Higher Education Language & Presentation Support
Grammar Review:
Reporting Verbs + Tenses
David Sotir
• I get up at 6.00 every morning to get to uni.
• The Present Simple is used to talk about routines or
habits.
• The train for Central leaves at 6.00 on Monday.
• The Present Simple is used to talk about future
events on a timetable or programme of events.
This use is sometimes called the ‘timetable future’.
Present Simple
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• I am meeting my tutor at 3.30 on Friday.
• The Present Continuous is used to talk about
definite future events. This is sometimes called the
‘diary future’. The time reference is given or
understood.
Present Continuous
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• I am going to enrol in MBA.
• This is used to express an intention or plan. The
decision was made before the moment of
speaking. It was not a definite arrangement.
• A:
B:
Everyone is so quiet in class.
Mmm. The tutor is going to have a hard
time.
• This is used to make a prediction about the future,
based on evidence in the present.
…going to…
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• A:
• B:
There are no trains today.
OK. I will take a bus to uni.
• The Future Simple is used to express a decision
made at the moment of speaking, i.e. it is a
spontaneous decision.
• I will be 43 in April.
• The Future Simple is used to talk about inevitable
future events, i.e. things in the future that cannot
be changed.
Future Simple
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• I will be attending a lecture at 8.00.
• The Future Continuous is used to talk about an
activity in progress at a future point in time. It is
used in the same way as the Past Continuous and
the Present Continuous, but refers to the future.
Future Continuous
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• I will have finished my assignment by Friday.
• The Future Perfect Simple is used to talk about an
action that will be completed at or before a
specified time (in the future). It is often used with
the word by.
Future Perfect Simple
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• I will have been studying here for 2 years by the
end of June.
• The Future Perfect Continuous is used to talk
about the duration of an activity that started in
the past and extends to a future point in time. It is
often used with the word by.
Future Perfect Continuous
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• I chatted with my tutor on Skype last night.
• The Past Simple is used to talk about things that
happened in the past, are finished and have no
connection with the present. We usually know
when the action happened.
Past Simple
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• Have you seen Joe this morning?
• The Present Perfect Simple is used to talk about things
that have happened in an unfinished period of time
that includes the present. It is used with expressions like
this morning, this week, this month, this year.
• Compare: Did you see Joe this morning?
• She has studied here for 3 years.
• The Present Perfect Simple is used to talk about the
duration of an action that started in the past and
continues up to and includes the present. It is often
used with for and since.
Present Perfect Simple
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• Oh, you have completed your assignment.
• The Present Perfect Simple is used to talk about
the present result of an action completed at an
unspecified time in the past.
• He has travelled all around Australia.
• The Present Perfect Simple is used to talk about
experiences people have had at some time in
their lives. When it happened is not specified.
Present Perfect Simple
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• He has been working on his assignment since
8.00.
• The Present Perfect Continuous is used to talk
about the duration of an activity that started in
the past and continues up to and includes the
present.
• He has been working on his assignment. He is
exhausted.
• The Present Perfect Continuous is used to talk
about the result of a recently stopped activity.
The result of the activity is evident in the present.
Present Perfect Continuous
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• I was doing my assignment at 8.00.
• The Past Continuous is used to talk about an
action that was in progress at a past point in time.
• I was doing my assignment when the phone
rang.
• The Past Continuous is used to talk about an
activity that was in progress and interrupted by a
single complete action in the past. It is made with
the Past Continuous, the Past Simple and the
words when or while.
Past Continuous
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• The tute had finished when he arrived.
• The Past Perfect is used to talk about two actions
in the past and to make clear the sequence of
events. It shows that one action happened
before the other.
Past Perfect
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• They had been researching in the library for 2
hours when the siren went off.
• The Past Perfect Continuous is used to talk about
the duration of an activity that continued up to a
specified point in time in the past. The words for
and since are used to talk about the duration of
the activity. The word when is often used to
introduce the past time reference.
Past Perfect Continuous
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• I got home last night and the place was a mess.
My flatmates had been partying.
• The Past Perfect Continuous is used to talk about
the result of a past activity that stopped before a
point in time in the past. The result of the activity is
evident at this past point in time.
Past Perfect Continuous
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• If you press this button, the trash is gone forever.
• Zero Conditional is used to express a general rule
or scientific fact that is always true.
Zero Conditional
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• If it rains, I will not go to uni.
• The First Conditional is used to talk about a
situation that we see as possible in the future. It
is called the ‘possible conditional’. It can be
used to express a variety of functions, e.g. an
offer, a threat, a warning, a consequence.
First Conditional
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• If I won a lot of money, I would quit uni and
travel around the world.
• If I were you, I would stop worrying about the
assignment.
• The Second Conditional is used to talk about a
situation that we see as either improbable or
unreal. It is called the ‘improbable conditional’. It
can be used to give advice, make offers, and
talk about a variety of hypothetical situations.
Second Conditional
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• If I had studied harder, I would have passed
the exam.
• The Third Conditional is used to speculate about
the consequences of something that did not
happen in the past. It is called the ‘impossible
conditional’. It can be used to express regret or
relief.
Third Conditional
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Reporting verbs are used with:
• quotes
• paraphrases
• summaries
• (author prominent writing and citation)
Reporting verbs
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Choosing the ‘right’ reporting verb depends on:
• what the author is doing
• the extent to which you agree with the author
• the significance the author has placed on the
information
• the way the reporting verb fits together with
other words in a sentence
Considerations
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ARGUE: verbs concerned with writing or saying
• argue, suggest, propose, point out, observe,
explain, conclude, claim, state
THINK: verbs concerned with thinking, knowing,
understanding
• think, believe, assume, feel, hold, hope
What the author is doing
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SHOW: verbs concerned with indicating a fact or
situation
• show, demonstrate, reveal, indicate, confirm,
imply
FIND: verbs concerned with the research process
• find, discover, observe, establish, identify, infer
What the author is doing
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You can indicate, through a choice of reporting
verbs, your viewpoint:
• a belief that the information is correct
• a neutral attitude towards the veracity of the
information
• a belief that the information is incorrect
Agreement with author
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Correct:
• acknowledge, define, demonstrate, explain,
identify, observe, outline, show, throw light on
Neutral:
• add, argue, claim, clarify, conclude, describe,
express, feel, find, indicate, inform, present,
propose, remark, remind, report, state, use
Incorrect:
• allege, confuse, disregard, ignore
Agreement with author
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Stein-Parbury (2000) defines listening as the ability
to hear, understand, and appreciate a patient’s
experience.
De Cieri et al. (2003) clarify the role of human
resources in terms of a company’s improved
competitiveness in their Australian Business
Excellence Model.
In their presentation, Sawyer and Smith (2001)
described their sampling methods and data
analysis in great detail.
Agreement with author
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In their study on acculturation, Birman, Sharpe and
Angeles (2004) propose a variety of solutions to the
current problem facing Australian cities such as
Melbourne and Sydney, that of “ghettoisation” (p. 77).
Previous studies on the work-study balance of tertiary
students (Campbell 2004; Guthrie, Logan & Tuomy
2003; Smith 1999) have concluded that most students
prioritise work over study.
Lygon (2001) ignores conflicting data in his review of
the literature, thereby compromising the credibility of
his research in the field.
Agreement with author
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It is possible to indicate whether the author is positive
or negative in their attitude to the content of the
information.
Positive
• accept, advise, affirm, agree, applaud, assert,
concur, insist, maintain, note, praise, point out, posit,
recommend, remark, stress, subscribe to, suggest,
support, think, urge
Negative/uncertain:
• attack, challenge, disagree, dismiss, dispute, doubt,
mistrust, oppose, question, reject, suspect, warn
Significance of information
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The author is very assertive/certain
• argue, challenge, claim, insist, refute, reject
The author is tentative
• propose, speculate, suggest
The author believes the information is very important
• contend, emphasise, stress
The author believes the information is of lesser importance
• mention, note, say
The author is offering advice to the reader
• caution, recommend, warn, urge
Significance of information
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Taib (2003) and Patridge (2003) concur that the most
effective way of improving second language
proficiency is through social and linguistic immersion in
a country’s culture and society.
Bertrand and Sullivan (2002) note that in order to
succeed academically, children require strict
discipline at home as well as at school.
Along with others in the field, Noonan and Williams
(2002) subscribe to the theory that carefully selected
domestic animals have a positive role to play in the
palliative care of children and adults.
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Beaumont (1998) challenges many long-held beliefs
amongst the medical fraternity about mind-body-spirit
connections.
In their thorough review of related literature, Scederis
et al. (2000) dismiss previous studies’ findings relating
to the use of Royal Jelly to treat asthmatics.
Kennedy (1998) questions the claims made in
Beaumont’s paper (1998) on the role of meditation
amongst sufferers of post-traumatic stress.
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Mostly in the present tense
• ARGUE (concerned with writing or saying),
THINK (concerned with thinking, knowing and
understanding) and SHOW (concerned with
indicating a fact/situation) verbs
Occasionally in the present perfect tense
• ARGUE, FIND and SHOW verbs
Mostly in the past tense
• FIND (concerned with the research process)
verbs
How it fits in the sentence
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Verbs followed by a preposition
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Verbs followed by a noun or
‘ing’ form
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Verbs followed by ‘that’
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Centre for Learning and Professional Development 2010, Reporting verbs,
University of Adelaide.
Craven, E. n.d., Which reporting verb should I use?, ELSSA Centre, University
of Technology, Sydney.
Office of Student Success 2010, Reporting verbs, Australian Catholic
University.
Workman, G. 2008, Concept questions and time lines, Gem Publishing.
References
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UTS:HELPS
Location: CB01.03.08
Telephone: 9514 9733
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.helps.uts.edu.au
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