The document discusses impersonal passive constructions in English and their Spanish equivalents. Impersonal passives are common in media and use reporting verbs like "it is said" followed by an infinitive. In Spanish, equivalent constructions use verbs like "se dice" and "se cree" followed by "que" and a clause. The document provides examples of active and passive voice constructions and discusses which infinitive form to use depending on tense.

1. Impersonal constructions (it
is said…., it is reported….) are
quite common in the passive
voice but they are difficult
for Spanish speakers. This
sort of passive construction
is widely used in the media.

2. Verbs that refer to saying or
thinking….. believed “se cree”
“se
reported
informa”
said “se dice”
thought “se piensa”
It is
known “se sabe”
supposed “se supone”
“se
considered
considera”
…are often followed by a to-infinitive
expected “se espera”
form in the passive.
Impersonal passive is formed
following the structure:
subject + to be + past participle

3. Here are some examples:
ACTIVE: Everybody thinks Cathy works very
hard.
PASSIVE 1:
Cathy is thought to work very hard.(Se piensa
que Cathy trabaja mucho)
PASSIVE 2:
It is thought that Cathy works very hard.(Se
piensa que Cathy trabaja mucho)
ACTIVE: They believe Tom is wearing a white
pullover.
PASSIVE 1: Tom is believed to be wearing a white
pullover.(Se cree que Tom lleva un jersey
blanco)

4. There are FOUR INFINITIVE FORMS , which we will
use depending on the tense we have in the active
sentence:
Simple: to write
Continuous: to be writing
Perfect: to have written
Perf. see this example: Retailers think their best
Let’s Continuous: to have been writing
customers are aged between 25 and 40
IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS TYPE OF PASSIVE
SENTENCE…
First, we Take the subject of the second
sentence: their best customers
Second, we put passive verb of the Reporting
verb in the same tense as in the active: are
thought put the verb of the second sentence in
Third, we
Their best form: to be
the Infinitive customers are thought to be aged
between 25 and 40

5. WHICH FORM OF THE INFINITIVE DO WE USE?
„If it carries an idea of present or future
Simple: to write
„ If it carries an idea of past, whatever the tense
(Past Simple, Past Perfect, Present Perfect)
Perfect: to have written
„ If either of them are in a continuous form, you
use the adequate Infinitive continuous form: to be
writing or to have been writing
SOME MORE EXAMPLES:
ACTIVE PASSIVE
They say she works hard. She is said to work hard.
They say she played well. She is said to have played well.
They said she has done well. She was said to have done well.
They believe he is having an He is believed to be having an
affair.
affair.
He is believed to have been
They believe he has been having having an affair.
an affair. The repairs are believed to