Go beyond "say" and "tell": report the meaning of what people do with their words.
At B1 you reported speech mostly with say and tell: "She said (that) she was tired." That works, but it is flat. At B2, good speakers report the function of an utterance — whether someone advised, warned, admitted, refused or threatened. One precise verb replaces a whole clause and shows exactly what the speaker was doing.
The challenge is that each of these verbs demands its own grammatical pattern. Some take an object + a to-infinitive; some take the -ing form; some take a preposition; some take a that-clause. Choose the wrong pattern and the sentence collapses. This unit sorts the most useful reporting verbs into clear families so that the pattern comes to you automatically.
Every reporting verb belongs to a pattern family. Learn the family, and you can report dozens of situations without hesitating.
| Pattern | Reporting verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb + sb + to-inf | advise, warn, remind, encourage, tell, ask | She advised me to rest. |
| verb + to-inf | offer, promise, refuse, agree, threaten | He promised to call. |
| verb + -ing | admit, deny, suggest, recommend | They denied cheating. |
| verb + prep + -ing | apologise for, insist on | I apologised for being late. |
| verb + that-clause | admit, insist, suggest, promise, recommend | He insisted that she stay. |
Use this family when someone directs, guides or warns another person. There is always an object (the person spoken to) before to.
| Verb | Original words | Reported |
|---|---|---|
| advise | "You should see a doctor." | She advised him to see a doctor. |
| warn | "Don't touch the wire!" | He warned us not to touch the wire. |
| remind | "Remember to lock the door." | She reminded me to lock the door. |
| encourage | "Go on, apply for it!" | They encouraged her to apply. |
These verbs report what the speaker promises, offers, refuses or threatens to do. There is no object before to — the subject and the doer are the same person.
This family reports confessions, denials and suggestions. The verb is followed directly by the -ing form — never by a to-infinitive.
| Verb | Original words | Reported |
|---|---|---|
| admit | "Yes, I took it." | He admitted taking it. |
| deny | "I didn't do it." | She denied doing it. |
| suggest | "Let's wait a week." | He suggested waiting a week. |
| recommend | "You should book early." | She recommended booking early. |
Two more verbs need a preposition before the -ing form:
Several verbs can also report with a that-clause. This is useful for a full statement or a formal demand. After suggest, recommend and insist, the verb in the clause often stays in the base form (the "subjunctive"), with an optional should.
| Verb | Example (that-clause) |
|---|---|
| insist | The coach insisted that everyone (should) wear a helmet. |
| suggest | She suggested that we (should) postpone the trip. |
| recommend | He recommended that the essay (should) be rewritten. |
| admit | She admitted that she had made a mistake. |
These are the errors B2 students still make with reporting verbs. Check your own writing against every row.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| She suggested me to leave early. | She suggested (that) I leave early. / suggested leaving early. | suggest never takes object + to-infinitive. |
| He denied to take the money. | He denied taking the money. | deny is followed by -ing, not to. |
| They advised me leaving. | They advised me to leave. | advise + somebody + to-infinitive. |
| I apologised to be late. | I apologised for being late. | apologise for + -ing. |
| He warned me to not touch it. | He warned me not to touch it. | 'not' comes before 'to'. |
Two friends talk about a chat with their form teacher. Read it twice and watch how one precise reporting verb replaces a whole reported sentence: admitted, apologised for, promised, advised, encouraged, recommended.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the reporting verbs, then use them to retell a real conversation of your own.
Retell a real (or imagined) conversation in 8 sentences — a disagreement, a piece of advice, or a negotiation. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): negotiate · apologise · admit · deny · insist · warn · encourage · remind · refuse · recommend
When four friends almost ruined their history project, everything came down to a single tense conversation — and to what each of them was willing to say.
The four of them — Elif, Deniz, Kaan and Zeynep — had been put in the same group for a big history project on their town's past. Their teacher, Mr Aydın, had given the class three weeks to research old photographs, interview an older relative and build a ten-slide presentation. Because the topic counted for a large part of the term grade, everyone wanted it to be perfect. They created a shared online folder and a group chat, and they agreed to upload their parts every Friday so that nobody would be left doing everything at the last minute.
For the first two weeks, the plan worked smoothly. Elif designed the layout, Zeynep collected the interviews, and Kaan wrote the introduction. Deniz, though, had a busy fortnight: she was training almost every evening for the school basketball final, and she kept telling herself that she would catch up at the weekend. Messages piled up in the group chat, but she scrolled past them without replying. By the time she opened the shared folder again, two of her deadlines had slipped by, and the others had clearly noticed.
On the Thursday before the presentation, Elif called an emergency meeting in the quiet corner of the school library. She spread her notes across the table, took a deep breath, and looked straight at Deniz. Nobody was sure how the conversation would go, because Elif hated arguments as much as anyone, yet she felt responsible for the whole group's grade.
The group leader, Elif, insisted that Deniz had missed two important deadlines. Deniz did not argue. Instead, she admitted forgetting to upload her slides and apologised for the delays. She promised to finish the missing part within two days.
Deniz's cheeks went red as she listened. She did not try to defend herself or invent a clever story about a broken laptop. Speaking quietly, she explained that basketball practice had swallowed her evenings and that she had let the team down without meaning to. She opened her laptop straight away, showed the others exactly which slides were missing, and wrote the two new dates on a sticky note so that everybody could see her plan.
At first, the others refused to forgive her. One classmate, Kaan, even threatened to ask the teacher for a new group and warned Deniz not to let them down again. The mood in the library was cold.
For a few long seconds nobody spoke. Kaan folded his arms and stared at the bookshelves, still convinced that Deniz would disappear again the moment basketball season continued. Elif tapped her pen against the desk, worried that a new group would mean starting the research from zero with only days to spare. Zeynep, the quietest member, kept glancing between her friends, clearly uncomfortable with how sharp the argument had become. Somebody's phone buzzed with yet another notification, but for once nobody reached for it.
However, Deniz stayed calm. She reminded her friends that she had helped them many times before, and she encouraged them to look at the bigger picture. Then she offered to do the hardest section of the presentation herself.
She spoke slowly, without raising her voice. She pointed out that she had stayed up late helping Kaan rewrite his introduction last month, and that she had lent Zeynep her camera for the interviews. Getting angry now, she argued, would only waste the little time they had left. What mattered was finishing a project they could all be proud of, not deciding whose fault the delay had been.
Her honesty changed the mood completely. Zeynep, who had said almost nothing, finally spoke. She advised the others to give Deniz a second chance, and she suggested sharing the tasks more clearly rather than blaming one person.
Within minutes, the argument had turned into a plan. They opened a fresh document and listed every remaining task beside a name and a deadline. Elif would polish the design, Kaan agreed to check the historical facts, and Zeynep offered to practise the spoken introduction. Deniz, true to her word, took the most difficult slides about how the town had changed over a hundred years. They also agreed to send a quick message in the group chat each evening so that nobody would ever feel left in the dark again.
In the end, the group agreed to carry on together. Afterwards, Deniz denied being lazy. 'I just got overwhelmed,' she said. 'When you mess up, people don't want excuses; they want a plan.' Her friends later recommended writing a clear schedule for every future project. Since that day, the four of them remember one simple rule: admit the problem, then promise the solution.
The presentation itself went far better than any of them had expected. They rehearsed together twice after school, and Deniz uploaded her finished slides a full day before the deadline she had set herself. Mr Aydın praised the clear structure and the honest teamwork behind it, and the class voted their slides among the best in the year. Looking back, the four friends realised that the project had taught them more about trust than about history. Mistakes, they decided, are not the end of a friendship; how you own them is what really counts. A missed deadline can be forgiven in a single afternoon, as long as an honest apology arrives with a plan attached.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text. Mind the reporting-verb pattern (for / to / not / -ing).
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. How did Deniz react when Elif accused her of missing the deadlines?
2. What did Kaan do at the start of the conversation?
3. What lesson does the group take from this project? Do you agree with it?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: however, instead, then, rather than, at first, in the end, since, even. (You will use similar linkers in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Patricia and John discuss how artificial intelligence and robotics could change society.
You will hear a conversation: Patricia and John talk about artificial intelligence and robotics — in art, in medicine, and in everyday life. You will listen TWICE. First listen: answer questions 1-5. Second listen: answer questions 6-10. (Kaydı İKİ kez dinleyeceksin: ilk dinlemede 1-5, ikinci dinlemede 6-10.)
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
When you report a conversation, you also need connectors to show sequence and contrast. Four of them are essential this unit — and two familiar ones, although and however, become sharper tools.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| moreover | add a stronger, extra point | He apologised. Moreover, he promised to replace my broken game. |
| therefore | show a logical result | She had missed practice; therefore, she offered to train at the weekend. |
| whereas | contrast two people or ideas | I wanted to wait, whereas he insisted on leaving. |
| nevertheless | say "in spite of that" | They warned me. Nevertheless, I refused to change my mind. |
| although | concede a point inside one sentence | Although he denied lying, nobody believed him. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | She refused at first. However, we finally persuaded her. |
See the difference — the same facts, written two ways:
| Basic linking ✗ | Confident B2 writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| My best friend was upset. I said sorry. I said I would fix it. She said okay. She told me to be careful. | My best friend confronted me about the secret I had shared. Therefore, I apologised for the mistake and promised to fix it. Although she was still hurt, she encouraged me to move on; however, she warned me not to let it happen again. |
A "reported conversation" paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | Set the scene: who spoke to whom, and why | Last week my best friend messaged me to talk about a serious misunderstanding. |
| 2. Body | Report what each person said, using a range of reporting verbs (admit, apologise for, promise, warn... not to, advise... to). Link with B2 connectors. | I admitted sharing her secret and apologised for it. Nevertheless, she warned me not to do it again. |
| 3. Closing | Say how it ended and what you learned | In the end, we agreed to talk things through instead of staying silent. |
Report a conversation that mattered — a piece of advice, a disagreement or a negotiation from school, your friendships or family life. Retell what was said using a range of reporting verbs.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + listening. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...