Reporting verbs describe the force of a message. Admitted acknowledges something; denied rejects an allegation. A report that someone denied sharing a code does not establish whether they shared it.
The idea
Use admit/deny/suggest + ing, promise + to-infinitive, and persuade/warn + person + to-infinitive. Negate a warning with not to. Several verbs allow other patterns too: admitted that..., suggested that we meet..., warned us that....
Examples
- Nora admitted spilling ink on the plan.
- He denied sharing the access code.
- Yas suggested meeting near the station.
- I persuaded Sam to ask for a second quote.
- They warned us not to lean on the railing.
- Maria promised to send the notes that evening.
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Watch out
Do not use suggested us to meet in standard English. Persuaded Sam to ask normally implies successful persuasion; use tried to persuade when success is unknown or absent. A promise to send notes does not itself prove the notes were sent.
Try it yourself
Choose the correct option. He denied ___ the access code. (sharing / to share)
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sharing
Deny takes an ing complement here: denied sharing. It does not take to share in this pattern.
Choose the correct option. Yas suggested ___ near the station. (meeting / us to meet)
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meeting
Suggest accepts meeting. To name the participants, use a clause such as suggested that we meet, not suggested us to meet.
Choose the correct option. I persuaded ___ for a second quote. (Sam to ask / Sam asking)
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Sam to ask
Persuade takes the person as object, followed by to ask. Sam asking does not fit this construction.
Practice round
Answer questions and rebuild English sentences to practise. Your score is shown.
Choose the correct option. He denied ___ the access code. (sharing / to share)
Choose the correct option. Yas suggested ___ near the station. (meeting / us to meet)
Choose the correct option. I persuaded ___ for a second quote. (Sam to ask / Sam asking)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write three short reports about a project: an admission, a suggestion and a promise. Choose each verb's complement and separate what was said from what you know happened.