Personal Impersonal Passive Exercises | Pdf
The leap from intermediate to advanced English is marked by your ability to manipulate sentence structure gracefully. The personal and impersonal passive voice allows you to report information with nuance, authority, and precision.
Remember the golden rule:
Don't just read about it—practice it. Download the personal impersonal passive exercises pdf above, complete one set of exercises every day, and within a week, these structures will become second nature.
Bonus Tip for Teachers: This PDF is ideal for B2/C1 level classrooms. Use the impersonal passive exercises for writing news reports, and the personal passive exercises for debates or biographies.
Meta Description (for SEO): Download a free personal impersonal passive exercises PDF with answers. Master B2/C1 English grammar: reporting verbs, infinitive clauses, and transformation drills.
The impersonal passive starts with the dummy subject "It" followed by a passive reporting verb, then a that-clause.
Previous time (Past): Use to have + past participle
Progressive actions: Use to be + -ing
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TITLE: Structural Transformation and Stylistic Shifts: A Practical Guide to Personal and Impersonal Passive Constructions
AUTHOR: [Your Name/Institution] DATE: October 2023
Master these structures, and your English will sound more natural, sophisticated, and fluent. Happy practicing!
Mastering the Personal and Impersonal Passive (also known as "Reported Passive") is a common hurdle for advanced English learners. These structures allow you to report what "people say" or "it is believed" without naming a specific person, which is essential for academic and formal writing. 1. Understanding the Two Structures
When reporting general beliefs or opinions using verbs like say, believe, think, report, know, or expect, you can choose between two passive forms:
Impersonal Passive (The "It" Structure): This uses the dummy subject "It." Example: It is said that the CEO will resign. Structure: It + Passive Reporting Verb + that-clause.
Personal Passive (The Subject-Focused Structure): This makes the subject of the reported clause the subject of the new sentence. Example: The CEO is said to resign. personal impersonal passive exercises pdf
Structure: Subject + Passive Reporting Verb + to-infinitive. 2. Quick Practice Exercise
Try transforming these active sentences into both impersonal and personal passive forms: Active: People believe that he owns a lot of land. Impersonal: It is believed that he owns a lot of land. Personal: He is believed to own a lot of land.
Active: Journalists report that the fire started by accident.
Impersonal: It was reported that the fire started by accident.
Personal: The fire was reported to have started by accident. 3. Recommended PDF Exercise Resources
If you are looking for downloadable practice sheets, the following sites offer comprehensive worksheets and tables:
Scribd Collection: A wide variety of Personal and Impersonal Passive Exercises including keyword transformation tables and answer keys.
Academic English UK: Provides an Impersonal Passive Blog/PDF that focuses on nominalisation and formal reporting.
KSM Classes: Offers a direct PDF link with 14 practice sentences for transformation.
EnglishGrammar.org: Features a Challenging Impersonal Passive Exercise that is useful for C1-level students.
Impersonal and Personal Passive Exercises | PDF | Verb - Scribd
The rain lashed against the library windows, blurring the world outside into a grey smear. Inside, the air smelled of old paper and desperation. It was the night before the final grammar exam, and the atmosphere in the study hall was thick with tension.
Elias sat with his head in his hands, a heavy textbook open in front of him. The chapter title was bold and unforgiving: The Personal and Impersonal Passive.
"It’s impossible," Elias groaned, pushing the book away. "I’ll never understand this. It’s too abstract."
Across the table, Clara was calmly highlighting a worksheet. She didn’t look up. "It is said that you are dramatic, Elias."
Elias frowned. "What?"
"She just used the impersonal passive on you," chimed in Marcus from the next seat, spinning a pen between his fingers. "It’s a classic move. She took the active idea—'Everyone says Elias is dramatic'—and made it distant and formal." The leap from intermediate to advanced English is
Clara finally looked up, smiling. "Exactly. People think the passive voice is difficult. Or, to use the impersonal structure: It is thought that the passive voice is difficult."
"I'm lost," Elias admitted. "Why would I write like that? It sounds like a robot."
"Because," Clara said, sliding a printed sheet across the table. "This isn't just about rules. It’s about shifting focus. Sometimes the subject isn't important. Sometimes the action is all that matters."
Elias looked down at the paper. It was a crinkled Personal Impersonal Passive Exercises PDF that Clara had printed from the university portal. The header read Advanced Transformations.
"Let's look at the first exercise," Clara suggested, tapping the paper. "The prompt is: People believe that the old librarian haunts the third floor."
"Okay," Elias said slowly. "I need to change that?"
"Yes. You have two options," Clara explained. "First, the Impersonal Passive. You focus on the report, not the people. You say: It is believed that the old librarian haunts the third floor."
Elias scribbled it down. "Okay. That sounds like a newspaper headline."
"Good. Now, the second option is the Personal Passive," Clara continued. "You make the librarian the subject. The old librarian..."
Elias hesitated, his pen hovering over the paper. "The old librarian... is believed to haunt the third floor?"
"Bingo," Marcus said, leaning over. "That’s the sophisticated stuff. That’s the structure that gets you an A. Subject + passive verb + to-infinitive."
Elias looked at the sentence. It felt cleaner, more objective. It removed the messy element of "people" and left only the spooky core of the idea.
"Try another one," Clara urged. "Number five. They expect the storm to hit by midnight."
Elias looked out the window at the howling wind. The storm was already there, but he tried to formulate the sentence in his head.
"Okay, impersonal first," Elias said. "It is expected that the storm will hit by midnight."
"Correct," Clara nodded.
"And personal..." Elias paused. "The storm... is expected to hit by midnight." Don't just read about it—practice it
"Perfect," Clara said. "You're getting it. You're distancing the action from the doer. You're making it objective."
For the next hour, the trio worked through the PDF. The exercises were repetitive, but slowly, the logic began to click in Elias's mind. He stopped seeing the structures as riddles and started seeing them as tools of perspective.
People know that he is a strict professor. -> It is known that he is a strict professor. (Impersonal) People know that he is a strict professor. -> He is known to be a strict professor. (Personal)
As the library clock ticked toward closing time, the librarian approached their table. She was a stern woman with wire-rimmed glasses.
"Everyone expects you to leave now," she said sharply. "We are closing."
Elias packed his bag, a strange calm settling over him. He looked at the librarian, then at his friends.
"Well," Elias said, standing up. "It is expected that we leave now. Or, I suppose, We are expected to leave."
The librarian raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk playing on her lips. "You have been studying the exercises, I see."
As they walked out into the rainy night, clutching the now well-worn PDF, Elias felt a spark of confidence. The grammar wasn't just rules on a page; it was a way of seeing the world. The rain was no longer just falling; it was said to be falling. The exam wasn't just a test; it was feared to be difficult.
But Elias? He was thought to be ready.
This feature covers the Personal and Impersonal Passive , a structure typically used in formal reporting (news, academic papers, or official statements) to talk about what people "say," "think," or "believe". sarreplec.caib.es
Below is a concise guide followed by a set of exercises. You can copy this into a document and save it as a PDF for your study. Quick Grammar Guide When we want to change a sentence like "People believe that he is a genius" into the passive, we have two options: Impersonal Passive: Focuses on the "it" as a placeholder. It + Passive Verb (be + past participle) + that-clause. It is believed that he is a genius. Personal Passive: Focuses on the person/thing being talked about. Subject + Passive Verb + to-infinitive. He is believed to be learnenglish.britishcouncil.org Exercises: Personal & Impersonal Passive
Part A: Rewrite the sentences using the Impersonal Passive (It...) People say that the new law is unfair. They expect that the strike will end tomorrow. Experts think that the climate is changing rapidly. Reporters claim that the company is hiding the truth.
Part B: Rewrite the sentences using the Personal Passive (Subject + to...) People believe that she is the best candidate for the job. They report that the thieves stole over $1 million. Scientists consider the discovery to be a breakthrough. Everyone knows that he lives in a secret location. Part C: Mixed Transformation Active: People say that English is easy to learn. Impersonal: __________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Answer Key Part A (Impersonal) Part B (Personal) It is said that the new law is unfair. She is believed to be
Instructions: Rewrite the sentences so that the subject of the "that-clause" becomes the main subject of the passive sentence. This combines Personal and Impersonal logic.
Click the link below to download “Personal & Impersonal Passive – Exercises with Answers” .
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