Choose the option that best expresses the given sentence in Active voice.
He is said to be very polite.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → People say he is very polite.
Active voice of "is said to be":
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doer becomes subject | People | (no doer named) | No doer is given, so the general word "people" becomes the subject. |
| Tense kept | say | is said | "Is said" is the simple present passive: is / are + past participle (V3). So the active takes the simple present "say": the base form (V1), or V1 + s / es with he, she, it. |
| "To be" becomes a clause | he is very polite | He ... to be very polite | The person talked about becomes the subject of a new clause after "say". |
| Full sentence | People say he is very polite. | He is said to be very polite. |
Verbs like believe, think and know work the same way: "is believed to be" becomes "people believe ... is". Example: She is believed to be honest. → People believe she is honest.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: He said he is very polite. — Incorrect. It makes "he" the speaker. In the given sentence, other people say this about him.
Option 3: He said it is very polite. — Incorrect. Like option 1, it makes "he" the speaker. But other people say this about him.
Option 4: People say it is very polite. — Incorrect. It puts "it" in place of "he". The sentence is about a person, so "he" is needed.