• "That painting was actually painted by my grandmother — nobody believes me when I tell them."
• "The whole department's being run by someone who only joined six months ago, apparently."
• "The planning application was finally rejected by the council last night, after months of arguing."

Before you check: in each sentence, what's already being talked about, and what's the actual news? Which comes first, and which comes last?

1. Everyone's been arguing for weeks about the venue for Saturday. Two of your closest friends actually found it, in the end.

"The venue for Saturday by two of my closest friends, in the end."

2. The office has been arguing for months about the Hendricks contract. A retired judge is reviewing the case now, apparently.

"The case by a retired judge now, apparently."

3. There's been talk for weeks of a leak somewhere in finance. Someone in the finance team leaked the figures to the press, it turns out.

"The figures to the press by someone in the finance team, it turns out."

• "The new manager is said to be extremely difficult to work with — though I've never met her myself."
• "That painting in the hallway is now thought to have been a fake all along."
• "It's widely believed that the merger fell through because of a personality clash at the top."

Look closely at "is said to be" and "is thought to have been" — what's different about the time each one points to? And what's different about how the first two sentences are built compared with the third?

Compare: "It's rumoured that the shop is closing down" and "The shop is rumoured to be closing down." Which one makes the shop feel more like the actual topic of the conversation?

1. Nobody's proved anything, but the story's gone round the whole office: everyone believes the CEO knew about the layoffs for months before announcing them.

"The CEO to have known about the layoffs for months before announcing them."

2. The story's been going round for years and nobody's ever denied it: people say the actor faked his own death to escape the spotlight.

"The actor to have faked his own death to escape the spotlight."

3. The inspectors filed their report yesterday, but the council hasn't announced it publicly yet: inspectors say the bridge is unsafe to cross right now.

Report it without naming the inspectors: "The bridge to be unsafe to cross right now."

• "Having missed the last two trains, I just gave up and got a taxi."
• "Having been warned twice about turning up late, he finally lost the job altogether."
• "Having already spoken to the landlord that morning, she knew exactly what to say at the meeting."

In each sentence, which action happened first, and which happened second? And who does both actions belong to — is it ever two different people?

1. He had been rejected by three publishers. He finally found one willing to take a chance on the book.

Combine into one sentence starting with "Having been rejected...":

2. The engineers had already tested the bridge twice that week. They opened it to traffic again on Friday.

Combine into one sentence starting with "Having already tested...":

3. "Having been delayed by heavy traffic, ___" — which ending correctly finishes the sentence?

Think of a piece of gossip, a rumour, or a story you've heard recently — about someone at work, a neighbour, a public figure, or news from your town. (Invent one if nothing comes to mind.)

Tell the whole story out loud for one minute. Try to cover:

• What's already known or already being talked about, and what's the actual news? (put the news last)
• How do you want to report it — with or without naming your source? ("is said/thought/believed to be / to have been", or "It is said/thought/believed that...")
• Did anything happen even earlier, before the main event? Can you link it with a perfect participle clause?

Write a short message (3–5 sentences) passing the story on to a friend. Use all three of today's ideas — the checker will tell you which ones it finds.

1. "The masterpiece is said to had been forged by a student of the original artist."

2. "He's rumoured to has been offered the job already."

3. "Having been finally repaired, the mechanic drove it straight round to us that afternoon."

4. "It said that the contract had been cancelled without warning, according to this morning's news."

5. "The minister ___ under investigation, though nothing's been confirmed."

6. "The letter ___ written by the poet himself, though experts now doubt it."

7. "___ that the whole street will be closed for the festival next month."

1. The basic form you knew before today — complete it: "The results tomorrow."

2. Say it out loud: in ordinary reported speech, what usually happens to the tense of the original sentence — for example, "I am tired" reported later?

3. A well-known local chef has bought the old bakery on the corner, according to the local paper.

Keep the bakery as the topic: "The old bakery on the corner by a well-known local chef, according to the local paper."

4. Nobody's proved it, but it's all anyone talks about at work: people believe the CEO already knew about the layoffs last month, before anyone else was told.

"The CEO to have known about the layoffs last month, before anyone else was told."

5. She had already read the whole contract twice. She spotted the mistake immediately.

Combine into one sentence starting with "Having already read...":

Which of today's three ideas do you think will change how natural you sound the most — saving the news for last, reporting a claim with some distance, or linking two actions with a perfect participle clause? Say why.