How do I form a reporting passive with is said to?

Raise the person to subject, put the reporting verb in the passive, and follow it with a to-infinitive: People say that she is in Paris becomes She is said to be in Paris. For a past event, use the perfect infinitive: She is said to have left Paris. The it-clause alternative is It is said that she is in Paris.

What is the difference between I had the roof repaired and I had repaired the roof?

I had the roof repaired is causative: someone else did the work, and I arranged it. I had repaired the roof is the past perfect of repair: I did the work myself before another past moment. The object sitting between had and the participle is what marks the causative.

When do I use being told instead of to be told?

After a preposition and after verbs that take -ing: He left without being told. She resents being told what to do. After verbs that take a to-infinitive, use to be told: She expects to be told tomorrow. The voice is passive in both; the host verb chooses the form.

Do I still need the basic passive if I know these forms?

Yes. Most passives in English are still the simple finite ones: The road was closed. Your order has been dispatched. The advanced forms handle complements, reporting, arrangements, and modal judgements. Learn the basic conversion first, then add this page rather than replacing it.

English grammar · Advanced

Advanced Passive Forms: Infinitives, Reporting, and Causatives

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Advanced passive forms are the patterns that sit on top of be plus a past participle: passive infinitives (to be told, to have been chosen), passive -ing forms (being watched, having been warned), reporting passives (is said to, is thought to have), causative have and get (have the lock changed, get the roof repaired), and passive modals (must be completed, should have been informed). They are C1 tools for focus, distance, and impersonal style. This page does not re-teach the basic object-to-subject conversion; that lives on the passive voice and active-and-passive-voice pages.

The minister is thought to have resigned overnight.

reporting passive: is thought plus a perfect infinitive

What it is

Once the basic passive is in place, English keeps using the same past participle in positions that are not a finite be-clause. After want, hope, seem, and a reporting verb, the infinitive itself can be passive: She wants to be notified. He is said to be negotiating. After enjoy, mind, and prepositions, the -ing form can be passive: He minds being interrupted. Having been briefed, she went in. A parallel system, the causative, uses have or get plus an object plus a past participle to say that someone arranged an action they did not perform: I had the locks changed. Passive modals complete the set: the form can be stored, the staff should have been told. All of these keep the receiver of the action in the spotlight; none of them asks you to rebuild a simple tense from an active sentence.

People say that the CEO is about to resign. The CEO is said to be about to resign. (Reporting passive, more distant.) I didn't paint the kitchen; I had it painted. (Causative: I arranged the work.)

How to spot it

Look past a simple is / was plus participle. A passive infinitive has to be or to have been in front of the participle. A passive -ing form has being or having been. A reporting passive has is said / thought / believed / reported plus to. A causative has have or get plus a thing plus a participle, with no by-agent required. A passive modal has a modal, then be or have been, then the participle.

She hopes to be shortlisted. (passive infinitive after hope)
He resents being overlooked. (passive -ing after resent)
The painting is believed to have been stolen in the 1980s. (reporting passive plus a perfect infinitive)
We had the boiler serviced last week. (causative have: we arranged the service)

Have plus an object plus a participle is not always causative. I had my bag stolen is an experience, usually unwelcome, not something you arranged. Context, and often get in informal English (I got my bag stolen), tells the two apart.

Advanced Passive Forms Quick Reference

The C1 passive toolkit

Pattern	Form	Example
Passive infinitive	to be + past participle	She expects to be paid on Friday.
Perfect passive infinitive	to have been + past participle	He seems to have been misinformed.
Passive -ing	being + past participle	I dislike being rushed.
Perfect passive -ing	having been + past participle	Having been warned, they took a different route.
Reporting passive	is said / thought / believed + to-infinitive	She is said to be in Geneva. He is thought to have left.
It-reporting passive	It is said / thought / reported that + clause	It is reported that talks have stalled.
Causative have / get	have / get + object + past participle	I had my passport renewed. Get that leak fixed.
Passive modal	modal + be / have been + past participle	The file must be encrypted. They should have been consulted.

Common Advanced Passive Forms Examples in English

Grouped by the advanced job the passive is doing, not by tense, because the basic tense conversions are already covered elsewhere:

Passive Infinitives and -ing Forms

The witnesses asked to be kept anonymous.: to be plus participle after ask
There is still a decision to be made.: passive infinitive after a noun
She left without being recognised.: being plus participle after a preposition
Having been delayed twice, the launch was postponed.: having been plus participle as a participle clause

The infinitive is the default after want, hope, expect, refuse, and seem. The -ing form is the default after prepositions and after verbs that already take -ing: mind, resent, avoid, admit.

Reporting Passives

The ambassador is said to be considering a return.: is said to be: a present situation, reported at a distance
He is thought to have funded the campaign privately.: is thought to have: a past event, reported now
The prototype is reported to be years ahead of rivals.: is reported to be: journalistic distance
It is widely believed that the manuscript is a copy.: it-clause version, with that plus a full clause

Is said to plus a present infinitive reports a current state. Is said to have plus a participle reports a past event. The it-clause (It is said that...) is a little heavier and keeps a full that-clause instead of raising the person to subject.

Causative Have and Get

We had the chimney swept before winter.: had plus object plus participle: we arranged it
You ought to get that tooth looked at.: get: more informal, often a recommendation
She is having her portrait painted this month.: continuous causative: the arrangement is in progress
I must get my visa extended before I travel.: get plus object plus participle after a modal

The subject of have / get is the arranger, not the doer. The doer can be added with by (We had the chimney swept by a local firm) but usually is not.

Passive Modals

Applications must be submitted through the portal.: must be plus participle: a rule
The results cannot be changed after midnight.: cannot be: a locked possibility
Staff should have been briefed before the announcement.: should have been: a past obligation that was missed
The shipment might have been held at customs.: might have been: a past possibility, impersonal

The modal still does the judging (obligation, possibility, criticism). Be or have been plus the participle keeps the receiver as the subject. This is the past-modals page applied to a passive verb phrase.

How Advanced Passives Work

Each pattern reuses the past participle. What changes is the word that hosts it: to, -ing, a reporting verb, have / get, or a modal.

Make the Infinitive or -ing Form Passive, Not the Main Verb

When the receiver of a lower action is what you want in focus, turn that lower verb passive and leave the main verb alone. She wants someone to notify her becomes She wants to be notified. He hates it when people interrupt him becomes He hates being interrupted. The finite verb (wants, hates) stays active; only the complement switches voice.

They expect to be met at the airport. He avoided being drawn into the argument.

expect stays active plus a passive infinitive; avoid stays active plus a passive -ing

Passive the complement, not the governing verb.

Reporting Passives Raise the Person and Add To

People say that Dr Chen is retiring can be rewritten two ways. It is said that Dr Chen is retiring keeps a dummy it and a that-clause. Dr Chen is said to be retiring raises Dr Chen to subject and uses a to-infinitive. For a past reported event, the infinitive becomes perfect: Dr Chen is said to have retired. The reporting verb (say, think, believe, report, consider, rumoured) is itself passive.

The files are believed to have been leaked from inside the department.

are believed plus a perfect passive infinitive

Person + is said / thought + to (have) + verb.

Have / Get Plus Object Plus Participle Means You Arranged It

Causative have (and informal get) puts the arranger in subject position and the thing affected in object position, then the participle names the action someone else performed. I painted the hall means I held the brush. I had the hall painted means I paid or asked someone else. The form looks like a perfect in passing (had painted) but the object sitting between have and the participle is what marks it as causative.

I had painted the hall by Friday. I had the hall painted on Friday.

had painted: I did it. had the hall painted: someone else did it for me

Have + thing + participle = arranged, not done.

Passive Modals Keep the Modal, Then Be

A modal already occupies the finite slot, so the passive is built on be (or have been) plus the participle: can be stored, must be signed, should have been told, might have been lost. There is no extra do, and the modal never takes to. The past-modal meanings (deduction, criticism, missed obligation) transfer unchanged: Staff should have been told is a judgement about a past briefing that did not happen.

The vaccine must be kept cold. The error should have been caught in review.

must be for a present rule; should have been for a missed past duty

Modal + be / have been + participle.

Common Mistakes with Advanced Passive Forms

Incorrect: She is said that she is moving abroad.

Correct: She is said to be moving abroad. / It is said that she is moving abroad.

A reporting passive with a person as subject takes a to-infinitive, not a that-clause. Keep that only when dummy it is the subject: It is said that.... Mixing the two patterns produces she is said that.

Incorrect: I had painted my kitchen by a decorator.

Correct: I had my kitchen painted by a decorator.

Causative have places the object between have and the participle. Had painted is the past perfect of paint, which would mean I did the painting. The by-phrase then has nowhere grammatical to sit.

Incorrect: He doesn't mind to be criticised.

Correct: He doesn't mind being criticised.

Mind takes an -ing form, so the passive complement is being plus a participle, not a to-infinitive. The same applies to resent, avoid, and admit.

Incorrect: The documents should have told to the board.

Correct: The board should have been told. / The documents should have been shown to the board.

A passive modal still needs be (or have been) plus a participle, and the receiver of tell is a person. Tell does not make the thing the subject in this pattern the way show or send sometimes can.

Forms at a Glance

Two compact tables. The first lists the non-finite passives; the second shows how modals combine with be and have been. Neither table repeats the basic tense-by-tense conversion of the active-and-passive-voice page.

Passive infinitives and -ing forms

The left column is the form; the right column is a typical host.

Pronoun	Form	Typical host
present passive infinitive	to be + past participle (to be invited)	after want, hope, expect, refuse, seem
perfect passive infinitive	to have been + past participle (to have been invited)	after seem, appear, claim, and reporting passives
present passive -ing	being + past participle (being invited)	after prepositions and after mind, resent, avoid, admit
perfect passive -ing	having been + past participle (having been invited)	in participle clauses, looking back

To be being invited (continuous passive infinitive) exists but is rare. Prefer a finite clause if the sentence starts to creak.

Passive modals

The same modal meanings as the active, with the receiver as subject.

Pronoun	Active judgement	Passive form
can / could	someone can store it	it can be stored
must	someone must sign it	it must be signed
should	someone should tell them	they should be told
will	someone will announce it	it will be announced
perfect modal	someone should have told them	they should have been told
perfect modal (deduction)	someone must have taken it	it must have been taken

Would have been plus a participle is also the result half of a third conditional: the road would have been closed if the storm had hit.

Need + -ing and Have Someone Do Something

Two neighbouring patterns that look like passives and are often taught with them.

Need plus -ing

Need plus an -ing form has a passive meaning: The oven needs cleaning means The oven needs to be cleaned. The -ing form is more informal and is very common with household and maintenance verbs: cleaning, mending, replacing, sorting.

The plants need watering.: need plus -ing: they need to be watered
This draft needs rewriting before Friday.: the draft is the receiver of the rewriting
The lock needed replacing after the break-in.: past of the same pattern

Need to be plus a participle is the full passive alternative and is a little more formal: The plants need to be watered.

Have someone do something

A different causative, with a bare infinitive, names the person who performs the action: I had the solicitor check the contract. Get someone to do something is the informal twin and takes to: I got the solicitor to check the contract. These are not passives, but they compete with have something done when you want to mention the doer.

We had a specialist restore the frame.: have plus person plus bare infinitive
I'll get my brother to collect you.: get plus person plus to-infinitive
We had the frame restored.: have plus thing plus participle: the doer is dropped

Choose have / get something done when the thing is the topic. Choose have someone do / get someone to do when the person is the topic.

Reporting verbs that prefer the it-clause

Some reporting verbs raise the person easily (say, think, believe, report, consider). Others prefer It is ... that: it is rumoured that, it has been suggested that, it was agreed that. Forcing a person-subject (She is rumoured to..., They were agreed to...) is often clumsy or ungrammatical.

It has been suggested that the deadline should move.: it-clause, not the deadline is suggested to move
It was agreed that the two sides would meet again.: agree in this sense takes an it-clause
She is rumoured to be in talks with a rival studio.: rumour does allow a person-subject, in journalistic style

If the raised version sounds stiff, keep dummy it and a that-clause. Distance is the point of the reporting passive either way.

Quick Check: Advanced Passive Forms

Rewrite using the advanced passive named in brackets, keeping the same meaning.

1. People think that the director has already resigned. The director ___. (reporting passive)

Answer: is thought to have already resigned / is thought to have resigned already

raise the person, use a perfect infinitive

2. She hates it when people interrupt her. She hates ___. (passive -ing)

Answer: being interrupted

hate takes -ing, made passive with being

3. A garage serviced our car yesterday. We ___ yesterday. (causative have)

Answer: had our car serviced

have plus object plus participle

4. Someone should have informed the residents. The residents ___. (passive modal)

Answer: should have been informed

modal plus have been plus participle

5. Somebody needs to repair this hinge. This hinge ___. (need + -ing)

Answer: needs repairing / needs to be repaired

need plus -ing has a passive meaning

Advanced Passive Forms FAQs

What are advanced passive forms?: They are passives that are not a simple tense of be plus a past participle. The main ones are passive infinitives (to be told, to have been chosen), passive -ing forms (being watched, having been warned), reporting passives (is said to, is thought to have), causative have / get something done, and passive modals (must be stored, should have been told).
How do I form a reporting passive with is said to?: Raise the person to subject, put the reporting verb in the passive, and follow it with a to-infinitive: People say that she is in Paris becomes She is said to be in Paris. For a past event, use the perfect infinitive: She is said to have left Paris. The it-clause alternative is It is said that she is in Paris.
What is the difference between I had the roof repaired and I had repaired the roof?: I had the roof repaired is causative: someone else did the work, and I arranged it. I had repaired the roof is the past perfect of repair: I did the work myself before another past moment. The object sitting between had and the participle is what marks the causative.
When do I use being told instead of to be told?: After a preposition and after verbs that take -ing: He left without being told. She resents being told what to do. After verbs that take a to-infinitive, use to be told: She expects to be told tomorrow. The voice is passive in both; the host verb chooses the form.
Do I still need the basic passive if I know these forms?: Yes. Most passives in English are still the simple finite ones: The road was closed. Your order has been dispatched. The advanced forms handle complements, reporting, arrangements, and modal judgements. Learn the basic conversion first, then add this page rather than replacing it.