Advanced Reported Speech (Reporting Verbs + Patterns)

Level: C1. Basic reported speech changes said plus a backshifted tense. At an advanced level you throw most of that away and report the function of what someone said — they denied, they promised, they accused, they suggested — with a verb chosen for its meaning. The catch is that each reporting verb takes a fixed grammatical pattern, and using the wrong one is the clearest marker of a non-native writer.

The rule

A reporting verb names the speech act you are describing: not just say or tell, but admit, deny, refuse, offer, warn, remind, accuse, suggest, insist. Each of these verbs has a complementation pattern — the grammar that must follow it. Complementation simply means what shape the rest of the sentence takes: a clause, an infinitive, an -ing form, or a noun.

You cannot mix the patterns freely. Suggest and refuse mean different things, but they are also built differently: He refused to pay but He suggested paying (or He suggested that we pay). Learn each verb together with its pattern, the way you learned phrasal verbs as whole units.

The patterns divide into a small number of families. Four cover the majority of verbs: a that-clause, a to-infinitive, an object + to-infinitive, and an -ing form (gerund). Two more handle the prepositional verbs: preposition + -ing, and object + preposition + -ing. A seventh, more formal pattern uses the mandative subjunctive after verbs of demanding and recommending.

Reporting verbs by pattern

Some verbs appear in more than one row because they allow more than one pattern with the same meaning: suggest takes a that-clause, an -ing form or the subjunctive, but never an object + to-infinitive. Warn takes a that-clause, an object + to-infinitive, and warn someone against -ing.

Example sentences

Common mistakes

• ❌ He suggested me to take a break. → ✅ He suggested taking a break. / He suggested that I take a break. Suggest never takes an object + to-infinitive.
• ❌ She accused me to steal the keys. → ✅ She accused me of stealing the keys. Accuse takes of + -ing, not a to-infinitive.
• ❌ He denied to break the window. → ✅ He denied breaking the window. Deny takes the -ing form.
• ❌ She apologised to be late. → ✅ She apologised for being late. A preposition (for) must be followed by -ing.
• ❌ They recommended me to see a specialist. → ✅ They recommended that I see a specialist. / They recommended seeing a specialist. Recommend behaves like suggest.
• ❌ He explained me the problem. → ✅ He explained the problem to me. Explain and suggest never take an indirect object directly; use to + person.

A short conversation

A: Did Tom finally own up to the mistake? B: Yes — he admitted sending the file to the wrong client and apologised for not checking. A: And the manager? B: She accused him of being careless, but then recommended that he take the compliance course rather than face a warning.

Usage notes

• The subjunctive is optional in British English. After demand, insist, recommend, suggest, American English prefers the bare subjunctive (that he leave); British English often adds should (that he should leave) or uses the ordinary present (that he leaves). All three are standard.
• Perfect and passive gerunds. When the reported event clearly happened before the reporting, use a perfect gerund: He admitted having lied. For things done to the subject, use a passive gerund: She complained about being ignored.
• Register. Precise reporting verbs (concede, allege, pledge, deny) are the backbone of formal, academic and news writing, where said that would sound flat. In speech, say and tell still do most of the work.
• Backshift still applies inside the clause. When a reporting verb takes a that-clause, the normal tense backshift from basic reported speech operates as usual: She claimed that she had already paid.

Compared with…

• Basic reported speech teaches the mechanical part: change say/tell, backshift the tense, and adjust pronouns and time words. Master that in Reported Speech: Statements (Backshift) before you layer these verb patterns on top.
• The gerund and infinitive rules are the same ones that govern reporting verbs; if admit doing versus refuse to do feels arbitrary, review which verbs take which form in Verb + -ing or Verb + to (Full Rules).
• Future in the past handles reported predictions and plans (he said he would come); see Future in the Past for would, was going to and was to inside reported speech.

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

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