The passive forms of reporting verbs are commonly used in news reports or when someone else told us about it. We use this structure to deliver information when its accuracy is unverified.
Examples of reporting verbs are: said, believed, expected, known, reported, alleged, considered, claimed, suggested, etc.
In this lesson, we will focus on the reporting verb “said“.
We can use these passive forms in two ways.
| Sentence structure 1: | Sentence structure 2: |
| It is said that + subject + verb | Someone is said to + infinitive |
| It is said that the company is applying for an ERTE. | The company is said to be applying for an ERTE. |
| It is said that this training course is totally irrelevant. | This training course is said to be totally irrelevant. |
| It is said that she is unable to keep a secret. | She is said to be unable to keep a secret. |
In some conditions, ‘it is supposed to…’ also means ‘it is said to…’
| it is supposed to… | ‘it is said to… | Explanation |
| I will start binge-watching that TV series. It’s supposed to be action-packed. | It is said to be action-packed. | People are claiming the tv series is action-packed. |
| She wants to try meditation. It is supposed to be relaxing. | It is said that meditation is relaxing. | Those who have tried meditation are saying that it is relaxing. |
| Why did he move to Germany? He’s supposed to have found a better job there. | It is said that he found a better job in Germany. | It is said that he found a better job in Germany hence the move. |
In other conditions, ‘it is supposed to…’ means something is planned or expected to happen but oftentimes didn’t really happen.
| The meeting was supposed to start at 9 o’clock but it’s already half past nine and the host hasn’t arrived yet. |
| The exhibition was supposed to be free but they asked us for an entrance fee. |
| She’d better not waste any more time on playing video games. She’s supposed to do the laundry today. |