Passive In The Subordinate Clause

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate active or passive verb form.

1. It seems that somebody ..................... the room.

was cleaned
has cleaned
has been cleaned
We use the active verb in the subordinate clause because the action is performed by the
subject.

2. It seems that the house .................. yesterday.

has cleaned
was cleaned
has been cleaned
We use the passive verb in the subordinate clause because the subject is not the doer of the
action.

3. She enjoys ……………… at.

looking at
being looked at
looked at
She enjoys it when others look at her. She doesn’t look; someone else does; so we use the
passive verb here.

4. My dog loves .........................

chased
being chased
being chasing
My dog likes it when somebody chases him. The dog doesn’t do the chasing. It is done by
somebody else; so we need the passive verb here.

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 Passive In The Subordinate Clause

5. I understand that she .....................

has fired
was fired
has firing
Here we use the passive verb in the subordinate clause because something was done to the
subject.

6. I think the castle ................. in the sixteenth century.

has built
was built
has been built
Here we use the passive verb in the subordinate clause because something was done to the
subject.

7. She hates ..................... in her pyjamas.

seeing
being seeing
being seen
been seeing
She hates people seeing her in her pyjamas.

8. He thinks that he .....................

has being chased
is being chased
is been chased
He does not do the chasing. Somebody else is doing it. So we use a passive verb here.

9. Samuel wants to ...................

promote
be promoted

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 Passive In The Subordinate Clause

being promoted
Samuel would like someone to promote him. Here Samuel is not the doer of the action, so we
use the passive verb.

10. Do you enjoy ......................?

being tickling
being tickled
tickled

11. He claimed that the money .................

has stolen
has been stolen
was stolen
He claimed that somebody stole the money. He did not steal the money. It was done by
somebody else. So, we use the passive verb here. 'Has been stolen' is not possible here
because the main verb is in the past tense.

12. I believe that the roof ........................

is repairing
is being repaired
is being repairing
Somebody is repairing the roof. That means the roof is being repaired.

PLAY AGAIN !
Answers
1. It seems that somebody has cleaned the room.

2. It seems that the house was cleaned yesterday.

3. She enjoys being looked at.

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 Passive In The Subordinate Clause

4. My dog loves being chased.

5. I understand that she was fired.

6. I think the castle was built in the sixteenth century.

7. She hates being seen in her pyjamas.

8. He thinks that he is being chased.

9. Samuel wants to be promoted.

10. Do you enjoy being tickled?

11. He claimed that the money was stolen.

12. I believe that the roof is being repaired.

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