Reporting Verbs
Say or Tell?
We say something, but we tell someone something. The meaning is the same, and the word "that" is not necessary.
She said that she was tired.
She told him that she was tired.
There are lots of verbs we can use instead of "say" and "tell".
| She | said, mentioned, explained, pointed out, agreed, promised, threatened, pretended, claimed, recommended, suggested, admitted, denied, boasted, complained, insisted, proposed, replied | that ... |
| She | told, promised, advised, warned, reminded | him that ... |
With some verbs, you can use other structures. If someone says "I'll help you", normal reported speech is:
She promised that she would help me.
But you can also use the verb promise with to + infinitive.
She promised to help me.
Here are some common patterns for reporting verbs.
| verb | to + verb | |
|---|---|---|
| She | offered agreed refused promised threatened pretended |
to do the shopping. |
| verb | who? | to + verb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| She | told ordered asked begged advised reminded persuaded encouraged invited |
him | to do the shopping |
| verb | verb-ing | |
|---|---|---|
| I | admitted denied suggested recommended | eating all the cake |
Finally, there are a lot of reporting verbs which use prepositions. Again, you have to remember all these patterns.
| I blamed him for
I accused him of I congratulated him on I confessed to I apologised for I insisted on |
doing it |
Reporting Verbs Practice