eng10-2.3· Unit 2: The Passive Voice· ~13 min

Impersonal / reporting passive

It is said that... / He is believed to...

The impersonal (reporting) passive allows us to report what people generally say, believe, think, know, report, or expect without naming the source. There are two main patterns. Pattern 1 — the It-clause: 'It + passive reporting verb + that-clause', e.g. 'It is said that the city is beautiful.' Pattern 2 — the subject raising structure: 'Subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive', e.g. 'The city is said to be beautiful.' When the action in the reported clause happened earlier than the reporting, we use the perfect infinitive: 'He is said to have left early.' To refer to an ongoing state or action at the same time as reporting, use the simple infinitive ('He is believed to live in Paris'); to refer to something completed before the reporting moment, use the perfect infinitive ('She is thought to have won the prize'). Both patterns are equally correct and interchangeable. Common reporting verbs in this construction include say, believe, think, know, report, consider, expect, and understand. For example: 'People believe that he is innocent.' → 'It is believed that he is innocent.' → 'He is believed to be innocent.'

Key terms

Impersonal passive — A passive structure using 'It' as a dummy subject to report general opinion without naming the source: 'It is said that...'
Subject raising — A passive structure where the subject of the that-clause is moved ('raised') to become the subject of the main clause: 'She is believed to...'
Reporting verb — A verb used to convey what people generally say or believe (say, believe, think, know, report, consider, expect, understand).
Simple to-infinitive — The form 'to + base verb', used when the reported action happens at the same time as or after the reporting moment: 'He is said to live in Paris.'
Perfect infinitive — The form 'to have + past participle', used when the reported action happened before the reporting moment: 'She is said to have left early.'
Dummy subject 'It' — The word 'It' used in Pattern 1 as a grammatical placeholder; it carries no real meaning ('It is believed that...').
Pattern 1 vs Pattern 2 — Structure Comparison
FeaturePattern 1 (It-clause)Pattern 2 (Subject raising)
StructureIt + is/was + past participle + that + clauseSubject + is/was + past participle + to-infinitive
Example (present)It is said that the city is beautiful.The city is said to be beautiful.
Example (past event)It is believed that he left early.He is believed to have left early.
Example (past reporting)It was thought that prices were high.Prices were thought to be high.
Meaning difference?No — both patterns carry the same meaning.No — both patterns carry the same meaning.

Both patterns are equally correct and interchangeable. The subject of the that-clause becomes the main subject in Pattern 2.

Choosing the Infinitive Form in Subject Raising
Time of reported actionInfinitive formExample
Same time as reporting (present state)to + base verbShe is believed to live in Paris.
Future relative to reportingto + base verbThe results are expected to be announced next Friday.
Earlier / completed before reportingto have + past participleHe is said to have left early.
Earlier / passive action before reportingto have been + past participleThe treaty was reported to have been signed in secret.

Key rule: use the perfect infinitive ('to have + past participle') only when the reported event happened BEFORE the moment of reporting.

Active → Passive: Two-Step Transformation
StepActive formPattern 1 resultPattern 2 result
Present, same timePeople say that he is honest.It is said that he is honest.He is said to be honest.
Present, past eventPeople think that she left last year.It is thought that she left last year.She is thought to have left last year.
Past, past-perfect eventPeople knew that the city had been abandoned.It was known that the city had been abandoned.The city was known to have been abandoned.
Present, future eventExperts expect that the team will win.It is expected that the team will win.The team is expected to win.

Match the tense of the passive reporting verb to the original active reporting verb (present → is/are; past → was/were).

✎Step-by-step: Active → Both Passive Patterns
  1. 1Original active sentence: People believe that the scientist discovered a new element.
  2. 2Step 1 — Identify the reporting verb tense: The reporting verb is 'believe' (present simple). → The passive auxiliary must also be present: 'is believed'.
  3. 3Step 2 — Build Pattern 1 (It-clause): Replace 'People believe' with 'It is believed'. Keep the that-clause unchanged: 'It is believed that the scientist discovered a new element.'
  4. 4Step 3 — Choose the infinitive for Pattern 2: The discovery ('discovered') happened BEFORE the believing → use the perfect infinitive: 'to have discovered'.
  5. 5Step 4 — Build Pattern 2 (Subject raising): Raise 'the scientist' to the main subject position and replace the that-clause with the perfect infinitive: 'The scientist is believed to have discovered a new element.'
  6. 6Final check: Both sentences are correct and mean the same thing. Pattern 2 uses 'to have discovered' (not 'to discover') because the action is completed and prior to the reporting.
✎Choosing between simple and perfect infinitive
  1. 1Sentence A: The CEO is said to resign next month. → The resignation has NOT happened yet; it is a future event relative to 'is said'. Use simple infinitive: 'to resign'.
  2. 2Sentence B: The CEO is said to have resigned last month. → The resignation already happened BEFORE the reporting. Use perfect infinitive: 'to have resigned'.
  3. 3Rule: Ask: 'Did the reported action happen before the reporting moment?' If YES → 'to have + past participle'. If NO (same time or future) → 'to + base verb'.
🚫Common mistake

Do NOT use an active verb form with 'It': 'It says that...' and 'It thinks that...' are wrong. The structure always requires the passive: 'It is said that...' / 'It is thought that...'

🚫Common mistake

Do NOT use an -ing form after the passive reporting verb in subject raising: 'She is said to speaking French' and 'He is considered being honest' are wrong. Always use the to-infinitive: 'to speak', 'to be honest'.

🚫Common mistake

Do NOT use the simple infinitive when the reported action is already completed: 'She is thought to leave last year' is wrong because 'last year' signals a past event. Use the perfect infinitive: 'She is thought to have left last year'.

⚠️Caution

Match the tense of the passive auxiliary to the original reporting verb. 'People say...' (present) → 'It is said...' / 'He is said to...'. 'People said...' (past) → 'It was said...' / 'He was said to...'. Also note: when the reported clause itself contains a passive action prior to the reporting moment, the infinitive must carry both layers — 'to have been + past participle': 'The treaty was reported to have been signed in secret.'

Rules

  1. 1Pattern 1 (It-clause): It + is/was + past participle of reporting verb + that + clause. E.g. 'It is believed that prices will rise.'
  2. 2Pattern 2 (subject raising): Subject + is/was + past participle of reporting verb + to-infinitive. E.g. 'Prices are believed to rise soon.'
  3. 3Use 'to have + past participle' (perfect infinitive) when the reported action happened before the time of reporting. E.g. 'She is said to have studied abroad.'
  4. 4Common reporting verbs: say, believe, think, know, report, consider, expect, understand. All follow the same two patterns.
  5. 5Active 'People say that...' transforms first to the It-clause, then optionally to the subject raising form; both passive patterns carry the same meaning.

Practice

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