A: Sue, do you want to see that documentary about UFOs and aliens with me tonight?
B: What about a different movie? Andy saw it last week and said that it was terrible. He warned me not to see it.
Other Ways of Reporting
Another way of reporting what people said is to use verbs that give us more information about what was said. In 120, we will study the following verbs:
- tell
- ask
- order
- beg
- advise
- invite
- warn
- remind
To report questions and statements with the verbs above, use the following word order:
tell, ask, order, etc. + somebody + (not) + infinitive verb (to + base verb)
She asked, "Would you like to study with me at the library?"
- She invited me to study with her at the library.
Mike said, "You should spend more time at home with your family."
- Mike advised me to spend more time at home with my family.
Jim said to me, "Please don't be late tomorrow. Please!"
- Jim begged me not to be late tomorrow.
Tell
In this usage, tell has very different meaning than what we studied in Grammar 12-1. With this grammar, tell is used to describe orders and obligations. It is similar to order. Its use is very popular in English:
Jane said, "Leave me alone."
- Jane told me to leave her alone.
My father said, "You have to be home by 11 PM tonight."
- My father told me to be home by 11 PM tonight.
The teacher said, "Don't sit down yet."
- The teacher told us not to sit down yet.
Mark said, "You have to listen carefully."
- Mark told me to listen carefully.
Ask
This usage expresses the idea of a request. Request means to ask for something politely.
Brent asked, "Michael, could you close the window?"
- Brent asked Michael to close the window.
The teacher said, "Please sit down."
- The teacher asked the class to sit down.
The man asked, "Would you mind giving me a hand?"
- The man asked me to give him a hand.
My wife asked, "Please don't play the music loudly."
- My wife asked me not to play the music loudly.
Notice the difference between ask and tell, just by using please:
- The teacher said, "Sit down."
- The teacher told us to sit down.
- The teacher said, "Please sit down."
- The teacher asked us to sit down.
- Mike said, "Turn on the lights."
- Mike told me to turn on the lights.
- Mike said, "Please turn on the lights."
- Mike asked me to turn on the lights.
Order
In this usage, order has the same meaning as tell, as explained above, but is usually only used for more formal or serious situations. It is usually only used for people in positions of authority like the police, customs, etc.. The use of tell is much more popular.
The police said, "Freeze!"
- The police ordered the man to freeze.
The customs officer said, "Empty your bag and pockets."
- The customs officer ordered me to empty my bag and pockets.
Beg
Beg is similar to ask, but has a stronger meaning because it shows that someone really wants what they are asking for:
The child asked, "Dad, can we please go to Disneyland? Please!"
- The child begged her father to go to Disneyland.
John said to Marla, "Marla, please don't leave me!"
- John begged Marla not to leave him.
Advise
Advise is used for suggestions, recommendations, and of course, advice.
Jim said, "If I were you, I wouldn't go to that restaurant."
- Jim advised me not to go to that restaurant.
Stephen said, "You should try harder."
- Stephen advised us to try harder.
Invite
Invite is similar to ask, but used to describe spending time with someone socially:
Leanne asked, "Would you like to come with me to the park this afternoon?"
- Leanne invited me to go to the park with her this afternoon.
Jonathan asked, "Do you want to go to the movies with me tonight?"
- Jonathan invited Breanne to go to the movies with him tonight.
Warn
This verb is used when we describe possible dangers to someone. It is usually used in a negative pattern:
My father said, "If you come home after 12 AM, you will be in trouble."
- My father warned me not to come home after 12 AM.
The teacher said, "I will take your phone away if you use it in class."
- The teacher warned me not to use my phone in class.
Remind
Remind is used when we say something to someone to help them remember what they have to do:
My father said, "Don't forget to lock the door."
- My father reminded me to lock the door.
Pete said, "Remember: don't eat too much for lunch because we're going to have a big dinner!"
- Pete reminded me not to eat a big lunch because we're going to have a big dinner.
Tell & Ask: Two Different Uses
We have now studied two different uses of tell and ask in reported speech:
Tell
Grammar 12-1
- She said, "I'm happy."
- She told me that she was happy.
- They said, "We aren't having a good time."
- They told me that they weren't having a good time.
- I said, "I will help you."
- I told you that I would help you.
Grammar 12-2
- She said, "Go home."
- She told me to go home.
- The teacher said, "Study more."
- The teacher told me to study more.
- The man said, "Be quiet."
- The man told the other man to be quiet.
Ask
Grammar 12-1
- She asked, "Do you want to stay or leave?"
- She asked me whether I wanted to stay or leave.
- They asked, "Where are you from?"
- They asked us where we were from.
- You asked, "When are you going to see the movie?"
- You asked me when I was going to see the movie.
Grammar 12-2
- I asked, "Could you turn off the TV?"
- I asked you to turn off the TV.
- He said, "Please don't leave early."
- He asked him not to leave early.
- The teacher asked, "Could you please work with John?"
- The teacher asked me to work with John.
Two Ways of Reporting
Sometimes, a sentence may be reported two (or more) different ways:
Jane asked, "Do you want to go out for dinner with me?"
- Jane asked if I wanted to go out for dinner with her.
- Jane invited me to go out for dinner with her.
My mother said, "You must clean your room."
- My mother told me that I had to clean my room.
- My mother told me to clean my room.
The teacher said, "You should study at least 4 hours a week."
- The teacher told me that I should study at least 4 hours a week.
- The teacher advised me to study at least 4 hours a week.
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.