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Tell Me - Verbs of Utterance
A summer's day in the English countryside.

Tell Me - Verbs of Utterance

Quiz playing is a wonderful way to increase your knowledge of English as a Second Language. Remember that all of our ESL quizzes have titles that are both friendly and technical at the same time… In the case of this quiz you might like to tell your friends about “Tell Me” but no doubt your teachers will talk about the “Verbs of Utterance quiz”! If you hear a technical term and you want to find a quiz about the subject then just look through the list of quiz titles until you find what you need.

This quiz focuses on verbs of utterance.

There are many more ways of conveying information than just 'saying' or 'telling'. These depend on whether the telling is aloud or on paper; whether it is loud or quiet, secret or public...

See how much you can 'tell me', about these verbs of utterance.

1.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
Next week the government will ... ... the name of the new Energy Minister.
... announce ...
... tell us ...
... reveal ...
... explain ...
Answer 1 is the most formal and deliberate action. 'Reveal' (Answer 3) suggests that until this happens, the name of the minister is a secret (which may very well also be true).
2.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
This man has ... ... he is the fastest runner in the village.
... said ...
... hinted ...
... pretended ...
... claimed ...
Answer 4 is best because it suggests both that he has been announcing this quite loud and clear to people in general ~ 'claim' comes from an old Latin word, from which we also have 'exclaim' and 'proclaim', each involving raising one's voice confidently in public ~ yet, also, that what he's been saying may not be true ... or at best, it has not yet been proved.
'Hinted' (Answer 2) would be far less direct; 'pretended' (Answer 3) suggests that his claim was false in the first place.
3.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
'We would like to ... ... about the rise in prices which we are obliged to make from the beginning of next year.'
... advise of ...
.. warn you ...
... tell you ...
... have a good laugh ...
Answer 2 is strongest here; Answer 4 is silly (or possibly, cynical)!
'Inform you' would be a more 'emotionally neutral' phrase; 'warn you' already carries the suggestion of something unpleasant, or at least unwelcome, ahead.
4.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
The man sitting next to me in the cinema ... ... something very funny to me during the film.
... said ...
... whispered ...
... shouted ...
... called ...
If this was a quiet remark, Answer 2 makes the best sense here.
5.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
The new Minister's first duty will be to ... ... about future policy on renewable energy.
... talk ...
... speak ...
... make a statement ...
... preach ...
Answer 3 is the typical formal phrase; Answers 1 and 2 are true, but not formal enough, while Answer 4 ('preach') describes more a religious than a political form of speaking.
6.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
My lawyer has ... ... he would write to the company that owes us money.
... told ...
... said ...
... promised ...
... suggested ...
Answer 3 is the strongest and most useful here. Note that we do not need to insist on putting in 'that' after any of these verbs, as many other languages would do.
7.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
As the flames rose around her, she began ... ... at the top of her voice.
... speaking ...
... screaming ...
... yelling ...
... shouting ...
Answers 2 and 4 are both also good, but we feel that this one is the strongest of all.
8.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
A summer's day in the English countryside: and all you can hear is the .... ... of the gentle wind in the trees and a stream in the middle distance.
... rustle ...
... murmur ...
... sighing ...
... rumble ...
'Rustle' (Answer 1) and 'sigh' (3) are all right for the trees, but if the gentle sound comes from both the trees and the water, 'murmur' is probably best. The word sounds like what it means, too (an example of 'onomatopoeia') ~ even though this is almost the quietest of all sounds!
9.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
During the interview they ... ... her a number of quite difficult questions.
... posed ...
... asked ...
... gave ...
... demanded ...
In English we 'ask' questions rather than 'posing' or 'demanding' them. ('Demanding questions' is more what someone would do if they were finishing giving a lecture, and asking people to raise questions of their own for which they still wanted answers.)
10.
Pick the answer which fills the gap/s with the most accurate and interesting English.
Many people these days are ... ... whether we should still be burning fossil fuels to generate energy.
... wondering ...
.... considering ...
... querying ...
... questioning ...
Answer 4 carries the strongest sense that not only do these people have their doubts, but they are actively and openly expressing these doubts by raising questions (writing on blogs and to the local media, challenging the politicians and energy companies at public meetings, etc.).
Author:  Ian Miles

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