Reported Speech

A) REPORTING VERBS
| |
tell | "John is not here right now."
She told me that John wasn't there then. |
say | "Mum came to see you today."
He said that mum had come to see me that day. |
ask | "Please, give this letter to Penny."
He asked me to give the letter to Penny. |
admit | "OK, OK. Yeah. I broke that window."
He admitted that he had broken the window |
agree | "Yeah, ofcourse. I will give you the money"
He agreed to loan me some money |
answer | "Oh, not now. I am too busy at this moment."
She answered that she was too busy at that moment |
invite | "Hey guys! Don't you want to go to the beach with me?"
He invited us to go to beach with him |
complain | "Oh, no. I have this terrible toothache again!"
He complained of a toothache |
| |
offer | "Icould help you with that math problem if you want"
She offered to help me with the math problem |
suggest | "It's a nice day. We could go to the country and have a picnic"
Bill suggested that we have a picnic |
demand | "I want to see the manager of this company immediately!"
The man demanded to see the manager of the company |
request | "Excuse me, Madam. Could I use your telephone for aminute?"
He requested permission to use the woman's telephone |
remind | "Hey Bill. Don't forget to mail this letter today!"
Jack reminded Bill that he had to mail a letter that day |
describe | "The house is white. It has three bedrooms and a beautiful garden"
He described his house |
confess | "I must tell you something Jane... I love you with all my heart"
He confessed that he lovedher |
blame | "It was your fault that I couldn't arrive on time"
The girl blamed the boy for her arriving late |
| |
propose | "Sir, I think we should have a meeting this afternoon"
He proposed having a meeting that afternoon |
refuse | "I won't do this job any longer"
He refused to continue working |
congratulate | "Congratulations Jack. Your performance was excellent!"
Hecongratulated Jack on giving a good performance at the theater |
greet | "Hi everybody"
Bill greeted everybody as he entered the room |
introduce | "This is my mother. Her name is Nancy"
He introduced me to his mother |
warn | "Don't drink so much or you'll get drunk"
Bill warned Jack not to drink too much |
insist | "You must take me there!. Come on. I really want to go there!"
She insistedthat she wanted to go |
insult | "You... damned fat cow!. You ate all my cookies!"
She insulted her friend calling her a 'fat cow' |
apologise | "I am very sorry for having insulted you in that way"
She apologized to her friend for having insulted her |
thank | "Thank you so much for your help, Mary"
Jack thanked Mary for her help |
protest | "Come on. It was not my fault. You areaccusing the wrong person!"
The girl protested against the unfair accusation |
threaten | "If you don't give me the money, I will kill you"
The robber threatened to kill the man |
advise | "If you don't want to have problems with your health, you should stop smoking"
His doctor advised him to stop smoking |
inquire | "Could you tell me where the main library is?"
She inquired how to get tothe library |
praise | "I really think that the work you are doing is excellent"
Bill's boss praised him for the work he was doing |
deny | "I don't know what you think, but I didn't break that window"
Billy denied having broken the window |
| |
assure | "Don't worry. I will finish my work on time"
He assured me that he would finish his work on time |
persuade | "Come on. You'llhave a great time a the party. Let's go!"
Jack persuaded Bill to go to the party |
convince | "Instead of going to France we should go to Brazil on vacation. It's cheaper, nearer and warmer"
She convinced her husband to go to Brazil instead of France |
beg | "Oh please, Mom, please, let me go. I promise I'll be back before midnight!"
She begged her mother to let her go the party |
dissuade...