7.68 referring to the speaker

You usually use a reporting verb to report what one person has said or thought, so the subject of a reporting verb is usually a singular noun.

• Henry said that he wanted to go home.
• He claimed his health had been checked several times at a clinic.

When you report the statements, opinions, orders, or questions of a group of people, you can use a plural noun or a collective noun as the subject of the reporting verb.

• The judges demanded that the race be run again.
• The committee also noted that this was not the first case of its kind.

When you report what was said on television or radio, or what is printed or written in a newspaper or other document, you can mention the source or means of communication as the subject of a reporting verb.

• The newspaper said Scotland Yard was investigating the crime.
• The letter argued that civil defence was an indispensable element of deterrence.

Note that you can also use 'say' with nouns such as 'sign', 'notice', 'clock', and 'map' as the subject.

• ...a notice saying that on no account should the attendants be tipped.
• A sign over the door said 'Dreamland Cafe'.
• The road map said it was 210 kilometres to the French frontier.