Reporting verbs carry other people's words into your sentence. The verb you choose decides what comes next. Tell needs a person: "She told me". Say does not: "She said". Ask, advise and warn take an object and an infinitive: "She asked me to wait".
The patterns are not random. Each verb has a shape, and learning the shape prevents most mistakes. This page groups the verbs by pattern: object verbs, infinitive verbs and gerund verbs.
The 20-question drill at the end checks every pattern. Each explanation names the reporting verb and its structure, so the answer reinforces the rule.
The rule
Say and tell
- Say takes a that-clause or direct words: "She said (that) she was tired."
- Tell needs a person: "She told me (that) she was tired."
- Never say "tell that" without a person, and never say "say me".
- Say can take to with a person in a formal pattern: "She said to me that she was ready."
Ask, advise and warn
- Ask takes an object plus a to-infinitive for a request: "She asked me to wait."
- Advise takes an object plus a to-infinitive: "The doctor advised me to rest."
- Warn takes an object plus a to-infinitive or about: "He warned us not to swim."
- The negative infinitive is not to, never do not to.
Offer, promise and agree
- Offer takes a to-infinitive: "She offered to help."
- Promise takes a to-infinitive or a that-clause: "He promised to call."
- Agree takes a to-infinitive or a that-clause: "They agreed to meet."
- These verbs do not need an object before the infinitive.
Admit, deny and suggest
- Admit and deny take a gerund or a that-clause: "He admitted stealing."
- Suggest takes a gerund or a that-clause: "She suggested going home."
- Do not use an infinitive after suggest: "She suggested to go" is wrong.
- Deny often answers an accusation: "He denied breaking the window."
Tense, time and place
- Reported speech usually moves the tense back: "I am busy" becomes "He said he was busy."
- When the situation is still true, the tense can stay: "He said he is busy."
- Time and place words shift too: today becomes that day, here becomes there.
- Infinitive patterns such as offered to help avoid the tense shift entirely.
Examples
- She said that she was tired.Say takes a that-clause and no person.
- He told me to wait outside.Tell takes a person and a to-infinitive.
- She asked me to close the door.Ask takes an object plus an infinitive for a request.
- The doctor advised me to rest.Advise follows the same object plus infinitive pattern.
- They warned us not to touch the wire.The negative infinitive is not to.
- He offered to drive us home.Offer takes an infinitive and needs no object.
- She promised to call at six.Promise takes an infinitive for a future action.
- They agreed to share the cost.Agree takes an infinitive for a shared decision.
- He admitted making a mistake.Admit takes a gerund after the verb.
- She suggested taking the early train.Suggest takes a gerund, never an infinitive.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: She said me that she was tired. Right: She told me that she was tired.
- Say does not take a person as a direct object; tell does.
- Wrong: He told that he was late. Right: He said that he was late.
- Tell needs a person: "He told me that he was late."
- Wrong: They warned us to not swim there. Right: They warned us not to swim there.
- The negative infinitive is not to, with not before to.
- Wrong: She suggested to go home early. Right: She suggested going home early.
- Suggest takes a gerund or a that-clause, never a to-infinitive.
- Wrong: He denied to take the money. Right: He denied taking the money.
- Deny takes a gerund, because the action is a fact being refused.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
She ___ me that she was tired.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. told Tell is the reporting verb that takes a person before the that-clause.
He ___ that he would be late.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. said Say takes a that-clause and needs no person after it.
She ___ me to close the window.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. asked Ask takes an object and a to-infinitive to report a request.
The doctor ___ me to rest for a week.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. advised Advise takes an object plus a to-infinitive, so advised me to rest is correct.
They ___ us not to swim near the rocks.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. warned Warn takes an object and the negative infinitive not to swim.
He ___ to help with the bags.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. offered Offer takes a to-infinitive directly, with no object before it.
She ___ to call me at six.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. promised Promise takes a to-infinitive for an action in the future.
They ___ to meet at the station.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. agreed Agree takes a to-infinitive to report a shared decision.
He ___ taking the money.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. denied Deny is a reporting verb that takes a gerund, because it refuses a fact about the past.
She ___ going to the beach.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. suggested Suggest takes a gerund, so suggested going is the correct reporting pattern.
He ___ that he had made a mistake.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. admitted Admit takes a that-clause and reports the speaker's own action.
The guide ___ us not to feed the animals.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. told Tell takes a person and the negative infinitive not to feed.
Choose the correct sentence.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. He told me to wait. Tell takes a person before the to-infinitive: told me to wait.
She ___ that she was busy.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. said Say takes a that-clause without a person after it.
The manager ___ to answer our question.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. agreed Agree takes a to-infinitive, here agreed to answer.
The police ___ him about the accident.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. asked Ask takes a person plus about to report a question on a topic.
He ___ to pay for the damage.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. promised Promise takes a to-infinitive for a future action he committed to.
She ___ stealing the idea.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. denied Deny is a reporting verb that takes a gerund when it rejects an accusation.
I ___ that we leave early.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. suggest Suggest takes a that-clause with the base verb leave.
The sign ___ visitors not to touch the paintings.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. warns Warn takes an object and the negative infinitive not to touch.
Drill complete
You answered every question.
Next topic: The with geographic names: the UK, the USA, no articleTake the level test
Questions learners ask
What is the difference between say and tell?
Tell needs a person after it: "tell me", "tell the class". Say does not take a person directly; it takes a that-clause or the actual words: "say that", "say hello". If a name follows the verb, the verb is almost always tell.
Which reporting verbs take an infinitive?
Ask, advise, warn, tell, offer, promise, agree and decide take a to-infinitive. Some of them, such as ask, advise, warn and tell, need a person before the infinitive: "she asked me to wait". Others, such as offer and agree, take the infinitive directly: "she offered to wait".
Why does suggest take an -ing form?
Suggest belongs to the gerund group, with admit, deny, recommend and mention. The gerund names the activity being suggested: "She suggested going home." A that-clause is the other option: "She suggested that we go home." The infinitive after suggest is always wrong.
More grammar topics
The with geographic names: the UK, the USA, no article
Most single country names take no article. The takes over with plural names, group names and rivers, seas, oceans and mountain ranges.
Prepositions of movement: to, into, through and across
Movement prepositions answer the question "which way?". Into and out of are about entering and leaving, through and across are about crossing, and to is the destination.
Adjective + preposition: good at, interested in, afraid of
An adjective and its preposition form a fixed pair. Learn the pair, not the preposition alone: interested in, good at, afraid of, proud of and keen on.
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