Choose the correct passive construction for the following sentence from the given options :
People say that the minister will resign soon.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → It is said that the minister will resign soon.
Passive of "People say that ...":
Verbs of saying and believing (say, believe, think, report) with a general subject such as people have an impersonal passive: It + is/was + past participle + that-clause.
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | – | It | The impersonal passive starts with It. |
| Tense kept | say | is said | Say is in the simple present, so the passive is is said (be + past participle in the same tense). |
| Agent (by ...) | People | – (dropped) | The agent “by people” is dropped. |
| Full sentence | People say that the minister will resign soon. | It is said that the minister will resign soon. |
The that-clause stays as it is: the minister will resign soon.
Example: People believe that he is honest. → It is believed that he is honest.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The minister will resign soon as people say. — Incorrect. It is still in the active voice ("people say"). The two clauses are only placed in a different order.
Option 3: The minister is said to resign soon. — Incorrect. In this personal pattern (subject + is said + to-infinitive), a future event needs "is said to be resigning" or "is said to be going to resign". The plain "to resign" does not carry the meaning of "will resign".
Option 4: The minister is supposed to resign soon. — Incorrect. Is supposed to means "is expected or required to". It changes the meaning of "people say".