Reporting Verbs

Reporting verbs are generally used for reporting what someone says, thinks or
believes. Direct speech is the terms used when we give the exact words
someone used.

“Help!” he shouted.

“Can I help you?” the

policeman asked.

“Shoot for goal!”

screamed Tarmidzie.

Indirect or Reported speech is used when we give our own version of what
someone has said.

Dad said I couldn’t go to the movies. He thinks I should study instead.

Reporting Verbs

What is a reporting Verb?

Many students quickly learn how to use say, tell, ask, reply and thought. As
writers are generally reporting what someone has already said, it generally needs
to be written in the past tense. Reported Speech is sometimes called Indirect
Speech

“What did your father say when you asked him to buy you a computer?”
“ He said I’d have to save at least half myself!”.

“What’s wrong with the car?” I asked.

“I think the battery is flat”, Nazwan replied.

“ Did you tell Sharifa about netball training on Saturday afternoon?”

-1-
“Yes, I told her, but she can’t come because she is going to Miri”.

“Do you think you did well in the Maths exam?”

“I thought I knew the topics well, but now I’m not so sure”.

Task A. Underline the reporting verbs in the following passage.

“So, when exactly did you see Jodie last?” asked the detective.
“Well, it would have been Friday night, at about 10.30” Sam replied.
The detective stared at Sam intently and finally said “Did she say
anything to you?
Sam sighed “ I ‘ve already explained that she told me she was going up
the coast for a few days”
“Did she say when she’d be back?”, demanded the detective
“She said she’d be back sometime next week. Look, what’s going on
here, I get the feeling that you think I had something to do with her
disappearance!” Sam shouted.
“A body was discovered this morning which matches her description”,
muttered the detective.
“Oh no,” Sam moaned.

Writing becomes boring and repetitive if you use only a few verbs. Other verbs
can be use to describe or summarise what people say without repeating the
same thing over and over again. There are a number of other reporting verbs
which can more accurately describe what someone has said.

1. Some verbs are often followed by ‘if’ or ‘whether’:

ask decide know remember say see

“ I can’t decide whether or not I’ll go to Kota Kinabalu in the

holidays”.

2. Some ‘reporting’ verbs are followed by an optional ‘that’.

add admit agree announce answer argue

boast claim comment complain confirm consider
deny doubt estimate explain fear feel
insist mention observe persuade propose remark
remember reply report reveal say state
suggest suppose tell think understand
repeat warn

The boy’s mother warned him that it was dangerous to play near the road.
My doctor suggested that I should increase my fitness level.

-2-
 3. Some verbs can be followed by either a ‘that’clause or a ‘to’ infinitive:

advise beg decide demand expect guarantee

hope insist promise prefer propose recommend
request swear suggest threaten

Siti decided that she would save up for an mp3 player.

Siti decided to save up for an mp3 player.

The courier guaranteed to deliver the parcel in three days.

The courier guaranteed that he would deliver the parcel in three days.

4. Verbs followed by a clause starting with a question word:

decide describe discover discuss explain

forget guess imagine know learn
realise remember reveal say see
suggest teach tell think
understand wonder

The boy couldn’t explain why he threw the brick through the
window.
I couldn’t understand how I had spent so much money.

5. Some verbs can followed by object + to-infinitive

advise agree ask beg command

forbid instruct invite teach tell warn

Last year, my lawyer advised me to increase my house insurance.

My grandfather taught me to play chess.

Nurul Izah’s cousin invited her to go to Miri during the holidays.

-3-
Task B: Choose reporting verbs from the box to complete the following
sentences. Remember to think carefully about which tense to use.

warn complain admit agree

deny promise wonder realise
congratulate refuse suggest

1. Sam _____________ having anything to do with Jodie’s disappearance.

2. Hjh Amira _________________ about the cost of repairs to her air-
conditioner.
3. The thief ________________ that he had stolen the jewellery.

4. "Don't drive too quickly, it’s been raining heavily” Zul’s

grandfather ________________.
5. I tried to _________________ to the examiner why I was late.

6. Noor Azizah’s friends __________________ her on obtaining 6

credits in her ‘O’ Level exams.

7. “Why don't you go to the dentist if your tooth hurts?”

____________ Amirah.

8. Ak. Hafiuddin __________ Ck.Jalal that he wouldn’t be late again.

9. Syafiq _______________ to eat his vegetables.

10. Suddenly, I _______________ I was being followed.

Task C – Many writers choose reporting verbs carefully to indicate how a

person is feeling, or what they are thinking.

accuse claim feel maintain refer

admit conclude find notice report
agree concede guess recommend respond
allege consider hope say retort
announce contend hypothesize show reveal
apologise demonstrate indicate note show
argue demand imagine offer suggest
assume determine imply predict state
assert doubt indicate presume theorize
believe discover infer propose threaten
blame discuss prove urge
encourage record
explain

-4-
Part A: Choose suitable reporting verbs to complete the following
passages

The geography teacher was drawing a diagram on the board when

suddenly a mobile phone ring tone could clearly be heard around the
room.
“Whose mobile phone was that ?” ____________ the teacher.
“It’s Azizah’s”, Ridwan __________.
“No. it’s not!”, ___________ Azizah. “I didn’t bring mine today”
“Well”, the teacher ___________, “You know the school rules”, the
teacher ___________. “You shouldn’t have your mobile at school.
No-one will be going to break until I find out whose mobile it is”.
The class____________ amongst themselves, quietly.

Faizul ________that he should be let out because he had an

appointment with the principal. Four of the boys _________ they
needed to see Ck. Jalal, the P.E. teacher. Finally, the students
seated near Ridwan ___________ him to own up. Ridwan eventually
_______________ that it was his phone, and the class could go to
break on time.
Part B:
Opinion has been divided in recent years on the effects of global
warming. Scientists have recently ______________ increased
evidence of global warming and they __________ that there has
been an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn
causes changes in climate.

Global warming is caused by gas emissions from vehicles and

industries. Scientists _____________that unless we curb global
warming emissions, average U.S. temperatures could be 3 to 9
degrees higher by the end of the century. Looking at future
impacts, some scientists ______________ that a warmer Earth may
lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range
of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists
___________the issue of climate change, their concern is about global
warming caused by human activities.

Average global temperature has increased by almost 1ºF over the

past century. Scientists ___________ the average global temperature
to increase an additional 2 to 6ºF over the next one hundred years.
This may not sound like much, but it could change the Earth's
climate as never before. At the peak of the last ice age (18,000
years ago), the temperature was only 7ºF colder than it is today,
and glaciers covered much of North America!
However, others ____________ that this is the case. They __________ that
what is currently happing is part of a long-term cycle of climate change,
which alters gradually over time, causing floods, cyclones. They
_________that there will soon be a ___________ of the current changes.

-5-
Review :

Things to remember when using reporting verbs include :

• changes in verb tenses

If the reported sentence deals with a fact or general truth,

the present tense is (can be) retained. She said that the
moon causes the tides

"I'm going home" said Ali.

Ali said he was going home.

• changes in expressions of time

"I'm going home tomorrow"

He said he was going home the following day.

• changes in personal pronouns and possessive adjectives

"I'm going to visit my uncle tomorrow"

He said he was going to visit his uncle the
following day.

-6-
-7-