Advanced Passive Voice

What is Advanced Passive Voice?

Building on the basic understanding of passive voice (where the subject receives the action, e.g., The ball was kicked), advanced passive voice involves more complex grammatical structures and nuanced uses. It allows for greater flexibility in sentence construction, emphasis, and formality, particularly in academic, scientific, or journalistic contexts. It often involves verbs with multiple objects, reporting verbs, or specific idiomatic expressions.

1. Complex Passive Structures

a. Passive with Verbs of Reporting (Impersonal and Personal Passive)

This is a common advanced passive structure used to report what people say, think, believe, know, etc., without specifying the source.

• Impersonal Passive: It is said/believed/known/thought/reported that...

  • It is believed that the economy will improve next year.
  • It was reported that the negotiations had failed.

• Personal Passive: Subject + be + past participle + to-infinitive

  • The economy is believed to improve next year. (Compare: People believe that the economy will improve next year.)
  • The suspect is known to have left the country. (Compare: People know that the suspect has left the country.)
  • She is said to be a brilliant scientist.

b. Passive with Two Objects (Direct and Indirect)

Some verbs (e.g., give, offer, tell, send, show, teach, pay, promise) can take both a direct and an indirect object. Either object can become the subject of a passive sentence.

• Active: They gave him (indirect object) a prize (direct object).
• Passive (Indirect Object as Subject): He was given a prize.

• Passive (Direct Object as Subject): A prize was given to him. (Note the preposition 'to' is often needed when the direct object becomes the subject.)

• Active: The company offered her (indirect object) a new job (direct object).

• Passive: She was offered a new job.
• Passive: A new job was offered to her.

c. Passive with Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs (verb + preposition/adverb) can also be used in the passive voice. The preposition/adverb remains with the verb.

• Active: They looked after the children well.
• Passive: The children were looked after well.
• Active: Someone called off the meeting.
• Passive: The meeting was called off.

d. Passive with Get

The get-passive is less formal than the be-passive and is often used to describe something that happens to someone, especially something unexpected or undesirable. It can also imply effort or difficulty.

• He got caught speeding. (He was caught speeding.)
• My car got stolen last night. (My car was stolen last night.)
• Don't get worried about the exam. (Don't be worried about the exam.)

e. Passive with Causative Verbs (have/get something done)

This structure is used when you arrange for someone else to do something for you.

• I had my hair cut yesterday. (Someone cut my hair for me.)
• She is getting her house painted next month. (Someone is going to paint her house for her.)

2. When to Use Advanced Passive Voice

a. Formality and Objectivity

Often preferred in scientific, academic, and technical writing to present information objectively, focusing on the action or result rather than the agent.

• The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions.
• New findings have been published in a leading journal.

b. When the Agent is Unknown or Unimportant

When it's not known who performed the action, or when the identity of the agent is irrelevant.

• My wallet was stolen on the bus. (We don't know who stole it.)
• The decision has been made to close the factory. (The focus is on the decision, not who made it.)

c. To Avoid Naming the Agent

Sometimes used to avoid taking responsibility or to be diplomatic.

• Mistakes were made. (Instead of: I/We made mistakes.)

d. To Maintain Focus or Coherence

To keep the subject consistent throughout a paragraph or to link ideas smoothly.

• The ancient city was founded in 500 BC. It was later destroyed by an earthquake. (Maintaining focus on the city.)

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

Summary

💡 Key takeaway: Advanced passive voice is a powerful tool for conveying information with precision, objectivity, and stylistic variation. Mastering these complex structures enhances your ability to communicate effectively in diverse contexts.