Advanced Passive & Hedging

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

The crow is currently regarded by many researchers as one of the most cognitively complex animals on Earth. It is known to use tools, recognised to hold grudges, and believed to mourn its dead.

Grammar Reference · Advanced Passive & Hedging

Reporting verb passive

Use is believed/thought/said/known/reported + to-infinitive to distance a claim. The crow is known to use tools.

Impersonal passive

Use It is argued/claimed/suggested + that-clause when no agent is named. It is suggested that crows can recognise faces.

Modal hedging

Combine could/might/may + be + past participle to soften. This could be considered a form of projection.

Common error

It considers inappropriate ✗ → It is considered inappropriate ✓ — impersonal passive needs auxiliary is.

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Advanced Passive & Hedging

1.Many people believe the wolf (be) a solitary hunter, but it is deeply social.

2. that our animal choices reveal more about desire than knowledge.

3.Goodall's methods (consider) inappropriate by her contemporaries.

4.The octopus (think) to experience something resembling curiosity.

5.Chimpanzees (find) to use tools in the 1960s by Jane Goodall.

6. that the boundary between human and animal is far blurrier than we admit.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.Scientists say the crow can mourn its dead.

2.People consider it strange to assign emotions to animals.

3.Researchers now know that chimpanzees form deep social bonds.

4.Critics argued that Goodall's approach was unscientific.

5.Experts believe our animal preferences reflect our values.

6.Some scientists claim the octopus experiences something like curiosity.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Advanced Passive & Hedging01classplan.ai