Are the sentences below acceptable to native speakers of American English?
The researchers found the business to do well under such circumstances. (The active version)
The business was found to do well under such circumstances. (The passive version)
TeoAre the sentences below acceptable to native speakers of American English?
The researchers found the business to do well under such circumstances. (The active version) No, but see below.
The business was found to do well under such circumstances. (The passive version) Yes.
Speaker of American English.
Most acceptable examples, however, have 'to be', thus:
We found Berlin to be gloomy.
The method was found to be effective for ground meat.
CJ
Comments
"Find object to do well" is ungrammatical. Also, they didn't find the business, they found that the business had a certain trait. Think "discovered" where you have "found". I would expect "The researchers found that the business did well under such circumstances."
Same problems. The passive version is "It was found by researchers that the business did well under such circumstances." That is strained and wordy, though.