Passive Gerunds and Infinitives

A gerund or infinitive becomes passive when its logical subject receives the action rather than performs it. The difference lies entirely in who is doing what to whom.

She hates criticizing her colleagues. (she does the criticizing)

She hates being criticized by her colleagues. (she receives the criticism)

Both sentences are grammatical. They describe different situations, and choosing the wrong form changes the meaning.

Passive gerund

The passive gerund is formed with being + past participle. It appears after verbs that take a gerund, whenever the subject is the receiver of the action.

No one enjoys being interrupted in the middle of a sentence.

He avoided being caught by leaving through the back door.

I don't mind being told what to do, as long as the instructions are clear.

Daniel remembers being chased by a dog as a child.

Common triggers include enjoy, hate, like, love, mind, avoid, remember, deny, risk, resent, imagine.

Passive infinitive

The passive infinitive is formed with to be + past participle. It appears after verbs and adjectives that take an infinitive, whenever the subject is the receiver.

Sarah wants to be promoted before the end of the year.

The contract needs to be signed by both parties.

I expect to be paid on Friday, as agreed.

It's nice to be appreciated once in a while.

Common triggers include want, expect, hope, need, deserve, agree, refuse, and adjective patterns like nice to, lucky to, eager to.

After modal verbs, the same form appears without to: these doors should be locked at night, the report must be submitted by Monday.

Perfect passive forms

When the passive action happened before the main verb, English uses a perfect passive form. These are formal and comparatively rare, but they appear in reported speech, claims, and legal or academic writing.

Perfect passive gerund — having been + past participle:

He denied having been told about the meeting.

She resents having been excluded from the decision.

Perfect passive infinitive — to have been + past participle:

The manuscript is believed to have been written in the twelfth century.

She claims to have been invited by the director herself.

In everyday speech, a simple passive form is usually enough. Use the perfect versions only when the time gap between the two actions is important.

Active vs passive at a glance

FORM	ACTIVE	PASSIVE
Gerund	teaching	being taught
Infinitive	to teach	to be taught
Perfect gerund	having taught	having been taught
Perfect infinitive	to have taught	to have been taught

The choice depends on whether the subject of the main verb is the doer or the receiver. The students enjoy being taught — the students receive the teaching. The teacher enjoys teaching — the teacher performs it.

Common mistakes

Active form where passive is needed

She hates criticizing at work (meaning: she receives it)

She hates being criticized at work

He avoided catching by the police

He avoided being caught by the police

I don't mind telling what to do

I don't mind being told what to do

Wrong auxiliary in the passive form

She wants to being promoted

She wants to be promoted

The documents need to being signed

The documents need to be signed

He enjoys to be praised

He enjoys being praised

Wrong participle or missing one

No one likes being criticize

No one likes being criticized

The report needs to be sign

The report needs to be signed

Perfect passive formed incorrectly

She claims to been invited

She claims to have been invited

He denied being told earlier (meaning: earlier than the denial)

He denied having been told earlier

A gerund or infinitive becomes passive when its logical subject receives the action rather than performs it. The difference lies entirely in who is doing what to whom.

She hates criticizing her colleagues. (she does the criticizing)

She hates being criticized by her colleagues. (she receives the criticism)

Both sentences are grammatical. They describe different situations, and choosing the wrong form changes the meaning.

Passive gerund

The passive gerund is formed with being + past participle. It appears after verbs that take a gerund, whenever the subject is the receiver of the action.

No one enjoys being interrupted in the middle of a sentence.

He avoided being caught by leaving through the back door.

I don't mind being told what to do, as long as the instructions are clear.

Daniel remembers being chased by a dog as a child.

Common triggers include enjoy, hate, like, love, mind, avoid, remember, deny, risk, resent, imagine.

Passive infinitive

The passive infinitive is formed with to be + past participle. It appears after verbs and adjectives that take an infinitive, whenever the subject is the receiver.

Sarah wants to be promoted before the end of the year.

The contract needs to be signed by both parties.

I expect to be paid on Friday, as agreed.

It's nice to be appreciated once in a while.

Common triggers include want, expect, hope, need, deserve, agree, refuse, and adjective patterns like nice to, lucky to, eager to.

After modal verbs, the same form appears without to: these doors should be locked at night, the report must be submitted by Monday.

Perfect passive forms

Perfect passive gerund — having been + past participle:

He denied having been told about the meeting.

She resents having been excluded from the decision.

Perfect passive infinitive — to have been + past participle:

The manuscript is believed to have been written in the twelfth century.

She claims to have been invited by the director herself.

In everyday speech, a simple passive form is usually enough. Use the perfect versions only when the time gap between the two actions is important.

Active vs passive at a glance

FORM	ACTIVE	PASSIVE
Gerund	teaching	being taught
Infinitive	to teach	to be taught
Perfect gerund	having taught	having been taught
Perfect infinitive	to have taught	to have been taught

Common mistakes

Active form where passive is needed

She hates criticizing at work (meaning: she receives it)

She hates being criticized at work

He avoided catching by the police

He avoided being caught by the police

I don't mind telling what to do

I don't mind being told what to do

Wrong auxiliary in the passive form

She wants to being promoted

She wants to be promoted

The documents need to being signed

The documents need to be signed

He enjoys to be praised

He enjoys being praised

Wrong participle or missing one

No one likes being criticize

No one likes being criticized

The report needs to be sign

The report needs to be signed

Perfect passive formed incorrectly

She claims to been invited

She claims to have been invited

He denied being told earlier (meaning: earlier than the denial)

He denied having been told earlier

Passive Gerunds and Infinitives

Passive gerund

Passive infinitive

Perfect passive forms

Active vs passive at a glance

Common mistakes

More in this topic

Passive Gerunds and Infinitives

Passive gerund

Passive infinitive

Perfect passive forms

Active vs passive at a glance

Common mistakes

More in this topic