claim

claim verb.

There are several areas of difficulty with this word. The first concerns claim + that, and the second claim + to. The third concerns the expression to claim responsibility.

1. claim + that. In this construction, claim should not be used as a mere synonym for allege, assert, declare, maintain, say, etc., but should contain an element of argued contention:

• He claimed that adding VAT to domestic fuel and power would help create a greener and cleaner world by stimulating the use of more energy efficiency measures —Environment Digest, 1990

• ☒ The Sun claims that the Stonebridge council estate in north London ‘is Britain's tinderbox where Los Angeles-style riots could explode at any time’ —New Statesman, 1992.

2. claim + to. Fowler objected to the use of this construction when the subject of claim is not the same as the subject of the infinitive; so I claim to be honest is acceptable but ☒ I claim this to be honest is not. Passive constructions such as

• ☒ This central Asian wine was claimed to be drinkable for up to 10 years —Oxford Companion to Wine, 2000

would also be rejected on the same principle.

The weight of current usage, however, has all but overturned this rule, and it is principally on grounds of style that alternative constructions using assert, contend, maintain, etc., might be preferred.

3. claim responsibility for. In news reports, it is often said that a particular group claimed responsibility for (an attack, bombing, etc.). The objection is that the use of claim implies something laudable or desirable, whereas a terrorist attack is neither. Alternative expressions such as accept or admit responsibility or declare that (they were responsible) avoid these sensitivities, but claim is likely to remain by far the commonest verb used in this connection in the mass media.