Passive reporting structures

In informal language we often use impersonal expressions like:

• People say that the minister is likely to resign.
• They expect him to announce his resignation this week.
• They think that there are two possible candidates for his job.

In newspapers, reports and other more formal writing, this idea is often expressed with a structure based on a passive reporting verb. This has the effect of distancing the information. In this post we look at three such structures:

• It is said that the minister is likely to resign.
• He is expected to announce his resignation this week.
• There are thought to be two possible candidates for his job

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Random Idea English: Passive reporting structures: