Advanced Passive Voice: Uses, Reporting and Impersonal Passives

Imagine you are reading an editorial in The Hindu about the latest RBI policy, or writing a formal project report for your manager at Infosys. Sentences rarely start with “The RBI said…” or “I finished the report.” Instead you see “Interest rates are expected to rise”, “It is reported that the strike is over” or “The project has been successfully completed.” In professional and academic writing—the UPSC mains, a corporate presentation, an IELTS essay—the advanced passive voice is the difference between sounding like a school student and sounding like a seasoned professional.

1. The ‘By’ Decision — To Include or Not to Include?

In school we were taught to add “by [someone]” to every passive sentence (“The cake was eaten by Ravi”). In professional writing, the agent (the doer) is usually left out. Include “by + agent” only if the doer is important, surprising or needed for the meaning; if it is obvious, unknown or unimportant, leave it out to keep the sentence crisp.

2. Passive with Modals

Modals like can, must, should, could and might add possibility or necessity. In formal offices they are often used in the passive to make instructions sound polite and objective: instead of “You must finish this,” a manager writes “This must be finished.”

3. Passive Infinitives

The infinitive (to + verb) also has a passive form, common after verbs like need, want, expect and hope. At a college placement cell you might hear: “Every student wants to be placed in a top MNC.”

For past actions that seem to have happened, use the perfect passive infinitive (to have been + V3):

4. Reporting Passives: Impersonal and Personal

This is the most advanced use of the passive, and essential for exams like IELTS and for news writing. When we report what “people say” or “experts believe” without naming anyone, we use a passive reporting verb. There are two structures.

Common reporting verbs: believe, say, know, think, report, claim, allege, assume, expect, fear, find, understand, consider, estimate.

Structure A — Impersonal passive: It + passive verb + that-clause

The empty pronoun it acts as a placeholder subject for a general statement or belief. This is the easier version.

Structure B — Personal passive: Subject + passive verb + to-infinitive

Here the subject of the that-clause becomes the subject of the whole sentence (a “raised” subject). It is more sophisticated and very common in journalism.

Past reference: if the reported action happened before the reporting, use the perfect infinitive (to have + V3).

5. The Get-Passive (Informal Style)

In everyday spoken English we often replace be with get. The get-passive is informal and usually describes negative events, sudden changes, accidents, or things we do for ourselves.

6. Using These Structures in IELTS and Academic Writing

The passive is a quick way to show grammatical range in IELTS Academic Writing. In Task 1 process diagrams, the passive describes each stage when the doer doesn’t matter: “The leaves are picked by hand and then dried for 24 hours.” Projections in charts often use reporting passives: “The population is estimated to reach 9 million by 2040.” In Task 2, an impersonal passive introduces a common view objectively: “It is often argued that university education should be free.” Use them where they fit; a passive in every sentence makes writing heavy.

7. Common Mistakes by Indian Learners

Many learners mix up active and passive, forget the V3 form, or mix the two reporting structures:

Summary

The advanced passive lets you write with authority and objectivity. It is not just about changing word order; it is about choosing the right focus for your reader.

• Include the agent (by + someone) only when the doer is important or surprising.
• Use the passive with modals (must be done, can be seen) for formal instructions.
• Use passive infinitives (to be checked) when the action is the goal.
• Use It is [verb]ed that… or Subject is [verb]ed to… for academic and journalistic reporting, with to have + V3 for earlier actions.
• Use the get-passive only for informal, sudden events.
• Always use the V3 (past participle) form of the verb.

Key takeaway: read the editorial page of an English newspaper and highlight every “is said to”, “is expected to” or “has been found to.” Then try one passive modal in your next work email.