Study materials
News writing is full of a phrase in which nobody says anything. And yet something is being reported.
It is believed that the company will move abroad.
The company is believed to be moving abroad.
Both sentences mean the same. The source of the opinion is left out deliberately: it is unknown, or unimportant, or the writer prefers not to answer for it.
Two models to choose from
The structure comes in two shapes, and they are interchangeable. The difference is what goes into first position.
| Model | Pattern | What comes first |
|---|---|---|
| impersonal | It is said that ... | the fact of the report |
| personal | He is said to ... | the person or thing |
It is said that he lives in Paris.
He is said to live in Paris.
Say, believe, think, report, expect, know, consider and claim all work this way. The first model is simpler; the second is more compact and commoner in headlines.
The form of the infinitive shows the time
In the personal model the tense is lost, so it is carried by the infinitive instead. That is the main difficulty of the topic.
| When the action happens | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| at the same time as the report | to be, to do | He is said to be rich. |
| a process right now | to be doing | They are said to be working on it. |
| earlier than the report | to have done | She is said to have left. |
| running earlier | to have been doing | He is said to have been hiding. |
It is believed that he knows the answer. → He is believed to know the answer.
It is believed that he left the country. → He is believed to have left the country.
How to rebuild a sentence
Moving from one model to the other takes three steps.
First the subject of the clause is brought to the front. Then the reporting verb is put into the passive. Finally the rest becomes an infinitive of the right time.
People think that the plan is risky.
It is thought that the plan is risky.
The plan is thought to be risky.
Why people write this way
The structure does three jobs, and all three explain why it is so common in official texts.
It removes the writer's responsibility for the claim. It makes the sentence impersonal and therefore neutral-looking. And it lets a rumour be presented as information with no source named.
That is exactly why academic writing uses it sparingly. The reader often wants to know precisely who believes it.
The mistakes everyone makes
The first is taking a plain infinitive for an earlier action.
She is said to leave the country last year. → She is said to have left the country last year.
The second is mixing the two models in one sentence.
It is said he to be rich. → It is said that he is rich.
The third is losing the it in the impersonal model.
Is believed that the deal will close. → It is believed that the deal will close.
All three are caught by two questions. When did the action happen relative to the report? And which of the two models am I in, since they cannot be mixed?
Try it right now
Take any rumour or news item and write it in English in both ways: with It is said that and with the personal model.
Then move the event into the past and check whether the form of the infinitive changed.