Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Chan-Seung Lee]

[rice07]

In fact, both 'to cite' and 'to be cited' are correct for this case. Technically speaking, 'to cite', in the example you raised, is called the 'activo-passive voice of infinitive'. That is to say: It('To cite') is active in form but passive in meaning. But nowadays there is also a school of thought of some linguists saying: There're a subject and an object implied in a case like this. And the following would make the conception of that clearer:

So the correct statistic (for people) to cite (it) nowadays is that marriages have a fifty-fifty percent chance of ending in divorce.

Another examples:

1.There is nothing to fear/ to be feared.

2. There is a lot to do/ to be done.

3. He is to blame/ to be blamed for the accident.

Also, here I've got a paragraph cited from an English language novel:

...

There she drew in a deep breath and exhaled it. Her hands were trembling as she opened the door and went inside. The air felt heavy in here, old and musty.

Hope this helps.

rice