Avoiding mention of the person speaking or thinking
7.68 There are several reporting structures that you can use if you want to avoid saying whose opinion or statement you are giving.
use of passives to express general beliefs
7.69 If you want to show or suggest that something is an opinion held by an unspecified group of people, you can use a passive form of a reporting verb with it as the impersonal subject.
It is assumed that the government will remain in power.
In former times it was believed that all enlarged tonsils should be removed.
It is now believed that foreign languages are most easily taught to young children.
It was said that half a million dollars had been spent on the search.
Here is a list of reporting verbs that are used in the passive with it as their subject:
accept
acknowledge
admit
agree
allege
announce
argue
assert
assume
believe
claim
comment
concede
conclude
confirm
consider
decide
decree
discover
estimate
expect
explain
fear
feel
find
foresee
forget
guarantee
hold
hope
imply
know
mention
note
notice
object
observe
predict
propose
realize
recall
reckon
recommend
record
remember
report
request
reveal
rule
rumour
say
state
stipulate
suggest
suppose
think
understand
This structure has much in common with a structure using a passive reporting verb and a to-infinitive clause. In this structure, the main person or thing involved in the reported opinion is put as the subject of the reporting verb.
Intelligence is assumed to be important.
He is said to have died a natural death.
He is believed to have fled to France.
Note that the to-infinitive is most commonly be or have, or a perfect infinitive.
Here is a list of reporting verbs, from the list above, that are also used in this type of structure:
agree
allege
assume
believe
claim
consider
discover
estimate
expect
feel
find
guarantee
hold
know
observe
think
understand
seem and appear
7.70 If you want to say that something appears to be the case, you can use either of the verbs seem and appear. These verbs can be used as reporting verbs followed by a that-clause or they can be used with a to- infinitive. You can use this structure to give your own opinion or that of someone else. The subject of seem or appear is it, used impersonally.
It seemed that she had not been careful enough
It seemed that he had lost his chance to win.
It appears that he followed my advice.
Alternatively, you can use a structure involving seem or appear and a to-infinitive clause. The main person or thing involved in the fact that appears to be true is put as the subject of the reporting verb.
She seemed to like me.
He appears to have been an interesting man.
The system appears to work well.
If you want to mention the person whose viewpoint you are giving, you can add a prepositional phrase beginning with to after seem or appear.
It seemed to Jane that everyone was against her.
7.71 There are a few expressions containing impersonal it that are used as reporting clauses before that-clauses to show that someone suddenly thought of something: It occurred to me, It struck me, and It crossed my mind.
It occurred to her that someone was missing.
It crossed my mind that somebody must have been keeping things secret.
Referring to the speaker and hearer
referring to the speaker
7.72 You usually use a reporting verb to report what one person has said or thought, so the subject of a reporting verb is usually a singular noun.
Henry said that he wanted to go home.
He claimed his health had been checked several times at a clinic.
When you report the statements, opinions, orders, or questions of a group of people, you can use a plural noun or a collective noun as the subject of the reporting verb.
The judges demanded that the race be run again.
The committee noted that this was not the first case of its kind.
When you report what was said on television or radio, or what is printed or written in a newspaper or other document, you can mention the source or means of communication as the subject of a reporting verb.
The newspaper said he was hiding somewhere near Kabul.
His contract stated that his salary would be £50,000 a year.
Note that you can also use say with nouns such as sign, notice, clock, and map as the subject.
The notice said that attendants should not be tipped.
A sign over the door said Dreamland Cafe.
The road map said it was 210 kilometres to the French frontier.
use of the passive
7.73 As explained in paragraph 7.69, when you want to avoid mentioning the person who said something, you can use a reporting verb in the passive.
It was said that some of them had become insane.
He was said to be the oldest man in the firm.
If you want to avoid mentioning the person giving an order or giving advice, you use a passive reporting verb with the person who receives the order or advice as the subject.
Harriet was ordered to keep away from my room.
7.74 If you want to distance yourself from a statement you are making, you can show that you are reporting what someone else has said by using a phrase beginning with according to, rather than using reported speech.