'Say' and 'tell' can report almost anything, but they are plain. Real English speakers choose richer verbs: suggest, promise, offer, refuse, admit, agree, warn. One word can carry a whole attitude. 'She promised to call' tells you far more than 'She said she would call.' These verbs make your stories shorter, clearer, and more alive.

The catch is that each verb demands its own grammar after it. 'He suggested to leave early' sounds natural to many learners but is wrong; English wants 'He suggested leaving early.' Meanwhile 'She promised calling' is wrong, and 'She promised to call' is right. Because the patterns cannot be guessed from meaning, learning them verb by verb is the only safe road, and it pays off every time you retell a conversation.

Reporting verbs fall into a few families, and each family shares one shape. Family one takes to + verb: promise, offer, agree, refuse, threaten. 'She promised to call.' 'He offered to drive.' 'They refused to pay.' Here the subject of the reporting verb is also the person who will do the action: she promises, and she will call.

Family two takes verb + -ing: suggest, recommend, admit, deny, mention. 'He suggested leaving early.' 'She admitted breaking the cup.' 'They denied taking the money.' Notice that 'suggest' never takes to + verb: not 'suggested to leave,' but 'suggested leaving.' If you want to name a person, use a that-clause: 'He suggested that we leave early.'

Family three takes person + to + verb: ask, tell, remind, warn, invite, advise, encourage, persuade. 'She reminded me to buy milk.' 'They encouraged him to apply.' Here the action belongs to the other person, not the speaker: she reminds, but I buy the milk. This is the same pattern you met with reported commands.

Family four takes a that-clause: explain, complain, admit, agree, promise, insist, mention. 'He explained that the office was closed.' 'She complained that the soup was cold.' Some verbs live in two families: 'promise' takes both 'to call' and 'that she would call'; 'admit' takes both 'breaking it' and 'that she broke it.' A special warning about 'explain': it does not take a person directly. Say 'She explained the rule to me,' never 'She explained me the rule.'

How do you learn all this? Do not memorize the grammar labels; memorize one true example per verb, like a song line. 'He suggested leaving early.' 'She promised to call.' 'They warned us to be careful.' When you speak, your remembered example whispers the pattern to you. Add one or two new verbs a week, and always store them inside a full sentence.

1. 1. She offered to carry my heavy suitcase.

   'Offer' takes to + verb; the offerer does the action.

2. 2. He denied breaking the office printer.

   'Deny' needs the -ing form, never 'to break.'

3. 3. They agreed to meet outside the cinema at six.

   'Agree' joins the to + verb family.

4. 4. The waiter recommended trying the fish soup.

   'Recommend,' like 'suggest,' takes verb + -ing.

5. 5. She persuaded her brother to see a doctor.

   'Persuade' needs a person before to + verb.

6. 6. He admitted forgetting our anniversary.

   'Admit' takes -ing when no that-clause is used.

7. 7. The landlord refused to fix the broken heater.

   'Refuse' always takes to + verb.

8. 8. She explained that the museum closed early on Sundays.

   'Explain' takes a that-clause, not 'explained me.'

9. 9. They invited us to stay for the weekend.

   'Invite' needs person + to + verb.

10. 10. He suggested taking the earlier train to avoid the crowds.

    'Suggest' plus -ing; 'suggested to take' is impossible.

11. 11. She promised that the package would arrive by Monday.

    'Promise' can also take a full that-clause.

12. 12. The coach encouraged the team to keep practicing.

    'Encourage' follows the person + to + verb pattern.

13. 13. He complained that the hotel room smelled of smoke.

    'Complain' reports unhappiness with a that-clause.

14. 14. Did she agree to work the night shift?

    The pattern stays the same inside a question.

15. 15. They threatened to cancel the whole order.

    'Threaten' takes to + verb for a warning of action.

The most famous error is 'He suggested to leave early.' 'Suggest' simply refuses the to-infinitive; it wants -ing or a that-clause: 'He suggested leaving early' or 'He suggested that we leave early.' The same trap catches 'recommend,' 'deny,' and 'admit.' Meaning cannot save you here; only the memorized pattern can.

The mirror-image error is using -ing with a to-verb: 'She promised calling me' or 'He refused paying.' 'Promise,' 'offer,' 'agree,' 'refuse,' and 'threaten' all take to + verb: 'She promised to call me,' 'He refused to pay.' If you mix the two families, listeners usually understand you, but the sentence sounds clearly foreign.

A third mistake is putting a person after a verb that does not accept one: 'She explained me the problem' or 'He suggested me a restaurant.' 'Explain' and 'suggest' need 'to' before the person: 'She explained the problem to me,' 'He suggested a restaurant to me.' Compare 'tell,' which demands the person: 'She told me the problem.' When you learn a reporting verb, learn whether a person can sit right after it.

• Suggest, recommend, deny, admit: use the -ing form.
• Promise, offer, agree, refuse, threaten: use to + verb.
• Remind, warn, invite, encourage, persuade: person + to + verb.
• Explain and suggest never take a person directly; add 'to me.'
• Memorize one true example sentence for every reporting verb.
• When unsure, a that-clause is often a safe backup: 'He suggested that we leave.'