Reporting verbs 2.1 VERBS USED WITH "that" CLAUSES This kind of reported clause is often called a "that" clause, even though many clauses may in informal usage occur without "that". Here is a list of verbs which are often used as reporting verbs with "that" clauses: accept comment dispute imply point out speculate acknowledge concede document indicate predict state add conclude doubt infer presume stress admit confirm emphasize inform proposes suggest agree conjecture establish insist *prove suppose allege *consider *estimate judge recognise surmise anticipate contend *expect *know recommend *suspect argue *decide *feel maintain *report tell assert demonstrate *find mention reveal *think *assume deny hold note *show *understand *believe determine *hope *observe say warn *claim *discover hypothesize *perceive *see   *verbs, such as "find" and "know", which can also he used with a "to"-infinitive clause.   2.2 PASSIVES OF that REPORTING VERBS If you want to say what has been claimed, thought, or discovered either by previous researchers or in your own study, you can use "it" as an impersonal "dummy" subject of the passive form of a reporting verb, followed by a "that" clause. This form is most common in non-integral citations. It has been suggested that the ratio SS/TA indicates ripeness of fresh fruit (Deshpande and Smith, 2004). It was felt that this concern could be answered by stabilizing furazolidone through inactivation of the enzymes involved. It was found that no cases of hypothermia had been recorded.   Here is a list of reporting verbs which can be used in the passive with "it" as their subject: accept comment emphasize know say acknowledge concede establish note show admit conclude estimate observe speculate agree confirm expect postulate state allege conjecture feel predict suggest anticipate consider find presume suppose argue decide hold propose surmise assert demonstrate hope recognize suspect assume determine hypothesize recommend think believe discover imply record say claim document indicate report     The major advantage of using a passive structure with "it" ” is that it allows you to avoid having a long or “top-heavy” subject, and thus also allows you to put what you are talking about in a more prominent position at the end of the sentence. 2.3 OBJECTS WITH REPORTING VERBS Some reporting verbs can have as their objects nouns that refer to events or facts. These nouns are often closely related to verbs. For example, the noun "loss" is closely related to the verb "lose", and instead of saying "He admitted that he had lost his passport", you can say "He admitted the loss of his passport". Koski (2004) reported that hormone levels dropped by 45%. Koski (2004) reported a 45% drop in hormone levels.   Here is a list of reporting verbs which are often used with nouns that refer to findings or claims of fact: acknowledge describe expect observe report admit detect find predict show assume discover indicate propose speculate conjecture discuss mention recommend suggest demonstrate estimate note record suspect   The major advantage of using a passive structure with "it" ” is that it allows you to avoid having a long or “top-heavy” subject, and thus also allows you to put what you are talking about in a more prominent position at the end of the sentence.

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