2º bachillerato. Reporting verbs

REPORTING VERBS:   Form and meaning

We use reporting verbs to report what someone said more accurately than using say and tell.
Verb + infinitive     agree, decide, offer, promise, refuse, threaten
(acceder (acordar), decidir, ofrecer, prometer, rechazar (negarse), amenazar)

• They agreed to meet on Friday.  (Accedió a quedar el viernes)
  
  
• He refused to take his coat off.  (Rechazó quitarse el abrigo)
  
  

Verb + object + infinitive

advise, encourage, invite, remind, warn, ask, order, tell
(aconsejar, animar, invitar, recordar, advertir, pedir, ordenar, decir)

• Tom advised me to go home early.  (Tom me aconsejó que me fuera a casa temprano)
  
  
• She reminded me to telephone my mother.  (Me recordó que llamara a mi madre)
  
  

Verb + gerund    deny, recommend, suggest, advise
(denegar, recomendar, sugerir, aconsejar)

• They recommended taking the bus.  (Ellos recomendaron coger el bus)
  
  
• She suggested meeting a little earlier.  (Sugirió quedar un poco más temprano)
  
  

Verb + object + preposition (+ gerund)     accuse, blame, congratulate
(acusar, culpar, felicitar)

• He accused me of taking the money.  ( Me acusó de coger dinero)
  
  
• They congratulated me on passing all my exams.  (Ellos me felicitaron por aprobar todos mis exámenes)
  
  

Verb + preposition + gerund     apologize (for), insist (on)
(disculparse, insister)

• They apologized for not coming.  (Ellos se disculparon por no venir)
  
  
• He insisted on having dinner.   (Insistió en cenar)
  
  

Verb + (that) + subject + verb

admit, agree, decide, deny, explain, insist, promise, recommend, suggest, apologize, say
(admitir, acceder (acordar), decidir, denegar, explicar, insistir, prometer, recomendar, sugerir, disculpar (sentir, lamentar), decir)

• Sarah decided (that) the house needed cleaning.  (Sarah decidió que la casa necesitaba limpiarse)
  
  
• They recommended (that) we take the bus. ( Ellos recomendaron que tomáramos el autobús)
  
  

Verb + object + (that) + subject + verb

tell,, inform, promise, remind, warn

(decir, informar, prometer, recordar, advertir)

He informed me that there was a lot of traffic.  (Me informó de que había mucho tráfico)

Verb + if / wh question

ask, want to know, wonder, enquire

(preguntar, querer saber, preguntarse, inquirir)

I wondered why they left the house at midnight. (Me pregunté por qué ellos abandonaron la casa a medianoche)

Verb + object + if / wh question      ask  (preguntar)

The teacher asked Mary if she had done her homework. (El profesor le preguntó a Mary si ella había hecho los deberes)

Y aquí tienes algunos ejercicios: aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí y aquí.

Aquí tienes una explicación más extensa en vídeo.

REPORTING VERBS

verb object infinitive	verb infinitive	verb (that)	verb gerund	verb object preposition gerund	verb preposition gerund
advise encourage invite remind warn	agree decide offer promise refuse threaten	admit agree decide deny explain insist promise recommend suggest	deny recommend suggest	accuse blame congratulate	apologize insist
Examples: Jack encouraged me to look for a new job. They invited all their friends to attend the presentation.	Examples: She offered to give him a lift to work. My brother refused to take no for an answer.	Examples: Tom admitted (that) he had tried to leave early. She agreed (that) we needed to reconsider our plans.	Examples: He denied having anything to do with her. Ken suggested studying early in the morning.	Examples: They accused the boys of cheating on the exam. She blamed her husband for missing the train.	Examples: He apologized for being late. She insisted on doing the washing up.

Change into reported speech:

1. “Can you tell me what time the shop closes?”, my friend Susan asked the shop assistant.
2. “Do you know how much the concert ticket costs?”, I asked Peter.
3. “Does anybody know how often our heart beats per minute?”, the science teacher asked the students.
4. “Does your mother know how old your boyfriend is?”, Ann asked Susan.
5. “Will there be an earthquake tomorrow?”, the man asked in surprise.
6. “How old are the babies?”, the nurse asked Mary.

Y aquí tienes algunos ejercicios: aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí, aquí y aquí.

Aquí tienes una explicación más extensa en vídeo.