Reporting Verbs

When using reported speech, most students learn to use "say" and "tell":

Examples:
Azra told me she was going to stay late at work.
 Rabia said she wanted to visit her parents that weekend.

These forms are perfectly correct for reporting what others have said. However, there are a number of other reporting verbs which can more accurately describe what someone has said --- as we learned in class today. These verbs take a variety of structures. The following list gives you reporting verbs in various categories based on sentence structure. Notice that a number of verbs can take more than one form.

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: Cem 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