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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Was said to have made

She had not known about the comment he was said to have made at the police station.

Is was said to have made a catenative construction?
  

Top answer

Anonymous the comment he was said to have made This comes from Someone said that he had made the comment. Through passivizing it becomes That he had made the comment was said (by someone). , It was said that he had made the comment.

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous the comment he was said to have made This comes from Someone said that he had made the comment.
  • Through passivizing it becomes That he had made the comment was said (by someone).
  • , It was said that he had made the comment.
  • Raising "he" to the subject and adjusting the remainder with a non-finite (infinitive) clause, He was said to have made the comment.
  • Making this a relative clause that modifies "comment" gives the comment he was said to have made There are a lot of transformations, but none of them involves a catenative construction.
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2 Answers
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Anonymousthe comment he was said to have made
This comes from

Someone said that he had made the comment.

Through passivizing it becomes

That he had made the comment was said (by someone).

By transformation with dummy it we get

It was said (by someone) that he had made the comment,
i.e
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Thank you, CJ, for the detailed explanation.
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