Sentence Correction

Hi there

Can anyone explain when to use the TO BE infinitive. I understand how other infinitives function, but this 'to be' is a mystery to me. I see the usage in sentence such as 'It is said to be....'

Regards

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"To be" is an unconjugated form and the conjugated forms of the same verb are for example: is, are, was, were, have been, etc.

The most common uses of the infinitive are for example:

To indicate the purpose or intention of an action (where the 'to' has the same meaning as 'in order to' or 'so as to'):
She is planning to become a scientist in the future.

As the subject of the sentence:
To be or not to be, that is the question.
To be with her is to love her.

With nouns or pronouns, to indicate what something can be used for, or what is to be done with it:
Would you like something to be changed in your new room?

After adjectives in these patterns:
It is + adjective +to-infinitive
It is good to be together again.It is + adjective + infinitive + for someone + to-infinitive.
It is hard for mice to be brave like lions.

After an adjective + noun when a comment or judgement is being made:
It is a good idea to be careful in new situations.

With too and enough in these patterns:
too much/many (+ noun) + to-infinitive

There's too much sugar to put in this bowl.
I had too many books to carry.

too + adjective + to-infinitive
This soup is too hot to eat.
She was too tired to work.
too + adverb + to-infinitive
He arrived too late to be noticed by other guests.

adjective + enough + to-infinitive
She's old enough to be financially independent.

not enough (+noun) + to-infinitive
There aren't enough resources to be used.

not + adjective + enough + to-infinitive
You're not old enough to be a grandfather!

As to the sentence you have posted, "It is said to be..." is a special structure. "It is said that," "He is said to (+infinitive) ," and sometimes "(be) supposed to (+ infinitive)" have the meaning "people say..." and they are often used in news reports.
i.e. An old lady in my town died last week, and people say that she gave a lot of money to charity.
It is said that she gave a lot of money to charity.
She is said to have given a lot of money to charity.
She is supposed to have given a lot of money to charity.

ok, in the case of sentences such as 'there has to be two people'? what is the role of to be here?

Does this sentence come from any GMAT-related source? It is incorrect. The correct form should be as follows: "There have to be two people". "To be" follows the modal verb "have to". All modal verbs (like should, could, would, need, etc.) need to be followed by unconjugated verb forms.

Thanks. I guess the problem is conjugated/unconjugated verb forms. Could you please explain what conjugated and unconjugated verb forms are. Never heard of them before.

Googled little and I found this: https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts ... -verb.html But I am still not clear.

Kindly explain.

Regards

The website that you have posted the link to presents examples of conjugated verb forms quite clearly. In general, conjugated verb forms are used in a sentence to talk about an action or a state with reference to the subject. Compare:

I GO to school everyday. - "go" is the correct conjugated form to be used with "I" in the present simple tense
He GOES to school everyday. - "goES" is the correct conjugated form to be used with "he", etc.

Unconjugated verb forms, on the other hand, are the ones that don't change a phrase into a sentence. They cannot play the role of VERBS in a sentence. They are only parts of phrases. These are "to + verb" and "verb + ing," e.g. going, to go.