Passive Voice 2: Reporting Now and Looking Back
By the end: I can report claims using passive structures while preserving the time of the reported event.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Before you start
Compare People believe the file is missing with People believe it disappeared yesterday.
Useful background: Passive Voice; reporting passives; perfect and continuous forms.
Keep the report and event separate
In is said, is believed or is thought, the reporting verb describes the reporting perspective. A following simple infinitive can describe a state or event associated with that perspective. It is believed that is an alternative structure.
The building is believed to be empty.
It is said that the collection contains several rare items.
Look back with to have
Use to have plus past participle when the reported event is earlier than the reporting perspective. The report may be current or past. The perfect infinitive keeps the earlier relationship clear.
The courier is believed to have left before noon.
The file was thought to have disappeared the previous day.
Show activity and voice
To be + -ing describes an activity in progress at the relevant time. To have been + past participle can report an earlier passive event. Do not turn attributed information into a verified fact merely by using a formal structure.
The technicians are said to be testing the system.
The document is believed to have been copied without permission.
An earlier reported action can also be passive
The formal report is not itself proof of the repair.
The door receives that action; the repairer is not named.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Compare the meaning and form; the model is one possible answer.
1. Transform: People believe the room is empty.
Compare a model and explanation
The room is believed to be empty.
The simple infinitive describes the reported state.
2. Transform: People now think the visitors left yesterday.
Compare a model and explanation
The visitors are thought to have left yesterday.
The perfect infinitive marks an earlier departure.
3. Complete an ongoing activity: The team is said ___ the system now. Use test.
Compare a model and explanation
to be testing
The continuous infinitive foregrounds current activity.
4. Transform an earlier passive event: People believe someone repaired the door yesterday. Make the door subject.
Compare a model and explanation
The door is believed to have been repaired yesterday.
The door receives an earlier action.
5. On Tuesday, people believed a package had arrived on Monday. Use was believed.
Compare a model and explanation
The package was believed to have arrived on Monday.
Preserve arrival before the past belief.
6. Give an impersonal alternative: The collection is thought to be valuable.
Compare a model and explanation
It is thought that the collection is valuable.
Both structures attribute the belief.
7. Does The file is believed to have been deleted prove deletion? Explain.
Compare a model and explanation
No. It reports a belief about an earlier deletion; further evidence is needed for verification.
A reporting passive keeps information attributed.
8. Correct the role error: The report is believed to have copied. Someone copied it.
Compare a model and explanation
The report is believed to have been copied.
The report is the receiver, so the infinitive must be passive.
A short conversation
Listen first if you can, then open the transcript when useful.
Open the conversation transcript
A: Has anyone confirmed where the missing display panel is?
B: It is believed to have been moved to the storage room yesterday, but nobody has checked yet.
A: And what are the technicians doing?
B: They are said to be testing the replacement panel. I’ll ask them for a direct update.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have their own score.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer in each situation. Your score is out of eight.
Use it in your own words
Speaking task 1
Give a cautious update on a fictional archive: one room is thought to be empty, an item reportedly moved yesterday and staff reportedly checking storage now.
Reveal a possible response
The room is thought to be empty. The item is believed to have been moved yesterday, and the staff are said to be checking storage now. I would confirm these reports before presenting them as facts.
Success check: Preserve time, voice and attribution separately.
Speaking task 2
Retell a past misunderstanding using was thought and a later correction.
Reveal a possible response
At ten, the guests were thought to be waiting outside. We later learned that they had already entered through another door. The earlier report was plausible, but it was not accurate.
Success check: Keep the past reporting perspective separate from what was later established.
Speaking task 3
Explain two versions: is believed to leave at six and is believed to have left at six.
Reveal a possible response
The first can report a schedule or habit associated with six. The second reports an earlier completed departure at six. Context is needed to locate the reference day.
Success check: Explain relative time without treating a reporting passive as proof.
Take it with you
I can report claims using passive structures while preserving the time of the reported event.