Directions: Select the correct passive form of the given sentence. People say…

Solution

Correct sentence: He is said to have lived on a liquid diet for years.

Key points

• Identify the clauses: 'People say' is the reporting clause in the present simple; 'he has lived on a liquid diet for years' is the reported clause in the present perfect.

• When forming the passive with reporting verbs like 'say', keep the reporting verb passive ('is said') and convert the reported perfect clause into the perfect infinitive ('to have' + past participle) to preserve the original aspect.

• Therefore, the correct passive is: He is said to have lived on a liquid diet for years.

Why the other choices are wrong

• Using 'is said to live' (simple infinitive) does not preserve the present perfect aspect of the original ('has lived').

• Using 'has said' with 'he' makes 'he' the reporter, which changes the meaning and is not the intended passive transformation.

• Using 'is said to have been living' changes the aspect to perfect continuous, adding an ongoing nuance that is not required by the original simple perfect form.

Final answer: He is said to have lived on a liquid diet for years.