[Grammar] He was reported shot in the head.

[LQZ]

1 He was reported to have been shot in the head.
2 He was reported shot in the head.
3 He was reportedly shot in the head.
4 He was reported as having been shot in the head.
5 He was reported having been shot in the head.
6 He was reported being shot in the head.

Dear teacher,

I know that the sentences 1,2,3 and 4 are correct and have no difference in meaning. And I suppose sentences 5 and 6 are also correct, but have a slight difference in meaning between them.
He was reported having been shot in the head. It suggests the action of shotting had completed.
He was reported being shot in the head. It suggests that the action of shotting was continuing.

Could you please tell me whether my understanding is correct? Thanks.




LQZ

 

[bhaisahab]

1 He was reported to have been shot in the head.
2 He was reported shot in the head.
3 He was reportedly shot in the head.
4 He was reported as having been shot in the head.
5 He was reported having been shot in the head.
6 He was reported being shot in the head.

Dear teacher,

I know that the sentences 1,2,3 and 4 are correct and have no difference in meaning. And I suppose sentences 5 and 6 are also correct, but have a slight difference in meaning between them.
He was reported having been shot in the head. It suggests the action of shotting had completed.
He was reported being shot in the head. It suggests that the action of shotting was continuing.

Could you please tell me whether my understanding is correct? Thanks.




LQZ

5 and 6 are incorrect sentences.

 

[LQZ]

5 and 6 are incorrect sentences.

Thanks, bhaisahab.

However, I found an example of "reported being shot" on the Corpus of Contemporary American English.

On Sept. 28, a man reported being shot in the arm after going to an apartment to pick up shirts for a friend...

Is that incorrect also?:?:

 

[BobK]

Thanks, bhaisahab.

However, I found an example of "reported being shot" on the Corpus of Contemporary American English.



Is that incorrect also?:?:

No. I imagine, strictly, a case could be made for 'having been' for preference here - though we should probably cut the poor guy some slack! Besides, he'd be more likely to say 'he said he'd been shot in the arm'; I don't think people in pain tend to use 'report' + participle that much. ;-)

But note that this is a slightly different case from the one bhaisahab was talking about, in that both the reporter and the sufferer are the same person. So it would be acceptable to say 'he reported having being shot in the arm' but not 'he reported his daughter having been shot in the arm'. In 'He was reported having been shot in the head' the reporter is obviously not the casualty.


b

 

[lauralie2]

Thanks, bhaisahab.

However, I found an example of "reported being shot" on the Corpus of Contemporary American English.



Is that incorrect also?:?:

That one is correct. The difference is this:

• A man reported being shot (by someone) ...
  • <the man reported the crime. He told the officials that he had been shot in the arm by someone>
• He was reported being shot ... :cross:
  • <someone reported that the man was *being shot in the head>
    • The problem: the discharge of a firearm takes a split second, but 'being shot' means the act is ongoing. That meaning is best expressed using 'being shot at.'

 

[LQZ]

Thank you very much. I've got it.

 

[e2e4]

/A learner/

1 He was reported to have been shot in the head.
2 He was reported shot in the head.
3 He was reportedly shot in the head.
4 He was reported as having been shot in the head.
5 He was reported having been shot in the head.
6 He was reported being shot in the head. LQZ

From the list I prefer #4.

Also is it possible to say

7. He was reported as had been shot in the head.(Does this mean he's dead?)
8. He was reported as been shot in the head. (Is this an elliptical form of the #4?)

 

[lauralie2]

Also is it possible to say

7. He was reported as had been shot in the head.(Does this mean he's dead?)
8. He was reported as been shot in the head. (Is this an elliptical form of the #4?)

Neither work.

 

[BobK]

Neither work.

:up::up: - not elliptical, not informal, just plain WRONG
(though I'd've said 'Neither works' )

b

 

[e2e4]

/A learner/

:up::up: - not elliptical, not informal, just plain WRONG
(though I'd've said 'Neither works' )

b

Now, now..
"Plain" means obvious and clear.
How could'u've said it's obvious and clear that it's wrong if you hadn't explained why?

In addition would you mind letting me know as well how happened the first three are all correct? I am mostly interested in #3.
reportedly shot :roll:

Thanks

 

[bhaisahab]

/A learner/


Now, now..
"Plain" means obvious and clear.
How could'u've said it's obvious and clear that it's wrong if you hadn't explained why?

In addition would you mind letting me know as well how happened the first three are all correct? I am mostly interested in #3.
reportedly shot :roll:

Thanks

"He was reportedly shot" is another way of saying that it was reported that he had been shot.

 

[e2e4]

/A learner/

"He was reportedly shot" is another way of saying that it was reported that he had been shot.

Reportedly, he was shot in the head.
London is reportedly full of big buildings, bridges and freeways all around.

But

He was reportedly shot in the head. I don't understand

Is "reportedly" a way of shooting into a head?
Is "reportedly" here an adverb of manner which modify the verb shoot?

Would you mind giving me some more explanation!

Thanks

 

[bhaisahab]

/A learner/



Reportedly, he was shot in the head.
London is reportedly full of big buildings, bridges and freeways all around.

But

He was reportedly shot in the head. I don't understand

Is "reportedly" a way of shooting into a head?
Is "reportedly" here an adverb of manner which modify the verb shoot?

Would you mind giving some more explanation!

Thanks

No, it was reported means that it was told. "To report something" is to tell somebody about something.

 

[RonBee]

"He was reportedly shot in the head" means that somebody said he was shot in the head. Whether that statement that somebody was shot in the head was totally accurate is, perhaps, another story.

 

[e2e4]

It was reported that he was shot in the head. Okay for me.
Reportedly, he was shot in the head. Okay for me.
He was reportedly shot in the head. Not clear to me.

He was, reportedly, shot in the head.

Is this one okay?

 

[RonBee]

It was reported that he was shot in the head. Okay for me.
Reportedly, he was shot in the head. Okay for me.
He was reportedly shot in the head. Not clear to me.

Could this help

He was, reportedly, shot in the head.
Seems to me I could accept this last one.
Is this one okay?

All of the sentences are OK. The word "reportedly" simply indicates that it is something somebody said. Remove the word "reportedly" and you have: "He was shot in the head." It is a statement of fact. The person making that statement is sure that the person was shot in the head.

 

[e2e4]

/A learner/

He was reportedly shot in the head.

"was shot" ~ Passive Voice

"was reportedly shot" ~ "reportedly" here tells me how he was shot.

He was brutally shot in the head.

What is "brutally" here?

It may help me.

As ever

e2e4

 

[RonBee]

"He was reportedly shot in the head" means that somebody said that the person was shot in the head. Nothing more and nothing less. It does not indicate how the person was shot. (Presumably with a gun.) As for brutally, it is an adverb, but I do not see how it fits here.

 

[BobK]

/A learner/


Now, now..
"Plain" means obvious and clear.
Sort of. Not 'obvious and clear to anyone'; in the use I made of it, it qualified the word 'wrong'; it meant 'not slightly wrong but just wrong'.[/COLOR]
How could'u've said it's obvious and clear that it's wrong if you hadn't explained why?
[COLOR="Red"]As I have explained, I wasn't saying that the reason for the wrongness was clear, but just that the usage was simply and unequivocally wrong.[/COLOR]

In addition would you mind letting me know as well how happened the first three are all correct? I am mostly interested in #3.
reportedly shot :roll:

Thanks[/QUOTE]
I'll have a look at the other responses tomorrow; it's late.

b

 

[BobK]

/A learner/

He was reportedly shot in the head.

"was shot" ~ Passive Voice

"was reportedly shot" ~ "reportedly" here tells me how he was shot.

He was brutally shot in the head.

What is "brutally" here?

It may help me.

As ever

e2e4

Try this: What Is a Sentence Adverb? - Examples of Sentence Adverbs - "Hopefully" and Other Sentence Adverbs

"Reportedly" is a sentence adverb in disguise. "Brutally" is not.

I say 'in disguise' because it has moved from the front of the sentence, where it would be more obvious that it affects the whole sentence:
"Reportedly, he was shot in the head."

b
PS
I've been thinking about 'plain wrong'; when you thought I was short-changing you (giving you less than your due) you interpreted the phrase as if it meant 'plainly wrong' - which does mean 'wrong in a way that should be plain to you'. But in the phrase 'plain wrong' the 'plain' just says that the following adjective should be interpreted in an uncomplicated way.