REPORTED SPEECH II

It is quite easy so far... right? Let's take it to the following :)

There are many reporting verbs apart from "say", which is extremely general. As our objective is to express ourselves as accurately as possible, let's see some specific reporting verbs we are going to need.

ADVISE "You should see a doctor"

• Advise + someone + to + infinitive

• She advised him to see a doctor.

• Advise + (that) + clause
• She advised that you see a doctor.

AGREE "All right, then, we'll meet tomorrow"

Agree + to + infinitive

• We agreed to meet the following day.

Agree + (that) + clause

• We agreed that we meet the following day

APOLOGISE

Apologise + (to + someone) + for + verb-ing

• They apologised to us for being late.
• She apologised for forgetting the book.

Apologise (+ to + someone) + for + noun

• She apologised for the delay.

DECIDE

Decide + to + infinitive

• They decided to go to the cinema.

Decide + (that) + clause

• They decided that they would go to the cinema.

ENCOURAGE

Encourage + someone + to + infinitive

• She encouraged him to take the exam again.
• The teacher encouraged the students to ask questions.

EXPLAIN

Explain + (that) + clause

• The teacher explained that the course was finished.

Explain + noun + to + someone

• She explained the grammar to the students.

NOT: She explained me the grammar.

Explain + question word + to + infinitive

• They explained how to buy a train ticket on the internet.
• John explained where to find the restaurant.

Explain + question word + clause

• We explained what the exams would cover.

INSIST*

Insist + on + verb-ing

• He insisted on paying.

Insist + (that) + clause

• He insisted that we sit down.

PROMISE

Promise + to + infinitive

• He promised to arrive early.

Promise + (someone) + (that) + clause

• I promised him that I wouldn't do it again.

RECOMMEND*

Recommend + verb-ing

• I recommend visiting the British Museum while you're in London.

Recommend + (that) + clause

• I recommend that you visit the British Museum

REMIND

Remind + someone + to + infinitive

• She reminded him to take his keys.

Remind + someone + (that) + clause

• They reminded me that there is a party tonight.

SUGGEST*

Suggest + verb-ing

• I suggest leaving soon

Suggest + (that) + clause

• I suggest that you come as soon as you can.

NOT: I suggest him to come.

WARN

Warn + someone + (not) + to + infinitive

• I warned them not to go in the water.

Warn + someone + about + something

• She warned us about the dangerous roads.

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Negatives
To make the verbs that we have reported negative, we need to look at the verb pattern:

• When there's a clause, we make the negative in the usual way: She said that she didn't like ice cream.
• When there's 'to + infinitive', we generally put 'not' before 'to': He promised not to do it again.
• When there's 'verb-ing', we generally put 'not' in front of it: I advise not taking the bus.

* Advanced Point
In formal English, some verbs that are followed by '(that) + clause' use the infinitive instead of a present tense verb. Some people suggest that this is a kind of subjunctive in English. You only need to worry about this in very formal writing.

Mostly, this doesn't make a difference, because the present simple form in English is often the same as the infinitive form. But when the subject is 'he', 'she' or 'it' or when the verb is 'be', we can see it clearly.

• I advise that he go to bed early. (Normally we'd expect: I advise that he goes to bed early.)
• I insist that she come now. (Normally we'd expect: I insist that she comes now.)
• They suggested that the cats be put in the garden for the night. (Normally we'd expect: They suggested that the cats are put in the garden for the night.)

PRACTICE

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