Reporting Verbs- the Same or Different

Reporting verbs the same or different

Listen to your teacher read out two or more sentences and hold up one of the two cards that you were given depending on what you think about their meanings.

Write S or D on each line below if the things have the same or different meanings. If there are more than two, they are all the same or all different. Ones with small differences are “different”.

Check with the suggested answers.

Find examples below of:

• reporting verbs with the same meanings or similar meanings and the same verb pattern (e.g. both “+ someone to do”)
• reporting verbs with opposite meanings and the same verb pattern (e.g. both “+ doing”)
• reporting verbs with the same or similar meanings but different verb patterns

Test each other on the verbs:

• Play the same holding up cards game
• Play the same holding up cards game, but with your own example sentences
• Play the same holding up cards game, but with just the verbs
• Read out one sentence below that has one with the same meaning next to it, and see if your partner can rephrase the sentence without changing the meaning

 

Cards to hold up

The same	Different	The same	Different
The same	Different	The same	Different
The same	Different	The same	Different
The same	Different	The same	Different
The same	Different	The same	Different

• I asked about his lunch./ I asked for his lunch.
• I asked about the price of his lunch./ I enquired about the price of his lunch.
• I asked for another cup of tea./ I requested another cup of tea.
• I asked him to smoke outside./ I told him to smoke outside.
• I asked him to go outside./ I ordered him to go outside./ I reminded him to go outside.
• Can you ask him to call me back?/ Can you tell him to call me back?
• Can you tell him that I called?/ Can you tell him to call me back?
• We agreed on the action plan./ We agreed with the action plan./ We agreed to do the action plan.
• I agree with that action./ I support that action.
• I don’t agree with his views on economics./ I disagree with his views on economics.
• He disagreed with investing in oil./ He objected to investing in oil./ He refused to invest in oil.
• I recommended not buying the cheap one./ I advised against buying the cheap one.
• I promised to send it ASAP./ I guaranteed that it would be sent ASAP.
• He described the new coffee maker./ He explained the new coffee maker.
• I checked if it was damaged./ I confirmed that it was damaged.
• He claimed that the room was dirty./ He complained about the room being dirty.
• He asserted that he was the winner./ He claimed that he was the winner./ He declared that he was the winner./ He insisted that he was the winner.
• He insisted that we all should pay./ He maintained that we all should pay.
• He approved of my new project./ He approved my new project.
• He assured me that my performance would improve./ He reassured me about my improved performance./ He persuaded me to improve my performance.
• He threatened me with a big dog./ He warned me about the big dog.
• He suggested that there were hidden costs./ He implied that there were hidden costs.
• He briefly mentioned next week./ He briefly touched on next week.
• He emphasised team building./ He stressed team building.
• He stressed that it was only temporary./ He insisted on it only being temporary.
• We argued about planning for earthquakes./ We challenged planning for earthquakes./ We debated planning for earthquakes./ We discussed planning for earthquakes.
• We discussed planning for earthquakes./ We talked about planning for earthquakes.
• I begged my son to do an MA./ I encouraged my son to do an MA./ I urged my son to do an MA.
• I accused him of kidnapping my son./ I blamed him for the kidnapping of my son.
• He admitted kidnapping my son./ He confessed to kidnapping my son./ He confessed that he had kidnapped my son.
• I denied having published his name./ I refused to publish his name.

 

Suggested answers

Some are debatable, especially whether verbs really have exactly the same meaning, so please check if you wrote something different.

• I asked about his lunch./ I asked for his lunch. – D
• I asked about the price of his lunch./ I enquired about the price of his lunch. – S
• I asked for another cup of tea./ I requested another cup of tea. – S
• I asked him to smoke outside./ I told him to smoke outside. – D
• I asked him to go outside./ I ordered him to go outside./ I reminded him to go outside. – D
• Can you ask him to call me back?/ Can you tell him to call me back? – D
• Can you tell him that I called?/ Can you tell him to call me back? – D
• We agreed on the action plan./ We agreed with the action plan./ We agreed to do the action plan. – D
• I agree with that action./ I support that action. – S
• I don’t agree with his views on economics./ I disagree with his views on economics. – S
• He disagreed with investing in oil./ He objected to investing in oil./ He refused to invest in oil. – D
• I recommended not buying the cheap one./ I advised against buying the cheap one. – S
• I promised to send it ASAP./ I guaranteed that it would be sent ASAP. – D
• He described the new coffee maker./ He explained the new coffee maker. – D
• I checked if it was damaged./ I confirmed that it was damaged. – D
• He claimed that the room was dirty./ He complained about the room being dirty. – D
• He asserted that he was the winner./ He claimed that he was the winner./ He declared that he was the winner./ He insisted that he was the winner.– D
• He insisted that we all should pay./ He maintained that we all should pay. – S
• He approved of my new project./ He approved my new project. – D
• He assured me that my performance would improve./ He reassured me about my improved performance./ He persuaded me to improve my performance. – D
• He threatened me with a big dog./ He warned me about the big dog. – D
• He suggested that there were hidden costs./ He implied that there were hidden costs. – D
• He briefly mentioned next week./ He briefly touched on next week. – S
• He emphasised team building./ He stressed team building. – S
• He stressed that it was only temporary./ He insisted on it only being temporary. – D
• We argued about planning for earthquakes./ We challenged planning for earthquakes./ We debated planning for earthquakes./ We discussed planning for earthquakes. – D
• We discussed planning for earthquakes./ We talked about planning for earthquakes. – S
• I begged my son to do an MA./ I encouraged my son to do an MA./ I urged my son to do an MA. – D
• I accused him of kidnapping my son./ I blamed him for the kidnapping of my son. – D
• He admitted kidnapping my son./ He confessed to kidnapping my son./ He confessed that he had kidnapped my son. – S
• I denied having published his name./ I refused to publish his name. – D