Reported Commands & Requests
Level B2 · Reported Speech
Reporting an order, request, or piece of advice uses a completely different pattern from reporting a statement or question: no backshifted verb, no that — instead, a reporting verb + object + to-infinitive. 'Close the door,' she said becomes She told me to close the door, not She told me that I closed the door.
The pattern is reporting verb + object (the person spoken to) + (not) + to-infinitive:
- tell is the default for a direct order: 'Sit down,' he said → He told us to sit down.
- ask reports both a request and, with if/whether, a yes/no question — context tells them apart: 'Please help me,' she said → She asked me to help her.
- For a negative command, not goes right before to: 'Don't touch that,' he said → He told me not to touch it (not He told me to not touch it).
- Other reporting verbs carry a similar object + to-infinitive pattern, each adding its own shade of meaning: advise, warn, remind, invite, order, persuade, encourage — He advised her to see a doctor; They warned us not to be late.
say never fits this pattern because it takes no direct object: say 'I like tea' but tell someone to do something. If the original person is unnamed or unimportant, ask/tell can drop the object only with ask (Ask to see the manager), never with tell, which always needs one.
The most common mistake is reporting a command as if it were a statement, adding that + a full clause: He told me that I should close the door is understood but unnatural; the expected pattern is He told me to close the door. A second frequent error: putting not after to instead of before it — told me to not touch it is wrong; it should be told me not to touch it.
Look for an imperative in the original sentence (a bare verb, often with please or don't) and a reporting verb like tell/ask/advise/warn/remind followed directly by a person and to + infinitive — with not sitting immediately before to for a negative command.