When someone gives an order, makes a request, or tells another person what to do, English reports it with a to-infinitive, not a that-clause. The reporting verb takes an object — the person being addressed — and the action follows as to + base verb.
The tense of the base verb never changes, because the infinitive has no tense of its own. Only pronouns, time words, and place words may shift.
The pattern
The structure is fixed across every verb in this group:
reporting verb + object + to-infinitive
| DIRECT | REPORTED |
|---|---|
| "Sit down." | The teacher told the students to sit down. |
| "Could you call me back?" | Maria asked James to call her back. |
| "Leave the building." | The guard ordered us to leave the building. |
| "Try the new route." | Anna advised me to try the new route. |
The object is not optional — unlike say, verbs in this group require the person being addressed. He told to leave and She asked to wait (without an object) are both wrong.
The negative form
For a negative command or request, put not directly before to.
Placing not anywhere else — to not wait, don't to wait — is a common learner error.
Reporting verbs by function
The same grammar covers a wide range of meanings. The verb you choose signals how forceful or polite the original words were.
Commands — direct, often with authority behind them.
- tell, order, command, instruct, direct
Requests — polite, often with "please" in the original.
- ask, beg, request, urge
Advice and warnings — guidance rather than orders.
- advise, warn, remind, encourage
Forbidding — the strongest negative form.
- forbid, prohibit
A brief note: recommend belongs to a different pattern (She recommended taking the train / She recommended that we take the train) — it does not normally take an object + to-infinitive. Other reporting-verb patterns are covered separately.
Tell for statements vs tell for commands
The verb tell appears in two different patterns, and the form decides which meaning is active.
| USE | PATTERN | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | tell + object + that-clause | She told me that she was late. |
| Command | tell + object + to-infinitive | She told me to leave. |
She told me she was late reports information — what she said about herself. She told me to leave reports a command — what she wanted me to do.
The object stays the same (me); only what follows shifts. Learners often confuse the two and produce She told me that to leave or She told me leave — both are wrong.
The object is mandatory
Tell, order, ask, advise and the rest of this group cannot drop the person being addressed. Say behaves differently, but it does not fit this pattern at all.
If you want to use say, switch to a that-clause: He said that he wanted to leave. For a command or request, pick a verb from the list above and keep the object.
The special case of suggest
Suggest looks like it should fit the pattern, but it does not. It never takes an object + to-infinitive. Instead, it uses one of two forms.
A that-clause, with that often omitted:
An -ing form (gerund), with no person named:
Both suggested me to leave and suggested me that we leave are wrong. If you need to name the person affected, use the that-clause: She suggested that I leave early.
Common mistakes
Missing object
Wrong structure after tell
Wrong negative placement
Suggest errors
Say instead of tell