Are you ready for the answers? Here we go...
JANUARY: Obama thanked Americans for electing him President for a second term
FEBRUARY: Football clubs in the English Premier League reveal that they spent about £120 million on transfers during the previous month.MARCH:Senior members of the Catholic church agreed to appoint Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new Pope.
APRIL: North Korea threatens war against South Korea.
MAY: The IRS (tax service in USA) admits to acting unfairly towards right-wing Tea Party organisations.
JUNE: Hollywood praises "Sopranos" actor James Gandolfini, following his unexpected death.
JULY: Producers of the TV show "Glee" announce that one of the show's actors, Cory Allan Michael Monteith, died.
AUGUST: Miley Cyrus is criticised after she performed a controversial dance, known as "twerking", at the Video Music Awards.
SEPTEMBER: Greenpeace members deny piracy charges after they tried to take over a Russian oil rig.
OCTOBER: On Twitter, Lady Gaga claims she is having a nervous breakdown.
NOVEMBER: X-factor contestant James Arthur is accused of homophobia after his rap performance on the show.
DECEMBER: Justin Bieber tells his fans that he plans to retire.
Now for the vocabulary. Here's another quiz for you. Can you match the verb to the direct-speech quotes?
[For example, the verb for "Do you like...?" is "ask".]
"You're great!"
"I'm going to tell you something which I want you to believe."
"We'll do this."
"You did something terrible/criminal."
"You did something wrong/badly."
"I will do something hurtful."
"I didn't do that / I'm not that."
"I did something wrong."
"I have something important to tell you."
"Thank you"
"Let me say something."
"Let me tell you a secret"
To thank
Direct-speech: "Thank you"
Usage: "thank" + [person] (+"for"+[noun])Explanation: This verb is always followed by a person - their name or a reflexive pronoun ("me", "you", "him", "her", etc.) So, a simple example could be:She thanked me.
You can follow this with "for" and a noun (the thing you are grateful for) but this is optional - you don't have to do it.
Examples: I thanked my boss for the promotion. / You must thank your mother when you finish the dinner she cooked.
To reveal
Direct-speech: "Let me tell you a secret"
Now for the vocabulary. Here's another quiz for you. Can you match the verb to the direct-speech quotes?
[For example, the verb for "Do you like...?" is "ask".]
"You're great!""I'm going to tell you something which I want you to believe."
"We'll do this."
"You did something terrible/criminal."
"You did something wrong/badly."
"I will do something hurtful."
"I didn't do that / I'm not that."
"I did something wrong."
"I have something important to tell you."
"Thank you"
"Let me say something."
"Let me tell you a secret"
To thank
Direct-speech: "Thank you"
Usage: "thank" + [person] (+"for"+[noun])Explanation: This verb is always followed by a person - their name or a reflexive pronoun ("me", "you", "him", "her", etc.) So, a simple example could be:She thanked me.
You can follow this with "for" and a noun (the thing you are grateful for) but this is optional - you don't have to do it.
Examples: I thanked my boss for the promotion. / You must thank your mother when you finish the dinner she cooked.
To reveal
Direct-speech: "Let me tell you a secret"
Usage: "reveal" + "that" + [sentence]Explanation: This is a very dramatic verb - it isn't used a lot except in newspapers or literature. If used in the past, the [sentence], which is the secret, could be in the difficult past perfect tense.
Examples: The company revealed that it plans to open a new office. / The president revealed that he had taken the bribe.
To agree
Direct-speech: "We'll do this"
Examples: The company revealed that it plans to open a new office. / The president revealed that he had taken the bribe.
To agree
Direct-speech: "We'll do this"
Usage: "agree" + [infinitive verb]Explanation: Like many other reporting verbs, "agree" has other uses too. But it is a very popular verb when reporting a conversation, so it's important to use it correctly. It's always followed by the infinitive verb (verb with "to").
Examples: We agreed to take a holiday in June. / They should agree to come out tonight.
To threaten
Direct-speech: "I will do something hurtful"
Usage: "threaten" + [infinitive verb]
Explanation: This verb would be used to talk about an aggressive conversation. As you can see in the direct-speech example, when someone threatens you they are promising to do something bad. That "something bad" is your infinitive verb.
Examples: He threatened to leave the company. / They should agree to come out tonight.
To admit
Direct-speech: "You did something wrong"
Usage: "admit" (+"that") + [sentence]
Explanation:
If someone says that they did something wrong (for example, my daughter said "I can't do my homework"), you can use the word "admit" to report this. ("My daughter admitted that she couldn't do her homework".)
Remember to change the tense of the verb (can => could) if you're reporting something from the past. This is the case with many other reporting verbs. We'll see more examples of this later. You'll also need to change the pronoun if you're talking about somebody else ("My daughter...her homework")
There is a word which has the same meaning and usage as "admit" - do you know it? (It begins with "c")
Examples: The criminal admitted he had taken the money. / I admit that I smoke too much.
To accuse
Direct-speech: "You did something wrong"
Usage: "accuse" + [person] + "of" + [noun]/[verb -ing]
Explanation: Although it's more difficult to use than other reporting verbs, "accuse" is very common in speech and in writing.
Examples: We agreed to take a holiday in June. / They should agree to come out tonight.
To threaten
Direct-speech: "I will do something hurtful"
Usage: "threaten" + [infinitive verb]
Explanation: This verb would be used to talk about an aggressive conversation. As you can see in the direct-speech example, when someone threatens you they are promising to do something bad. That "something bad" is your infinitive verb.
Examples: He threatened to leave the company. / They should agree to come out tonight.
To admit
Direct-speech: "You did something wrong"
Usage: "admit" (+"that") + [sentence]
Explanation:
If someone says that they did something wrong (for example, my daughter said "I can't do my homework"), you can use the word "admit" to report this. ("My daughter admitted that she couldn't do her homework".)
Remember to change the tense of the verb (can => could) if you're reporting something from the past. This is the case with many other reporting verbs. We'll see more examples of this later. You'll also need to change the pronoun if you're talking about somebody else ("My daughter...her homework")
There is a word which has the same meaning and usage as "admit" - do you know it? (It begins with "c")
Examples: The criminal admitted he had taken the money. / I admit that I smoke too much.
To accuse
Direct-speech: "You did something wrong"
Usage: "accuse" + [person] + "of" + [noun]/[verb -ing]
Explanation: Although it's more difficult to use than other reporting verbs, "accuse" is very common in speech and in writing.
You might think it is too complicated to use: you might be right. But there is a lot of power in this verb. Also, there is a lot of information to communicate: the people involved and the "crime" itself.
So, using the structure, a sentence like "John said to Mary: 'You forgot your homework.'" becomes "John accused Mary of forgetting her homework." Powerful, isn't it?
You might notice that we used the verb differently in the news quiz. ("James Arthur is accused of homophobia.") This is because it is a passive sentence - we don't know who said James Arthur was homophobic - and the structure for the passive sentence is different. Here are some simpler examples.
Examples: Journalists accused the government of harrassing them. / The woman accused her husband of cheating.
So, using the structure, a sentence like "John said to Mary: 'You forgot your homework.'" becomes "John accused Mary of forgetting her homework." Powerful, isn't it?
You might notice that we used the verb differently in the news quiz. ("James Arthur is accused of homophobia.") This is because it is a passive sentence - we don't know who said James Arthur was homophobic - and the structure for the passive sentence is different. Here are some simpler examples.
Examples: Journalists accused the government of harrassing them. / The woman accused her husband of cheating.
To praise
Direct-speech: "You're great."
Usage: "praise" + [person]
Explanation: This is unlike the other verbs: it doesn't directly report what somebody said. It merely tells us that somebody said a nice thing about somebody else. To say, "The teacher praised me today" doesn't tell us exactly what the teacher said. But you could give more information by adding "for"+[noun]: "The teacher praised me today for my exam score."Examples: The manager praised her assistant for helping with the report. / Parents should praise their children as much as possible.
Explanation: This is unlike the other verbs: it doesn't directly report what somebody said. It merely tells us that somebody said a nice thing about somebody else. To say, "The teacher praised me today" doesn't tell us exactly what the teacher said. But you could give more information by adding "for"+[noun]: "The teacher praised me today for my exam score."Examples: The manager praised her assistant for helping with the report. / Parents should praise their children as much as possible.
To announce
Direct-speech: "I have something important to tell you."
Usage: "announce" + "that" + [sentence]
Explanation: This verb is mainly used for official business - with a company, a government or a celebrity for example.
You might hear your boss say at a meeting: "I want to make an announcement: we have a new product to sell." In this case, you could report it afterwards with: "My boss announced that we had a new product to sell."
Remember to change the tense of the verb (have => had) if you're reporting something from the past.Examples: The singer announced that she was ill. / The government announced that there would be a new election in May.
To criticise
Direct-speech: "You did something wrong/badly."
Usage: "criticise" + [person] + [for] + [noun]/[verb -ing]
Explanation: There are only two differences between "criticise" and "accuse" (above).
1. Criticise is less dramatic.
2. We use the preposition "for" (not "of")
In every other way, the two verbs are exactly the same.Examples: The man criticised me for driving too fast. / Protesters criticised the company for hiring illegal workers.
To claim
Direct-speech: "I'm going to tell you something which I want you to believe."
Usage: "claim" + "that" + [sentence]
Explanation: This is another verb which is popular in speech and text. You can use "that" after the verb, but it's optional. Like "announce" and many other verbs, you must change the tense of the main verb if you're reporting a conversation from the past.
So, if your brother says "I will become a rich man", you would report it by saying: "My brother claimed (that) he would become a rich man."
To deny
Direct-speech: "I didn't do that / I'm not that."
Usage: "deny" + "that" + [sentence]
Explanation: There are a few ways to use "deny" but the above usage is correct for reporting exactly what somebody said. Again, we need to change the tense of the verb if we're reporting something from the past.
So, if a politician says, "I didn't take the money", then we report it by saying: "The politician denied that he had taken the money."
Examples: The footballer denied that he had hit the referee. / I deny that I am a criminal. To tell
Direct-speech: "Let me say something."
Usage: "tell" + [person] + [sentence] OR "tell" + [person] + [request]
Explanation: Read carefully: English students almost always use "tell" incorrectly. It's because there are many uses for it. The most simple usage is not directly-reported speech: "He told me his password", "She told them a story."
When directly reporting what a person said, we can use tell in two ways:
Firstly, it could be a statement. "I want to go home" becomes "He told me he wanted to go home." The word "that" is optional and, if it's in the past, we must change the tense.
Secondly, it could be an order. "Go to school!" becomes "She told me to go to school.
No matter how we use it, though, a person must appear after the verb.
Examples: My mother told my father that she was taking the car. / The police told the criminal that he would go to jail. / The teacher told me to arrive on time.
