Erb (+ Preposition) + Gerund: Reporting Verbs Used With A Gerund
Erb (+ Preposition) + Gerund: Reporting Verbs Used With A Gerund
Erb (+ Preposition) + Gerund: Reporting Verbs Used With A Gerund
3: ASK
I'd advise against leaving early.
We use 'ask' to report questions or
requests. For questions we use the pattern: 5: AGREE
Other reporting verbs follow a variety of She apologised for the delay.
patterns. I'm afraid there aren't any rules
about which verbs follow which patterns.
You need to learn each one. 7: DECIDE
9: EXPLAIN
I promised him that I wouldn't do it
Explain + (that) + clause again.
12: RECOMMEND*
The teacher explained that the
course was finished. Recommend + verb-ing
NOT:
I recommend that you visit the
Explain + question word + to + British Museum
infinitive
13: REMIND
They explained how to buy a train
Remind + someone + to + infinitive
ticket on the internet.
John explained where to find the She reminded him to take his keys.
restaurant.
Remind + someone + (that) + clause
Explain + question word + clause
They reminded me that there is a
We explained what the exams party tonight.
would cover.
14: SUGGEST*
10: INSIST*
Suggest + verb-ing
Insist + on + verb-ing
I suggest leaving soon
He insisted on paying.
Suggest + (that) + clause
Insist + (that) + clause
I suggest that you come as soon as
He insisted that we sit down. you can.
NOT: when the subject is 'he', 'she' or 'it' or when
the verb is 'be', we can see it clearly.
15: WARN
I advise that he go to bed early.
Warn + someone + (not) + to +
infinitive (Normally we'd expect: I advise that
he goes to bed early.)
I warned them not to go in the I insist that she come now.
water. (Normally we'd expect: I insist that
she comes now.)
Warn + someone + about +
They suggested that the cats be put
something
in the garden for the night.
She warned us about the dangerous (Normally we'd expect: They
roads. suggested that the cats are put in
the garden for the night.)
Negatives
To make the verbs that we have reported
negative, we need to look at the verb
pattern:
* Advanced Point
In formal English, some verbs that are
followed by '(that) + clause' use the
infinitive instead of a present tense verb.
Some people suggest that this is a kind of
subjunctive in English. You only need to
worry about this in very formal writing.