Complex Passive Structures in English

In Brief

English reporting passives present information without naming the person or source responsible for it. The two main patterns are It + passive reporting verb + that-clause (It is believed that the plan will work) and subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive (The plan is believed to work). The infinitive can change form—to be working, to have worked, or to have been working—to show the timing and development of the reported situation.

Overview

Complex passives are especially common in news reports, academic writing, formal announcements, and careful professional English. They allow a writer to report a claim, belief, expectation, or observation while keeping the source general or deliberately unstated. Compare the direct Experts believe that the treatment is safe with the more impersonal It is believed that the treatment is safe and the more compact The treatment is believed to be safe.

This C1 topic builds on the ordinary passive voice. In a passive clause, the person or thing affected by the action becomes the grammatical subject (the part of the clause that the verb is built around), and the verb uses be + past participle. A past participle is a form such as believed, reported, or seen. Here, that passive is combined with a that-clause or an infinitive (the basic verb form introduced by to, such as to leave).

These patterns do more than make prose sound formal. They help distinguish confirmed facts from reports and beliefs. She has left states the departure directly; She is said to have left attributes that information to unnamed reports. The grammar therefore carries an important message about evidence and certainty.

How It Works

Pattern 1: It is said that...

The impersonal pattern uses introductory it. This it does not refer to a person or object; it simply fills the subject position.

It + form of be + past participle of reporting verb + that-clause

• It is believed that he is innocent.
• It was reported that several roads had closed.
• It has been suggested that the deadline should be extended.

The passive reporting verb can itself appear in different tenses. The tense describes the reporting, believing, or alleging—not necessarily the event inside the that-clause.

Reporting time	Form	Example
Present/general	is/are + participle	It is widely believed that the painting is genuine.
Past	was/were + participle	It was once thought that the disease was incurable.
Present perfect	has/have been + participle	It has been reported that talks have resumed.
Modal	may/can/must be + participle	It may be argued that the policy was ineffective.

The that-clause keeps the tense required by its own meaning. Because the reporting structure is already passive, do not add another passive unless the event itself requires one: It is believed that the files were deleted deliberately.

Pattern 2: He is said to...

When the subject of the reported clause is a specific person or thing, that subject can move to the front:

subject + form of be + reporting participle + to-infinitive

• Active report: People say that she lives abroad.
• Impersonal passive: It is said that she lives abroad.
• Personal passive: She is said to live abroad.

This is sometimes called the personal reporting passive. “Personal” does not mean that the style is intimate: the subject may be a person, object, institution, or event.

• The company is expected to announce the results tomorrow.
• Two documents are known to be missing.
• The negotiations are understood to have failed.

The personal pattern works best when the noun moved to the front is the subject of the following idea. From Analysts believe that the market will recover, English can form The market is believed to recover. In natural usage, however, The market is expected to recover or is believed to be recovering may fit the intended meaning better.

Choosing the infinitive form

The infinitive locates the reported situation relative to the reporting verb. Its form is crucial.

Infinitive	Main meaning	Example
to do / to be	Simultaneous, general, habitual, or later	He is said to be honest.
to be doing	In progress around the reporting time	They are thought to be planning something.
to have done / to have been	Earlier and completed, or an earlier state	She is said to have left.
to have been doing	Activity continuing over a period before or up to that time	He is believed to have been working alone.
to be done	Passive event simultaneous or later	The bridge is expected to be completed in May.
to have been done	Earlier passive event	The records are believed to have been destroyed.

The perfect infinitive (to have + past participle) usually looks back from the reporting time. Compare:

• The minister is believed to be in Paris. The being in Paris is current.
• The minister is believed to have been in Paris. The visit or presence was earlier.
• The minister was believed to be in Paris. At a past time, people believed the minister was there then.
• The minister was believed to have been in Paris. At a past time, people believed the minister had been there even earlier.

The continuous forms focus on an unfolding activity. They are thought to be negotiating presents the negotiations as current; They are thought to have been negotiating for weeks looks back over their duration.

Common reporting verbs

Not every verb permits both patterns equally naturally.

Meaning	Frequent verbs	Typical example
General report or claim	say, report, allege, claim	The funds are alleged to have disappeared.
Belief or knowledge	believe, think, consider, know, understand	The site is known to contain Roman remains.
Expectation	expect, forecast, predict	Prices are expected to fall.
Evidence or appearance	show, find, estimate	The damage is estimated to cost £2 million.

Claim is common in It is claimed that..., but personal He is claimed to... is less natural than He is said/alleged to... in many contexts. Suggest readily takes the impersonal pattern—It has been suggested that we wait—but normally not a personal construction such as We are suggested to wait. Use We are advised to wait or keep the that-clause.

Passive perception and causative verbs

A related structure appears with verbs of perception such as see, hear, and observe. In the active voice, these can take an object followed by a bare infinitive (an infinitive without to):

• Active: Witnesses saw the suspect enter the building.
• Passive: The suspect was seen to enter the building.

The passive normally restores to. The same happens with causative make:

• Active: The manager made the team repeat the test.
• Passive: The team was made to repeat the test.

With an action in progress, use an -ing form in both voices: Witnesses saw the suspect entering the building → The suspect was seen entering the building. The infinitive tends to present the event as a complete occurrence; the -ing form presents it as observed in progress.

Examples in Context

English	Plain-English meaning	Note
It is believed that he is innocent.	Many people or relevant authorities believe he is innocent.	Impersonal present reporting passive
She is said to have left before dawn.	Reports say that she left before dawn.	Earlier completed action
They are thought to be planning something.	People think their planning is now in progress.	Continuous infinitive
The suspect was seen to enter the building.	Someone saw the whole act of entering.	Passive of perception verb
It was reported that the airport had reopened.	A report said the airport had reopened earlier.	Past report with earlier event
The new drug is believed to reduce inflammation.	Researchers or experts believe this is a general effect.	General meaning with simple infinitive
Three climbers are reported to be missing.	Current reports say three climbers are missing.	Current state
The documents are alleged to have been altered.	Someone alleges that the documents were altered earlier.	Perfect passive infinitive
The economy is expected to grow next year.	Analysts expect future growth.	Later event
The negotiations are understood to have been continuing in secret.	Available information indicates that secret talks continued over a period.	Perfect continuous infinitive
It has been suggested that both sides appoint a mediator.	Someone has proposed appointing a mediator.	Suggest with an impersonal that-clause
The sculpture is known to have belonged to the royal family.	There is reliable evidence of its earlier ownership.	Known signals stronger support than said
The team was made to repeat the safety check.	Someone required the team to repeat it.	Passive of causative make
A man was heard calling for help.	Someone heard a man while he was calling.	Perception of an action in progress

Common Mistakes

Using a simple infinitive for an earlier event

• Wrong: She is said to leave last night.
• Right: She is said to have left last night.
• Why: The departure happened before the present report, so use the perfect infinitive to have left.

Keeping the bare infinitive in a perception passive

• Wrong: The suspect was seen enter the building.
• Right: The suspect was seen to enter the building.
• Why: Active saw the suspect enter uses no to, but the passive pattern normally requires to.

Making suggest personal

• Wrong: The employees are suggested to work from home.
• Right: It is suggested that the employees work from home.
• Also possible: The employees are advised to work from home.
• Why: Suggest does not normally form this personal reporting passive. Choose a that-clause or a verb that licenses the personal pattern.

Confusing the time of the report with the time of the event

• Wrong for an earlier belief: The planet is thought to support life until new evidence appeared.
• Right: The planet was thought to support life until new evidence appeared.
• Why: The belief belonged to the past. The reporting passive therefore needs was thought.

Overusing the construction to avoid responsibility

• Weak: It is believed that errors were made.
• Clearer when the source is known: The audit committee believes that the finance team made several errors.
• Why: A passive can hide both the source of a claim and the agent of an action. Formal style is not automatically clearer style.

Usage Notes

Reporting passives are neutral and useful in formal contexts, but they can create distance. It is reported that... sounds like news or official prose; in conversation, speakers are more likely to say Apparently..., I’ve heard that..., or They say.... The passive is appropriate when the source is unknown, unimportant, already obvious, or intentionally generalized.

The reporting verb indicates how strongly the writer supports the information. Is known to presents it as established; is believed to marks a reasoned belief; is thought to is somewhat less definite; is said to attributes it to general report; and is alleged to emphasizes that a serious claim remains unproven. These are tendencies, not a precise scale, and context still matters.

Be especially careful with alleged. In legal and journalistic writing, it protects the distinction between an accusation and a proven fact: The director is alleged to have accepted bribes. It does not mean that the writer has confirmed the accusation. Similarly, reportedly offers a concise alternative: The director reportedly left the country.

The personal pattern is compact and keeps the main topic at the start of the sentence. The impersonal it pattern is often easier when the reported clause is long, when there is no suitable noun to promote, or when a recommendation uses a subjunctive-like base form: It is recommended that every applicant submit two references.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Negation and modal meaning

Negation can attach to the reporting verb or to the infinitive, with different emphasis:

• He is not believed to be involved. People generally do not believe he is involved.
• He is believed not to be involved. The content of the belief is that he is not involved.

In practice, the meanings can overlap, but placing not before the infinitive makes the reported negative proposition especially clear. A modal inside the original clause may sometimes remain in an impersonal structure: It is believed that the system may fail. In the personal pattern, writers often recast the meaning: The system is believed to be at risk of failure. Forms such as is believed to may fail are impossible because to cannot be followed directly by a modal auxiliary.

Questions and information structure

These constructions can occur in questions, though they remain formal:

• How many artifacts are believed to have been stolen?
• Why is the treatment thought to be effective?

The personal passive places the topic first and can connect smoothly to earlier text: The northern route has now been surveyed. It is believed to be the safest option. Here it refers to the northern route; it is not the empty introductory it of It is believed that....

Perfect passive combinations

Long verb groups are grammatical when every layer has a purpose:

• The data are believed to have been incorrectly classified.

Work from the inside outward: someone classified the data; the data were classified (passive); this happened earlier, so to have been classified; that is the present belief, so are believed to have been classified. This method is safer than memorizing the entire chain as one block.

Formal alternatives

English also uses adjective-like participles and nouns to express source and certainty: The proposal is likely to pass, The witness is certain to be questioned, According to local reports, the road has reopened. These are not all reporting passives. For example, is likely to contains an adjective, not a passive reporting verb. The practical question is not only “Can I make this passive?” but “Which form states the source and degree of certainty most accurately?”

Practice Tips

1. Transform one sentence three ways. Start with Researchers believe that the material is stable, then produce It is believed that the material is stable and The material is believed to be stable. Check that the meaning and time stay consistent.
2. Build an infinitive timeline. For each report, label the event as current/general (to do), in progress (to be doing), earlier (to have done), or earlier and ongoing (to have been doing). Then choose the form rather than guessing from sound.
3. Notice evidence words in real texts. In a news or academic article, highlight is said to, is believed to, is known to, is alleged to, and is expected to. Ask who the hidden source is and how certain the writer sounds.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Advanced Passive Structures — reviews passive formation and more advanced uses of the passive voice.