Advanced Passives & Hedging — Why Do Politicians Lie So Badly?
Grammar: Advanced passives and hedging language
Free ESL grammar exercise on advanced passives & hedging themed around why do politicians lie so badly?. Printable worksheet from classplan.ai.
What's on this worksheet
A Level 5 (advanced) ESL grammar exercise on society, practising advanced passives and hedging language. The worksheet has a short reading excerpt, a grammar reference and graded practice items.
From the reading
What is particularly striking is how predictably the spin fails. Spin, it turns out, is not designed to fool anyone; it is designed to give everyone plausible deniability.
Grammar
- Impersonal passive
- Used to distance the speaker from a claim. It is believed that the vote was rigged. Formal and cautious.
- Passive + perfect
- Reports a past event as a present claim. The result is reported to have been altered. Careful attribution.
Sample items
- Many experts believe that the election result was predetermined.
- The spin doctor ______ to have written the speech the night before.
- Officials claim that the data ______ independently verified before publication.
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