Collins Cobuild English Grammar (140 page)

7.42
    You can report a request in which someone asks for permission to do something by using a
to
-infinitive after
ask
or
demand
.

I asked to see the manager.

reporting suggestions

7.43
    When someone makes a suggestion about what someone else (not their hearer) should do, you report it by using a
that
-clause. In British English, this clause often contains a
modal
, usually
should
.

He proposes
that the Government should hold an inquiry
.
Travel agents advise
that people should change their money before they travel
.

Note that this structure can also be used to report a suggestion about what the hearer should do. Consider the example:
Her father had suggested that she ought to see a doctor
; her father might have suggested it directly to her.

If you do not use a modal, the result is considered more formal in British English. In American English, however, this is the usual verb form that is used after suggesting verbs.

Someone suggested
that they break into small groups
.

Note that when you leave out the modal, the verb in the reported clause still has the form it would have if the modal were present. This verb form is called the
subjunctive
.

It was his doctor who advised that he
change
his job.
I suggested that he
bring
them all up to the house.
He urges that the restrictions
be lifted
.

Here is a list of reporting verbs that can be followed by a
that
-clause containing a modal or a subjunctive:

advise

agree

ask

beg

command

decree

demand

direct

insist

intend

order

plead

pray

prefer

propose

recommend

request

rule

stipulate

suggest

urge

Note that
advise
,
ask
,
beg
,
command
,
order
, and
urge
can also be used with an object and a
to
-infinitive, and
agree
,
pray
, and
suggest
can also be used with
that
-clauses without a modal.

7.44
    When someone makes a suggestion about what someone else should do, or about what they themselves and someone else should do, you can report this using one of the reporting verbs
suggest
,
advise
,
propose
, or
recommend
followed by an
-ing
participle.

Barbara suggested
going to another coffee-house
.
Deirdre proposed
moving to New York
.

reporting intentions and hopes

7.45
    When you are reporting an action that the speaker (the subject of the reporting verb) intends to perform, you can report it in two ways. You can either report it simply as an action, using a
to
-infinitive clause, or you can report it as a statement or fact, using a
that
-clause.

For example, promises relate to actions (eg
He promised to phone her
) but they can also be seen as relating to facts (eg
He promised that he would phone her
).

The verb phrase in the
that
-clause always contains a
modal
.

I promised
to come back
.
She promised
that she would not leave hospital until she was better
.
I decided
to withhold the information till later
.
She decided
that she would leave her money to him
.
I had vowed
to fight for their freedom
.
She vowed
that she would not leave her home
.

Here is a list of verbs that can be used either with a
to
-infinitive or with a
that
-clause containing a modal:

decide

expect

guarantee

hope

pledge

promise

propose

resolve

swear

threaten

vow

USAGE NOTE

7.46
    
Claim
and
pretend
can also be used with these two structures, when you are saying that someone is claiming or pretending something about himself or herself. For example,
He claimed to be a genius
has the same meaning as
He claimed that he was a genius
.

He claimed
to have witnessed the accident
.
He claimed
that he had found the money in the forest
.

Note that the
to
-infinitive can be in the perfect form:
to have
+
-ed
participle, when you are referring to a past event or situation.

7.47
    Note that a few verbs that indicate personal intentions can be used only with a
to
-infinitive.

I intend to say nothing for the present.
They are planning to move to the country.
I don’t want to die yet.

Here is a list of these verbs:

intend

long

mean

plan

refuse

want

Reporting uncertain things

7.48
    When you are reporting an action that someone is wondering about doing themselves, you can use a
to
-infinitive beginning with
whether
.

I’ve been wondering
whether to retire
.
He didn’t know
whether to feel glad or sorry at his dismissal
.

Here is a list of verbs that can be used with
to
-infinitive clauses of this kind:

choose

debate

decide

know

wonder

Note that
choose
,
decide
, and
know
are usually used in a negative or interrogative clause, or a clause with a modal.

When you are mentioning information about something involved in an action, you can use a
to
-infinitive after a
wh
-word as the reported clause.

I asked him
what to do
.
I shall teach you
how to cook
.

Here is a list of verbs that can be used with
to
-infinitives of this kind:

describe

discover

discuss

explain

forget

guess

imagine

know

learn

realize

remember

reveal

say

see

suggest

teach

tell

think

understand

wonder

As an alternative to both kinds of
to
-infinitive, you can use a clause containing
should
.

I wondered
whether I should call for help
.
He began to wonder
what he should do now
.

All the verbs in the above lists, except
choose
and
debate
, can also be used with ordinary clauses beginning with
whether
or
wh
-words. See paragraphs
7.35
to
7.38
.

Time reference in reported speech

7.49
    This section explains how to show time reference in reported speech. Descriptions of time reference in reported speech often give a simplified system that involves changing the tense in the actual words spoken, so that a present tense would be changed to a past tense, and a past tense would be changed to the past perfect. In fact, tense changes in reported speech are affected by several factors other than time, such as whether you wish to distance yourself from what was said, or whether you want to emphasize the fact that a statement is still true.