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Grammar Exercises📢 Reported SpeechReporting Verbs
B2Reported Speech

Reporting Verbs

~4 min readUpdated July 30, 20265 practice exercises
English
🗺️ ADVANCED REPORTING VERBS GRAMMAR MAP
REPORTING VERBS + TO-INFINITIVE / GERUND

Offer to V1 | Promise to V1 | Suggest V-ing | Admit V-ing | Apologize for V-ing.

(+) Positive offered to help, promised to call, suggested going, admitted stealing
(-) Negative denied taking the money
(?) Question Did he offer to drive you home?
REPORTING VERBS + OBJECT + PREPOSITION + GERUND

Accuse sb OF V-ing | Congratulate sb ON V-ing | Warn sb AGAINST V-ing.

(+) Positive accused him of stealing, congratulated her on passing, blamed me for breaking
(-) Negative warned us against going out
(?) Question Did she congratulate you on winning?

1. Form & Structure

Advanced Reporting Verb Structures Matrix

  • Verb + To-Infinitive: agree, demand, offer, promise, refuse, threaten → He promised to help me.
  • Verb + Object + To-Infinitive: advise, allow, ask, encourage, forbid, invite, order, remind, warn → She reminded me to call.
  • Verb + Gerund (V-ing): admit, deny, recommend, suggest → He suggested going to the beach. (NOT "suggested to go"!)
  • Verb + Object + Preposition + V-ing: accuse sb OF, apologize to sb FOR, blame sb FOR, congratulate sb ON → They accused him of cheating.
  • Suggest + That Clause: She suggested that we should leave.
Example / Question Positive / Short Answer Negative / Short Answer
Suggest + V-ing He suggested watching a movie. Not: He suggested to watch
Accuse + Obj + Of + V-ing She accused him of lying. Requires "of + V-ing"
Promise + To V1 He promised to come early. Requires "to + V1"

2. Key Rules & Formation

Rule Base / Standard Form Applied Form
Never Use "Suggest + To V1" Rule SUGGEST must NEVER be followed by to-infinitive! Use "suggest + V-ing" or "suggest that S + (should) + V1". suggested going (CORRECT) vs suggested to go (WRONG)
Accuse takes OF, Congratulate takes ON Rule Always memorize fixed preposition pairings: accuse OF, congratulate ON, apologize FOR, blame FOR. accused of theft / congratulated on winning
Deny + V-ing vs Refuse + To V1 DENY means stating something is not true (+ V-ing). REFUSE means saying no to an offer or request (+ To V1). denied taking money vs refused to help

3. Practical Usage & Examples

1. Summarizing conversations succinctly in formal writing

Avoid repeating long dialogues by using precise reporting verbs.

  • Instead of "I will kill you!", write: He threatened to kill him.

2. Expressing guilt, blame, and congratulations

Report social and legal dynamics accurately.

  • The principal congratulated the students on passing the exam.

3. Making suggestions and recommendations smoothly

Report group ideas without repeating direct quotes.

  • My manager suggested taking a short break before continuing.

4. Signal Words & Usage Context

suggest V-ingaccuse of V-ingcongratulate on V-ingpromise to V1refuse to V1apologize for V-ing
Structure Checklist:
  • Suggest + V-ING (NO to!)
  • Accuse + Obj + OF V-ing
  • Promise + TO V1

💡 Common Mistakes & Memory Tips

  • Mistake 1: Saying "he suggested me to go"
    ❌ Incorrect: He suggested me to apply for the job.
    ✓ Correct: He suggested that I should apply for the job. (or He suggested applying)
    Note: Suggest cannot be followed by Object + to V1.
  • Mistake 2: Confusing "deny" and "refuse"
    ❌ Incorrect: He denied to open the door.
    ✓ Correct: He refused to open the door.
    Note: Refuse means declining an action (+ to V1). Deny means declaring non-guilt (+ V-ing).
  • Mistake 3: Using wrong prepositions with reporting verbs
    ❌ Incorrect: She accused him for stealing her bag.
    ✓ Correct: She accused him of stealing her bag.
    Note: Accuse takes OF, not FOR.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What are the 3 main grammatical structures possible after "suggest"?

1) Suggest + V-ing ("suggest going"), 2) Suggest + Noun ("suggest a restaurant"), 3) Suggest + that + Subject + (should) + Bare V1 ("suggest that he go").

Q2: Why is bare V1 used in "She suggested that he GO early"?

This is the Subjunctive Mood! In subjunctive clauses after suggest/insist/recommend, the verb remains in base form regardless of subject.

Q3: Which reporting verbs take "apologize"?

Apologize TO someone FOR doing something ("I apologized TO Mary FOR being late").

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Practice Exercises

5 exercises
Reporting Verbs - Part 1
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Reporting Verbs - Part 1

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Reporting Verbs - Part 2
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Reporting Verbs - Part 2

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Reporting Verbs - Part 3
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Reporting Verbs - Part 3

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Reporting Verbs - Part 4
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Reporting Verbs - Part 4

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Reporting Verbs - Part 5
Teacher
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Reporting Verbs - Part 5

B2
help_outline20 Qs
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