Using 'That' with Reporting Verbs
Reported Speech is often expressed through Complex Sentences in which the introductory clause is the main clause and the part that's actually being reported is a Content Clause that fits inside the main clause (acting as a noun, typically the direct object). The verb most frequently used for this is 'said', but there are other options.
There are many more Reporting Verbs other than ‘said’. The word ‘said’ is very generic and only tells us the basic action, but other reporting verbs can be more specific in terms of how or why something was said.
What follows reporting verbs can be a participial phrase, an infinitive phrase, or a content clause. Participial phrases follow reporting verbs like ‘discuss’, ‘encourage’, ‘mention’, and ‘report’. For example, you might say, “During the meeting, we discussed changing venues.” Here, ‘changing venues’ is the participial phrase (it begins with an –ing word).
Infinitive phrases follow reporting verbs like ‘agree’, ‘claim’, ‘offer’, and ‘threatened’. For example, you might say, “Kirsten offered to babysit the kids.” Here, ‘to babysit the kids’ is the infinitive phrase (it begins with to).
Content clauses begin with a crux; let’s just use the crux ‘that’ for now. There are some reporting verbs that work specifically with content clauses, but many of the reporting verbs used for participial phrases or infinitive phrases can also lead to content clauses. Here’s a list of reporting verbs that come before content clauses:
admit
agree
ask
believe
claim
complain
convince ___
demand
deny
expect
explain
forbid
inform ___
insist
permit
persuade ___
promise
recommend
refuse
reveal
say
suggest
tell ___
think
warn ___
In the blanks (___) are where an indirect object should go, and they would probably refer to the person originally addressed.
The advantage of using a content clause is that the subject of that clause can be different from the subject of the reporting clause (or the overall complex sentence). For example, with “I promise to be there,” the person who will ‘be there’ must only be ‘I’ (whoever said the sentence). But if you want to express that someone else will be there, you need to use a content clause, as in “I promise that your father will be there.”
Similarly, with “I recommend visiting Scotland,” the person or people who would do the visiting are unspecified; they may be determined by the context, or it may be a generic recommendation. On the other hand, with “I recommend that Charles and Nancy visit Scotland,” the people that would do the visiting are clearly Charles and Nancy.
When you need to specify the subject of the reported verb – especially if that subject is different from that of the reporting verb – use content clauses.