It is said

Question

Hello,1.It is believed that the couple have left the country.Reporting using passive form does indicate tentativeness or something else.When do we use such kind of construction?It is said that ......It is known that .....It is believed that .......Could any one explain it?Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

hanuman_2000Reporting using passive form does indicate tentativeness or something else.

It is weak and generally ineffective.

hanuman_2000When do we use such kind of construction?

Only when the agent is utterly unknown, very insignificant, or not to be revealed.

Meteorquake · Answer

Basically when you want to remove yourself from what you are saying.
There are two reasons for this -

1 - To suggest something isn't true / might not be true / you don't know / is true for others but not yourself
'It is alleged that the moon is made of cheese' - you don't believe it at all
'It is said that deep-fried mars bar is very good' - others like it, but not you
'It is said that you can cure such things by homeopathy' - you don't know either way
'It is said that the Chinese sailed round America in 1421' - interesting, might not be true

2 - To suggest something is true due to a greater authority than oneself
'It is said/believed/known that there are oceans on the moon Europa' - true because scientists agree it

'believed' is stronger than 'said', but you can say "believed by some/a few" to weaken it or 'by many/most/all' to strengthen it
'known' is stronger than 'believed', but you can say "known by some/a few/very few" to indicate ignorance in others, or 'by many/most/all'

d

It is said

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