The choice among these three idioms is largely a matter of emphasis or euphony. The first may easily become heavy or awkward, and it is therefore less common than either of the others.
Note. The third of these idioms is often called the personal construction, to distinguish it from the second, in which the grammatical subject is the impersonal it ([§ 120, 1]). The infinitive in this third idiom may be regarded as a peculiar adverbial modifier of the passive verb.
Further examples of the three constructions with passive verbs of telling, thinking, etc., are the following:—
- That in vivacity, humor, and eloquence, the Irish stand high among the nations of the world is now universally acknowledged.—Macaulay.
- It is admitted that the exercise of the imagination is most delightful.—Shelley.
- It must be owned that Charles’s life has points of some originality.—Stevenson.
- Porto Bello is still said to be impregnable, and it is reported the Dutch have declared war against us.—Gray.
- He was generally believed to have been a pirate.—Lytton.
- Pope may be said to write always with his reputation in his head.—Johnson.
- She was observed to flutter her fan with such vehement rapidity that the elaborate delicacy of its workmanship gave way.—Hawthorne.
- This is said to be the only château in France in which the ancient furniture of its original age is preserved.—Longfellow.
437. A substantive clause with that is common after it seems, it is true, it is evident, and similar expressions.
- It seems that Robert has lost all his money.
- It is true that genius does not always bring happiness with it.
- It is evident that Andrews tells the truth.
This construction is really the same as that in [§ 436, 2].
438. The uses of shall and will, should and would, in indirect discourse are the same as in the direct,[48] with the following exception:—
When the first person with shall or should in direct discourse becomes the second or third person in the indirect, shall or should is retained.
- Direct: You say, “I shall die.”
- Indirect: You say that you shall die.