How Do Reporting Verbs Shape the News? Reported Speech and Ukraine Headlines – S03E06

Why does a headline say someone “warned”, “denied” or “ordered” something instead of simply saying they “said” it?In this special episode, Gav and Em use headlines about the 2022 invasion of Ukraine to explore reported speech and the meaning carried by reporting verbs. They dedicate the conversation to people affected by the war, including their friends, students and followers in Ukraine.Starting with an everyday conversation at a bus stop, they compare direct quotes with reported speech and ask whether people always follow the rules taught in textbooks. They then examine how verbs such as denied, stated, warned, rejected, accused, announced and ordered can reveal attitude, authority or urgency in news reporting.Em puts Gav through a reported speech quiz covering tense changes, questions, commands and modal verbs. Together, they consider when a tense shifts back, when it can stay the same, and why reporting a fact can sound different from reporting an event in the past. It’s a useful discussion for teachers explaining the grammar and learners trying to understand it in real news and conversation.If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod. You’ll find more practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use at https://howtoenglishpod.com.References mentioned: Ready for First: https://www.macmillanenglish.com/us/catalogue/courses/exam-preparation/ready-for-first-3rd-edition/course-information | UN News: https://news.un.org | The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/international | The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk | FactCheck.org: https://www.factcheck.org | 7ESL: https://7esl.com/reported-speech/Chapters00:00 Direct quotes and reported speech at the bus stop02:34 How to report a question04:44 Why this episode looks at Ukraine news06:06 What reporting verbs add to a statement07:46 Reporting verbs in news headlines12:40 Reporting verb patterns: to-infinitive and -ing14:23 Reported speech tense-change quiz19:08 Reporting modal verbs20:12 When tenses do not have to change23:05 Conditionals and unchanged forms