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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Correct use of 'being'

This sentence doesn't sound right to me: He reported being born in California. What is incorrect here?
  

Top answer

It does sound strange, but it is not incorrect. I would say it this way: He reported that he was born in California.

— AlpheccaStars

  • It does sound strange, but it is not incorrect.
  • I would say it this way: He reported that he was born in California.
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15 Answers
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It does sound strange, but it is not incorrect. I would say it this way:

He reported that he was born in California.
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AnonymousHe reported being born in California.
To my ear, the strangeness is more semantic than grammatical. When you report an event, it's usually current.
I'd say "He reported having been" or "that he had been born in California."

Without context, "He reported that he was sick" means that he was sick at the time he reported it.
"He r
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Where did this sentence come from. It's really odd. Can it be " he reportely was born in California"?
"Being" is incorrectly used in the sentence as stand.
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dimsumexpressCan it be " he reportely was born in California"?
Yes, it can.
But you've changed the meaning. It has that goodole' "passive implication." The actor is unknown.
Who reported it? His mother?
dimsumexpress"Being" is incorrectly used in the sentence as stand.
I agree with A-
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And it's "reportedly".
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ozzourtiAnd it's "reportedly".
Hi, ozzourti.

You missed "as stands"! Emotion: smile
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Yes the meaning is different. BUt with the OP, the meaning was not clear and leaving the reader guessing. "Reportedly" is not a verb here but an adverb. With this construction, the revelation of the "actor" is not required. Though you may say it has the passive element.


(missing image) dimsumexpress

“Can it be " he reportely was born in California
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How can you assume that eliminating the person who did the reporting was not a significant change? It may be quite important that HE is the one who is reporting this.

To summarize: The natural way to say this is "He said he was born in California."

(For the record, so was I.)
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I supposed the last post was for me. As far as the comment I made earlier goes, I assumed the "word" in question was "reportedly", and there are several guessing attempts to decipher the real meaning of this sentence. No one realy knows the exact meanng of the op. Reportedly - basically implied "unspecified source". He reportedly is taking a medical leave. I still stand by my earlie
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dimsumexpress I still stand by my earlier comment, the "reporter's identity is not required.
How can you possibly know that?

You have no idea if there is significance to who said it or not.

It's not a guess. It's simply a very awkward way to say that he said he was born there.

Please, feel free to ask the others if they felt confus
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