1. Begin with the report, not a person
Compare People say that the bridge is safe and It is said that the bridge is safe. Both sentences are grammatical. In the second, formal it occupies the subject position: it is neither the bridge nor the person speaking. The main content follows in the subordinate clause.
This wording often occurs in news, reports, and educational texts. It backgrounds the speaker but does not guarantee that the claim is true or universally accepted.
It + form of be + V3 of a reporting verb + (that) + subject + predicate
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
- verb / V —
- A word for an action or state, such as work or be. The pattern determines its form.
- V3 / past participle —
- The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.
It is reported that the bridge is safe.
It is reported that the bridge is safe.
This reports a conclusion; it is not an independent safety check.
People say that the bridge is safe.
People say that the bridge is safe.
The active version is also correct; the source occupies the subject position.
2. The passive frame: be + past participle
In the main clause, the subject it takes is, was, or has, even if several people are mentioned later. After be, use V3: said, thought, known, believed, reported, estimated. Do not form the passive with thinking or know.
The verb also conveys the type of information: reported presents a report; believed/thought a belief or view; estimated an approximation; and known something presented as known. These words are not fully interchangeable: do not label a numerical estimate established knowledge without grounds.
It is thought that two rooms are available.
It is thought that two rooms are available.
Is agrees with it; are agrees with two rooms in the subordinate clause.
It has been estimated that the work will cost £800.
It has been estimated that the work will cost £800.
Has been estimated is a complete perfect passive frame; estimated preserves the approximate nature of the amount.
3. A full clause follows that; that itself can sometimes be omitted
The subordinate clause has its own subject and predicate: that the hall is open, that visitors need tickets. Do not leave only a phrase after that or replace that with what before an already complete statement.
In this construction, the conjunction that can be absent: It is believed the hall is open is grammatical. Omitting it is not automatically an error in formal writing. Explicit that often helps clarify the clause boundary; if a particular exercise asks you to include it, that is a practice requirement, not a general ban on omission.
Not every speaking verb allows this frame. Instead of It is told that…, use It is said/reported that… for a report without a named recipient. Told can take a recipient as subject: We were told that….
It is believed that the hall is open.
It is believed that the hall is open.
The hall is open is a complete statement after that.
It is believed the hall is open.
It is believed the hall is open.
This conveys the same meaning without the conjunction; it is not an error example.
We were told that the hall was open.
We were told that the hall was open.
We names the recipients of the message; this is a different, correct passive construction.
4. Two time frames
The tense of the frame answers “When is it reported or believed?”, while the subordinate tense answers “When does the event occur?” Present is reported can introduce a past event, a present state, or a future prediction.
Was reported places the report in the past. Had left marks an event even earlier; would open can express the future from the perspective of that past report. Do not change both verbs mechanically. The subordinate tense depends on event relationships and the speaker's perspective; tense agreement does not require identical forms in both clauses.
It is reported that the train left at six.
It is reported that the train left at six.
The report is current now, but the departure has already occurred.
It was reported on Tuesday that the train had left on Monday.
It was reported on Tuesday that the train had left on Monday.
Had left explicitly places the departure before the past report.
It was expected that the café would open in June.
It was expected that the café would open in June.
This is a past expectation of an event that was future at the time; the sentence does not confirm that the opening happened.
5. Negatives and questions: what exactly is negated?
It was not reported that the road was closed negates the existence of such a report. It was reported that the road was not closed reports that the road was not closed. These are different claims; moving not between the clauses changes the meaning.
To ask about the report, move the first auxiliary before it: Was it reported that…? / Has it been reported that…? After that, retain statement order: the road was closed, not was the road closed.
It was not reported that the road was closed.
It was not reported that the road was closed.
The absence of a report proves neither that the road was closed nor that it was open.
It was reported that the road was not closed.
It was reported that the road was not closed.
The negation belongs to the report's content.
Has it been reported that the road is closed?
Has it been reported that the road is closed?
Has moves to the beginning; the subordinate clause retains statement order.
6. Source, register, and limits of the construction
The impersonal frame lets you omit the source but does not prohibit naming it. It was reported by the local paper that… is grammatical and names a source. If the source matters for trust or accountability, it can and should be specified; active The local paper reported that… can also be entirely appropriate in formal writing.
The related pattern The bridge is believed to be safe places bridge in subject position. It is not wrong, but it is not the target It…that pattern. Both can communicate the same content, so exercises requiring a particular form state that condition explicitly.
In your own text, combine a report with relevant clarification: who reported it, what is still unknown, and what needs checking. Do not add evidence, consensus, or certainty merely because a sentence sounds official.
It was reported by the local paper that the library would move.
It was reported by the local paper that the library would move.
By the local paper names the source without disrupting the passive frame.
The library is believed to need more space.
The library is believed to need more space.
This is a correct related infinitive pattern, not an English error.
It is said that the shop is closing, but we have no confirmation.
It is said that the shop is closing, but we have no confirmation.
The second clause limits certainty; said alone does not mean an established fact.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:It are believed that the rooms are empty.
Correct:It is believed that the rooms are empty.
The main subject is it, so use is; plural rooms affects only are in the subordinate clause.
Incorrect:It is know that the office is closed.
Correct:It is known that the office is closed.
The passive requires the past participle known after is.
Incorrect:It has been report that the ferry is late.
Correct:It has been reported that the ferry is late.
After has been in Present Perfect Passive, use the past participle reported, not the base form report. It has reported can itself be correct active wording if it refers to a source such as a publication.
Incorrect:It is thought what the building is empty.
Correct:It is thought that the building is empty.
That introduces the complete statement the building is empty; what cannot replace the conjunction here.
Incorrect:Is it believed that are the documents missing?
Correct:Is it believed that the documents are missing?
Inversion belongs in the main question, not inside the subordinate statement.