Passive infinitive

1
Passive infinitive
2

• Sample sentences
• It is said that he knows some very influential
  people.
• He is said to know some very influential people.
• It is believed that our manager is leaving the
  company.
• Our manager is believed to be leaving the
  company.
• It is claimed that the company lost a great deal
  on the project.
• The company is claimed to have lost a great deal
  on the project.

3

• Form
• 1. It is said that a very rich man.
• 2. is said a very rich man.

he
is
He
to be
passive infinitive
4

• Form
• 1. It is said that
• 2. is said

inflation
is rising.
to be rising.
Inflation
passive infinitive
5

• Form
• 1. It is said that a lot of money.
• 2. is said a lot of money.

the company
lost
The company
to have lost
passive infinitive
6

• To refer to the present or future we use present
  simple infinitive.
• It is believed that he is a good manager.
• He is believed to be a good manager.
• 2. To refer to an activity in progress at the
  moment of speaking or in the future we use
  present continuous infinitive.
• It is rumoured that inflation is increasing.
• Inflation is rumoured to be increasing.
• 3. To refer to the past we use perfect
  infinitive.
• It is said that they suffered huge losses last
  year.
• They are said to have suffered huge losses last
  year.

7
Present simple infinitive

• It is claimed that he is the richest man in
  Serbia.
• He is clamed to be the richest man in Serbia.
• 2. It is expected that the company will move its
  premises to London next year.
• The company is expected to move its premises to
  London next year.

8
Present continuous infinitive

• It is expected that they are planning a major new
  investment.
• They are expected to be planning a major new
  investment.
• 2. It is believed that our manager will be
  staying in Paris for five days.
• Our manager is believed to be staying in Paris
  for five days.

9
Perfect infinitive

• It is thought that he made a lot of money last
  year.
• He is thought to have made a lot of money last
  year.
• 2. It is clamed that prices have risen again.
• Prices are claimed to have risen again.

10
We use the passive infinitive

• 1. when the statement is speculative
• (the information is not confirmed)
• 2. mainly in newspaper reporting

• 3. with verbs such as
• SAY
• THINK
• ALLEGE
• CONSIDER
• BELIEVE
• REPORT
• RUMOUR
• SUPPOSE
• KNOW
• EXPECT
• UNDERSTAND

11

• It is said that the minister is in favour of
  decreasing corporation tax.
• The Minister is said to be...
• It is thought that the board has made the
  decision.
• The board is thought to have made...
• It is considered that he is the best chairman the
  company has ever had.
• He is considered to be...
• It is believed that the terrorists want a new
  ceasefire.
• The terrorists are believed to want...
• It is rumoured that the Constitution Act wont be
  adopted today.
• The Constitution Act is rumoured NOT to be
  adopted...

12
Manchester United just a game of football?Put
the verbs in brackets into the passive
infinitive form

• Manchester United (suppose/have) ___________
  between 10 million and 30 million supporters
  throughout the world. In Norway, for example, one
  in every 140 people (say/be) ________ a
  registered supporter. Ticket sales and
  merchandising contribute over half of the clubs
  revenue, with television contributing a further
  20.

is supposed to have
is said to be
13

• But senior executives (know/look) __________ at
  other ways to generate income at the moment. For
  example, the club (believe/develop)
  _______________ e-commerce initiatives through a
  series of alliances.

are known to be looking
is believed to be developing
14

• Costs at the club continue to increase. A few
  years ago the club (report/spend) ____________
  30m on a plan to expand the capacity of the
  stadium from 55,000 seats to 67,400 seats. But
  this (think/be) __________ a good investment as
  it will generate nearly 7.5 million in
  additional turnover annually.

is reported to have spent
is thought to be
15

• The main costs at the club are the salaries of
  the players. Last year the teams captain
  (say/negotiate) ____________ a four-year contract
  worth over eight figures.

is said to have negotiated