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Grammar Lessons

Advanced Passives

Society, Systems & How We're Shaped

Beyond basic "is made" and "was built" — advanced passives let you discuss systems, institutions, and social forces with precision and authority. These structures are common in journalism, academic writing, and formal speech.

Advanced · C1 Lesson ready

Grammar Focus

Three advanced passive patterns — reporting, infinitive, and causative.

Reporting passives

Used in journalism and academic writing to present information without committing to a source. Signals what people generally believe, claim, or report.

is said It is said that… / [Subject] is said to be… — "The system is said to be deeply flawed."
is believed [Subject] is believed to have + past participle — "Inequality is believed to have widened significantly."
is reported [Subject] is reported to be… — "The policy is reported to be under review."
is thought [Subject] is thought to… — "The bias is thought to be built into the algorithm."

Passive with infinitive & causative

Passive infinitive

For expectations, requirements, and obligations — often formal or institutional.

"Citizens are expected to comply. Companies are required to report. The change is supposed to have happened by now."

Have / get something done

When someone else performs an action for you — or when something happens to you (often unwillingly).

"I had my application reviewed twice. She got her work published at 25. He had his licence taken away."

Vocabulary in Context

Six phrasal verbs for talking about systems, power, and social change. Each example uses an advanced passive structure.

01

bring about

Meaning

To cause something to happen — especially a change, reform, or new situation.

Example

"The reform is believed to have been brought about by years of public pressure, not political will."

Conversation questions

  • What do you think it takes to bring about real social change — protest, politics, or something else?
  • Is there a change in your society that you believe could have been brought about sooner? What held it back?
02

carry out

Meaning

To perform, execute, or complete a task, plan, investigation, or order.

Example

"The investigation is said to have been carried out without proper oversight."

Conversation questions

  • Is there a policy or plan in your country that was announced but never carried out? Why do you think that happened?
  • Do you think decisions affecting millions of people are carried out carefully enough? What would you change?
03

build in

Meaning

To include something as a fundamental, hidden, or structural part of a system, product, or process.

Example

"Bias is thought to be built into many AI systems — not intentionally, but through the data they were trained on."

Conversation questions

  • What assumptions or biases do you think are built into the education system you experienced?
  • Is it possible to build fairness into institutions, or does it always come down to the people running them?
04

hand down

Meaning

To pass something from one generation or authority to another — a tradition, a ruling, a sentence, or a belief.

Example

"The values we hold are often said to have been handed down long before we were old enough to question them."

Conversation questions

  • What beliefs or values were handed down to you that you've kept — and which have you chosen to leave behind?
  • Do you think the judgements handed down by courts in your country are generally fair?
05

root out

Meaning

To find and completely eliminate something harmful — corruption, inequality, bad practice — from within a system.

Example

"Corruption is reported to be difficult to root out once it becomes embedded in institutions."

Conversation questions

  • Is there something you think needs to be rooted out of your workplace, community, or society? What makes it so persistent?
  • Can systemic problems ever be truly rooted out, or do they tend to return in new forms?
06

wipe out

Meaning

To completely destroy, eliminate, or eradicate something — a disease, a species, a community, a debt.

Example

"Several diseases are believed to have been almost entirely wiped out through vaccination — yet hesitancy is said to be reversing that progress."

Conversation questions

  • What problem in the world do you most wish could be wiped out in your lifetime?
  • Is there a community, tradition, or way of life that you feel is being wiped out — and does that concern you?

Conversation Practice

Questions grouped by theme. Use passive structures where they feel natural — is said to be, is believed to have, is thought to, is expected to, have/get something done.

Power & Systems

  • Is there a law or rule in your country that is widely considered to be unfair — but is still expected to be followed?
  • Can corruption ever truly be rooted out, or is it always said to return eventually? What do you think?
  • Who do you think is really required to take responsibility when systems fail — leaders, institutions, or citizens?

Society & Change

  • What change in your society is believed to have made the biggest difference in the last generation?
  • Is there something that is reported to be improving — but that you think is actually getting worse?
  • What is thought to be the biggest obstacle to social progress in your country right now?

What Shapes Us

  • What values do you think were handed down to you that you didn't choose — but have kept anyway?
  • Is there a bias you think was built into your education — something you only questioned later in life?
  • Have you ever had to get something done — a decision made, a rule changed — by going around the official system? What happened?