Content tagged with "indirect speech"

subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive (simple or continuous)

If the reporting and the reported event happen simultaneously, i.e. in the same time frame, we use simple or continuous infinitives, depending on whether the verb in the reported clause was simple or continuous.

If the time frame is the present:

reporting verb + somebody + to-infinitive

When we report an imperative sentence or a request, we usually use a to-infinitive structure:

reporting clause + that-clause

When we report a statement, we often use a that-clause after the reporting clause:

Tom: I don't know her.
Tom told me that he didn't know her.

That is often omitted after certain reporting verbs in informal styles:

verb + object + to-infinitive