Reporting verbs convey speakers’ thoughts/beliefs, distancing us from the source. Here are some, grouped by message type.
- Saying: said, stated, mentioned, commented, declared, announced
- Believing: thought, believed, considered, felt, suspected, assumed
- Denying: denied, disagreed, refused, disputed, contradicted, challenged
- Questioning: asked, inquired, wondered, questioned, queried, doubted
Reporting verbs can be used in the passive voice to distance ourselves from the source of the information. Here are two common ways to do this:
With impersonal “it”, it becomes formal. The clause following “that” can be in any tense to reflect the reported time frame.
Example
- It is said that they are in Las Vegas.
- It is believed that the murderer is no longer in the country.
- It has been announced that they are going to cancel the tour.
- It has been suggested that the team can’t be trusted defensively.
With the subject, it becomes less formal. Using reporting verbs with the subject allows for three distinct ways to express information across different tenses:
Example
- They are said to be in Las Vegas. (to + infinitive)
- They are said to be playing in Las Vegas. (to + be -ing)
- They are said to have been in Las Vegas. (to + have participle)
Find more details about reporting verbs with subject here.
References