Reported speech 3 – reporting verbs

Do you know how to tell someone what another person said using reporting verbs?

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: Reported speech 3 – reporting verbs: 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.'
He decided to have the risotto.

'I'll do the report by Friday, for sure.'
She promised to do the report by Friday.

'It's not a good idea to write your passwords down.'
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.'
The guide told us to wait for her in reception.

'Don't go in there!'
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.'
She admitted breaking the window.

'I'm really sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.'
He apologised for not getting back to me sooner.

'Let's take a break.'
She suggested taking a break.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2: Reported speech 3 – reporting verbs: 2

Do you need to improve your English grammar?

Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses.

Find out more

Try another grammar lesson

Language level

B1 English level (intermediate)

I read a grammar book which tells that 'come' will be changed into 'go' in reported speech, and I am confused because of that. Could you please explain that to me?

Hi MayJane123,

I can't be sure but I guess the book imagines the speaker of the reported speech and the original speaker are in different places.

For example, imagine that my boss at work says "Come with me". Then later that day, I go home and I tell my family, using reported speech: "My boss told me to go with her". We can change "come" to "go" because I'm no longer in the office (i.e., the place where my boss said that to me).

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

In the explanation 2 sets of reporting verbs have been used, 1 w/ infinitive and the other w/ -ing form. I need to understand how to categorize between 2 sets. Appreciate any help.

Hello abhijithhr,

These are verb patterns which really just need to be memorised. There's no rule which allows you to identify on sight which verb is in which category, and there's no rule of meaning to identify them either. These are just categories to memorise.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

"I'll be more careful" said Daniel. 1)Daniel said that he would be more careful. 2)Daniel promised to be more careful. What is the difference between 1 and 2.

Hello DaniWeebKage,

I think promise has a stronger meaning in terms of obligation. You are not just reporting the speech but adding a layer of interpretation. If you use the term promise then there is no question of Daniel speaking ironically or joking, for example; it makes it clear that his words should be taken seriously.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, I have seen in a book that the verb “talk” can be used in reported speech in those cases in which “tell” and “say” can not be used, for instance, when we don’t say who he told. But I have a doubt with the following sentence: George couldn’t help me. He talked to ask Jack. Is the use of “talk” right here or not? Thank you very much. Cheers, Yolanda

Hola Yolanda,

I'm afraid that's not correct. There are lots of good examples of how 'talk' can be used in the Longman Dictionary entry -- just thought I'd mention this in case it's helpful.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi! While changing Direct to Indirect speech, do we also change the infinitive verb in the statement? Example: "Ron wants to visit his grandparents tomorrow." Indirect: Ron wanted to visit his grandparents the following day. In the above sentence, will "to visit" remain as it is, or will it also follow the tense change rule?

Hi Charu,

Good question! The answer is no - the infinitive verb doesn't change. Only verbs that show a tense (e.g. wants/wanted) change.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks for the lesson. And I congratulate for your big help.

The suggested that verbs like admit, apologise for, complain about, deny, insist on, mention and suggest could follow an -ing form patter, which was new to me. Thanks for sharing. ;)

Change of narration : Direct - He said to me, "You shall do this." which one is correct answer : Indirect - He told me that I should do that. or - He told me that I would do that.

Hello ARANYA,

Both options are possible, depending on the context in which the original sentence occurs.

We can use shall as an alternative to will, which would suggest would in indirect speech. However, it's possible for shall to convey strong advice, in which case should provides a closer equivalent.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Before I write down I am going to ask some questions let begin. can be extended for speaking to indirect or direct speech ? whether will help or not! Could you clarify these ?

Hello Karan Narang,

I'm afraid I don't understand your question. You might find it easier to learn grammar by taking it step by step, starting with the basic grammar and slowly moving up to intermediate grammar. Just studying a page and doing the exercises is a good start, but it's also essential to read and listen to materials to see how the grammar is used in the language.

You can find lots of resources that you can use for this in our Skills and General English section.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

I really like

I really like the platform, the information was very useful to me. What I studied were informative verbs with the information I learned that will be used to give statements and to report what someone said in a clear way, if someone says something it is as if they rectified it saying that person said it but already in the second person. Also the information of qualified adjectives works for me if I want to emphasize the quality of something in a very specific way.

I really like the platform, the information was very useful to me. What I studied were the reporting verbs with the information I learned that they are used to give statements and to report what someone said in a clear way, if someone says something it is as if you rectified it saying that person said it but already in the second person. Also qualifying adjective information works for me if I want to emphasize the quality of something in a very specific way.

Hello Sofipe

As you've probably noticed, I've translated your comment into English. This is because our House rules ask all users to write comments in English, so that everyone can understand them. So please be sure to write in English next time.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team