Reporting verbs are words that express someone’s saying or belief. We use them to convey information while separating ourselves from the original source. There are a lot of reporting verbs. Here are some examples, grouped by the kind of message they convey:
- Saying: said, stated, mentioned, commented, declared, announced
- Believing: thought, believed, considered, felt, suspected, assumed
- Denying: denied, disagreed, refused, disputed, contradicted, challenged
- Questioning: asked, inquired, wondered, questioned, queried, doubted
Reporting verbs can be used in the passive voice to distance ourselves from the source of the information. Here are two common ways to do this:
- It is said that they are in Las Vegas. (With impersonal “it”, more formal)
- Thay are said to be in Las Vegas. (With the subject, more informal)
With Impersonal “it”
When using reporting verbs with the impersonal “it”, the clause following “that” can be in any tense to reflect the reported time frame.
- It is believed that the murderer is no longer in the country.
- It has been announced that they are going to cancel the tour.
- It has been suggested that the team can’t be trusted defensively.
With the subject
Using reporting verbs with the subject allows for three distinct ways to express information across different tenses:
1. to + infinitive
This structure is used when the reported action aligns with the time of reporting.
- He is said to have the biggest private art collection in the country (implying it’s true now).
- They were believed to be secretly in love (past belief about their current state).
Additionally, this structure can be used to make predictions about the future.
- She is expected to become a superstar (prediction based on current indications).
2. to + be -ing
This structure is used when the reported action is in progress simultaneously to the reporting.
- They are thought to be living under strict protection.
3. to + have participle
This structure is used when the reported action is previous to the reporting (earlier in the past)
- She was thought to have left the previous week.
- (she left before people thought about it)
- He is claimed to have hit another student.
- (he hit another student first and people claimed he did it later)
References