Passive with gerund-infinitives

Impersonal Pronouns in the Passive We use this form for the sentences which

have pronouns such as anyone, no one, anybody, nobody, anything

active : nobody /nothing Passive: anybody and anything Active: Nobody can repair this broken vase. Passive: This broken vase can not be

repaired by anybody.

Active: You can not do anything about this case.

Passive: Nothing can be done about this case.

It’s said that …/He is said to etc… Main clause+ noun clause sentences can be turn

into passive form in two ways: Active: People say that he lives abroad now. Passive 1: It is said that he lives abroad now. Passive 2: He is said to live abroad now. Active: People believe that he is the murderer of his

wife. Passive1 : It is believed that he is the murderer of

his wife. Passive2: He is believed to be the murderer of his

wife.

Differences in tenses:

A. Present “be” (am,is,are) They say that the man upstairs is a thief. It is said that the man upstairs is a thief. The man upstairs is said to be a thief. B. Simple Present: We understand that he dislikes children. It is understood that he dislikes children. He is understood to dislike children.

C. Past “be” (was,were) They say that he was very rich in the past. It is said that he was very rich in the past. He is said to have been very rich…….. D. Simple Past People claim that he left the country two

months ago. It is claimed that he left the country……. He is claimed to have left the ………….

E. Present Perfect People think that he has deserted his family. It is thought that he has deserted his family. He is thought to have deserted his family. F. Present Progressive We think that he is waiting there now. It is thought that he is waiting there now. He is thought to be waiting there now. G. Past progressive People say that he was working very hard. It is said that he was working very hard. He is said to have been working very hard.

H. Future tense (will or going to ) People expect that the rate of exchange will/ is

going to go down soon. It is expected that the rate of exchange will/is

going to go down soon. The rate of exchange is expected to go/to be

going down soon. I. Present Passive (am,is,are done) They say that a lot of electrical appliances are

stolen every day. It is said that a lot of eclectrical appliances are

stolen . A lot of electrical appliances are said to be stolen.

J. Past Passive (was,were done) They report that two people were killed in

the explosion. It is reported that two people were killed in

the explosion. Two people are reported to have been

killed in the explosion.

If the verb is in past form in the main clause, we should use was,were in the

passive part. People believed that he had committed the

crime. It was believed that he had committed the

crime. He was believed to have committed the

crime.

The passive gerund

The basic form of passive is be+past participle (be done) ,but in the passive gerund , the verbs taking gerund can be used in the form of being done

I have been invited to the party. I appreciate this.

I appreciate being invited to the party. In this use the verb is active but gerund is

passive.

She insists on our telling her the truth whatever it is. She insists on being told the truth whatever it is. I don’t enjoy being asked personal questions. You can’t go to the party without being invited. Being the son of a very rich man, he is in danger of

being kidnapped. I resented not being invited to the wedding.

Passive with Perfect Gerund

The form is having been done. If the gerund verb occured before the main verb

we use perfect gerund ( having done) instead of simple gerund /doing)

The man denied being involved / having been involved in the robbery.

I don’t recall being told/ having been told about this case.

She doesn’t seem interested in being given/ having been given a reward for her work.

The thief admitted that he had stolen the car.

The thief admitted having stolen the car. He was accused of having embezzled a

large sum of money into his own account. I appreciated your having helped me. Perfect gerund is mostly used with admit and

deny verbs.

Exercise 1:Complete the sentences using active gerund (simple or perfect) or passive gerund (simple or perfect) supplying a preposition

1. I’m not accustomed ………….(treat) ………so authoritatively as I am by him. So I’m thinking ………..(put)…………..an end to our friendship.

2. I can’t stand (tell)………….how to do something I know so well.

3. In the end the manager admitted ……(involve) ………in the embezzlement case.

Passive infinitive and past infinitive A. The infinitive passive form is to be done. I don’t want you to tell me what to do. I don’t want to be told what to do. I didn’t expect she would invite me to her

wedding. I didn’t expect to be invited to her wedding.

B. The past form of infinitive is to have done and passive past is to have been done.

If the infinitive verb occurs before the main verb, use past infinitive.

The basic verbs ; seem, appear, pretend, The basic adjectives; lucky, fortunate, happy,

pleased, content, likely

I’m happy that I passed the exam. I’m happy to have passed the exam. She is fortunate that she received a good

education. She is fortunate to have received a good education. It seems that they were surprised at the news. They seem to have been surprised at the news.

c. To do/to be done and to have done/to have been done She is fortunate that she will study abroad. She is fortunate to study abroad.

She is fortunate that she studied abroad. She is fortunate to have studied abroad.

She is lucky she will be sent abroad. She is lucky to be sent abroad.

She is lucky she was sent abroad. She is lucky to have been sent abroad.

d. Seem ,appear and pretend can be used in the form on present continuous infinitive (to be doing) and past cont.(or present perf. Cont.) (to have been doing) It appears that they are waiting for us. They appear to be waiting for us.

It appears that they have been waiting for us for a long time.

They appear to have been waiting for us….

e. After Tell, order,ask ,request etc. Verbs we can not use past infinitive, because these verbs express the actions

which will occur after them. I asked my friends not to make so much

noise. I told the children to be careful. He told me to be there on time.