Active and passive reporting: People say, He is said to and It is said that

Three forms for one report

The same idea can often be expressed in three ways: actively with People say / They believe, personally in the passive with subject + is/are + V3 + to-infinitive, or impersonally with It is + V3 + that. With the correct forms, they preserve the main content of the report.

The starting point changes: the source, the person or thing discussed, or an impersonal frame. Passive reports are common in formal writing, but the distinction is not simply “active is conversational; passive is objective”.

Here, V3 means the reporting verb’s past participle: said from say, or believed from believe. Impersonal it takes is. Are is used with a plural subject in the personal pattern.

How to build it

People / They + reporting verb + that… = subject + is / are + V3 + to-infinitive… = It is + V3 + that…

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.
infinitive: The base verb form. With to: to work; without to: work. The pattern determines whether to is needed.

People say (that) the bridge is unsafe.

An active form with vague people is typical in conversation.

The bridge is said to be unsafe. / It is said that the bridge is unsafe.

The passive alternatives retain the report without naming a source. They do not confirm that the bridge really is unsafe.

Personal passive: subject + is/are + V3 + to-infinitive

The subordinate clause’s subject becomes the subject of the whole sentence. Auxiliary be agrees with this new subject: he/she/it/economy → is; they/results/companies → are. The reporting verb stays in its past-participle form, followed by a to-infinitive.

This frame naturally makes the subject the sentence’s topic. Attention goes directly to the economy, results or suspects rather than to whoever holds the view.

How to build it

subject + is/are/was/were + reporting verb’s V3 + to + base form

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.
V1 / base form: The base verb without to: work, go, be.
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.

The economy is considered to be recovering.

Is agrees with singular economy; considered is the unchanged past participle. To be recovering expresses recovery in progress.

The witnesses are known to have left early.

Are agrees with plural witnesses. To have left places their departure before the present knowledge of it.

Impersonal passive: It is + V3 + that…

It is a dummy grammatical subject here, with no independent reference. The reporting verb is passive, followed by a complete that-clause with its own subject and tense.

This frame can specify how widespread a view is through widely, generally or commonly. The usual position is between is/was and the participle: It is widely acknowledged that…. Add such an adverb only if the meaning really concerns a widespread view.

How to build it

It + is/was + (adverb) + reporting verb’s V3 + (that) + complete clause

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.
adverb: A word adding information about an action, quality or circumstance: slowly, very, often.
clause: A construction with a verb, often with its own subject: when I arrived. A non-finite clause may leave the subject unspoken: to get home.

It is widely acknowledged that climate change is a serious threat.

Widely follows is directly; that introduces a complete clause with its own subject.

It is claimed that the company hid the losses.

The company and hid remain unchanged inside the that-clause.

When to choose the passive: topic and source importance

In reports or news, the passive is useful when the event or assessment matters most and the specific source is unknown, obvious or unimportant to that sentence. Omitting people or they can improve focus; it adds no evidence and does not make the claim more authoritative.

People say X is grammatical and often natural in conversation. It is also possible in formal writing, for example when a group’s opinion matters. If readers need to assess reliability, name the source in either an active or passive construction.

People say the shop is closing. / The shop is said to be closing.

The main content is the same. The second version starts with the shop and often suits a news item, but it does not verify the rumour.

Economists estimate that the region lost 200 jobs. / It is estimated that the region lost 200 jobs.

Both versions suit a report. The passive without by economists omits the source; retain it if important. Do not replace estimated with thought without considering the difference between an estimate and an opinion.

When the active remains appropriate

An active construction naming a specific source, such as an organisation, researchers or a report, also works well in formal writing. It immediately identifies who is responsible for the information. The source need not be authoritative: you can name it even when you doubt its information.

In friendly conversation, I heard, everyone thinks or my colleague says often sounds natural. The passive is also possible, but a long impersonal frame can sound more official. Choose a form suited to the situation.

The World Health Organization says the outbreak is under control.

A specific source is named. The active is appropriate even in a formal context.

Text to a friend: I heard the concert got cancelled.

In this friendly message, I heard is a simple, natural opening. A complex passive reporting frame could sound overly official.

Boundaries: preserve meaning, not just form

When transforming a report, preserve facts, numbers, negation and certainty. Believed does not mean known, and alleged does not mean proven fact. Do not strengthen or weaken the original confidence level.

If the source matters to the reader, the passive need not hide it: add a by-phrase, as in it is estimated by economists that…. Losing an important source is a real loss of meaning, not simply a stylistic improvement.

The results are believed to be accurate.

Believed presents an opinion, not a proven fact. Do not paraphrase it as known or confirmed.

It is reported by independent inspectors that the bridge is unsafe.

The by-phrase preserves a source important to the reader, even in an impersonal frame.

Using the choice in writing and conversation

In practice, audience and purpose guide the choice: a report to a manager, academic paragraph, news update and friendly chat call for different balances between these three forms.

When editing people think or they say, decide what matters most: naming the source, maintaining the topic about the subject, or presenting the report as a whole. The passive is an option, not a compulsory replacement in every formal text.

People think the project is useful. / The project is thought to be useful. / It is thought that the project is useful.

Three ways to convey the same assessment. The second makes the project the topic; the third uses an impersonal frame.

It is generally agreed that the plan needs revision.

A natural opening for a report paragraph or presentation without naming a particular critic.

Common mistakes

Incorrect:The economy is considering to be recovering.

Correct:The economy is considered to be recovering.

The reporting verb needs the passive past participle, not an active -ing form: is considered, not is considering.

Incorrect:He is said being rich.

Correct:He is said to be rich.

After is said, use a to-infinitive (to be), not being.

Incorrect:It is said he is rich that.

Correct:It is said that he is rich.

If that is used, it introduces the clause after is said, rather than appearing at the end. It is said he is rich, without that, is also grammatical.