·Three ways of reporting what others do
Passive, causative and reported speech. They are three ways of telling what others do, or what others said, without putting yourself at the centre. We will see how the passive is formed in all tenses, the it is said that construction, the causative with have and get, and reported speech, with its changes of tense, pronouns and time expressions. The rules are AptisBot's own criteria, and the Core asks about them with three options.
1/4The passive in all tenses
The passive is formed with the verb be in the same tense the active would have, plus the participle. Present simple: English is spoken here. Past simple: the house was built in 1900. Present perfect: the report has been finished. Future: the results will be announced tomorrow. Present continuous: the road is being repaired. And with modals: the form must be signed. It is used when what happens matters more than who does it. And if you want to say who, you add by: the novel was written by Orwell. The typical mistake is to forget the be or to put the verb in the infinitive: the house built in 1900 is not a complete sentence.
2/4It is said that and the causative
Two very useful constructions. First: it is said that, or he is said to, to say what is reported without saying who reports it. It is said that he is very rich, or he is said to be very rich. It works with believe, think, know, report, expect. Second: the causative, have or get plus object plus participle, to say that someone does something for you. I had my car repaired. She got her phone fixed. What matters is the service, not who does it. And it is different from I repaired my car, which says you did it yourself.
3/4Reported speech: tense changes
Reported speech. When you tell what someone said, the tense usually steps back. Present simple changes to past simple: I work here becomes she said she worked there. Present perfect and past simple change to past perfect: I have finished becomes he said he had finished. Will changes to would, and can to could. Pronouns and time expressions also change: today becomes that day, tomorrow the next day, yesterday the day before, and here there. And no question mark is used in an indirect question: she asked where I lived.
4/4Reporting verbs
Reporting verbs. Often you do not repeat the sentence, you sum up the intention with a more precise verb. Suggest is followed by ing or by that: she suggested going out, or she suggested that we go out. Deny, admit and regret, with ing: he denied taking the money. Insist on, with ing: she insisted on paying. Promise, offer, refuse and agree, with to: he refused to help. And tell always has a person after it, he told me, whereas say does not: he said that…. Choosing the right verb avoids long sentences and sounds more natural.
·To practise
To practise, write four sentences. A passive in the present perfect. One with have or get and a participle, about something others do for you. One with it is said that. And a sentence in reported speech, with a change of tense and of time expression. Then check, in each one, which verb is in the participle and which verb has stepped back.