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C1 Advanced English ⏱️ 12 Minutes

Pandemics & Public Health Policy

Master advanced perfect and passive forms of gerunds and infinitives in official health communications.

🧑‍🏫

For the Teacher

Guide students through the 4 core patterns and allocate 12 minutes for silent study and practice.

Check answers together by asking learners to justify each verb choice with the bracketed clue word.

🎯

For the Learner

Read the 4 patterns first and check whether the action happened earlier or receives the action.

Next, complete the 12 quick challenges below and use the single-word hint whenever you hesitate.

Core Grammar: 4 Essential Patterns

Reference Guide

The Perfect Gerund: having + past participle

Use this structure to show an action completed before the main verb. It is very common after reporting verbs like deny, admit, and regret, or after prepositions such as after and without. Do not use a simple gerund when the earlier timing is crucial to the meaning. To make it negative, place not before having.

Topic Examples:

• "The minister denied having ignored the early warnings about the lethal pathogen."

• "The committee regretted not having built a sufficient stockpile of emergency gear."

The Passive Gerund: being + past participle / having been + past participle

Use this form when the grammatical subject receives the action rather than performs it. It frequently follows verbs such as avoid, resent, and risk, as well as prepositions. Choose having been when you want to highlight that the passive event occurred before the main action. Avoid active forms when the subject is not the agent.

Topic Examples:

• "Nobody enjoys being told to stay at home for weeks during a strict lockdown."

• "The director feared being blamed for the rapid contagion across public clinics."

The Perfect Infinitive: to have + past participle

Use this pattern to indicate an event that took place prior to the time of the main verb. It is typical after verbs of perception like seem, appear, and claim, as well as passive reporting verbs like is said to or is believed to. Do not use the simple infinitive if the event is already finished.

Topic Examples:

• "The council appears to have misjudged how fast cases would rise."

• "The new quarantine protocol is believed to have slowed pathogen transmission."

Passive Infinitives & "Seen to Act": to be + past participle / to be seen to + verb

Use passive infinitives when the subject receives an action in the present (to be done) or past (to have been done). In public policy, the set phrase to be seen to + base verb means that leaders must demonstrate their efforts openly so the public witnesses their actions. Avoid inserting -ing forms after this specific phrase.

Topic Examples:

• "Politicians want to be seen to protect the public during a crisis."

• "Critical patients need to be prioritized in emergency hospital triage."

✅ What to Do

• Match the timing: use having + V3 or to have + V3 for completed prior events.
• Check the voice: use passive forms when the subject receives the action.
• Say to be seen to act to express visible public accountability.

⚠️ What to Avoid

• The minister denied to ignore (deny takes a gerund, not an infinitive).
• They appear having finished (appear takes an infinitive, not a gerund).
• Leaders must be seen acting (use to be seen to act for this structure).

Interactive Practice

12 questions graded from foundational to advanced. Check the clue in brackets for guidance.

12 Questions

Part 1

Choose the Correct Sentence

1. Select the sentence that correctly uses a passive gerund after the verb risk.

(passive)

____ Doctors risk being infected by asymptomatic carriers on duty ____ Doctors risk having infected by asymptomatic carriers on duty ____ Doctors risk to be infected by asymptomatic carriers on duty ____ Doctors risk be infected by asymptomatic carriers on duty

2. Select the sentence that correctly describes an earlier accomplishment using an infinitive after claim.

(earlier)

____ The health agency claims to achieve total containment last month ____ The health agency claims to have achieved total containment last month ____ The health agency claims to having achieved total containment last month ____ The health agency claims having achieved total containment last month

3. Select the sentence that correctly applies the structure showing visible public accountability.

(public)

____ Health ministers must be seen to improve national preparedness ____ Health ministers must be seen to improving national preparedness ____ Health ministers must be seen to have improving national preparedness ____ Health ministers must be seen to improved national preparedness

Part 2

Rewrite the Sentence

4. Rewrite the sentence using a perfect passive gerund after regret.

(earlier)

Original: "The regional leaders regret that nobody notified them before the lockdown."

Complete the rewritten sentence:

The regional leaders regret ____ before the lockdown.

5. Rewrite the sentence using a perfect active infinitive with is reported.

(prior)

Original: "Journalists report that the epidemiology team uncovered the virus source weeks ago."

Complete the rewritten sentence:

The epidemiology team is reported ____ the virus source weeks ago.

6. Rewrite the clause using a passive gerund after avoid.

(passive)

Original: "Border guards took strict precautions because they wanted to avoid that contagion exposed them."

Complete the rewritten sentence:

Border guards took strict precautions to avoid ____ to contagion.

Part 3

Fill the Gaps

7. Fill in the correct perfect gerund form of the verb misplace.

(earlier)

After ____ the emergency protective stockpile, the logistics officer faced formal inquiry.

8. Fill in the correct perfect passive infinitive form of the verb isolate.

(before)

The novel pathogen seems ____ in regional laboratories long before the official outbreak.

9. Fill in the correct passive infinitive form of the verb reorganize.

(passive)

Overburdened hospital staff expect emergency triage ____ before patient numbers surge further.

Part 4

Correct the Error in a Short Message

10. Doctor Alex sent this text to a friend. Find the mistake with the earlier action and write the correct verb phrase.

(earlier)

💬 Chat Message

"Hey Sam, my supervisor admitted ignoring the initial transmission alerts last week. She feels terrible about it!"

Replace "ignoring" with: ____

11. Health worker Maya texted her colleague. The verb form misses the passive voice. Type the correct form.

(passive)

💬 Chat Message

"Hi Ben, the revised containment protocol was supposed to approve by the ministry today, but the meeting got postponed."

Replace "to approve" with: ____

12. A policy advisor texted a team member about public reaction. Correct the accountability pattern.

(witnessed)

💬 Chat Message

"Quick heads up: During tomorrow's press briefing, our agency head really needs to be seen to taking decisive action on pandemic preparedness."

Replace "taking" with: ____

Grammar: Advanced Gerunds and Infinitives in Public Health

Pandemics & Public Health Policy

For the Teacher

For the Learner

Core Grammar: 4 Essential Patterns

The Perfect Gerund: having + past participle

The Passive Gerund: being + past participle / having been + past participle

The Perfect Infinitive: to have + past participle

Passive Infinitives & "Seen to Act": to be + past participle / to be seen to + verb

✅ What to Do

⚠️ What to Avoid

Interactive Practice

Choose the Correct Sentence

Rewrite the Sentence

Fill the Gaps

Correct the Error in a Short Message

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