It is said and It was said

[neb090]

Dear teachers,

I have a question about it is said and it was said,


It is said that the lady is wealthy.
= The lady is said to be wealthy.

If I change "It is" into "It was", then could I use was wealthy or is wealthy? And to be or to have been?(with the beginning of "The lady")

It was said that the lady was (or is?) wealthy.
= The lady was said to be (or to have been?) wealthy.

Thanks.

 

[Tarheel]

It is said that the lady is wealthy - When people talk about her they sometimes mention her wealth, which is substantial.

"It was said that the lady was wealthy" is the way that one would normally be expressed.

 

[neb090]

It is said that the lady is wealthy - When people talk about her they sometimes mention her wealth, which is substantial.

"It was said that the lady was wealthy" is the way that one would normally be expressed.

So, when I say: "It was said that the lady was wealthy.", it equals

The lady was said to have been wealthy. or The lady was said to be wealthy.

which one is correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

So, when I say no colon needed "It was said that the lady was wealthy no full stop here", does it equals equate to "The lady was said to have been wealthy no full stop here" or "The lady was said to be wealthy"?

Which one is correct?

Have you studied reported speech yet?

It is said that the lady is wealthy > The lady is said to be wealthy.
It was said that the lady is wealthy > The lady was said to be wealthy.
It is said that the lady was wealthy > The lady is said to have been wealthy [in the past].

 

[Piscean]

Also posted here: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/it-is-said-and-it-was-said.4053042/

 

[emsr2d2]

@neb090 Please don't post the same question on multiple forums. Post on one and wait for responses. If, after 24 hours or so, you have received no responses or you are not satisfied with the responses you got, post on another forum. Include a link to where you asked first and explain why you're not satisfied. I see you posted here at 4.30pm (BST) and on WordReference at 5.01pm (BST). You should let them know over at WR that your query is already being dealt with here, to save them spending time on it.

 

[neb090]

Have you studied reported speech yet?

It is said that the lady is wealthy > The lady is said to be wealthy.
It was said that the lady is wealthy > The lady was said to be wealthy.
It is said that the lady was wealthy > The lady is said to have been wealthy [in the past].

Dear emsr2dd,

How about,

It is said that he will have been working for an hour by the time my boss walks into the office. > He is said to have been working for an hour by the time my boss walks into the office.

Is that correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

No. "He is said to have been working for an hour" can be said only after he's been working for an hour. It's a very unlikely context for the use of "He is said ..." anyway.

He'll [probably] have been working for an hour by the time the boss arrives.

 

[neb090]

No. "He is said to have been working for an hour" can be said only after he's been working for an hour. It's a very unlikely context for the use of "He is said ..." anyway.

He'll [probably] have been working for an hour by the time the boss arrives.

So, He has been working for an hour. > He is said to have been working for an hour. Right?

 

[emsr2d2]

So no comma here "He has been working for an hour no full stop here" > can be expressed as "He is said to have been working for an hour". Am I right?

No. That's not an appropriate use of "He is said to ...". You're trying to use it in some very strange contexts. We use it to talk about general facts.

He is said to be a very hard worker.
She is said to have an amazing voice.

Here's a simple test - if you can replace "He/She is said to ..." can be replaced by "People say he/she ...", then it's probably possible.

 

[neb090]

No. That's not an appropriate use of "He is said to ...". You're trying to use it in some very strange contexts. We use it to talk about general facts.

He is said to be a very hard worker.
She is said to have an amazing voice.

Here's a simple test - if you can replace "He/She is said to ..." can be replaced by "People say he/she ...", then it's probably possible.

Dear emsr2d2,

I am sorry, but I think it's not easy for me to understand it. Maybe I should say if I make a sentence like:

"It is said that he will have been working for an hour by the time my boss walks into the office."

Then, how can I rewrite the above sentence with the start of "He is said to?" Or it doesn't make sense to rewrite this sentence with the start of "He is said to?"

 

[emsr2d2]

What I'm saying is that you should give up trying to write that sentence using "It is said that ...", "He is said to ..." or anything similar. It's a completely inappropriate context for the phrase. Look again at my examples in post #10.

 

[neb090]

What I'm saying is that you should give up trying to write that sentence using "It is said that ...", "He is said to ..." or anything similar. It's a completely inappropriate context for the phrase. Look again at my examples in post #10.

Because I am learning one of the grammar units in my English textbook, and it teaches us the following interchangeable sentence structures:

It + be + said/believed/rumored + that + s +v
= S + be said/believed/rumored to be/have +p.p

That's why I am wondering if all tenses can fin in this sentence structure.

 

[emsr2d2]

And I'm going to keep telling you that the sentence you keep trying to use doesn't work with that construction. Please write a new sentence, with a context in which the structure would actually be appropriate. Otherwise, you're wasting your time (and ours).

 

[Piscean]

It is said that he will have been working for an hour by the time my boss walks into the office. > He is said to have been working for an hour by the time my boss walks into the office.

If that example comes from your book, throw the book away.

 

[neb090]

And I'm going to keep telling you that the sentence you keep trying to use doesn't work with that construction. Please write a new sentence, with a context in which the structure would actually be appropriate. Otherwise, you're wasting your time (and ours).

It's not from my textbook. I just make the sentence myself to see if it can be applied to the sentence structure my textbook provides.
(It + be + said/believed/rumored + that + s +v)
(= S + be said/believed/rumored to be/have +p.p)

 

[emsr2d2]

Since you seem to be determined to ignore the advice not to try to use this structure in the sentence you provided, I'm locking this thread. If you want to start another one, using a context in which the structure would be appropriate, please do so. This thread is going nowhere.