45. It is said that….. He is said to….. He is supposed to ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

45. It is said that….. He is said to….. He is supposed to

A

Study this example situation: George is very old. Nobody knows exactly how old he is, but: Both these sentences mean: 'People say that he is 108 years old.' You can use these structures with a number of other verbs, especially: alleged        believed        considered         expected       known      reported     thought     understood ·         Cathy loves running It is said that she runs ten miles a day.              Or            She is said to run ten miles a day. ·         The police are looking for a missing boy. It is believed that the boy is wearing a white sweater and blue jeans.         Or The boy is believed to be wearing a white sweater and blue jeans. ·         The strike started three weeks ago It is expected that the strike will end soon      Or                The strike is expected to end soon. ·         A friend of mine has been arrested It is alleged that he hit a policeman                   Or              He is alleged to have hit a policeman. ·         The two houses belong to the same family It is said that there is a secret tunnel between them            Or There is said to be a secret tunnel between them. These structures are often used in news reports. For example, in a report about an accident. ·         It is reported that two people were injured in the explosion.           Or Two people are reported to have been injured in the explosion

B

(Be) supposed to Sometimes (it is) supposed to ... = (it is) said to ... : ·         I want to see that film. It's supposed to be good. (=it is said to be good) ·         Fireworks are supposed to have been invented in China. Is it true? But sometimes supposed to has a different meaning. We use supposed to to say what is intended, arranged or expected. Often this is different from the real situation: ·         The plan is supposed to be a secret, but everybody seems to know about it. (= the plan is intended to be a secret) ·         What are you doing at work? You're supposed to be on holiday. (= you arranged to be on holiday) ·         Our guests were supposed to come at 7.30, but they were late. ·         Jane was supposed to phone me last night, but she didn't. ·         I'd better hurry. I'm supposed to be meeting Chris in ten minutes. You're not supposed to do something= it is not allowed or advisable: ·         You're not supposed to park your car here. It's private parking only. ·         Jeff is much better after his illness, but he's still not supposed to do any heavy work.

EXERCISES

45.1	Write these sentences in another way, beginning as shown. Use the underlined word each time. 1 It is expected that the strike will end soon. The strike _____ is expected to end soon ______ 2 It is expected that the weather will be good tomorrow. The weather is ________________________________________________ 3 It is believed that the thieves got in through a window in the roof. The thieves ____________________________________________________ 4 It is reported that many people are homeless after the floods. Many people _________________________________________________ 5 It is thought that the prisoner escaped by climbing over a wall. The prisoner ___________________________________________________ 6 It is alleged that the man was driving at 110 miles an hour. The man _______________________________________________________ 7 It is reported that the building has been badly damaged by the fire. The building ___________________________________________________ 8 a   It is said that the company is losing a lot of money. The company ____________________ b   It is believed that the company lost a lot of money last year. The company _________________________________________________ c   It is expected that the company will make a loss this year. The company__________________________________________________
45.2	There are a lot of rumours about Alan. Here are some of the things people say about him. Nobody is sure whether these things are true. Write sentences about Alan using supposed to 1 _____ Alan is supposed to speak ten languages _______________ 2 He ____________________________________________________ 3 ____________________________________________________ 4 ____________________________________________________ 5 ____________________________________________________
45.3	Complete the sentences using supposed to be+ the following: on a diet          a flower      my friend      a joke      a secret     working 1 How is it that everybody seems to know about the plan? It ____is supposed to be a secret _________ 2 You shouldn't criticise me all the time. You _________________________________ 3 I shouldn't be eating this cake really. I _________________________________ 4 I'm sorry for what I said. I was trying to be funny. It _________________________________ 5 What's this drawing? Is it a tree? Or maybe it _________________________________ 6 You shouldn't be reading the paper now. You _________________________________
45.4	Write sentences with supposed to +the following verbs: block      depart    park    phone     start Use the negative (not supposed to) where necessary. 1 You ____‘re not supposed to park _____ here. It's private parking only. 2 We _____________ work at 8.15, but we rarely do anything before 8.30. 3 Oh, I _____________ Helen last night, but I completely forgot. 4 This door is a fire exit. You __________ it. 5 My flight ___________________ at 11.30, but it was an hour late.

ANSWER KEY