Look at these examples to see how reporting verbs are used.
direct speech: 'You should come, it's going to be a lot of fun,' she said.
indirect speech: She persuaded me to come.direct speech: 'Wait here,' he said.
indirect speech: He told us to wait there.direct speech: 'It wasn't me who finished the coffee,' he said.
indirect speech: He denied finishing the coffee.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Grammar explanation
When we tell someone what another person said, we often use the verbs say, tell or ask. These are called 'reporting verbs'. However, we can also use other reporting verbs. Many reporting verbs can be followed by another verb in either an infinitive or an -ing form.
Reporting verb + infinitive
Verbs like advise, agree, challenge, claim, decide, demand, encourage, invite, offer, persuade, promise, refuse and remind can follow an infinitive pattern.
'Let's see. I'll have the risotto, please.''I'll do the report by Friday, for sure.'
- He decided to have the risotto.
'It's not a good idea to write your passwords down.'
- She promised to do the report by Friday.
- They advised us not to write our passwords down.
We can also use an infinitive to report imperatives, with a reporting verb like tell, order, instruct, direct or warn.
'Please wait for me in reception.''Don't go in there!'
- The guide told us to wait for her in reception.
- The police officer warned us not to go in there.
Reporting verb + -ing form
Verbs like admit, apologise for, complain about, deny, insist on, mention and suggest can follow an -ing form pattern.
'I broke the window.''I'm really sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.'
- She admitted breaking the window.
'Let's take a break.'
- He apologised for not getting back to me sooner.
- She suggested taking a break.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Would you consider the following structure to be reported speech?
The original sentence went as follows:
- After the procedure the doctors confirmed it was the right thing to have done.
Why am I asking? As far as I know the top notch phrasing should go like this:
- After the procedure the doctors confirmed it HAD BEEN the right thing to have done.
I think so because at that time the doctors must have said something like:
- Doctors confirming after the procedure - It was the right thing to have done, Dominik.
Would you be so kind to comment on this one, please :)
Hello Dominik992,
The version that you propose is correct, and, as you mention, is what is taught as best practice in most grammars.
The other version is also fine, however. Especially in more informal speaking and writing, we often use a past simple form when a past perfect form doesn't add any additional or important meaning.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hello!
I would like to know whether this two sentences are correct. I think they are both correct, but I am not sure.
"He apologized for letting me down."
Or:
"He apologized for having let me down"
Thank you in advance!
GabDip
Hello GabDip,
Yes, both sentences are correct. There is a slight difference in meaning:
Sentence 1 (for letting) could be about a particular situation or it could be about his general habit of being unreliable.
Sentence 2 (for having let) describes an issue in the past which is not true any more.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello, i have 2 questions, firstly is the same use advise with verb + object + infinitive that use it with + gerund, it changes the meaning or no? secondly, when we use warn + object + infinitive it has the same meaning that warn somebody against?
Hi facundo62,
For advise, the meaning is the same with those two structures. For example:
However, the structure advise + -ing form is less commonly used than the advise + object + to + infinitive structure.
About warn, the two structures you mentioned do also have the same meaning. But just to be clear, it's warn + object + not + to + infinitive that has that meaning. For example:
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
what is the diffrence beetween he suggested to ask andi for some ideas and he suggested asking andi for ideas
Hi oyo,
"He suggested to ask ..." is not grammatically correct.
The verb "suggest" is followed by either:
"Suggest" is not in the group of verbs that is followed by an infinitive (to + verb).
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
it helped alot thanks
Why can't we say "Katie suggested us going for a walk" but instead should say "KATIE SUGGESTED THAT WE GO FOR A WALK" whilst "The man warned us not to park in this street" is correct. It's unclear why "She suggested us" isn't correct but "The man warned us...." is.