Take the passive beyond the basics: modals, perfect forms, infinitives and gerunds.
You already know the basic passive: Lunch is served at noon every day. 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 school notices, rules, science lessons and the news. Master it and your written English immediately sounds more clear 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 | Phones must be switched off in class. |
| advice | should / ought to + be + V3 | This project should be finished tonight. |
| ability / possibility | can / could + be + V3 | The whole football pitch can be seen from here. |
| uncertainty | may / might + be + V3 | The match might be cancelled because of 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 essay has been finished. |
| Past Perfect | had + been + V3 | The school had been built before 1950. |
| Future Perfect | will have + been + V3 | By Friday it will have been marked 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 | My bike needs to be repaired. |
| 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 new teacher is really strict. |
| personal | Subject + is said / believed + to + infinitive | The new teacher is said to be really strict. |
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) | Phones must be handed in before the test. |
| news & reports | the action matters, not the agent | The results have been posted online. |
| 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 homework must handed in today. | This homework must be handed in today. | a modal passive needs "be": modal + be + V3. |
| The new gym has finished. | The new gym has been finished. | a perfect passive needs "been": has + been + V3. |
| The essay should be wrote again. | The essay 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 she is the best. / She is said she is the best. | She is said to be the best. | personal passive = subject + is said + to + infinitive. |
Two students organise the school talent show. 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 you know.
Write 8 sentences about how something is made, built, run or protected — a video game, your favourite dish, a school event, a sports club, or the rules of your school. 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 skatepark near our school has finally been saved. For nearly ten years it stood empty, and many people believed that it would eventually be demolished. However, after a long campaign by local teenagers, the park has been restored to its original condition, and it will be reopened to the public next spring.
That campaign did not begin in an office; it began in a classroom. A group of Year 10 students, most of whom had grown up skating there, refused to accept that their favourite place would simply be knocked down. A petition was written during a lunch break, and within a single month more than two thousand signatures had been collected. Photographs of the cracked ramps were shared on social media, and short clips in which older skaters described their memories were watched thousands of times. Because the story was told by teenagers rather than by adults, it felt honest, and slowly the local council was persuaded that the park deserved another chance.
The skatepark was constructed in 1998 by a group of volunteers. For years it was loved across the whole neighbourhood; competitions were held there every weekend, whereas today many teenagers just film their tricks for social media. Nevertheless, by 2015 the park had been neglected for years. The ramps had been damaged by rain, and the smooth surface had been ruined by deep cracks.
To understand why the loss mattered so much, you have to picture what the park had once been. On summer evenings it was crowded with beginners learning their first tricks, and older students were often asked to teach the younger ones. Music was played from a small speaker in the corner, and nobody was ever turned away. Then, little by little, everything changed. Funding was cut, the caretaker was moved to another site, and the repairs that should have been made were quietly forgotten. Weeds were allowed to grow through the concrete, litter was left uncollected, and eventually the gates were chained shut. What had once been the heart of the neighbourhood was suddenly treated as a problem to be removed.
When the renovation finally began, hundreds of problems had to be solved. The main ramp had to be rebuilt completely, the surface was renovated, and every rail needed to be inspected for safety. Original designs were discovered in an old photo album; therefore, the volunteers decided that the colours should be returned to their 1998 style. Although the work was slow and expensive, it was never rushed.
Money, of course, had to be found before a single ramp could be touched. A crowdfunding page was set up by the students, and donations were sent by families, teachers and even a few former skaters who now live abroad. A local skate shop offered materials at a lower price, whereas a building company lent its tools for free at weekends. Most of the labour, however, was done by volunteers. Every Saturday morning, teenagers in old clothes could be seen mixing cement, sanding rails and repainting fences. Safety, though, was never treated casually: no ramp was reopened until it had been checked twice, once by the volunteers and once by a qualified inspector. Mistakes were expected, and when one section of concrete was poured badly, it was broken up and laid again without complaint.
Great care was also taken with the smaller details that give a place its character. The names of the original builders were repainted along one wall so that they would not be forgotten, and a fresh mural was designed by the school art club. Benches were added for the many students who come only to watch, and a shaded corner was created where homework can be finished before the sun goes down. Every decision was discussed openly, because the organisers believed that a park built for teenagers should be shaped by teenagers themselves.
Since the project was announced, thousands of messages have been posted online. It is said that the new ramps are better than ever, and the opening day has already been fully booked. Moreover, the park must be preserved for future skaters, so a special club has been created to look after and maintain it. The work is not quite finished yet, yet the main area is ready.
The new club has already agreed on a few simple rules, and these have been pinned to the gate for everyone to read. Helmets must be worn by younger skaters, glass bottles are not allowed anywhere on the site, and any damage must be reported at once. Membership is free for students, although older members are encouraged to help with maintenance in return. A monthly clean-up has been organised, and a beginners' session will be run every Sunday so that no child feels too nervous to try. There is even talk of a small competition next summer, with the prizes to be donated by local shops.
For the students involved, the project has taught far more than skateboarding. They have learned that a public space is not something that simply appears; it is something that has to be looked after, argued for and, when necessary, rescued. They have discovered how a plan is approved, how money is raised, and how a whole community can be brought together around one shared idea. Above all, they have seen that a place which many adults had already given up on could be saved once young people decided that it truly mattered.
'A place like this should never be allowed to fall apart,' says the head of the club. 'It has been given a second life, and it will be enjoyed by younger kids for years.'
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 skatepark would be demolished?
2. What decisions were made about the colours, and why?
3. What do you think the head of the club means by giving the skatepark '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 school gaming club 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 ramp was repaired. Moreover, new lights were installed. |
| therefore | show a logical result | The surface was cracked; therefore, the ramps had to be rebuilt. |
| whereas | contrast two ideas directly | The ramps were fixed quickly, whereas the surface 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 skatepark 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 skatepark is old. It is being renovated. The main ramp was fixed. The rails are not finished. It will open next year. | The old skatepark is being renovated. Although the main ramp has already been fixed, the rails have 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 skatepark near my school 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 main ramp has already been repaired, whereas the surface has not been finished yet. |
| 3. Closing | A final comment about now or the future | When it is reopened, the park will be enjoyed by the whole neighbourhood. |
Describe how something is made or run, or how a place is being restored or protected — a video game, a dish, a school club, an old building near you, or the rules of your school. 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...