The Impersonal Passive Voice is a type of construction that is used with great frequency by the media, especially in news writing.
Unlike the Personal Passive Voice, where the direct object of the active sentence happens to occupy the place of subject in the passive sentence -for which a transitive verb is necessary-, in the Impersonal Passive Voice, when using intransitive verbs as action main, there is no object that can fulfill this function and it is necessary to follow the following structure:
SUBJECT + VERB TO BE + PARTICIPLE
- It is said that
- It is known that
- It is supposed that
- It is considered that
- It is reported that
- It is thought that
- It is decided that
- It is alleged that
- It is expected that
- It is understood that
Here there are some examples:
- People believe that the conversations will continue for 3 weeks
It is believed that the conversations will continue for 3 weeks
- The police report that the thief is from Russia
It is reported that the thief is from Russia
On many occasions a third construction is possible by placing the subject of the subordinate sentence at the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception in the passive voice and the rest of the sentence is added using the infinitive of the verb preceded by the particle «TO», taking into account that some auxiliary verbs and «THAT» are not placed:
SUBJECT OF THE SUBORDINATE + VERB TO BE+ PARTICIPLE + TO + INFINITIVE
Here there are some examples:
- People say that the palaces belong to the same family
It is said that the palaces belong to the same family
The palaces are said TO belong to the same family
- Everyone thinks that the pandemic will finish in 2021
It is thought that the pandemic will finish in 2021
The pandemic is thought TO finish in 2021
If the verb of the subordinate sentence is in past, a present perfect after TO will be necessary:
- The police report that the thief escaped through a window
It is reported that the thief escaped through a window
The thief is reported TO have escaped through a window