3.25 reporting verbs

There is a large group of verbs, such as 'say', 'suggest', and 'think', which are used to report what people say or think. They are called reporting verbs. They are followed by a 'that'-clause which is called the reported clause.

• She said that she would come.

The reported clause is often thought of as being an object, and so these verbs are usually said to be transitive verbs.

Reporting verbs such as 'advise' and 'persuade', which have an object which refers to the person being addressed, are explained in paragraphs 7.71 and 7.72.

Some report verbs can take as their object a noun such as 'question' or 'story' which refers to something that is said or written. These verbs are listed in paragraph 7.78. Some take an object which refers to an event or fact, and is therefore closely related to a 'that'-clause. These are listed in paragraph 7.79.

Verbs such as 'believe' and 'know' which can be used as report verbs but which are ordinary transitive verbs when used with another common meaning are included in the lists of transitive verbs given above.

3.26

Most transitive verbs can be used in the passive. See paragraphs 10.8 to 10.21.