English Word Skills Exercises for B1 – Verb patterns: reporting verbs

1. Circle the correct verbs to complete the sentences.

1   ‘OK. I’ll feed your cat while you’re away,’ she …….

     a   advised     b   agreed          c   encouraged

2   ‘You really must stay for dinner,’ he …….

     a   asked         b   admitted      c   insisted

3   ‘I’ll definitely be there to meet you at the airport,’ she …….

     a   begged       b   promised     c   suggested

4   ‘It’s dangerous to walk around that part of town at night,’ he …….

     a   denied        b   offered         c   warned

5   ‘Is the café still open at this time? she …….

     a   begged       b   suggested     c   wondered

6   ‘I’m the one who broke your laptop,’ he …….

     a   admitted    b   apologised     c   persuaded

7   ‘I could lend you some money,’ he …….

     a   denied        b   proposed       c   wondered

8   ‘You’d better say sorry,’ she …….

     a   advised      b   apologised     c   persuaded

2. Circle the correct reporting verb. Then complete the sentences with the infinitive or -ing form of the verbs in brackets.

1   My parents never encouraged / suggested me ……………………………… (sing) when I was younger.

2   Did you admin / apologise to your teacher for ……………………………… (miss) the class?

3   My Spanish friends mentioned / told ……………………………… (come) to visit us this summer.

4   Why are you accusing / blaming me of ……………………………… (copy) your homework? It isn’t true!

5   The President has denied / refused ……………………………… (answer) any more questions on this topic.

6   I begged / offered her ……………………………… (pay) for our train tickets.

7   They denied / insisted ……………………………… (stay) at the party until after midnight.

8   My cousin encouraged / refused me ……………………………… (play) a few songs on the piano.

9   Why did you agree / insist on ……………………………… (have) the end-of-term party at our house?

10   My parents begged / refused my sister not ……………………………… (leave) school at sixteen.

11   My brother finally admitted / apologised ……………………………… (tell) everyone my secret.

12   Our next door neighbour accused / warned us of ……………………………… (make) too much noise late at night.

3. Complete the text with the missing words.

When I got home, my brother was singing loudly in the kitchen. I asked him 1……………………… to make so much noise, but he insisted 2……………………… singing even louder. I accused him 3……………………… being the worst singer I’d ever heard. Instead of getting cross, he thanked me 4……………………… giving him an idea. Then he went upstairs, smiling. I wondered 5……………………… asking him what he was doing, but I knew he would refuse 6……………………… tell me. Two minutes later, he came downstairs again with a camcorder. He persuaded me 7……………………… video him. ‘If I’m that bad, we can make money on YouTube,’ he told 8………………………

VOCAB BOOST!

When you learn reporting verbs, it’s a good idea to learn the related nouns at the same time. You can also learn what verbs these related nouns usually go with. Tip: the most common verbs that go with the related nouns are give and make.

agree - make an agreement

advise - give some advice

4. Use a dictionary to find the nouns related to the verbs below. Write them in the correct category.

accuse      apologise      encourage      promise      suggest      warn

5. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first. Use the correct form of give or make and a noun related to the underlined verb.

1   They warned us about the dangerous cliffs.

      They …………………………… about the dangerous cliffs.

2   He rarely encourages his son.

     He rarely …………………………… his son any ……………………………

3   She forgave him as soon as he apologised for his behaviour.

     She forgave him as soon as he …………………………… for his behaviour.

4   The police accused him of something serious.

      The police …………………………… a serious …………………………… against him.

5   Why do you never suggest anything?

      Why do you never …………………………… any …………………………… ?

Extra exercises

1. Circle the correct answers to complete the sentences.

1   Dave …….. me for breaking his phone, but it wasn’t actually my fault!

     a   accused        b   blamed          c   denied

2   My girlfriend wouldn’t let me pay for the meal and …….. on paying herself.

     a   insisted         b   proposed      c   refused

3   It was a beautiful evening, so I …….. having a barbecue.

     a   begged          b   suggested     c   wondered

4   My friends …….. me to go to the concert although I didn’t really want to.

     a   admitted       b   agreed           c   persuaded

5   I …….. to lend you some money, but you said you didn’t want it.

     a   offered          b   told                 c   warned

6   My sister …….. me to call my grandmother because it was her birthday.

     a   mentioned    b   promised       c   reminded

2. Rewrite the sentences using the verbs in brackets as a reporting verb.

1   ‘You should check your phone bill,’ Fiona’s mother said to her. (advise)

      Fiona’s mother ……………………………………….

2   ‘I’ll get back to you later,’ Max told me. (promise)

      Max ……………………………………….

3   ‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ said the student. (apologise)

      The student ……………………………………….

4   ‘Let’s have a party!’ my friend said. (propose)

      My friend ……………………………………….

5   ‘Why don’t you join the debating society?’ the teacher asked me. (encourage)

       The teacher ……………………………………….

6   ‘You’ve been reading my text messages!’ Tina said to her brother. (accuse)

       Tina ……………………………………….

3. Complete the sentences with the phrases below.

I can’t      I’m pretty      It could      It looks

It’s clear      It’s hard      Judging by

1   ……………………………… to say, but I think she might be crying.

2   ……………………………… certain that no one else was involved.

3   ……………………………… her expression, she appears to be in shock.

4   ……………………………… be sure, but I’d say that it’s quite late.

5   ……………………………… that the bike is badly damaged.

6   ……………………………… be that the roads are very icy.

7   ……………………………… as if his car has broken down.