Special Passive Structures

[Marc]

Hi Torsten,

Yet another question of Marc from Belgium. I have two sentences here with a special passive structure:

It is said that the Prime Minister was involved in drug scandal.

The Prime Minister is said to have been involved in a drug scandal.

Am I right that these sentences mean that people are not sure whether or not the Prime Minister was actually involved?

Then there's the following:

He's supposed to have said that he was very rich.

Is this sentence construction possible and if so, does it also mean that one is not sure whether or not he did say it?

Kind regards,

Marc

[Alan]

Hi,

Yes, you're absolutely right. They are, as we say, alleging something in contrast to stating something as a fact. It is a form adopted by reporters, newspapers to protect themselves in case the 'allegation' turns out to be false. It is also often used by sensation-seeking newspapers which can allege something, get public interest, sell newspapers and then if it is without foundation, they are not involved in any compensation.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Progger]

As I understand the two Prime Minister (PM) sentences, the second one implies that the PM did not get involved himself; someone else involved him, with or without his consent, true or false. The first sentence implies that the PM acted to be involved.

Not wanting to hijack the thread, may I ask a question?
What if instead of WAS in the first sentence, the verb was IS, reading "It is said that the Prime Minister IS involved in a drug scandal"?

Similarly, what if instead of HAVE BEEN in the second sentence, the verb was BE, reading "The Prime Minister is said to BE involved in a drug scandal"?

[Alan]

Hi,

Both are merely supposition. It isn't clear whether the information/supposition is true or not. Changing from 'was to 'is' and changing to 'be' merely makes the suppostion actual (of now).

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Progressive Forms