Passive: Advanced Structures

Form the passive, using the it + passive verb + that structure:

They believed that tomatoes were poisonous.

Form the passive, using the it + passive verb + that structure:

People say eating too much junk food is bad for you.

Answer explanation

In this structure, if that is followed by a verb, the verb is generally a gerund (-ing) - eating.

Form the passive, using the it + passive verb + that structure:

They thought eating honey cured hay fever.

Form the passive, using the there + passive verb + to be / to have been structure:

They think that there are about 5,200 varieties of potato.

Answer explanation

Which one to choose: to be or to have been? This structure will contain to verbs: the first one must go into the passive as normal (think - are thought). Now, look at the second verb - are. It's in a present tense, so we'll go with to be. Had it been were, we would have chosen to have been to match the past tense.

Form the passive, using the there + passive verb + to be / to have been structure:

It is known that there were early human settlements near natural salt deposits.

Form the passive, using the there + passive verb + to be / to have been structure:

It's believed that there are health problems connected with eating too much salt.

Form the passive, using the subject/indirect object + passive verb + to do/ to have done structure:

Until about 1850, it was believed that bleeding cured fevers.

Answer explanation

We have two objects in the sentence - bleeding and fevers. Bleeding, the indirect object, becomes the new subject that starts the passive clause - bleeding was believed to cure.

Form the passive, using the subject/indirect object + passive verb + to do/ to have done structure:

In some cultures even today, it's believed that salt has magical powers.

Form the passive, using the subject/indirect object + passive verb + to do/ to have done structure:

For centuries, it was thought that mercury wasn't poisonous.

Form the passive, using the subject/indirect object + passive verb + to do/ to have done structure:

It is thought that wheat was first cultivated in Turkey.