7.72 verbs with or without the hearer as object

After a few reporting verbs that refer to speech, you can choose whether or not to mention the hearer.

• I promised that I would try to phone her.
• I promised Myra I'd be home at seven.
• The physicians warned that, without the operation, the child would die.
• Thomas warned her that his mother was slightly deaf.

Here is a list of reporting verbs which can be used with or without the hearer as object when used with a 'that'-clause:

• ask, promise, teach, warn'Promise' can also be used with or without an object when it is used with a 'to'-infinitive clause. 'Ask' has to be used with an object when it is used with a 'to'-infinitive clause to report a request for the hearer to do something, but it is used without an object when the request is for permission to do something (see paragraphs 7.36 and 7.39).