Impersonal Passive

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.

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….

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 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.

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.

The first part — is/are/was/were + said, believed, thought, reported, known, or expected — shows the time of the report or opinion and agrees with the subject. The second part begins with to; its form depends on the event.

The base form is required after to: to be, to work, to have. Do not add -s because the subject is singular, and do not put was after to. The part is believed is already passive, but the infinitive can describe an active action performed by the subject.

The simple infinitive to be / to work often expresses a state or habitual action simultaneous with the opinion. In The cafe was said to be busy, both parts can refer to the past: do not automatically add have because of was.

An infinitive is not a separate “present tense.” After expected, it can point to the future: the expectation exists now, while the arrival happens later. Focus on the meaning, not only on the appearance of to + verb.

When the report concerns an action in progress, use to be + -ing: is believed to be hiding. The two forms of be have different functions: is forms the passive report, while be forms the progressive infinitive.

After was reported, the form to be working shows a process in progress at the time of that past report. Without the appropriate context, do not replace it with to have worked: that expresses a different time relationship.

The perfect infinitive places an event before the time of the report: is believed to have left — people now believe that the departure has already happened; was believed to have left — at that time, people believed that the departure had already happened.

The reference point is the time of the report, not necessarily today. Keep the date of the report and the date of the event separate. In the perfect infinitive, have does not change to has, even when the subject is she or he.

The passive reporting verb and the passive infinitive are separate choices. The engineer is believed to have built the bridge means that the engineer built the bridge. The bridge is believed to have been built means that someone built the bridge.

For a passive event, use to be + V3; for an earlier passive event, use to have been + V3. Been cannot be omitted after have when the subject is the object of the action. To be + adjective, such as to be safe, is not passive by itself.

The it-structure and the structure with a concrete subject are often interchangeable with say, believe, think, know, report, and expect. This is not a rule for every reporting verb. For example, It was suggested that we leave early cannot be changed according to this pattern into We were suggested to leave early.

In the ordinary sense of “report a fact,” tell does not replace say: The guest was told to leave means that the guest was ordered or instructed to leave, not that people reported the guest’s departure. Such grammatical sentences with a different meaning are not wrong in themselves.

In the structure It is believed (that)… the word that may be omitted. In an exercise with a fixed structure, follow the given beginning; in an open response, natural rephrasings are acceptable. If the source matters, preserve it, for example with according to the report.

Mentally identify three things: who or what is being reported on, when the report is made, and what is happening or has happened to that person or thing. Then check be in the reporting passive, to in the infinitive, have for an earlier event, and been for an earlier passive event.

In your own writing, use this construction where it helps maintain the topic and separate a report from a fact. You do not need to make every sentence passive. Imaginary events are equally suitable for practice; personal data is not needed.

An impersonal frame is followed by a subordinate clause with its own subject and verb. That can often be omitted; including it makes the clause boundary easier to see.

When the person or thing being reported becomes the subject, put a to-infinitive after the passive verb. Do not add that plus a repeated subject.

To continue discussing an object already mentioned, place it or its pronoun first. The impersonal version is also grammatical but introduces the report differently.

An exercise may request a particular opening to practise a specific perspective. Not using that opening fails the condition, but is not necessarily a grammatical error.

Is/are or was/were shows when a report or belief exists. The infinitive gives the event’s time relative to the report: to work for a state or usual action, to be working for a process, and to have worked for an earlier action. A simple infinitive can also refer to the future: is expected to open tomorrow expresses an expected opening tomorrow. The reporting verb and context establish the perspective.

Do not move a past report into the present when restructuring. If the object underwent an earlier action, use to have been + V3.

Say, believe, think, report, estimate and expect allow both frames in suitable meanings. Not all reporting verbs behave alike: do not mechanically transfer announce or suggest into subject + passive + to-infinitive.

When paraphrasing, retain who is being discussed, who expresses the opinion, negation and numbers. Do not add widely, certainty or universal agreement if they were absent.

First identify the content and source. Then choose the sentence topic. Check verb compatibility, be agreement and temporal relationships.

An active version is often natural in conversation. If the task specifically requires passive reporting, an active version may convey the meaning correctly but does not practise the required construction.