Believed to be vs believed to have
What is the difference between the grammatical structure "was/were believed to be..." and " was/were believed to have..."?
I don't have a particular context in mind. I know that "was/were believed" is passive but after the passive why and when to use "to be" or "to have...", I don't know.
Top answer
If "be" and "have" are lexical verbs, then the choice just depends on the meaning that you want to express, in the usual way: He is guilty -> He is believed to be guilty He has three wives -> He is believed to have three wives If "be" and "have" are auxiliary verbs, which may be more what you are asking about, then these form part of the infinitive. g. com/the-forms-of-the-infinitive .
- If "be" and "have" are lexical verbs, then the choice just depends on the meaning that you want to express, in the usual way: He is guilty -> He is believed to be guilty He has three wives -> He is believed to have three wives If "be" and "have" are auxiliary verbs, which may be more what you are asking about, then these form part of the infinitive.
- g.
- com/the-forms-of-the-infinitive .
- None of this is really anything specific to do with "is/are/was/were believed", or the fact that it is passive.
- g.
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If "be" and "have" are lexical verbs, then the choice just depends on the meaning that you want to express, in the usual way:
He is guilty -> He is believed to be guilty
He has three wives -> He is believed to have three wives
If "be" and "have" are auxiliary verbs, which may be more what you are asking about, then t
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