I M P E R S O N AL R E P O R T S T R U C TU R E S

Impersonal report structures are commonly found in reports and newspapers when we want to distance ourselves from information which is not necessarily our opinion.

I. Reporting with The Passive:

1. it + passive + that-clause

e.g. I t i s be li e v ed t hat an assassination attempt was made on the president.

Other verbs used with this structure are: accept, agree, allege, claim,

consider, expect, feel, know, predict, say, suggest, think, understand.

2. subject + passive + infinitive

e.g. K n i fe c r i m e i s sa i d t o be on the increase in the western suburbs.

Other verbs used with this structure are: believe, consider, find, know, think.

3. there + passive + infinitive

e.g. T here i s expe ct ed t o be more unrest in the city centre following the president's decision.

Other verbs used with this structure are: allege, believe, claim, estimate, find, rumour, say, think.

II. Reporting with 'seem' and 'appear'

- 'seem' and 'appear' are not used in the passive.

- we can use a that-clause after It seems/It appears.

- we can use an infinitive with to after seem/appear.

e.g. It see m s t hat nobody witnessed the crime.

People appear t o be d i ssa t i sf i ed with the support they have received from the government.

III. Exercise.

1. Transform the following sentences using one of the models shown above.

1) They claim that people who drink a glass of red wine a day have less chances of getting a heart attack.

2) Channel 6 reported that a plane crashed this morning near the Andorra international airport.

3) They know he is a well established author nowadays.

4) They say that he was a great person.

5) You cannot cross the border without the necessary documents. It is written in the law.

6) They said that thousands of people died in World War II that haven’t even been mentioned.

7) They know too well that they are not supposed to trespass without approval.

8) It is obvious that this building was abandoned years ago.

9) People generally believe that Lincoln wasn’t just assassinated by a mere angered citizen. It was rather a conspiracy plan.

10) Nostradamus predicted that the world would end in year 2000, but it is obvious that it didn’t.

11) The crew are expecting for the ship to founder at any moment.

12) It is evident that no one knows how long it will be until the next full sun eclipse takes place.

13) Up until certain major scientific discoveries were made, people generally accepted that the Earth was flat.

14) They think that Michael is the smartest in the class, but they are wrong.

15) People feel that the prime minister is on the point of resigning.

16) The government expects that with the founding of the new factory, 200 new jobs will be created.

17) They found out that the man they had been suspecting wasn’t actually the murderer.

18) It looks like many people prefer to stay at home for New Year’s Day, rather than celebrate out.

19) They allege that certain people won’t be willing to take part in the survey.

20) There is a rumour that many people will be interested to buy our new product line.