key word transformation

[Luca Nicola 0]

Hello everyone
How are you feeling today?

two more questions from section: key word transformation

The meeting has been put off until January to give the management team longer to decide.
I made a mistake writing this sentence: the meeting was put off until January to give the management team longer to decide
(just a note: here, we were forced to use the key-word 'off', so 'put off' in briefly)

what does it exactly mean longer. Why it has been used longer and not much time (or something else) in this case? 

British people are commonly believed to be weak at speaking foreign languages.
British people are commonly believed weak at speaking foreign languages.
Well, is the second sentence gramatically correct?

Thanks in advance

Best regards,
Luca

[Minoo 340]

1. 'long' can refer to length or time:

How long is the stick? 50 centimetres.

How long is the movie: 2 hours.

Therefore, in the context, you don't need to mention the word 'time'.

2. With the verb 'believe' you cannot drop 'to be'. If the verb were 'considered', you could: They're considered (to be) weak ...