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Passive Reporting Verbs

The document discusses impersonal passive sentences and how to construct them using verbs like 'say', 'believe', 'claim' followed by the word 'that' and a clause. It also discusses using the infinitive form of verbs after words like 'is thought' or 'are believed'.

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Darren Japutra Sanjaya
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152 views9 pages

Passive Reporting Verbs

The document discusses impersonal passive sentences and how to construct them using verbs like 'say', 'believe', 'claim' followed by the word 'that' and a clause. It also discusses using the infinitive form of verbs after words like 'is thought' or 'are believed'.

Uploaded by

Darren Japutra Sanjaya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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I heard that…

IMPERSONAL PASSIVE
SENTENCES
THAT CLAUSE
TO INFINITIVE CLAUSE
Reporting using passive voice

 Sometimes we have to report events, opinions


or comments that we don’t assume as our own.
 So we introduce those statements with:
 People say that…  It is said
 Everybody knows that…
that…
 It is known
 They believed that… that…
 It was believed that…

Another common way is to use the passive voice…


Impersonal passives
 it + passive verb ( be+ past participle)+ that clause:
Everyone says that the PM is about to resign.
 It is said that the prime minister is about to resign.
They have admitted that lack of funding is the real problem.
 It has been admitted that lack of funding is the real
problem.
Experts expected that the unemployment figures would rise in
October.
 It was expected that unemployment figures would rise
in October.
OTHER VERBS
Other verbs that can be used in this pattern
include:
 allege / announce / assume / believe/ calculate

/ claim / consider / declare / discover/estimate


/ expect / feel / find / know/ mention /
propose / recommend / rumour / say/ show /
suppose / think / understand
TO INFINITIVE IMPERSONAL PASSIVES
 An alternative is:
 the subject of the main sentence + passive verb +
to-infinitive.
 It is claimed that the terrorist is living abroad.
 The terrorist is claimed to be living abroad.
 It is alleged that 300 people died in the plane crash
 Three hundred people are alleged to have died in
the plane crash.
A few more examples

 It is thought that he stole over a million pounds.


 He is thought to have stolen over a million pounds.
 It was reported that he was killed in a fire.
 He was reported to have been killed in a fire.
 It is expected that the strike will begin tomorrow or
 The strike is expected to begin tomorrow.
Summing up verb changes

 action in the present or future  infinitive (to


go)
 action in the past  perfect infinitive (to have
gone)
THERE + BE IN THE PASSIVE VOICE

 When a that-clause begins that + there, we can


make a passive form: there + passive verb + to be.
Compare:
 It is thought (that) there are too many obstacles to
peace or
 There are thought to be too many obstacles to
peace.
 It was alleged (that) there had been an explosion or
 There was alleged to have been an explosion.
Your turn
 They think that he earns a lot of money.

 Visitors say that these museums have


wonderful exhibits.

 Experts suppose that this jewellery belonged


to Cleopatra.

 Journalists reported that many people had


been injured in the earthquake.

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