It is believed that Bob spent all his money on gambling

[dorax]

Hello everyone,
I gave an exercise to my students asking them to rewrite some sentences in the passive voice. The answers I expected for the sentence 'People believe that Bob spent all his money on gambling.' would be 'It is believed that Bob spent all his money on gambling.' or 'Bob is believed to have spent all his money on gambling.' However, a student's response was 'It is believed that all of Bob's money were was spent on gambling.' Would this be considered an acceptable answer, or does it change the meaning in any way?"

 

[jutfrank]

I would say that:

a) Your student's answer is better than either of the two you expected.

b) With respect, your original example was poor. This kind of passive structure is used almost exclusively in an academic register. Talking about some apparently familiar guy named Bob and his spending habits is not an appropriate use of it.

 

[teechar]

The problem with the sentence you gave to your students is that is has two verbs (in the active voice).

People believe that Bob spent all his money on gambling.

Which one do you want the students to turn into the passive?!

It is believed that Bob spent all his money on gambling.

That's possible.

Bob is believed to have spent all his money on gambling.

That's also possible, but it's slightly different since it introduces the perfect aspect.

It is believed that all of Bob's money was spent on gambling.

That's possible too, but it could potentially mean that the money was spent by someone other than Bob.

 

[emsr2d2]

@dorax You've been on the forum for just over seven years. In that time, I would expect you to have noticed the format required for thread titles. You should use some/all of the words/phrases/sentences you're asking us to look at and comment on. Using a grammar term such as your original "Passive voice" isn't an appropriate title. I've changed it for you this time.