Catherine
Hello! Welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary with me, Catherine…
Neil
…and me, Neil. In this programme, we’re looking at reporting verbs. They’re verbs that we use when we talk about what someone else has said.
Catherine
So verbs like suggest, deny and insist. Let’s start by listening to Simon. And Simon is a political news reporter.
Neil
And while you’re listening to Simon’s news report, here’s a question for you to think about:
Catherine
Why did the minister lie in her previous interview?
INSERT
Simon
In a previous interview, the minister had denied knowing anything about the scandal. However, she later apologised for saying this and admitted that she had lied. She insisted that she had not intended to cause any harm and suggested that it had been necessary to protect certain important public figures. When advised to reconsider her position, she had initially demanded to know why, but eventually offered to resign.
Catherine
We asked: Why did the minister lie in her previous interview?
Neil
And the answer is: she suggested that it had been necessary to protect certain important public figures.
Catherine
Scandal. Now it’s interesting that the report uses the verb suggested. So why didn’t Simon use said - She said that…?
Neil
Well, suggested tells us that the minister said it, but not in a very strong or direct way. And that’s because she didn’t want to embarrass the important public figures.
Catherine
And that’s an example of why reporting verbs are useful. We can always use say, tell or ask, but other reporting verbs express slightly different meanings and attitudes.
Neil
Yes, they do. So reporting verbs make your writing or speaking more accurate and more interesting too. Now listen for more reporting verbs in this clip.
CLIP 1
In a previous interview, the minister had denied knowing anything about the scandal. However, she later apologised for saying this and admitted that she had lied.
Neil
So we heard denied knowing anything. Denied has a negative meaning. It means she said she didn’t know anything about the scandal.
Catherine
Yes. But then she apologised for saying this. She said she was sorry for saying this.
Neil
And lastly, she admitted that she had lied. Admit is the opposite of deny. It means you say that something is true. We usually use admit when someone has to say that something is true, although they would prefer not to.
Catherine
And now on to the next clip.
CLIP 2
She insisted that she had not intended to cause any harm and suggested that it had been necessary to protect certain important public figures.
Neil
There we heard the verb insisted. To insist means to say something strongly, especially when other people say something different.
Catherine
Yes, the minister said strongly that it was incorrect that she had intended to cause harm.
Neil
Now we’ve already looked at the verb suggested. But it’s worth noticing that insist, suggest and admit are all followed by a that clause in the news report.
Catherine
For example, she suggested that it had been necessary. But we often leave the word that out – she suggested it had been necessary.
Neil
Other reporting verbs have different patterns. Some verbs are followed by a verb plus i-n-g, such as deny.
Catherine
And some are followed by to plus an infinitive. You’ll hear three example of this in our final clip.
CLIP 3
When advised to reconsider her position, she had initially demanded to know why, but eventually offered to resign.
Catherine
Right. We heard advised, which means told, but in a polite or indirect way.
Neil
And demanded, which means asked in a slightly aggressive way.
Catherine
And finally she offered to resign. So she said that she was willing to resign if that’s what people wanted.
IDENT
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.
Neil
Right, quiz time! Which three reporting verbs from the show today can you use instead of said in these sentences? Number one. I didn’t believe her at first but she said that it was true.
Catherine
It’s insisted. She insisted that it was true.
Neil
That’s right. Well done! Number two: When questioned by the police, the boy said that he had stolen the car.
Catherine
So the boy admitted that he had stolen the car.
Neil
Number three: Several people have said that there’s a possibility that the actor’s marriage might be in trouble.
Catherine
And the answer’s suggested.
Neil
It is! And that’s the end of the quiz. Congratulations if you got them all right!
Catherine
Well done indeed. And finally, here’s a top tip to help you learn new words more quickly. Keep a list of reporting verbs and study their meanings. When you are writing, every time you use the words said, asked or told, check your list to see if there is a different verb that you can use in that context to add variety to your English.
Neil
And there’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
Catherine
Bye!
