Reporting verbs in EAP

This guide is not to do with reported or indirect speech and will
not cover the simpler reporting verbs such as say, tell,
exclaim, ask, enquire etc.  For a guide to those matters
click here
for the guide to indirect speech in general English.
What follows assumes that the rules for reporting direct speech are familiar.
The following is most relevant to formal academic writing although
the concepts are generalisable.  It is, therefore, of most
interest to people teaching EAP (English for Academic Purposes).

Why is this important?

Consider this:

Even the most
original academic paper integrates facts, ideas, concepts, and
theories from other sources by means of quotations, paraphrases,
summaries, and brief references.
(Campbell 1990, in Jordan, 1997:171)

It is unlikely, but not impossible, that learners of English for
Academic Purposes will be producing the most original academic
paper so the ability to insert summaries, paraphrases and citation
appropriately, using the right reporting verb, is a key writing
skill.  Not least, of course, to avoid any whiff of plagiarism. 
Understanding the implications of reporting verbs is also a key
reading skill to identify slant and angle.

Reporting verbs can be classified and presented in a number of
ways and we can also, as we shall see, combine elements of the
analysis to make the area accessible to learners.

Classifying reporting verbs: attitude

Reporting verbs are subtle but powerful signals of the writer’s
attitude to the message being sent by a paraphrase or citation.
Compare, for example:
    Guru states that …
   
Guru presumes that …
   
Guru claims that …
   
Guru suggests that …
   
Guru mentions that …
   
Guru hypothesises that …

One way to classify such verbs is to arrange them on a cline from
tentative, through neutral to assertive.  Something like this:

 

There are obvious problems with this, not least that opinions may
differ concerning the exact connotation each verb carries.
Such a classification does, however, have some classroom utility
because it alerts learners to the connotations that the verbs carry
and may help them avoid inappropriate choices.

Classifying reporting verbs: function

Reporting verbs are used for a range of communicative functions. 
Presenting them from this standpoint, we can get something like:

This sort of presentation and analysis sits well with a
communicative approach because it focuses clearly on the
communicative value of the verbs.

However, one obvious problem is that some verbs can be synonyms
and some can perform multiple functions.  There is not a great
deal of difference in meaning between, e.g.:
    Guru proposes that we …
and
    Guru suggests that we …
However, suggest is also polysemous in a way that
propose is not so we can also have:
    The data suggest that …
but not
    *The data propose that …
Another obvious issue is that the diagram ignores the strength
of the reporting verbs and may allow learners to believe that all
the verbs in each category carry the same connotations.  As we
saw above, that is not the case.

Classifying reporting verbs: form

The final way to classify these verbs in this guide is by
grammatical and lexical form.  We need to look at concepts of
collocation and colligation here, especially the latter.  This
might result in this kind of analysis:

but there are problems with that, too, some colligational, some
collocational:

1. Transitivity
   1. Some verbs in the lists are both transitive and
      intransitive.  We can have
          Guru concedes the point that …
         
      Guru concedes that …
         
      Guru questions the conclusion
         
      Guru questions whether …
         
      Guru proposes a solution
         
      Guru proposes that …
   2. Some verbs are only intransitive.  We can have:
         
      Guru observes that …
      but not
          *Guru observes the conclusion that …
      or
          *Guru theorises a solution
   3. Some verbs are only transitive.  We can have:
          Guru recommends a solution
      and
          Guru recommends that …
      but not
          *Guru discounts that …
      or
          *Guru discusses that …
2. Appropriacy of subject:
   Some of these verbs will collocate with inanimate
   subjects, some with animate only and some with both.
   1. Animate subjects can be used for most of them but some
      can also take inanimate subjects.  We can have, e.g.,
          The study shows …
         
      Guru shows …
         
      The evidence indicates …
         
      Guru indicates …
      etc.
   2. Some may only have animate subjects.  We can have:
          Guru hypothesises …
         
      Guru maintains …
      but not
          *The evidence comments …
          *The data say …
          *The evidence states …
      or
         
      *The facts allege …
   3. Some are

      open to metaphorical use,
      assigning an action to an inanimate subject normally
      reserved for people (pathetic
      fallacy):
          The study argues …
         
      The facts imply …
         
      The findings argue for …
      and some are not:
          *The evidence describes …
         
      *The findings believe …

3. Omitting that
   The theoretical distinction here is between what are called
   bridge verbs and non-bridge verbs.  Many simple reporting
   verbs

   such as say, tell, think, know, write, claim
   and hear are bridge verbs and it is perfectly in order
   to omit the word that when they are followed by a
   clause so we allow both:
       He said that the results are
   unsatisfactory
       Guru thinks that the solution is to …
       She claims that the analysis is flawed
   etc. and:
       He said the results are unsatisfactory
       Guru thinks the solution is to …
       She claims the analysis is flawed
   Many find (that) the sentences without that are
   more stylistically acceptable.
   However, in academic writing simple verbs like these are often
   avoided for the sake of style or precision as we have seen above
   and with the less frequently used verbs, sometimes called
   non-bridge verbs, omitting that often results in some
   clumsiness.  All of the following, for example:
       Guru confirms the results are reliable
       He acknowledge the experiment was flawed
       The findings indicate there is a need for …
       She explains findings are provisional
   are better expressed with that retained as in:
       Guru confirms that the results are reliable
       He acknowledge that the experiment was flawed
       The findings indicate that there is a need for …
       She explains that findings are provisional

Combining the analyses

We can weave aspects of all three analyses together to produce
quite sophisticated analysis.  For example, if we combine
attitude with function we can produce something like:

and we can do similar things with many of the other functions.
It is also possible to combine functional and formal analyses:

It is even possible to go one step further and combine all three
analyses but, at that stage, the data start to get impenetrable.

Tense, aspect and voice

Reporting verbs are frequently used in the present simple so that
is not difficult to teach.  Perversely, some lists of reporting
verbs put all of them in the present simple 3rd person which is
misleading at best.  Two other tenses are also frequently used
and multiple authorship is common.  Here are examples of all
three:

1. Present simple
   This is the most frequent form:
       Guru notes that …
      
   The data imply …
      
   In that paper, Guru and Mentor propose …
2. Past simple
   This is frequently used for sources which
   are older and have become seminal authorities in some way. 
   For example:
       Guru (1949) identified …
3. Present perfect
   This is used a) when the writer needs
   to emphasise the present relevance of a source or b) when the
   sources are varied and (sometimes) not individually identified. 
   It is often used in the passive voice but need not be.  For
   example:
       It has been noted (Guru, 2016) that …
      
   Guru (2010) has discovered that …
      
   Guru and Mentor (2000) investigated the structure of these
   complex substances and have shown that they are …
      
   It has often been asserted that …
4. Passive clauses and the dummy it
   There are time when the writer may wish to disguise the
   source of a statement, when the statement needs no reference or
   when the source is unknown or so ubiquitous in the field that
   citing individual authors would be too cumbersome.
   In these cases, a passive construction (usually in the present
   simple or perfect) and a dummy it come to the rescue as
   in, e.g.:
       It has been established that …
       It is reckoned that …
       It has often been noted that …
   and so on.
   Sometimes, the source is included in such constructions as in,
   e.g.:
       It has been shown (Guru, 1998, Mentor,
   1999 and others) that …
   In the last case, the by-phrase conventionally used to
   indicate the agent is unnecessary because it is implied by the
   citations in brackets.
   The dummy it is often avoided, too, especially when the
   patient of a passive clause is inanimate so we may encounter,
   for example:
       The results have been disputed in the
   literature
       The search for a solution has, until now, been abandoned as
   …
       Many reasons are suggested, including, for example, …
       The law has been criticised as being …
       This proposal has been rejected as …
   and so on.
   (There are two short exercises in the learners’ section of this
   site on using passive reporting verbs. 
   
   Click here to open the index in a new tab.)

Teaching and learning issues

Here’s an incomplete list of 160 of the verbs commonly used
to report the work of others in academic writing.  It is
unclassified by any of the three analyses considered above but a
classified version is available from the next link.

accept
acknowledge
add
admit
advise
advocate
affirm
agree
alert
allege
allow
analyse
announce
appraise
argue
articulate
assert
assess
assume
assure

attack
aver
believe
blame
cast doubt on
challenge
characterise
claim
clarify
classify
comment
concede
conclude
concur
confirm
congratulate
consider
contend
contradict
contribute

counter
criticise
critique
debate
decide
declare
defend
define
demonstrate
deny
depict
describe
determine
develop
disagree
disapprove
discard
disclaim
discount
discover

discuss
dismiss
disprove
disregard
doubt
emphasise
encourage
endorse
estimate
evaluate
examine
explain
explore
express
fault
feel
find
forbid
forget
forgive

guarantee
guess
highlight
hold
hope
hypothesise
identify
illustrate
imagine
imply
indicate
infer
inform
inquire
insist
interpret
intimate
investigate
justify
know

list
maintain
mention
note
object (to)
observe
oppose
outline
persuade
point out
portray
posit
postulate
praise
predict
present
profess
promise
propose
protest

prove
provoke
put forward
query
question
realise
reason
rebuff
recognise
recommend
refer
refute
reject
remark
remind
report
restate
reveal
say
scrutinise

show
speculate
state
stress
study
substantiate
suggest
support
suppose
suspect
take into consideration
take issue with
tell
theorise
think
throw light on
underline
understand
urge

This list is also available
as a PDF document for reference.

Clearly, presenting learners with a list like this is not going
to be a very productive approach.  Somehow we have to help our
learners eat the elephant so a piecemeal approach is the only
practical way forward.

Before you can begin, you need to make a selection of the
reporting verbs which will form the target of a teaching sequence. 
This site can’t do that for you because there are some variables to
consider first:

• Level:
  • At lower levels, it may be adequate to focus on a short
    list of frequently used neutral verbs.  This might
    include, e.g.:
        state, mention, discuss, comment, show, suggest
    etc.
  • At higher levels, your learners need to start learning
    about the attitudes that verb-use implies so the list can
    start to extend to verbs like:
        question, intimate, assert, demonstrate, discount,
    hypothesise etc.
  • Later yet, learners need to be alert to degrees of
    assertion and argumentation so the list gets extended again
    to include, e.g.:
        maintain, portray, take issue with, profess, presume
    and so on.
• Register:
  • Within the natural sciences, certain reporting verbs are
    more frequently found.  Often, they have inanimate
    subjects such as data, experimental investigation,
    observations and so on.  Verbs commonly used with
    inanimate subjects might include:
        reveal, show, suggest, demonstrate, explain, confirm,
    (dis)prove etc.
    so these become the targets for learners in those
    disciplines
  • within the social sciences, more tentative verbs are
    frequent and they come with animate subjects so verbs like:
        propose, suggest, imply, interpret, posit, postulate
    etc.
    are more useful targets.
• Colligation:
  It makes sense to introduce and practise those verbs which share
  colligational characteristics so, for example, one could focus
  on those verbs which are normally followed by that-clauses
  and separately on those which are followed by noun phrases.
  Focusing on those which are prepositional is also an option.
  Transitivity is something to bear in mind, too.
  See the diagram above for examples of all of these.
• Function:
  A logical approach is to decide first what the author of a text
  is actually doing with the language and then to select a
  reporting verb from a list categorised by function.
  The list which follows will have to be edited in accordance with
  the learners’ level of knowledge and needs but, once they have
  identified what the author of a citation is actually trying to
  achieve, there is need only for a focus on one set of verbs.
  Helpfully, the verbs are classified on this site in that
  way and you can get the list in a PDF format to select from by clicking
  
  here.
  The list looks like this:

  ADDING
  ADVISING
  AGREEING
  EMPHASISING
  ANALYSING
  EXPLAINING

  add
  augment
  complement
  contribute
  develop
  refer
  reinforce
  restate
  strengthen
  substantiate
  support
  take into consideration
  verify

  advise
  advocate
  caution
  counsel
  encourage
  persuade
  propose
  recommend
  suggest
  urge
  warn

  accept
  acknowledge
  accede
  admit
  affirm
  agree
  allow
  concede
  concur
  confirm
  endorse
  recognise

  alert
  congratulate
  emphasise
  forbid
  guarantee
  highlight
  point out
  promise
  remind
  stress
  underline

  appraise
  assess
  consider
  criticise
  critique
  defend
  dismiss
  disregard
  estimate
  evaluate
  forgive
  ignore
  justify
  praise
  prove

  clarify
  depict
  describe
  designate
  express
  explain
  explicate
  illustrate
  interpret
  portray
  reveal
  show
  term
  throw light on

  DISAGREEING

  BELIEVING

  DISCUSSING

  PRESENTING

  QUESTIONING

  SUGGESTING

  attack
  challenge
  contend
  contradict
  counter
  deny
  disagree
  disapprove
  discard
  disclaim
  discount
  disprove
  forget
  object (to)
  oppose
  protest
  rebuff
  refute
  reject
  take issue with

  argue
  assert
  assume
  aver
  believe
  claim
  consider
  decide
  declare
  feel
  hold
  infer
  insist
  maintain
  profess
  profess
  realise
  say
  think
  understand

  analyse
  argue
  characterise
  classify
  debate
  depict
  describe
  discuss
  examine
  explore
  investigate
  observe
  outline
  note
  reason
  remark
  scrutinise

  announce
  articulate
  assure
  comment
  conclude
  define
  demonstrate
  determine
  discover
  express
  find
  identify
  inform
  list
  mention
  present
  put forward
  report
  state
  study
  tell

  blame
  cast doubt on
  challenge
  contest
  dispute
  distrust
  doubt
  fault
  have reservations
  have doubts
  inquire
  point out
  query
  question

  allege
  conjecture
  deduce
  guess
  hope
  hypothesise
  imagine
  imply
  indicate
  intimate
  posit
  postulate
  predict
  provoke
  speculate
  suggest
  suppose
  surmise
  suspect
  theorise

Approach

You can approach the verbs from any of the three analyses above
by considering attitude, function and form separately.  A
combined approach is often productive providing the
number of target verbs is limited and carefully selected.

For example:

1. Start with a shortlist of verbs which function to state what
   an author believes (say, hold, assert, believe, claim,
   declare, maintain etc.) and introduce them in context to
   show the colligations (see above for that).  At lower
   levels, some focus on tense, aspect and voice is appropriate at
   this stage.
2. Move on to presenting them on a cline from tentative,
   through neutral to assertive (see above).
3. Then, once the function, form and meaning are clear,
   learners can proceed to practising them.  A simple way to
   do that is to present a text which only uses a simple verb like
   say and get learners to replace the verb with something
   more appropriate.  It could look something like this:

   Jones (1964:20)

   says

   that … and

   says

   it is important to … but Smith (1990:85)

   says

   that this is
   not true and he

   says

   work by Robinson (1990)

   says

   that
   …
   More recently, Smith now

   says

   that what the study

   said

   was not
   fully correct.  He now

   says

   that what Jones

   said

   is
   important.

   could become something like:

   Jones (1964:20)

   asserts

   that … and

   emphasises that

   it is important to … but Smith (1990:85)

   avers

   that this is
   not true and he

   points out
   that

   work by Robinson (1990)

   reveals

   that
   …
   More recently, Smith now

   concedes

   that what the study

   showed

   was not
   fully correct.  He now

   allows

   that what Jones

   noted

   is
   important.

4. Finally, the learners can move on to writing or improving
   their own texts using the limited range you have introduced.
5. The procedure can be duplicated with another target function
   and set of verbs until the learners are able to deploy a wide
   range of reporting verbs accurately, with attitudinal awareness
   and for functions they can clearly identify.

Related guides

reported or indirect speech
the general guide to the area

verbal processes
for a general guide to what verbs do

verb types and clause structures
for a guide to understanding verbs and
their structures

EAP index
for links to other guides in the
area

Reference:
Campbell, in Jordan, RR, 1997, English for Academic Purposes,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Câu tường thuật (Reported Speech) là một loại câu được dùng khi người nào đó muốn thuật lại lời nói của một người khác.

Trong cuộc sống hàng ngày bạn sử dụng rất nhiều dạng câu tường thuật để kể lại lời nói của một người khác, dưới dạng dán tiếp. Chính vì vậy cấu trúc của loại câu này là rất quan trọng để bạn có thể sử dụng thành thạo tiếng anh. Bài viết này Ms Hoa Giao Tiếp sẽ cùng bạn học về cấu trúc và cách sử dụng câu tường thuật (reported Speech) chuẩn và chính xác nhé.

Đang xem: Reporting verbs là gì

I. Câu tường thuật (Reported Speech) là gì?

Reported Speech hay còn gọi là câu tường thuật, câu gián tiếp, được sử dụng để thuật lại lời nói trực tiếp của một người khác.

Khi chuyển từ một lời nói trực tiếp sang gián tiếp chúng ta cần lưu ý một số vấn đề sau:

1/ Nếu động từ tường thuật (reporting verb) chia ở các thì hiện tại chúng ta giữ nguyên thì (tense) của động từ chính, đại từ chỉ định và các trạng từ chỉ nơi chốn cũng như trạng từ chỉ thời gian trong câu trực tiếp khi chuyển sang gián tiếp.

Ví dụ: He says: “I’m going to Ha Noi next week.” ⇒ He says he is going to Ha Noi next week.

2/ Nếu động từ tường thuật (reporting verb) của câu ở thì quá khứ thì phải lùi động từ chính về quá khứ một bậc khi chuyển từ lời nói trực tiếp (direct speech) sang lời nói gián tiếp (indirect / reported speech) theo quy tắc sau:

Lời nói trực tiếp

Lời nói gián tiếp

will / shall

would / should

am / is / are going to

was / were going to

present simple 

past simple

present continuous

past continuous

past continuous

past perfect continuous

present perfect

past perfect

past simple

past perfect

must 

had to

can

could

Ví dụ: Direct speech: “I’ll talk to Mr Jones,” said he. Reported speech: He said he would talk to Mr Jones.

Một số động từ không thay đổi khi chuyển sang lời nói gián tiếp : would => would, could => could, might => might, should => should, ought to => ought to

Khi chuyển từ lời nói trực tiếp sang gián tiếp mà động từ tường thuật ở thì quá khứ thì các trạng từ chỉ thời gian và nơi chốn và đại từ chỉ định được chuyển đổi theo quy tắc sau:

Lời nói trực tiếp

 Lời nói gián tiếp

today

that day

tonight

that night

tomorrow 

the next day / the following day

yesterday

the day before / the previous day

ago

before

now

then

next / on Tuesday

the next / following Tuesday

last Tuesday

the previous Tuesday / the Tuesday before

the day after tomorrow

in two days’ time / two days later

this 

that

these

those

this / that 

the

here

there

Ví dụ:  Direct speech: “I’m leaving here tomorrow,” said Mary. Reported speech:  Mary said (that) she was leaving there the next day.

* Nguyên tắc trên được áp dụng cho tất các các loại câu tường thuật.

II. Các loại câu tường thuật cơ bản:

1/ Reported statements: 

Cấu trúc câu: S + say(s) / said + (that) + S + V

says / say to + O => tells / tell + O said to + O => told + O

 

Ví dụ: – He said to me: “I haven’t finished my work.” š He told me he hadn’t finished his work.

2/ Reported questions:

A. Yes / No questions:

Câu tường thuật loại câu hỏi Có hay Không (Yes / No questions) có dạng sau:

S +

asked (+ O)wanted to know wondered

+ if / whether + S + V.

Ví dụ:

“Are you angry?” he asked.He asked if / whether I was angry.

“Did you see the film?” Tam asked.Tam asked if / whether I had seen the film.

* Lưu ý: Khi tường thuật câu hỏi Có hay Không (Yes – No questions), ta phải chuyển câu hỏi trực tiếp sang dạng khẳng định, rồi thực hiện thay đổi thì, trạng từ chỉ thời gian, trạng từ chỉ nơi chốn, đại từ chỉ định, và chủ ngữ, tân ngữ, đại từ sở hữu cho phù hợp.

* says / say to + O => asks / ask + O said to + O => asked + O

Ví dụ: He said to me: “Have you been to America?” š He asked me if / whether I had been to America.

B. Wh-questions:

S +

asked (+ O)wanted to know wondered

+ Wh-words + S + V.

Ví dụ: They asked us: “Where are you going on holiday?” š They asked us where we were going on holiday.

“What are you talking about?” said the teacher. š The teacher asked us what we were talking about.

says / say to + O => asks / ask + O said to + O => asked + O

Ví dụ: He said to me: “Who are you writing to?” š He asked me who I was writing to.

3/ Reported commands:

Câu tường thuật loại câu mệnh lệnh khẳng định có dạng:

S + told + O + to-infinitive.

Ví dụ: – “Please wait for me here, Mary.” Tom said. š Tom told Mary to wait for him there.

Câu tường thuật loại câu mệnh lệnh phủ định có dạng:

S + told + O + not to-infinitive.

Ví dụ: “Don’t talk in class!” the teacher said. The teacher told the children not to talk in class.

Một số động từ thường dùng khi tường thuật câu mệnh lệnh: tell, ask, order, advise, warn, beg, command, remind, instruct, ….

III. Bài tập về câu tường thuật trong tiếng Anh

Viết lại những câu sau thành câu tường thuật 

1. “Please let me borrow your car.” he said to her.

– He asked… ………………………………………………………………

2. “Jean, have you seen my gloves?” Thomas asked.

– Thomas asked Jean…..

3. Don’t leave the window open, Mary.”, I said.

– I told Mary…. ………………………………………………………….

4. “I’ll have a cup of tea with you.” she said.

– She said that…

5. “I’ll pay him if I can.” she said.

– She said that… ………………………………………………………….

6. “What are you going to do next summer?” she asked.

– She asked us…. ………………………………………………………….

7. “I’ll phone you tomorrow.” he told Jack.

– He told Jack that…. …………………………………………………….

8. “Can I sit beside you, Jean?” Tom asked.

– Tom asked Jean…. ……………………………………………………..

9. “I want a camera for my birthday.” he said.

– He said that…. ………………………………………………………….

10. “Don’t keep the door locked.” he said to us.

– He told us…. ………………………………………………………….

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11. “How long are you going to stay?” I asked him.

– I asked him how long….

12. “Are you going by train?” she asked me.

– She wanted to know…. …………………………………………..

13. “Don’t use too much hot water.” she said to us.

– She asked us…. ……………………………………………………..

14. “Will you come to my party?” she said to me.

– She invited me…. ……………………………………………………

15. “Don’t do it again.” she said to them.

She told them…………………………………………………………

16. “ Did Mr Brown send the potatoes to you?” she asked.

– She asked……………………………………………………………..

17. “Don’t get your shoes dirty, boys.” she said.

– She told………………………………………………………………..

18. “What do you want for lunch today, Peter?” Mary asked.

– Mary asked……………………………………………………………..

19. “Can I borrow your typewriter, Janet?” asked Peter.

– Peter asked if ……………………………………………………………..

20. “Why didn’t I get a computer before?” thought the office manager.

– The office manager wondered……………………………………………………

Đáp án

1. He asked her to let him borrow her car.

2. Thomas asked Jean whether/if she had seen his gloves.

3. I told Mary not to leave the window open.

4. She said that she would have a cup of tea with me.

5. She said that she would pay him if she could.

6. She asked us what we were going to do the following summer.

7. He told Jack that he would phone him the following day.

8. Tom asked Jean whether/if he could sit beside her.

9. He said that he wanted a camera for his birthday.

10. He told us not to keep the door locked.

11. I asked him how long he was going to stay.

12. She wanted to know whether I was going by train.

13. She asked us not to use too much hot water.

14. She invited me to come to her party.

15. She told them not to do it again.

16. She asked whether/ if Mr. Brown sent the potatoes to me.

17. She told the boys not to get their shoes dirty.

18. Mary asked what Peter wanted for lunch that day.

19. Peter asked Janet whether/ if he could borrow her typewriter.

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20. The office manager wondered why he hadn’t got a computer before.

Hy vọng rằng những chia sẻ trên sẽ giúp các bạn hiểu rõ hơn về câu tường thuật (Reported Speech) một loại câu mà chắc hẳn bạn sẽ sử dụng rất nhiều trong quá trình sử dụng tiếng anh. 

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