B2 Upper-intermediate Articles, quantifiers, word order, linking, reporting
Reported speech: full rules
Lesson goal. After this lesson you can report with a range of verbs — admit, deny, suggest, offer, refuse, advise — not just said and told.
When to use it
- Reporting the speech act precisely: apologising, denying, suggesting, promising.
- Adding range to your writing — a B2 marking criterion.
- Transformation tasks frequently test these verbs.
Form
| Group | Verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| + V-ing | admit · deny · suggest | He denied taking the money. |
| + to + verb | offer · promise · refuse · agree · threaten | She offered to help. |
| + object + to + verb | advise · warn · remind · tell · ask | He advised me to see a doctor. |
| + preposition + V-ing | apologise for · insist on · accuse sb of | He apologised for being late. |
Step by step
- Read the direct speech and ask: what is the speaker doing — apologising, promising, refusing, suggesting?
- Choose the reporting verb that matches that act.
- Check which group it belongs to in the table.
- Follow that pattern, and change the pronouns as in basic reported speech.
Speech acts and their verbs
| Direct speech | Act | Reporting verb |
|---|---|---|
| “I'm sorry I was late.” | apologise | apologised for being late |
| “I didn't do it.” | deny | denied doing it |
| “Yes, I did it.” | admit | admitted doing it |
| “Let's go out.” | suggest | suggested going out |
| “I'll help you.” | offer to help | offered to help |
| “No, I won't.” | refuse | refused to do it |
Examples
He apologised for breaking the window.
She denied taking the money.
He admitted copying his friend's homework.
She suggested meeting at six.
He offered to carry my bag.
She warned me not to touch the wire.
Common mistakes
He suggested to go to the beach. → He suggested going to the beach.
suggest takes V-ing, never to. This is the commonest error in the group.
She refused helping me. → She refused to help me.
refuse belongs to the + to + verb group.
He apologised to be late. → He apologised for being late.
apologise takes the preposition for, and a preposition is followed by V-ing.
Memory tip
Do not learn the verbs singly. Learn three-word chunks with a short example: denied taking, offered to help, apologised for being. Rhythm beats tables.
Summary
- admit, deny, suggest + V-ing.
- offer, promise, refuse, agree + to + verb.
- advise, warn, remind + object + to + verb; apologise for + V-ing.
Practise this lesson
Do exercises with an explanation for every question, take mini tests and track your progress on GrammUp.