Reporting Verbs

C1 · AdvancedReported Speech

She suggested going to the cinema. He promised to call. He denied taking it.

What you'll learn

Beyond say/tell/ask, many reporting verbs have their own fixed grammatical pattern
suggest, admit, deny, apologize (for) take a gerund
promise, refuse, agree, offer take a to-infinitive
warn, advise, remind, invite take an object + to-infinitive; insist takes a that-clause; accuse takes 'of' + gerund

Beyond say, tell, and ask

Once you can report basic statements, questions, and commands, a much wider range of reporting verbs opens up richer, more precise ways to report speech — but each one comes with its own required grammatical pattern that can't be mixed and matched.

""Let's go to the cinema," she said. → She suggested going to the cinema."

Verbs followed by a gerund

'Suggest', 'admit', 'deny', and 'apologize' (with 'for') are followed by a gerund (-ing form), never a to-infinitive.

"She suggested going to the cinema."

"He admitted breaking the vase."

"She denied taking the money."

"He apologized for being late."

Verbs followed by a to-infinitive

'Promise', 'refuse', 'agree', and 'offer' are followed by a to-infinitive, with no object in between.

"He promised to call me."

"She refused to sign it."

"He agreed to do it."

"He offered to help me."

Object + to-infinitive, and other patterns

'Warn', 'advise', 'remind', and 'invite' need an object before the to-infinitive. 'Insist' is usually followed by a that-clause. 'Accuse' is followed by an object + 'of' + gerund.

"He warned me not to go near the edge."

"He insisted that I stay for dinner."

"She accused me of breaking her phone."

Real English

"She advised me to see a doctor."

"He explained that he had been late because of traffic."

"She reminded me not to forget my keys."

"He offered to carry the bags."

Watch out

✗She suggested to go to the cinema.

✓She suggested going to the cinema.

'Suggest' takes a gerund, not a to-infinitive — this is one of the most common reporting-verb errors.

✗He warned not to go near the edge.

✓He warned me not to go near the edge.

'Warn' needs an object (the person being warned) before the to-infinitive.

✗He explained me that he was late.

✓He explained to me that he was late. / He explained that he was late.

'Explain' doesn't take a direct object — add 'to' before the listener, or drop the listener entirely.

Real life — Recapping a disagreement

"How did the meeting go?"

"Not great. He accused me of missing the deadline, but I explained that the client changed the brief twice."

"Did he apologize?"

"Eventually. He admitted he hadn't read my email and promised to double-check next time."

Practice

Exercise 1 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'suggest': 'Let's go to the cinema.'

Exercise 2 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'promise': 'I'll call you tomorrow.'

Exercise 3 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'deny': 'I didn't take the money.'

Exercise 4 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'warn': 'Don't go near the edge.'

Exercise 5 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'advise': 'You should see a doctor.'

Exercise 6 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'insist': 'You must stay for dinner.'

Exercise 7 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'offer': 'I'll help you carry that.'

Exercise 8 · Choose the correct pattern

Choose the correct pattern for 'accuse': 'You broke my phone!'

Exercise 9 · Report using the given verb

Report with 'apologize': 'I'm sorry I'm late.' → He apologized ___.

Exercise 10 · Report using the given verb

Report with 'refuse': 'I won't sign it.' → She refused ___.

Exercise 11 · Sort into groups

suggest + gerund

promise + to-infinitive

suggest + to-infinitive

deny + to-infinitive

0 / 4 sorted

Quick challenge

Five quick questions to check what stuck.

Question 1 / 5

Score: 0/0

Choose the correct pattern for 'agree': 'OK, I'll do it.'

You learned

Many reporting verbs have their own fixed grammatical pattern.
suggest, admit, deny, apologize (for) take a gerund.
promise, refuse, agree, offer take a to-infinitive.
warn/advise/remind/invite take object + to-infinitive; insist takes a that-clause; accuse takes 'of' + gerund.

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