Business English- Reporting Verbs in Taking Minutes

Reporting verbs in business minutes

Change the sentences below into indirect speech and use a variety of reporting verbs to make the sentences more minutes-like. Try not to use the same reporting verb more than once. When there is no subject, you will also need to use a passive tense. Your teacher will tell you if/ when you can use the list of suggested verbs to help.

1. CA “It would be a good idea to scrap the project.”
2. MH “I will definitely finish the paperwork on time this time. I guarantee it.”
3. “Does everyone agree that we should bring production forward. Yes? Okay, that’s what we will do.”
4. AC “Okay, okay. I’ll interview the candidates for security guard. Just this once, though.”
5. “Can I mention this year’s Xmas bonuses?”
6. YY “Before I forget, we also have someone visiting from Shanghai next week.”
7. EW “This slide is the reactions to our new product at the trade fair.”
8. Chair “Can you book a larger conference room than last year?”
9. SM “The reason for the delay was the weather.”
10. WE “I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. We’re going to make a profit by this time next year.”
11. TY “The quality is an absolute disaster. It’s a disgrace. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.”
12. GT “There’s no need to worry about safety at the plant.”
13. AMC “The economy will improve in the third quarter.”
14. “We’ve talked about union recognition for nearly an hour without agreeing on anything. Can we move on?”
15. HE “We will sign the contract soon. You have my word.”

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Suggested verbs

Some sentences above can use more than one option from here.

• agree on
• agree to
• ask for/ request
• bring up
• complain
• decide
• discuss
• emphasize/ stress
• explain
• guarantee/ promise
• inform
• mention
• predict
• propose
• reassure
• recommend/ suggest
• report
• show

Check as a class or with the suggested answers.

Suggested answers

Many other answers are possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

1. CA suggested/ recommended/ proposed scrapping the project
2. MH promised to finish the paperwork on time/ MH guaranteed that the paperwork would be finished on time.
3. It was decided to bring production forward./ Everyone agreed on the proposal to bring the production forward.
4. AC agreed to interview the candidates for security guard
5. Xmas bonuses were brought up.
6. YY mentioned a visitor from Shanghai next week/ YY informed everyone of a visitor from Shanghai (next week)
7. EW reported the reactions on the new product at the trade fair/ EW showed a graph of the reactions on the new product at the trade fair
8. The chair requested/ asked for a larger conference room (than last year)
9. SM explained the reason for the delay./ SM explained that the reason for the delay was the weather
10. WE stressed/ emphasized that there would be a profit this time next year
11. TY complained about the quality
12. GT reassured everyone about the safety of the plant
13. AMC predicted an improvement in the economy in the third quarter
14. Union recognition was discussed.
15. HE guaranteed that the contract would be signed in the near future