{"id":881,"date":"2014-10-09T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T16:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=881"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:46:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:46:59","slug":"reporting-verbs-and-simple-present-tense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/reporting-verbs-and-simple-present-tense\/","title":{"rendered":"Reporting Verbs and Simple Present Tense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forming simple present verbs is — well — simple. You use the base form of the verb, and modify the verb depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. (Either by adding \/s\/, or making other changes, in the case of irregular verbs<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to actual use, simple present is anything but simple. In my post on present tenses<\/a>, I list the 4 different uses of simple present. One of these uses is the expression of timeless facts. This is seen in sentences like \u201cThe sun sets<\/strong> in the west,\u201d or \u201cHawaii lies<\/strong> in the Pacific Ocean.\u201d Mastering this use of simple present can really help you in TOEFL writing and speaking.<\/p>\n

In both the writing and speaking sections of the TOEFL, test-takers must listen to audio, read passages, and summarize the information. In academic English, these kinds of summaries use reporting verbs<\/a>. Reporting verbs are used to quote or paraphrase information taken from another source. Common TOEFL reporting verbs include \u201cclaim,\u201d \u201cstate,\u201d \u201csay,\u201d \u201cassert,\u201d \u201crefute,\u201d and so on. Reporting verbs reference sources that can be accessed at any time and cannot be changed or rewritten. Because of this, they express a kind of timeless fact, expressed in simple present tense.<\/p>\n

As a general example, you could reference a biology textbook passage about the life cycle of a butterfly. You could say \u201cthe textbook states <\/strong>that caterpillars turn into butterflies.\u201d However, in academic writing, you shouldn\u2019t say that the textbook stated <\/em>something, even though the textbook is written in the past. You shouldn\u2019t say the textbook is stating<\/em> something either, even if you are looking at the textbook in the \u201creal\u201d present<\/a> as you reference it.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s look at some examples from actual TOEFL materials. TOEFL Writing<\/a> Task 1 requires you to reference information from a reading passage. Suppose you are paraphrasing a TOEFL reading passage about the careers of professors (as seen in The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test<\/a>, Practice Test 2). Make sure you use a reporting verb, and keep it in simple present tense. A written paraphrase might look like this: \u201cThe article claims<\/strong> that university professors benefit from appearing on TV.\u201d In Task 1, test-takers also reference an audio lecture related to the reading. Here, perhaps you could write \u201chowever, the lecturer asserts<\/strong> that television appearances do not really help professors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simple present tense reporting verbs are similarly important in TOEFL Speaking<\/a> Tasks 2 through 4. Here, you\u2019ll summarize reading and audio in speech instead of writing. You might say something like \u201cThe article reports<\/strong> that more exercise machines will be added to the campus gym.\u201d (A summary of information from Official TOEFL iBT Tests with Audio<\/a>, Test 5, Speaking Task 3.) When paraphrasing an audio conversation on the speaking test, you could make say \u201cThe male student disagrees<\/strong> with the student association\u2019s decision.\u201d (This is paraphrased from a sample transcript on ETS’ official website.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The proper use of reporting verbs is a powerful tool when you paraphrase or summarize information. Keeping your reporting verbs in simple present tense on the TOEFL can improve the quality of your answers and raise your score. This grammar knowledge will continue to help you in the English-language academic courses you\u2019ll enroll in after you pass.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forming simple present verbs is — well — simple. You use the base form of the verb, and modify the verb depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. (Either by adding \/s\/, or making other changes, in the case of irregular verbs.) However, when it comes to actual use, simple present is anything […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13603],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13630],"class_list":["post-881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReporting Verbs and Simple Present Tense - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/reporting-verbs-and-simple-present-tense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reporting Verbs and Simple Present Tense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Forming simple present verbs is — well — simple. You use the base form of the verb, and modify the verb depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. (Either by adding \/s\/, or making other changes, in the case of irregular verbs.) 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Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew"],"knowsAbout":["TOEFL","IELTS","TOEIC","PET","FCE","BULATS","Eiken","SAT","ACT","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","Italian"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13630,"user_id":80,"is_guest":0,"slug":"davidr","display_name":"David Recine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Recine","first_name":"David","description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.\r\n\r\nDavid has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C50&q=Recine+magoosh&btnG=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> many scholarly articles<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/minds.wisconsin.edu\/handle\/1793\/65479\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> his Master's Thesis<\/a> is featured on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingwithpictures.org\/2013\/09\/research-highlight-teaching-english-language-learners-with-comics\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Reading with Pictures<\/a> website, and he's presented at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.witesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2014-WITESOL-Program-FINAL-10-28-14.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> WITESOL (link to PDF)<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/interoff\/docs\/nafsaregionv_2014conference\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NAFSA<\/a> conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru.\r\n\r\nCome join David and the Magoosh team on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"> Youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\"> Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshenglish\/?hl=en\"> Instagram<\/a>, or connect with him via<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\"> LinkedIn<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}