Reporting Verb vs. Reported Speech: A Clear Distinction
The key difference between a reporting verb and reported speech lies in their function within a sentence.
- Reporting verbs are verbs that introduce reported speech. They tell us what someone said or thought. Examples include: say, tell, ask, think, believe, claim, argue, suggest, and admit.
- Reported speech is the actual words someone said or thought, but reported by someone else. It is often introduced by a reporting verb and is usually enclosed in quotation marks or by a change in tense.
Examples:
Direct Speech: "I am going to the park," she said.
Reported Speech: She said that she was going to the park.
Reporting Verb: said
Understanding the Relationship
Imagine a conversation:
- Speaker A: "I love pizza."
- Speaker B: "She said she loves pizza."
Here, said is the reporting verb, and she loves pizza is the reported speech.
Practical Insights
- Reporting verbs can be used in both past and present tenses.
- Reported speech can be in different tenses, depending on the context and the original tense of the direct speech.
- There are various reporting verbs, each conveying a different nuance of the speaker's intention.
Conclusion
In essence, reporting verbs act as the bridge between the speaker and the reported speech, while reported speech itself conveys the original message in a different form.
