Many verbs describe a function, rather than report words

- Look, if I were you I'd leave early.

She advised me to leave early.

Examples are:

admit complain request suggest

advise invite remind warn

agree persuade threaten

2. Some verbs describe actions.

- Hi, Dave, how are you?

He greeted me.

Examples are:

accept, congratulate, decide, greet, interrupt, introduce

Changes of viewpoint: this and that

Changes of time, place and person reference are assumed known at this level. In a report, there is no longer a clear reference which can be understood by two people in the same place.

I left the parcel on this chair.

A report would have to specify which chair:

He said he had left the parcel on the chair by the window.

Or the reference may be replaced by a more general one:

- I love this town.

She said that she loved the town.

Activities

1. Choose the most suitable word underlined.

a) The government spokesperson denied / refused that there was a crisis.

b) Jane said me/told me there was nothing the matter.

c) Peter persuaded me/insisted me to stay for dinner.

d) The director of studies advised me/suggested me to spend more time in the library.

e) Sheila explained me/warned me not to leave the heater on all night.

f) The chairperson mentioned us/reminded us that time was extremely short.

g) Bill answered them/replied them with a detailed description of his plans. h) Michael and Sarah announced/reported that they were going to get married. i) Paul accepted/expected that he had made a mistake, and apologised. j) The manager confirmed/reassured that our room had been reserved.

2. Match each report 1) to 10) with the actual words spoken from a) to j).

1) Jim admitted that he might have taken it. (e)

2) Sue denied that she had taken it.

3) Harry doubted whether he had taken it.

4) Diana explained that she had taken it.

5) Bill insisted he had taken it.

6) Mary suggested that she had taken it.

7) Ted confirmed that he had taken it.

8) Ruth claimed that she had taken it.

9) Charles repeated that he had taken it. 10) Sally reassured us that she had taken it.

a) No, I've definitely taken it.

b) I don't think I took it.

c) Don't worry, I've taken it. It's all right!

d) What about me? Perhaps I took it?

e) OK, perhaps I did take it after all.

f) Yes, I took it. I took it, I tell you!

g) Yes, that's quite correct. I took it. h) No, I certainly didn't take it, I can assure you. i) You may not believe me, but actually I took it. i) You see. it's like this. I've taken it.

3. Rewrite each sentence in indirect speech beginning as shown.

a) 'I wouldn't cook the fish for too long. Bill, if I were you,' said Jean.

Jean advised Bill not to cook the fish for too long.

b) 'Helen, would you like to come to lunch on Sunday?' said Mary.

Mary............................................................................................................

c) 'Well, in the end I think I'll take the brown pair,' said the customer. The customer finally..................................................................................

d) 'Me? No, I didn't take Sue's calculator,' said Bob.

Bob denied..................................................................................................

e) 'Don't forget to buy some milk, Andy,' said Clare.

Clare reminded...........................................................................................

f) 'Look, I might not be able to come on Saturday,' said David.

David told us..............................................................................................

g) 'Why don't you go and see 'The Sound of Music' again, Brian?' I said.

I suggested...................................................................................................

h) 'No, you really must stay the night, Sophia,' Ann said.

Ann insisted................................................................................................

i) 'Make sure you don't take the A20 in the rush hour, Tim,' said Jack.

Jack warned.................................................................................................

j) 'You are not allowed to smoke in your room, Dick,' said his mother.

Dick's mother.............................................................................................

4. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals, and so that the meaning stays the same.

a) He was warned by the fireman not to re-enter the house. HIM The fireman warned him not to re-enter the house.

b) There has been a rumour that the president is ill. IT

c) Sue thought it would be a good idea for me to see a doctor. ADVISED

d) The minister proposed regular meetings for the committee. MEET

e) The management claimed that all strikers had returned to work. WAS

f) The travel agent recommended our staying near the airport. SHOULD

g) There has been no report that any lives were lost. IT

h) Jack demanded action from the police. SHOULD

i) David supposed that we didn't want to watch television. WANTED

j) My bank manager invited me to visit him at home. COULD

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