Passive reporting structures

In informal language we often use impersonal expressions like:

• People say that the minister is likely to resign.
• They expect him to announce his resignation this week.
• They think that there are two possible candidates for his job.

In newspapers, reports and other more formal writing, this idea is often expressed with a structure based on a passive reporting verb. This has the effect of distancing the information. In this post we look at three such structures:

• It is said that the minister is likely to resign.
• He is expected to announce his resignation this week.
• There are thought to be two possible candidates for his job.

To do these exercises you need to know the basics of making passive structures. If you need reminding, you could look at my post - Introduction to the passive

1. It is said that ...

• It is said that ...
• It was thought that ...
• It has been suggested that ... etc

Verbs used like this include: agree, announce, believe, calculate, claim, consider, discover, estimate, expect, feel, hope, know, report, say, show, suggest, think, understand

• Pattern: It + passive reporting verb + that + clause

Note: These verbs are most frequently used in simple and perfect tenses in the present and past. Remember that verbs like believe, hope, know, think, understand are not used in continuous tenses.

Exercise 1

Rewrite the sentences starting with It plus a passive structure. pay attention to tense, but don't add any punctuation. Don't use any contractions.

1.	They felt that the cost was too high. .
2.	Forecasters have predicted that the weekend will be very cold. .
3.	They don't think that the government will call an early election. .
4.	Experts are suggesting that inflation will remain steady. .
5.	We had understood that the hostages would be released yesterday. .
6.	Officials have announced that the princess will leave hospital next week. .

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2. He is said to be ...

We can also use a structure with a subject, a passive verb and a to-infinitive:

• The president is thought to be planning a trip to the area.
• The young actor was reported to have signed up for a new film.
• More engineers are expected to be taken on soon.

Verbs used like this include: believe, expect, report, say, think, understand

• Pattern: subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive clause

Infinitive forms

We can use the to-infinitive in various forms. See if you can remember them (use the examples above to help you):

Exercise 2a

Enter the six forms of the to-infinitive of the verb do.

standard	We need it immediately.
continuous	She appears it right now.
perfect	He seems it already.
perfect continuous	We seem it for hours.
passive	It needs before the end of the week.
passive perfect	It appears rather well.

Note: Perfect infinitives are used for actions that happened before the reporting.

Exercise 2b

Enter a suitable verb in the appropriate form of the infinitive. Each infinitive is in a different form.

announce   ·   publish   ·   consider   ·   arrest   ·   hide   ·   escape

1.	The minister is expected his resignation tomorrow.
2.	The government are understood an early election.
3.	They are thought in a deserted cottage.
4.	The couple had earlier been believed from police custody.
5.	The results of the survey are expected next week.
6.	Two people are reported in connection with the robbery.

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3. There is/are said to be ...

We can use a third pattern with preparatory there and a passive reporting verb followed by a to-infinitive, especially when saying something exists or existed.

• There is understood to be a strong desire for peace talks.
• There are reported to have been several explosions.
• There was thought to be another entrance to the building.
• There were said to have been a lot of applicants for the job.

Note the use of tenses, the agreement between the passive reporting verb and the noun phrase, and the use of standard and perfect infinitives.

• Pattern: There is/are + passive verb + to be/to have been + noun phrase

Verbs used like this include: feel, presume, report, say, think, understand

Exercise 3

Make passive sentences starting with There is ... or There are ... using the reporting verb in brackets in the tense given, plus a standard or perfect infinitive of be as instructed, plus the phrase given.

1.	many species still undiscovered (think - present simple) - standard .
2.	considerable support for the idea (understand - present simple) - standard .
3.	any need to act immediately (not feel - past simple) - standard .
4.	enough supplies to go round (presume - past simple) - standard .
5.	a shortage of medicines (report - past simple) - perfect .
6.	several reasons for the failure (say - present simple) - perfect .

Random Idea English
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4. Passive reporting structures - putting it all together

Exercise 4

Make passive sentences starting with the words in italics. Don't use contractions and don't add any punctuation.

1.	It is felt that the project is too expensive. .
2.	It was said that the tax changes helped poorer people.
3.	It is alleged that a fight between rival fans broke out after the match. .
4.	It has been reported that more bad weather is on the way. .
5.	It was believed that the company were about to announce redundancies.
6.	It was later considered that his behaviour had been unacceptable. .
7.	It is expected that new supplies will arrive soon. .
8.	It had been claimed that the drug was perfectly safe. .
9.	It is presumed that everybody escaped unharmed from the wreckage. .
10.	It is now thought that the number of injured is lower than was feared. .

Random Idea English
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Sharks (adapted from Wikipedia)

Exercise 5

Make sentences with passive reporting structures starting with the words in given in brackets. Don't use contractions and don't add any punctuation.

1.	It is thought that there are more than 400 species of sharks. (There)
2.	Biologists say that sharks share a class with rays and skates. (Sharks) .
3.	It is said that sharks have 5 to 15 rows of teeth in each jaw. (They) .
4.	Experts estimate that sharks' teeth fall out after only a week.(It) .
5.	There is said to be one species that grows to a length of 12 metres. (There) .
6.	Experts believe that these whale sharks can live for more than 100 years.(It) .
7.	It was reported that there had been 118 shark attacks in 2011. (There) .
8.	Experts consider that the danger has been exaggerated (The danger) .
9.	They consider that only ten shark species are dangerous to humans. (Only) .
10.	They say that humans are a greater threat to sharks than vice versa. (Humans) .

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Bats (adapted from Wikipedia)

Photo of Big-eared Townsend bat from Wikipedia

Exercise 6 - Read the text, then fill each gap with one word.

	It is said (1) the only mammal naturally capable of true and sustained flight is the bat. Other mammals said (2) fly, such as flying squirrels and gliding possums glide rather than fly, and can only glide for short distances.
	Bats (3) thought to represent about 20% of all classified mammal species worldwide and (4) are calculated to be about 1,240 bat species in the world. There (5) sometimes thought to have been one single common bat ancestor, from which all bat species have evolved.
	It (6) believed that about 70% of bats are insectivores, with most of the rest thought (7) be fruit eaters, and a very few carnivores. There (8) thought to be bats in almost every habitat available on Earth, with the exception of the two polar regions. In many places they (9) considered to play a vital role in pollinating seeds and controlling the numbers of insects pests.
	It has (10) contended that Kitti's hog-nosed bat is the smallest extant species of mammal, although claims have also been made for the Etruscan shrew. (11) is generally agreed that the largest species of bat is the giant golden-crowned flying fox, which (12) said to have a wingspan of 1.5 m.

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Answers

Related posts

• Introduction to the passive
• Reported speech
• A passive Christmas