English in Madrid

Consider the following sentences: (1) People say that the King has more than one mistress. (2) It is said that the King has more than one mistress. (3) The King is said to have more than one mistress. (2) and (3) are passive forms which are often used in news reports. The Passive + Infinitive is the most common. Other reporting verbs used in this way are: assume, believe, claim, consider, discover, estimate, expect, hope, know, report, suppose, think, understand etc. With Present / Future reference: The murderer is believed to be a local man. The government is expected to announce some new measures to tackle the problem at a press conference later today. It is estimated that unemployment will continue rising for another year or so. With Past reference: 350 people are now known to have died in last week's earthquake. Half of the country is thought to have watched the football match. It is understood that the prisoner escaped with ...

Source: Wikiepdia (Triple Caña) Top PP officials shown to have taken payments on the side Source: El País in English (1) El País said (that) politicians from the Popular Party had accepted illegal payments. (2) El País accused PP politicians of accept ing illegal payments. Rajoy on slush fund: “It is all untrue, except for some things” Source: El País in English (1) Rajoy told reporters (that) it was all untrue. (2) Rajoy denied receiv ing any illegal payments. Spain Socialist leader Rubalcaba tells PM Rajoy to go Source: BBC News (1) Rubalcaba said (that) Rajoy had to resign. (2) Rubalcaba told Rajoy to resign. (1) Reported Speech            (2) Reporting Verbs/Verb Patterns Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy denies slush fund allegations   Source: Newsy (video with transcript) Spain: PM under fire over renewed corruption claims   Source: BBC News (video) Here is the transcript for the ab...

A: "I 'm sorry. I made a mistake. It won't happen again" B: The King said that he was sorry and he had made a mistake. He also said that it wouldn't happen again. C:  The King apologized for go ing on a safari trip during a financial crisis. He admitted mak ing a mistake. He promised not to do it again. A is a quote from the King. See more posts on quotes here . B is an example of reported speech. See more posts on reported speech here . C is an example of reporting verbs/verb patterns. See more posts on reporting verbs  here . Don't forget that you can find related labels at the end of every post. If you want further practice on reported speech or verb patterns, click on the labels below this post.

Source Pexels ( Leeloo Thefirst) Change the following from direct speech to reported speech: "Where do you come from?" she asked me. "What's your teacher like?" he asked us. "Do you have any brothers?" I asked him. "Did you eat well last night?" she asked them. "What film did you see yesterday?" I asked her. "Have you ever been here before?" she asked them. "Where does she work?" they asked me. "How many languages can you speak?" she asked us. "What are you going to do when you grow up?" the teacher asked the little boy. "Are you going to finish work late tonight?" the husband asked his wife. "Will you be coming to the meeting next week?" she asked her boss. "What time does the train leave?" I asked the man on the platform.

Source: Foto de Jackson Schaal en Unsplash promise  agree deny refuse remind suggest admit blame persuade advise invite congratulate explain accuse offer apologise threaten warn forgive demand  recommend Rewrite the following sentences using the correct form of one of the above verbs. Make any other necessary changes. e.g You should read his latest book. He recommended (read ing ) his latest book. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, Diana," said Charles. "I didn't kill her," said the gardener. "The butler did." "If she doesn't arrive on time, I will sack her" said the boss. " I can give you a lift if your car is at the mechanic's, John," said Anne. "I'll buy you a computer, Andy" said his father "but only if you pass your exams." "You press the button and it switches on," he said. "Why don't you try this cream next time?" she said. "Remember that...

Here is a list of reporting verbs. What are the corresponding nouns? e.g. to advise / advice (uncountable noun so we can't say an advice or advices)  to agree  to offer to invite  to accuse  to warn  to refuse to deny  to suggest  to apologise  to remind  to promise  to admit  to recommend to demand  to decide  to threaten  to explain  Complete the sentences using one of the nouns. His silence was as good as an ___ of guilt. Did you hear the weather ___? Apparently there is a big storm on the way. The MP issued a ___ that he was having an affair with the actress. Is that a ___? Will you give me your word? Have you got any ___ where I can go this weekend? You deserve an ___ from him. He had no right to say such a thing. I'm going to take my time because it will be the most important ___ that I have ever taken. Whenever I have a problem, I go to my best friend for ___. Why haven't I re...

Source:  Volodymyr Hryshchenko en Unsplash For those of you who are working on reported / indirect speech, here you have plenty of practice: Grammar Challenge - reported speech Grammar Challenge - indirect questions Ask about English - reported speech / reported verbs There is also a post on indirect speech from May 3rd 2009 . You can leave comments there. Important - if you do any of the above exercises, let me know by leaving a comment here.