Choose the correct option for rewriting the statement given below with 'The company' as the subject:
It is believed that the company lost a lot of money last year
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The company is believed to have lost a lot of money last year
"It is believed that ..." with the person or thing as subject:
- The subject of the that-clause becomes the subject of the sentence: The company is believed ...
- The verb of the that-clause becomes an infinitive:
- same time as the believing: to + base verb (is believed to be)
- earlier than the believing: to have + past participle; "lost" happened last year, so to have lost
- The rest of the sentence stays: a lot of money last year.
Example: It is said that he left the city. → He is said to have left the city.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: The company believes to have lost a lot of money last year — Incorrect. It is active: the company itself now does the believing, which changes the meaning; "believes to have lost" is also not English (it would be "believes that it has lost").
Option 3: The company is believed to have had lost a lot of money last year — Incorrect. "Have had lost" is not a verb form; the perfect infinitive is to have lost.
Option 4: The company is believed to having lost a lot of money last year — Incorrect. After "is believed" the verb must be an infinitive ("to have lost"); "to having" is wrong.