She said that she didn’t want to know.
You use ask when you are reporting a question.
‘How’s it all going?’ Derek asked.
showing the purpose of speaking
7.7 Some reporting verbs such as answer, complain, and explain tell you what purpose an utterance was intended to serve. For example, answer tells you that a statement was intended as an answer, and complain tells you that a statement was intended as a complaint.
He answered that the price would be three pounds.
He never told me, sir, Watson complained.
‘Please don’t,’ I begged.
I suggested that it was time to leave.
Some reporting verbs used in direct speech show the manner of speaking. See paragraph 7.19.
Here is a list of reporting verbs that can be used to report what people say:
acknowledge
add
admit
advise
agree
allege
announce
answer
argue
ask
assert
assure
beg
begin
boast
call
chorus
claim
command
comment
complain
concede
confess
confirm
contend
continue
convince
cry
declare
decree
demand
deny
describe
direct
discuss
dispute
enquire
explain
forbid
grumble
guarantee
hint
imply
inform
inquire
insist
instruct
invite
lament
maintain
mention
mumble
murmur
muse
mutter
note
notify
object
observe
order
persuade
plead
pledge
pray
predict
proclaim
promise
prophesy
propose
reassure
recall
recite
recommend
record
refuse
remark
remind
repeat
reply
report
request
respond
reveal
rule
say
scream
shout
shriek
state
stipulate
storm
suggest
swear
teach
tell
threaten
thunder
urge
vow
wail
warn
whisper
write
yell
7.8 Note that the verbs address, converse, lecture, speak, and talk, although they mean to say something, cannot be used as reporting verbs.
verbs of thinking and knowing
7.9 Many reporting verbs are used to talk about people’s thoughts, rather than what they say. Reporting verbs are used to talk about many different kinds of thought, including beliefs, wishes, hopes, intentions, and decisions. They can also be used to talk about remembering and forgetting.
We both knew that he was lying.
‘I’ll go to him in a minute,’ she thought.
I had always believed that one day I would see him again.
Here is a list of reporting verbs that can be used to report people’s thoughts:
accept
agree
assume
believe
consider
decide
determine
doubt
dream
estimate
expect
fear
feel
figure
foresee
forget
guess
hold
hope
imagine
intend
judge
know
long
mean
muse
note
plan
ponder
pray
prefer
propose
reason
recall
reckon
reflect
regret
remember
resolve
suppose
think
understand
vow
want
wish
wonder
worry
verbs of learning and perceiving
7.10 Some reporting verbs are used for talking about learning and perceiving facts.
I have since learned that the writer of the letter is now dead.
Then she saw that he was sleeping.
Here is a list of reporting verbs that refer to learning and perceiving facts:
conclude
discover
elicit
find
gather
hear
infer
learn
note
notice
observe
perceive
read
realize
see
sense
7.11 Some of the verbs in the above lists, such as tell and promise, must be or can be followed by an object showing who the hearer is. See paragraphs 7.75 to 7.76.
Note that some verbs appear in more than one list, because they have more than one meaning.
indicating the way that something is said
7.12 When you use direct speech or reported speech, you can give more information about the way that something is said by putting an adverb or a prepositional phrase after the reporting verb.
‘I’ve got the key!’ he announced triumphantly.
His secretary explained patiently that this was the only time he could spare.
I know what you mean, Carrie replied with feeling.
You show how the thing that is said fits into the conversation by using a prepositional phrase.
A gift from my mother, he added in explanation.
negatives in reporting clauses
7.13 With a small number of reporting verbs, the negative is often expressed in the reporting clause rather than in the reported clause. I don’t think Mary is at home means the same as I think Mary is not at home, and She doesn’t want to see him means She wants not to see him.
I do not think she suspects me.
She didn’t believe she would ever see him again.
He didn’t want to go.
We don’t intend to put him on trial.
Here is a list of reporting verbs that are often used with a negative in this way:
believe
expect
feel
imagine
intend
plan
propose
reckon
suppose
think
want
wish
reporting speech and thought in informal spoken English
7.14 In informal spoken English, the reporting verb go is sometimes used to introduce direct speech. The reporting clause with go always comes before the quote.
I said, ‘Well, what do you want to talk about?’ He goes, ‘I don’t care.’
I told her what I’d heard and she went, ‘Oh, my gosh.’
When I heard that I’d got the job I went, ‘Oh, no, what have I done?’
Note that you cannot add an adverb after go. For example, you cannot say, He went angrily, ‘Be quiet!’