Passive Infinitives & Gerunds
Learn how the passive pattern appears in infinitive and gerund forms, where each one is used, and how to talk about a passive action completed before another point in time.
Beyond ordinary tenses
The passive pattern also appears outside a main tensed verb.
A passive infinitive or passive gerund applies the same be plus past participle pattern used throughout the passive voice, but to an infinitive or gerund form rather than to an ordinary tensed verb.
In The car needs to be washed., to be washed is a passive infinitive, following the verb needs. In She dislikes being interrupted., being interrupted is a passive gerund, following the verb dislikes.
This lesson covers both forms, along with how to describe a passive action that happened before another point in time.
Before you begin
This is one of ten topics on the passive voice.
This lesson focuses on passive infinitives and gerunds specifically. The passive voice as a whole includes nine other topics, each covered in its own lesson.
If you would like an overview of the passive voice in general, begin with the Passive Voice page.
The central idea
The same be plus past participle pattern appears in a new position.
Compare an active gerund with a passive gerund following the same verb.
01
Active gerund
She dislikes interrupting others.
02
Passive gerund
She dislikes being interrupted.
The useful question is: is the subject performing the gerund’s action, or receiving it?
In the first sentence, she interrupts others. In the second, she is the one being interrupted, and being marks the shift into the passive.
The passive infinitive
To be joins with a past participle, just as be does elsewhere.
After a verb
The car needs to be washed.
After an adjective
The flight is likely to be delayed.
Expressing a wish or hope
She wants to be heard.
The passive gerund
Being joins with a past participle to form the passive gerund.
As the subject of a sentence
Being told the truth matters to her.
After a verb
She dislikes being interrupted.
After a preposition
Thank you for being invited.
Describing an earlier action
A perfect form places the passive action before another point in time.
Perfect passive infinitive: to have been + past participle
He claims to have been chosen for the role.
The claim refers to something that happened before now.
Perfect passive gerund: having been + past participle
Having been warned, she was careful near the edge.
The warning happened before the caution described in the main clause.
A useful decision guide
Ask whether the subject receives the action, and when it happened.
01
Is this an infinitive or a gerund form?
An infinitive uses to be; a gerund uses being.
02
Is the subject receiving the action?
If so, the passive form of the infinitive or gerund is needed.
03
Did the action happen before another point in time?
If so, use the perfect passive form: to have been, or having been.
04
Does the main verb still keep its past participle form?
It should, exactly as in any other passive structure.
Common mistakes
Both be and being still need to appear in full.
Be is not dropped from the passive infinitive.
Not: The car needs to washed.
Correct: The car needs to be washed.
Being is not dropped from the passive gerund.
Not: She dislikes interrupted.
Correct: She dislikes being interrupted.
The perfect form needs been, not be, after have or having.
Not: He claims to have be chosen.
Correct: He claims to have been chosen.
Check your understanding
Which form correctly completes each sentence?
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
The printer needs __________ before the meeting.
✅ Exactly! The passive infinitive keeps “be” between “to” and the past participle.
❎ Not quite. “Be” cannot be dropped from a passive infinitive.
What word usually follows “to” in a passive infinitive?
He is not used to __________ so many questions.
✅ Exactly! “Being” is needed to form the passive gerund here.
❎ Not quite. A gerund after a preposition like “to” here still needs “being” for the passive form.
Is he asking the questions, or receiving them?
The building is believed __________ constructed over a century ago.
✅ Exactly! “Over a century ago” points to an earlier point in time, calling for the perfect passive infinitive.
❎ Not quite. Look at the time phrase in this sentence.
Did this happen now, or before now?
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the mistake correctly.
Why is “The car needs to washed.” not correctly formed?
✅ Exactly! Without “be”, the sentence loses its passive infinitive structure.
❎ Not quite. Compare this to a correctly formed passive infinitive.
Why does “He claims to have be chosen.” need to be corrected?
✅ Exactly! “To have been” is the correct perfect passive infinitive form.
❎ Not quite. Look closely at the word right after “have”.
Quick review
Be and being carry the passive meaning into infinitives and gerunds.
A passive infinitive is formed with to be plus a past participle, and can follow a verb or an adjective.
A passive gerund is formed with being plus a past participle, and can act as a subject, follow a verb, or follow a preposition.
A perfect passive infinitive (to have been) or perfect passive gerund (having been) places the action before another point in time.
Neither be nor being can be dropped from these structures.
Remember
Ask what verb form is needed, then apply the same be plus participle pattern.
An infinitive calls for to be; a gerund calls for being. Both are followed directly by the same past participle used everywhere else in the passive voice.