Communicative grammatical categories e g. expressing hypothetical meaning, ways of reporting speech

The director wishes he could attend the presentation.

They wish he concentrated more on his work and less on his hobbies.

Wish for Past Situations

When we are speaking about a past situation in a present moment, we use ‘wish’ plus the past perfect.

Janet wishes she had applied for a new position.

We wish you had seen the opportunity in time.

Reported speech and reporting verbs

You will need to know the rules for reporting speech (statements and questions) as well as the patterns following reporting verbs (e.g. "apologise for doing something").

Reported speech "I want to be a doctor," said Tom. → Tom told me (that) he wanted to be a doctor. → Tom said (that) he wanted to be a doctor. "Will you help me," she asked. → She asked (me) if I would help her. → She wondered if I would help her.

Note the difference between "say" and "tell". We say something, but we tell someone something.

Verbs which are similar to "say" are:

mention, explain, point out, agree, promise, threaten, pretend, claim, recommend, suggest, admit, deny, boast, complain, insist, propose, reply

Verbs which are similar to '"tell" are:

promise him, advise him, warn him, remind him

Reporting verbs

I offered to do it (verb + to do) Other similar verbs are agreed, refused, promised, threatened, pretended, and claimed. This pattern is common with verbs which mean "I'll do it!". Here, the person who is speaking does the action. Note that "claimed" is usually used with a perfect infinitive ("He claimed to have lost his phone").

I ordered him to do it (verb + person + to do) Other similar verbs are told, asked, begged, advised, reminded, persuaded, encouraged, warned, and invited. This pattern is common with verbs which mean "You do it!". Here, the person who is listening does the action. Note that "warn" is usually used with a negative. ("I warned him not to go.")

I suggested going out for dinner (subject + verb-ing). Other similar verbs are admitted, denied, and recommended. A lot of students make mistakes with suggest and recommend so make sure you learn these.

there are a lot of reporting verbs which use prepositions.

• I blamed him for doing it.
• I confessed to doing it.
• I accused him of doing it.
• I apologised for doing it.
• I congratulated him on doing it.
• I insisted on doing it.