Resource centre - English grammar - Reporting verbs
Form
Meaning
Teaching ideas
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Reported Questions
Reported Speech
Say and Tell
Articles
Be used to
Causative Have
Comparatives
Few and Little
First Conditional
Future Continuous
Future Perfect
Get Used To
Have and Have Got
Indirect Questions
Lend and Borrow
Passive
Past Continuous
Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Simple
Past Simple
Present Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Simple
Present Simple
Questions
Reflexive Pronouns
Reported Questions
Reported Speech
Reporting Verbs
Say and Tell
Second Conditional
Small and Little
So and Such
Tag Questions
Third Conditional
Too and Enough
Used to
Will and Going to
Wish
Zero Conditional
We use reporting verbs to report what someone said more accurately than using say and tell.
agree, decide, offer, promise, refuse, threaten
advise, encourage, invite, remind, warn
deny, recommend, suggest
accuse, blame, congratulate
apologise, insist
admit, agree, decide, deny, explain, insist, promise, recommend, suggest
How do you teach reporting verbs? Add your idea ยป
After having introduced the basic reported verbs: ask, say and tell, I ask my students to write about 10 personal questions they will be able to ask me. Students love asking personal questions to their teachers! I put the questions on the board and then divide the class into 2 groups and make the first group leave and wait outside. The first group members take turns in asking me the prepared questions and write down my answers. Now, they leave and the second group does the same thing. However, what they do not know is that I am honest with one group and give correct answers, but lie to the other. It's a good idea not to tell them beforehand. When the second group is ready I ask the group outside in and tell the students to pair off as 1st and 2nd group partners. The activity goes like this and one of the students tells his partner "I asked the teacher how old she was and she told me she was 16." Then the other partner goes "I asked the same question, but she told me she was 36." etc...until all the questions are reported. Here they have to pay attention to the usage of the reporting verbs and have fun in finding which group the teacher lied to.
After having introduced the basic reporting verbs: ask, say and tell, I ask my students to write about 10 personal questions they will be able to ask me. Students love asking personal questions to their teachers! I put the questions on the board and then divide the class into 2 groups and make the first group leave and wait outside. The first group members take turns in asking me the prepared questions and write down my answers. Now, they leave and the second group does the same thing. However, what they do not know is that I am honest with one group and give correct answers, but lie to the other. It's a good idea not to tell them beforehand. When the second group is ready I ask the group outside in and tell the students to pair off as 1st and 2nd group partners. The activity goes like this and one of the students tells his partner "I asked the teacher how old she was and she told me she was 16." Then the other partner goes "I asked the same question, but she told me she was 36." etc...until all the questions are reported. Here they have to pay attention to the usage of the reporting verbs and have fun in finding which group the teacher lied to.
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