Passive of Reporting Verbs

To report beliefs or claims impersonally, English uses passive reporting structures. There is an impersonal 'It is said that...' form and a personal 'He is said to...' form with an infinitive.

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Level C1 Voice

Summary

To report beliefs or claims impersonally, English uses passive reporting structures. There is an impersonal 'It is said that...' form and a personal 'He is said to...' form with an infinitive.

It is said/believed/thought that + clause ; subject + is said/believed to + (have) + verb

Examples

It is said that the castle is haunted.
She is believed to have left the country.
The company is thought to be in financial trouble.
It was reported that no one had been injured.

Common mistakes

• Mixing the two patterns: 'He is said that he is rich' should be 'He is said to be rich' or 'It is said that he is rich'.
• Using a present infinitive for an earlier action: prefer 'to have left' for the past.

Related

Reporting Verbs and Patterns

More voice

The Passive Voice B2

Use the passive voice when the action is more important than who or what does it, or when the doer is unknown or obvious. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject.

Have / Get Something Done (Causative) B2

The causative arranges for someone else to do something for you. 'Have/get + object + past participle' shows that a service is performed rather than done by the subject personally.

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