You're talking with a coworker at lunch. She complains that she's tired of sitting in front of her computer all day. This reminds you of something you read on the Internet. You say:
I came across an article the other day about how sitting for long periods is supposedly horrible for your health.
It's time to sign up for classes for the next semester at your university. A classmate asks if you know anything about a certain professor. You've never taken his classes, but you've heard that he dresses and acts a little strange. You say:
He has a reputation for being kind of eccentric.
adverb, hearsay, personality, qualifier, reputation 
You're writing an essay for school about the city of Detroit. The city used to be rich and full of people, but now it's poor. You're writing about people who are trying to improve the city. You write:
People say that Detroit is long past its prime, but some still hold out hope that the city will revive itself.
city, formal, hearsay, idioms, phrasal verb, written English 
You drink alcohol most nights with your dinner. You're discussing this habit with a friend who doesn't drink much at all. You give one reason why you drink that much:
Drinking in moderation is supposed to be good for you heart.
You're talking with your friend about movies that you've seen recently. Your friend says that he saw a movie which you heard might win an Academy Award. You say:
I hear that it's a likely Oscar contender.
You're a doctor. Your friend tells you that her daughter, who's a high school student, has started to say that she might want to be a doctor when she grows up. When you see your friend's daughter, you say:
I hear you're considering going into medicine.
advice, career, conversation starters, doctor, gerund, hearsay, job, plans, progressive aspect You're at a video store, looking for a DVD to rent for the weekend. You see a movie that you read a positive review of. You want to convince your wife to watch it, so you say:
This one's supposed to be good.
A co-worker told you that another co-worker is leaving the company and taking a new job somewhere else. You want to talk to the person who's leaving to say goodbye. You start the conversation by saying to her:
So, I heard you're leaving us.
conversation starters, coworker, goodbye, hearsay, job 