The passive with reporting verbs: It is said that …

The passive with reporting verbs: It is said that…

Exercise 1

Choose the correct option to complete the sentences below.

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1He is considered to have beenthat he isto be a good president. Everybody likes him.

2The company is said to loseto have lostthat it's lost more than 100 million dollars only last month.

3It is rumoured him to leavethat he's lefthim to have left her.

4The paintings are reported that they wereto beto have been destroyed in the fire.

5The fossil is believed to have datesto datethat it dates back to the Miocene era.

6It is thought that the competition to have beenthat the competition to bethat the competition is going to be very tough.

7The witness is expected that he'll testifyto have testifiedto testify later this afternoon.

8The suspect is known to leavethat he has leftto have left the city after the murder.

9The new iPhone is thought to come outto have come outthat it will come out next September.

10It is said that they leftthem to have leftthey to have left the party together.

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The passive with reporting verbs: Grammar chart

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In news reports and formal writing, it is common to use passive forms of reporting verbs. Using this resource allows us to give information when we don’t know for sure whether it is true or not or when we want to distance ourselves from the source of the information.

Reporting verbs are verbs of saying or believing, such as agree, announce, believe, claim, consider, expect, hope, know, report, say, suggest, think, understand, etc. And we can use their passive form for distancing in two different ways. Check the examples below:

• It is said that they are in Las Vegas.
• They are said to be in Las Vegas.

It is said that… + subject + verb

We can use the passive of a reporting verb in a sentence after an introductory it: It + passive reporting verb + (that) + clause (subject + verb)

• It is believed that the murderer is no longer in the country. 
• It has been announced that they are going to cancel the tour.
• It has been suggested that the team can’t be trusted defensively.
• It was thought the building could collapse.

Someone is said to + infinitive

When we use the passive form of a reporting verb after the real subject of a sentence (and NOT after it), we need to use an infinitive after the passive of the reporting verb.

Someone is said to do

When the reported action is simultaneous with the reporting, we can use subject + passive reporting verb + to + infinitive.

• He is said to have the biggest private art collection in the country. 
• They were believed to be secretly in love. 

We can also use this form to refer to the future.

• She is expected to become a superstar. 

Someone is said to be doing

When the reported action is in progress simultaneously with the reporting, we can  also use subject + passive reporting verb + to be + -ing (continuous infinitive) with dynamic verbs.

• They are thought to be living under strict protection. 

Someone is said to have done

When the reported action is previous to the reporting (earlier in the past), we use subject + passive reporting verb + to have + past participle (perfect infinitive).

• She was thought to have left the previous week. (=she left before people thought about it)
• He is claimed to have hit another student. (=he hit another student first, and people claimed he did it later)