Passive voice · CEFR C1 · Fluent
It is said that… — English passive voice
The way news and reports attribute a claim to nobody in particular. Both shapes say the same thing.
The shape
It is said / believed / thought that… · He is said to…
Report what people say without naming a source.
In Hindi
समाचार और रिपोर्ट इसी तरह किसी दावे को बिना स्रोत बताए पेश करते हैं।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
It is said he is the best. | He is said to be the best. Both are possible, but with the person as subject the pattern is "is said to be". |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
Questions people ask
- What is the it is said that… used for?
- The way news and reports attribute a claim to nobody in particular. Both shapes say the same thing. In practice: report what people say without naming a source.
- How do you form the it is said that…?
- It is said / believed / thought that… · He is said to….
- What is the most common mistake with the it is said that…?
- Saying “It is said he is the best.” instead of “He is said to be the best.”. Both are possible, but with the person as subject the pattern is "is said to be".
Where it is said that… fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
It is said that… is a CEFR C1 structure — the fluent band — and it belongs to passive voice. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the it is said that… →