Lesson 34: Unit 175 - Passive Impersonal Constructions
The lesson presents passive impersonal constructions in English (is said to, is believed to, is claimed to, etc.), used in news and formal texts, through a text about UFOs.
About this lesson
In this lesson you will master passive impersonal constructions in English, which lend formality and objectivity to a statement. You will learn how to form structures such as “is said to”, “is believed to”, “is claimed to” and similar ones, widely used in news texts and academic writing. You will work with an authentic text about UFOs and the famous Cash-Landrum incident. Through transformation exercises you will consolidate the difference between the simple infinitive and the perfect infinitive after the passive construction.
40 minutes
What you'll learn
- Recognise and understand passive impersonal constructions in a text
- Form sentences with is said to / is believed to / is claimed to, etc.
- Distinguish between the use of the simple infinitive (to be) and the perfect infinitive (to have been) after the passive construction
- Transform active sentences into passive impersonal constructions
- Understand and use these structures in the context of a news report
Lesson vocabulary
- unidentified flying object (UFO) A UFO is any object in the sky which cannot be identified as something familiar to the observer.
- hypothetical The term UFO is used to refer to any hypothetical alien spacecraft.
- aerial phenomena Unusual aerial phenomena are believed to date back to ancient times.
- sighting The first widely published US sighting was in June 1947.
- flying saucer Flying saucer is also a widely used term.
- convex The objects were half-moon shaped, oval in front and convex in the rear.
- hover The diamond-shaped object hovered at about treetop level.
- expel flame The object's base was expelling flame and emitting significant heat.
- imprint Vickie Landrum's hand pressed into the softened vinyl, leaving an imprint that was evident weeks later.
- radiation poisoning Symptoms resembling radiation poisoning are reported to have been experienced.
- extraterrestrial UFOs are considered to be extraterrestrial spacecraft.
- in concert The extraterrestrial civilizations are thought to be working in concert.
- court proceedings The Cash-Landrum incident is one of very few UFO cases to result in criminal court proceedings.
- lingering The Landrums suffered from lingering weakness, skin sores and hair loss.
- witness Approximately 150 million people are claimed to have been witnesses of UFO sightings since 1947.
In other languages: Български