Reported speech
Apprentissage rapide
Advanced reported speech replaces generic say and tell with nuanced reporting verbs that accurately summarize the speaker's illocutionary intent and stance.
À retenir
- Group reporting verbs by syntax: verb with gerund, verb with to-infinitive, and verb with object plus to-infinitive.
- Refrain from automatic backshifting when reporting universal truths, timeless facts, or still-current situations.
- Transform interrogative reported speech into affirmative word order without auxiliary do, does, or did.
Exemples
- 1The defendant vehemently denied having any prior knowledge of the fraudulent accounting scheme.
- 2The financial advisor urged us to diversify our portfolio before the market experienced further volatility.
Piège courant à éviter
Using an infinitive after suggest or recommend; write She suggested taking a taxi or suggested that we take a taxi, never suggested us to take.
Approfondir
La règle
Choosing the reporting verb
At upper-intermediate proficiency, reported speech shifts from mechanical backshifting drills to strategic lexical selection. Instead of repeating statements verbatim with said that, proficient speakers summarize communicative intent with specific reporting verbs categorized by their complementation patterns:
The five patterns
(1) Verb + that-clause: admit, insist, mention, argue, suggest;
(2) Verb + to-infinitive: agree, offer, promise, threaten, refuse;
(3) Verb + object + to-infinitive: advise, encourage, remind, urge, warn, forbid;
(4) Verb + gerund: admit to, deny, recommend, regret, suggest;
(5) Verb + preposition + gerund: apologize for, accuse of, congratulate on, insist on.
When tenses don't shift
Backshifting is not mandatory when the original utterance remains valid or when the speaker explicitly endorses its present truth. Subjunctive clauses also appear in formal contexts following verbs like insist, recommend, or demand (The committee recommended that he step down).
Anatomie de la phrase
Des phrases de cette leçon, découpées dans l'ordre qu'exige l'anglais.
SujetThe defendantManièrevehementlyVerbedeniedObjethaving any prior knowledge of the fraudulent accounting scheme.
SujetThe financial advisorVerbeurgedObjetusAttributto diversify our portfolioPropositionbefore the market experienced further volatility.
SujetHeVerbecongratulatedObjethis colleagueAttributon winning the prestigious international design award.
Guide visuel
How to read this B2 topic
At B2, the form often changes the focus: agent, emphasis, register, implication, or stance.
1. Decide what is foregrounded
Passive, cleft, inversion, and participle clauses all move attention.
What matters is the evidence.
2. Check register
Some options are grammatical but too informal, too heavy, or unnatural.
Not only did she win, but she broke the record.
3. Watch compressed clauses
Advanced English often removes repeated subjects and auxiliaries.
Having finished, we left.
Decision path before answering
Use these checks before choosing between close options.
- 1Mark the subject, main verb, object, and any connector.
- 2Underline the time expression or discourse clue.
- 3Reject any option with the wrong agreement, tense, article, pronoun case, or word order.
- 4Read the whole sentence once more for naturalness and register.
Contrasts that often decide the answer
Event or background
Simple forms move events forward; continuous forms show an action in progress.
I left while she was talking.
Fact or stance
Modals, hedges, and reporting structures show how certain or responsible the speaker sounds.
This may indicate a problem.
Clause or compressed phrase
Advanced writing often compresses full clauses into participle, noun, or prepositional phrases.
Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.
Exemples
- 1The defendant vehemently denied having any prior knowledge of the fraudulent accounting scheme.
- 2The financial advisor urged us to diversify our portfolio before the market experienced further volatility.
- 3Elena apologized sincerely for misplacing the confidential laboratory documents.
- 4The union representatives refused to sign the revised employment contracts under the present terms.
- 5The lead investigator suggested holding an emergency briefing to address public speculation.
- 6The professor reminded the seminar attendees that their term papers were due on Friday afternoon.
- 7He congratulated his colleague on winning the prestigious international design award.
- 8The local authorities warned residents not to drink tap water until testing was finalized.
- 9The architect insisted that every building material meet strict sustainability criteria.
Exceptions
Tell and remind strictly require an indirect object before a that-clause or infinitive (He told me that, He reminded us to), whereas explain, mention, and say take to + person rather than a direct personal object (She explained to us why, never She explained us).
Erreurs fréquentes
Object + to-infinitive after insist
Erreur
She insisted me to stay.
Correct
She insisted that I stay.
Object + to-infinitive after suggest
Erreur
He suggested me to apply.
Correct
He suggested that I apply.
Suggest takes a gerund (suggested applying) or a that-clause, never a person object with a to-infinitive.
Récap
L'essentiel de la leçon sur une carte, avant de te tester.
À retenir
- Group reporting verbs by syntax: verb with gerund, verb with to-infinitive, and verb with object plus to-infinitive.
- Refrain from automatic backshifting when reporting universal truths, timeless facts, or still-current situations.
- Transform interrogative reported speech into affirmative word order without auxiliary do, does, or did.
Erreurs fréquentes
Erreur: She insisted me to stay.
Correct: She insisted that I stay.Erreur: He suggested me to apply.
Correct: He suggested that I apply.
Teste-toi
Catalog ten advanced reporting verbs by their dependent complement patterns and write authentic contextual dialogues for each.
Points de grammaire associés
Poursuivez votre apprentissage avec d'autres notions de ce niveau.