Thursday 14 November 2019

'Reporting Only' (Usually) Verbs


Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 521-2):
Many semantically complex verbs for elaborated speech functions are used only in reporting, e.g. insinuate, imply, remind, hypothesise, deny, make out, claim, maintain. These verbs are seldom used to quote; there is too much experiential distance between them and the actual speech event.