Reporting verbs

Dr. Grammar says:

“Is it ok to copy what other people have said in our own writing?”

EXPLANATION:

When we write something which someone else said before us, we need to show who it was that said it. We do this with reporting verbs.

For example, in the article “Conspiracy Theories”, there is a lot of information from other people quoted by the author. Look at the section about September 11th. The author uses words like “claim” and “cite” to show it is not their information, but from someone else.

Other reporting verbs in the article include:

“report”, “conclude”, “suggest”

…and many more.

Which reporting verb should we use?

There are many types of reporting verbs, and they have slightly different meanings. The table below gives some examples of possible meanings, and how to use them in a sentence:

How do we use reporting verbs? Well, follow these steps:

1. State who said what we are reporting.

2. Choose an appropriate reporting verb (there are many, so look at the table above to help).

3. Write what was said by the person/people in step 1.

For example:

“Never leave until tomorrow something that you can do today.” (Benjamin Franklin).

Benjamin Franklin (the person) believed that (an appropriate reporting verb) you should never leave until tomorrow something that you can do today (what he said).

So…

Is it ok to copy what other people have said in our own writing?

Yes! But we have to say who said it before us.

EXERCISE:

Read through some news articles (at http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/) and find as many examples of reporting verbs as you can.

For each reporting verb you find, look up its meaning in a dictionary, and how it is used (with a preposition, with a noun or with “that”).

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).