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The Most Common Reporting Verbs

The document discusses reporting verbs and how they are used to report what someone said. It provides examples of common reporting verbs like advise, refuse, complain, promise, suggest, admit, insist, and blame. It also gives examples of sentences using these reporting verbs and the corresponding way to report what was said using that verb. For example, "She advised me to go jogging" or "He refused to sell his car." The document then provides another set of sample sentences and asks the reader to report them using the appropriate reporting verb.

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Zsuzsa Székely
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86 views2 pages

The Most Common Reporting Verbs

The document discusses reporting verbs and how they are used to report what someone said. It provides examples of common reporting verbs like advise, refuse, complain, promise, suggest, admit, insist, and blame. It also gives examples of sentences using these reporting verbs and the corresponding way to report what was said using that verb. For example, "She advised me to go jogging" or "He refused to sell his car." The document then provides another set of sample sentences and asks the reader to report them using the appropriate reporting verb.

Uploaded by

Zsuzsa Székely
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Reporting verbs

A. Study these sentences and notice how they are reported.


1. “You should go jogging.” [advise + sb + infinitive]
She advised me to go jogging.
2. “I won’t sell my car.” (refuse + infinitive]
He refused to sell his car.
3. “Excuse me, but I always do the housework by myself.” [complain + about + gerund]
She complained about doing the housework by herself.
4. “I will be there on time.” [promise + infinitive]
He promised to be there on time/… (that) he would be there on time.
5. “Why don’t we go on a picnic?” [suggest + gerund]
He suggested going on a picnic / … that we (should) go on a picnic.
6. “Yes, I have read your letters.” [admit + gerund]
He admitted reading my letters /… that he had read my letters.
7. “We missed our train because of you!” [blame + sb + for + gerund]
My colleagues blamed me for missing their train.
8. “I really do want to see the car first.” [insist + on + gerund]
He insisted on seeing the car first.
9. “It was you who ate the cakes in my bag, Jim, wasn’t it?” [accuse + sb + of + gerund]
Mrs Smith accused Jim of eating the cakes in her bag.
10. “I am sorry; I am late again.” [apologize + for + gerund]
She apologized for being late again.

B. Report the following statements using the appropriate reporting verb from
the list:
Suggest – promise – advise – refuse – admit – insist – complain – blame
1. “No, I won’t answer any questions about my private life.”
He ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. “If I were you, I would exercise regularly.”
She ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. “Let’s play a video game.”
He ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. “I really do want to come with you.”
He ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. “I hate to mention this, but I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
She ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. “Yes, I have made a mistake.”
He ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. “I will give you back the money.”
He ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. “We lost the game because of you!”
The team ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Answer key

1. “No, I won’t answer any questions about my private life.”


He refused to answer any questions about his private life.
2. “If I were you, I would exercise regularly.”
She advised me to exercise regularly.
3. “Let’s play a video game.”
He suggested (playing/that we play) a video game.
4. “I really do want to come with you.”
He insisted on coming with me.
5. “I hate to mention this, but I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
She complained about waiting for a long time.
6. “Yes, I have made a mistake.”
He admitted (making/having made/that he had made) a mistake.
7. “I will give you back the money.”
He promised (to give /he would give) me back the money.
8. “We lost the game because of you!”
The team blamed me for losing the game.

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