You're chatting with a coworker about your uncle, who's a pretty strange guy. He's told you that aliens from outer space kidnapped him. You tell your coworker:
He claims to have been abducted by aliens.
passive, perfect aspect, say, strange The disk tray of your DVD player is broken. You think that your son broke it, but he says that he didn't. Now you're telling your wife about it. You say:
He claims he didn't do it, but I strongly suspect that he did.
You find out that the disk tray of your DVD player is broken. You suspect that your 6-year-old son broke it. You ask him if he broke it, and he doesn't answer but looks guilty. You want to encourage him to confess, so you say:
Just tell me the truth.
You're having after-work drinks with coworkers and complaining about the director of your department. You've complained that he doesn't acknowledge that you're there when you see him outside of the office. Now you're continuing to talk about it, and how you think he should act. You say:
He could at least say "hi" or something.
angry, boss (topic), greetings, say, suggestion You need to talk to your boss about urgent business. You call but his assistant answers the phone and says that he's been gone for most of the afternoon. You want to know where he is so that you can decide if you should call his mobile phone. If he's with a client, you'll leave a message with the assistant, but if he's out on some other business you'll call his mobile phone. You ask the assistant:
Did he mention where he was going?
boss (topic), past, past future, say, simple past, telephone, work 