therefore, the walls had to be restored. |
| whereas | contrast two ideas directly | The outside was repaired quickly, whereas the inside took months. |
| nevertheless | say "in spite of that" | The work was expensive. Nevertheless, it was never rushed. |
| although | concede a point inside one sentence | Although it had been neglected, the tree house was saved. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | It stood empty for years. However, it has now been restored. |
See the difference — the same facts, written two ways:
| Basic linking ✗ | Confident B2 writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| The playground is old. It is being renovated. The swings were fixed. The slide is not finished. It will open next year. | The old playground is being renovated. Although the swings have already been fixed, the slide has not been finished yet; therefore, the work will continue. Nevertheless, it will be reopened next year. |
A "process or place" paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | A topic sentence introducing the place or process | The old tree house in my town park is being completely renovated. |
| 2. Body | Describe the steps or history with passives — present simple for facts, perfect passives for results, modal passives for rules. Link with B2 connectors. | The roof has already been repaired, whereas the floor has not been finished yet. |
| 3. Closing | A final comment about now or the future | When it is reopened, the tree house will be enjoyed by the whole town. |
Describe how something is made or looked after, or how a place is being restored or protected — a tree house, a playground, a school garden, a club, or the rules of a place you know. Use the passive throughout.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + practice. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...