Other ways of indicating what is said

objects with reporting verbs 7.78 Sometimes you use a noun such as 'question', 'story', or 'apology' to refer to what someone has said or written. You can use a reporting verb with one of these nouns as its object instead of a reported clause.

He asked a number of questions.

Simon whispered his answer.

He told funny stories and made everyone laugh.

Philip repeated his invitation.

Here is a list of reporting verbs which are often used with nouns that refer to something spoken or written:

accept acknowledge ask begin believe continue demand

deny expect explain forget guess hear imagine

know learn mention mutter note notice promise

refuse remember repeat report shout state suggest

tell understand whisper write

7.79 Some reporting verbs can have as their objects nouns that refer to events or facts. These nouns are often closely related to verbs. For example, 'loss' is closely related to 'lose', and instead of saying 'He admitted that he had lost his passport', you can say 'He admitted the loss of his passport'.

British Airways announce the arrival of flight BA 5531 from Glasgow.

The company reported a 45 per cent drop in profits.

Here is a list of reporting verbs which are often used with nouns that refer to events or facts:

accept acknowledge admit announce demand describe discover

discuss doubt expect explain fear foresee forget

imagine mean mention note notice observe predict

prefer promise recommend record remember report see

sense suggest urge

7.80 Note that 'say' is usually only used with an object if the object is a very general word such as 'something', 'anything', or 'nothing'.

I must have said something wrong.

The man nodded but said nothing.

7.81 A few verbs referring to speech and thought can be used with a prepositional phrase rather than a reported clause, to indicate the general subject matter of a statement or thought.

Thomas explained about the request from Paris.

Here are three lists of verbs which can be used with a prepositional phrase referring to a fact or subject. The first group of verbs in each list are used without an object, and the second group are used with an object referring to the hearer. Note that 'ask' and 'warn' can be used with or without an object.

The following verbs are used with 'about':

agree ask boast complain decide

dream explain forget grumble hear

inquire know learn mutter read

wonder worry write ~ ask

teach tell warn

No one knew about my interest in mathematics.

I asked him about the horses.

The following verbs are used with 'of':

complain dream hear know

learn read think warn

write ~ assure convince

inform notify persuade reassure

remind warn

They never complained of the incessant rain.

Mr Beltrami had informed Mr MMurray of these developments.

The following verbs are used with 'on'. None of them take an object referring to the hearer.

agree comment

decide determine

insist remark

report write

He had already decided on his story.

She remarked on the excellence of his English.

Note that 'speak' and 'talk' are used with 'about' and 'of' but not with reported clause.