Reporting verbs — say, tell, ask, suggest, recommend, warn

You’ve seen say, tell, and ask across the previous two lessons. English has many more reporting verbs, and each follows its own grammatical pattern. Get the pattern wrong and the sentence breaks: She suggested me to leave sounds wrong even though me and to leave are fine elsewhere.

This lesson is a reference: a pattern-by-pattern tour of the most useful reporting verbs at B1, with side-by-side examples. Memorize the patterns; the meanings come naturally.

The big patterns

Reporting verbs take one of these structures:

1. verb + that-clause: She said that he was tired.
2. verb + sb + that-clause: She told me that he was tired.
3. verb + sb + to V: She asked me to leave.
4. verb + (not) to V (no person): She refused to leave.
5. verb + V-ing: She suggested leaving.
6. verb + preposition + V-ing: She apologized for being late.
7. verb + sb + preposition + V-ing: She accused him of lying.

Reporting verbs at a glance

The next sections explain the trickier ones in detail.

say vs tell — the recurring distinction

Set phrases with tell (where it’s idiomatic, not pure reporting): tell a story, tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a joke, tell the time, tell the difference. Set phrases with say: say hello, say goodbye, say sorry, say a prayer, say something / nothing.

ask — questions and requests

Ask covers two pragmatic functions:

Asking a question

ask + (sb) + if/whether/wh-:

• He asked if I was hungry.
• She asked me whether I had finished.
• They asked what my name was.

(Reported yes/no questions use if/whether; wh-questions use the wh-word — see lesson 14.)

Asking someone to do something

ask + sb + to V:

• She asked me to help.
• He asked the waiter to bring more water.
• They asked us not to make noise.

The same verb, two patterns — context decides which one applies.

suggest and recommend — the tricky pair

These two are notorious because they take a structure that doesn’t include a personal object before to V.

Pattern A: V-ing

suggest / recommend + V-ing:

• He suggested going to a movie.
• I recommend trying the soup.
• She suggested taking the train.

Pattern B: that-clause

suggest / recommend + that + clause:

• He suggested that we go to a movie.
• I recommend that you try the soup.
• She suggested that we take the train.

Pattern C (with object) — only with prepositions

If you want to mention the person, you can’t put them after suggest / recommend directly. Use a prepositional phrase or restructure:

• ❌ He suggested me to go.
• ❌ He suggested me going.
• ❌ He recommended me the restaurant. (ungrammatical in both AmE and BrE — recommend requires to + person)

Instead:

• ✅ He suggested (that) I go.
• ✅ He recommended the restaurant to me.
• ✅ He suggested I try the soup. (with omitted that)

AmE subjunctive after suggest, recommend, insist, demand, propose

Here’s a distinctively American detail. After certain reporting verbs of demand or recommendation, formal AmE uses a subjunctive — the bare verb (no -s, no past tense), regardless of the subject.

• I suggest he go to the doctor. (NOT goes)
• She recommended that he take the day off. (NOT takes / took)
• They insisted that she be present. (NOT is / was)
• He demanded that the meeting start on time. (NOT starts)
• I propose that we adjourn. (NOT adjourns)

This is formal / written / careful AmE. In casual speech, you’ll also hear I suggest he goes — but the subjunctive form is what editors and tests will expect.

In BrE, the more common form is should + V: I suggest he should go. AmE often drops the should and uses bare V.

advise, warn, urge, encourage, persuade — the sb + to V family

These all follow the same pattern: verb + sb + (not) + to V.

• I advise you to leave.
• He warned us not to swim there.
• She urged him to apply.
• They encouraged me to keep going.
• We persuaded her to stay.

If you want to give a clause version:

• I advise that you leave. (more formal)
• He warned us that the road was dangerous. (warn also takes that-clause)

explain — never with a personal object

A high-frequency mistake: putting a person directly after explain.

• ❌ He explained me the rule.
• ✅ He explained the rule to me.
• ✅ He explained to me that it was free.

The same applies to describe, mention, suggest, propose, announce:

• ❌ Describe me the place.
• ✅ Describe the place to me.

If you want to mention the recipient, use to + person. The person never goes between the verb and the message.

promise, threaten, agree, refuse, offer — to V without person

These verbs typically take to + V without a person:

• He promised to call.
• They threatened to sue.
• We agreed to meet at 3.
• She refused to answer.
• He offered to help.

You can add a person, but with a preposition or a different structure:

• He promised me he’d call. (object + that-clause — promise allows this)
• They threatened the company with legal action. (with + N)
• We agreed with him on the plan. (agree with + sb on + sth)
• She refused him. (refuse + sb is rare; usually drops to V)

apologize and thank — preposition required

These verbs take prepositions, not direct objects in the action sense:

• I apologized for being late.
• He apologized to me for the misunderstanding.
• She thanked me for helping.
• They thanked us for the gift.

Pattern: apologize + (to sb) + for + N / V-ing. Pattern: thank + sb + for + N / V-ing.

accuse and blame — preposition + V-ing

• She accused him of lying.
• He was blamed for the accident.
• They accused us of cheating.
• Don’t blame me for your mistake.

Pattern: accuse + sb + of + N / V-ing. Pattern: blame + sb + for + N / V-ing.

admit and deny — V-ing or that-clause

• He admitted lying. / He admitted that he had lied.
• She denied stealing. / She denied that she had stolen anything.

Both verbs take V-ing or that-clause. They don’t take to + V.

❌ He admitted to lie. ✅ He admitted lying. / He admitted to lying. (with to + V-ing — yes, this also works)

insist — on + V-ing or that-clause

• He insisted on paying.
• She insisted that we leave.
• (AmE subjunctive): She insisted that he be there.

A worked transformation example

Direct: Maria said, “I’ll help you with the report. But please don’t tell anyone about it. And remind me to send the file tomorrow.”

Reported version with varied verbs:

Maria offered to help me with the report. She asked me not to tell anyone about it and reminded me to send the file the next day.

Notice the variety of verbs encoding nuance:

• offered to help (her own commitment)
• asked me not to tell (request — negative command)
• reminded me to send (prompting an action)

This is what fluent reporting looks like — a mix of verbs that fit each part of the message.

AmE notes

The subjunctive after suggest / recommend / insist / demand / propose is a distinctive AmE feature. It’s preserved in formal writing and educated speech. BrE often uses should + V instead.

Both are correct. AmE bare-V subjunctive is more concise and considered the “elegant” form in formal English.

In casual American speech, you’ll also hear the indicative — I suggest he goes — and that’s fine in conversation. But in business writing, academic essays, or any careful context, use the subjunctive.

Pronunciation notes

• suggest → /səˈdʒɛst/ — stress on second syllable; /dʒ/ sound, not /g/.
• recommend → /ˌrɛkəˈmɛnd/ — main stress on third syllable; double m, single c.
• advised → /ədˈvaɪzd/ — /z/ ending, not /s/. Advice (noun) is /ədˈvaɪs/ with /s/.
• explain → /ɪkˈspleɪn/. Explained /ɪkˈspleɪnd/.
• apologize → AmE /əˈpɑlədʒaɪz/ with /z/. (BrE apologise — same sound, different spelling.)

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. Suggest sb to V: He suggested me to leave → He suggested that I leave OR He suggested leaving. Suggest never takes sb + to V.
2. Explain me sth: Please explain me this rule → Please explain this rule to me (or explain to me this rule). Russian “объясни мне” maps as explain me — wrong in English.
3. Tell vs say confusion: He said me he was busy → He told me he was busy OR He said he was busy. Say doesn’t take a personal object; tell does.
4. Subjunctive missed in formal AmE: The doctor recommended that he takes a break → The doctor recommended that he take a break (formal AmE). Both forms exist; learn the subjunctive for tests and writing.
5. Wrong preposition with apologize: I apologize from / about being late → I apologize for being late. The fixed preposition is for.
6. Missing of/for/about prepositions: He accused me lying → He accused me of lying. Accuse requires of + V-ing. Blame me for, thank you for, apologize for — memorize the prepositions.
7. Promise me to do sth problem: He promised me to come → He promised he would come OR He promised to come. Promise doesn’t naturally take sb + to V; use that-clause or drop the person.

Summary

• Each reporting verb has its own pattern; learn them as units.
• say (no obj) vs tell (+ obj) is the foundational pair.
• suggest, recommend + V-ing or that-clause; never sb + to V.
• advise, warn, urge, remind, encourage, invite + sb + to V.
• promise, threaten, refuse, agree, offer + to V (no person needed).
• explain, describe, mention + obj + to + person — never explain me.
• apologize for, thank for, accuse of, blame for — fixed prepositions.
• AmE subjunctive after suggest, recommend, insist, demand, propose: I suggest he go (bare V).

Next: relative clauses — connecting two ideas about the same person, place, or thing with who, which, that, whose, where, when.