Nero was alleged to have burnt Rome

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Nero was alleged to have burnt Rome
Rome was alleged to have been burnt by Nero.

Are these sentences correct?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

Nero was alleged to have burnt Rome
Rome was alleged to have been burnt by Nero.

Are these sentences correct?

Possibly yes, but the second one sounds clumsy to me. To allege means to claim, plead, usually a legal term involving a person. To me, it is messy in a passive sentence because it is a passive in itself, so you would normally say "It was alleged that Rome was burnt by Nero."

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Right ! Thanks Perikles.

[JPablo]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Possibly yes, but the second one sounds clumsy to me. To allege means to claim, plead, usually a legal term involving a person. To me, it is messy in a passive sentence because it is a passive in itself, so you would normally say "It was alleged that Rome was burnt by Nero."

Wouldn't be even more 'normal' to say,
"Allegedly, Rome was burnt by Nero." ?

(Por aquello de 'lo bueno, si breve, dos veces bueno', ¿no?)

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

Wouldn't be even more 'normal' to say,
"Allegedly, Rome was burnt by Nero." ?

(Por aquello de 'lo bueno, si breve, dos veces bueno', ¿no?)

It depends when the allegation takes place. 'Allegedly' means the modern historian thinks that. 'It was alleged' means that at the time, they thought that. Not quite the same, and I was trying to keep as near as possible to the sense of the original sentence.

[JPablo]

Thank you. Good point.