Have a go, out loud, before anything else: when you want to pass on gossip you haven't checked yourself, how do you say it without repeating "nobody's confirmed this" every single time?
Jo: Did you hear about the Fletchers?
Priya: No — what's happened?
Jo: It's said they're finally selling that big house on the corner.
Priya: Really? I heard the husband's got a new job somewhere.
Jo: Yeah — he's said to have already handed in his notice.
Look at Jo's last two lines. Two different ways of passing on news without saying who actually told her. Can you spot both? Say them out loud before you check.
The impersonal way to pass on a rumour or a general belief — nobody specific gets the blame for starting it.
What comes straight after "it is"? And what always follows the reporting verb? Say it, then check.
1. Nobody's confirmed anything, but there's a rumour going round that the corner shop's closing down. Report it, starting with it, using rumoured:
" the corner shop is closing down."
2. Everyone in the village says the vicar's retiring in the summer, though there's been no official announcement. Report it, using believed:
" the vicar's retiring in the summer."
Tell me three things you've heard — about your town, your workplace, or someone in the news — that you can't actually confirm. Use it is said / thought / believed / rumoured that... for each one.
Now put a specific person or thing first — for something true about them right now.
What comes straight after "is/are said/thought/believed"? And where did "that" go? Say it, then check.
1. Everyone in the office reckons the new boss is really strict, though nobody's actually tested it yet. Report it about the boss, using said + be:
"The new boss really strict."
2. Word around the village is that the shop owner speaks five languages. Report it, using believed + speak:
"The shop owner five languages."
Tell me three things people say about someone you know, or a public figure — their character, their skills, their reputation — using is/are said/thought/believed to be...
Same personal pattern, but for something that's already happened — not a state now, an event that's over.
Compare "he's said to be rich" with "he's said to have made his fortune in property." Which one's a state, and which one's an event that's over? Say it, then check.
1. Word's going round that the old shopkeeper retired last month, though nobody's seen a leaving do. Report it, using said + retire:
"He last month."
2. The striker only signed in January, but he's already unhappy — rumour has it he's asked for a transfer. Report it, using rumoured + ask:
"He for a transfer already."
Pick one person. Say one thing believed about their state right now (to be / to have + noun), then one thing believed about something they've already done (to have + past participle).
Everything together, out loud. This is the whole point of the lesson.
A friend calls: "So what's the gossip? Anything happening round your way?"
Talk for one minute. Cover all three:
Write the 3–5 sentence message you'd send a friend with this gossip. Use all three patterns from today; the checker will tell you which ones it finds.
Real gossip never tells you which pattern to use. Here everything's shuffled.
1. Nobody's checked the forecast, but the picnic's still tentatively on. Which is correct?
___ it'll rain later, so bring a coat just in case.
2. Somebody mentioned the new librarian used to be a professional violinist and is meant to be brilliant. Which reports that correctly?
3. The rumour is that she resigned last week, though she's still coming into work. Which reports it correctly?
Say each corrected sentence out loud first — hearing the fix helps it stick. Then type the whole corrected sentence.
4. "It is said to rain tomorrow."
5. "He is said that he's incredibly wealthy."
6. "She is rumoured to resign last month."
7. "The team is thought to have winning the league last year."
1. Somebody stole your bike outside the station last night. Put it in the passive, starting with "My bike":
"My bike outside the station last night."
2. What's the difference between the passive "was built" and "has been built"? Say it, then check.
3. Nobody's said it officially, but half the village reckons the pub's being sold to a chain. Report it, using thought:
" the pub's being sold to a chain."
4. Your cousin's new partner apparently owns three houses already. Report it, using rumoured + own:
"Her new partner three houses already."
5. The old post office closed down years ago, people say, though nobody's sure exactly when. Report it, using said + close:
"The old post office years ago."
Which of the three patterns felt most natural just now, and which one still needs thinking time before it comes out automatically?
We said: three ways to pass on gossip and news without naming your source. Tick what's true: