Reporting an earlier event in the passive voice

subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive (perfect or perfect continuous)

If the reported event happens before the reporting, we use perfect or perfect continuous infinitives, depending on whether the verb in the reported clause was simple or continuous.

If the reporting happens in the present and the reported event in the past:

He is believed never to have smiled at anyone. (They believe he never smiled / has never smiled at anyone.)

She is known to have been writing songs for years. (They know she was writing / has been writing songs for years.)

If the reporting happens in the past and the reported event in an earlier past:

Lucy was assumed to have left the day before. (They assumed Lucy had left the day before.)

The organisers were thought to have been preparing for days. (Everybody thought the organisers had been preparing for days.)

In the following examples, the verb in the reported clause of the original sentence was passive, so we use passive infinitives in the new sentence.

If the reporting happens in the present and the reported event in the past:

The picture is known to have been painted by Caspar David Friedrich. (They know that the picture was painted / has been painted by Caspar David Friedrich. / They know that Caspar David Friedrich painted / has painted the picture.)

The picture is believed to have been being painted for years. (rarely used) (They believe that the picture was being painted / has been being painted for years. / They believe that the artist was painting / has been painting the picture for years.)

If the reporting happens in the past and the reported event in an earlier past:

The documents were claimed to have been signed by the CEO. (They claimed that the documents had been signed by the CEO. / They claimed that the CEO had signed the documents.)

The tree was reported to have been being chopped when the accident happened. (rarely used) (The investigators reported that the tree had been being chopped when the accident happened. / The investigators reported that the woodcutters had been chopping the tree when the accident happened.)