Transcript REPORTED SPEECH

1
It is the grammar we use if we want to tell another person about a conversation
that took place in the past (e.g telephone call, news or story that someone told us
etc.)
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My favourite film is on TV
tonight. I love comedies.
Mrs Brown said that her favourite film was on TV that night. She said that she
loved comedies.
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
In direct speech we give the exact words
somebody said and use quotation marks. In
reported speech, we give the meaning of
what someone said, but with some changes
and without quotation marks.

Direct speech: She said, “I am tired.”
“I am tired,” she said.
Reported speech: She said (that) she was
tired.

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


We usually introduce Reported Speech with
the words tell (when there is a person /
pronoun as an object) and say (when there is
no person / pronoun as an object). That is
optional.
“I am leaving, Tom,” she said.
She told Tom (that) she was leaving.
“I am leaving,” she said.
She said (that) she was leaving.
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Present Simple becomes Past Simple:
He said, “I want to buy a new car.”
He said (that) he wanted to buy a new car.

Present
Progressive
becomes
Progressive:
She said, “I am learning Spanish.”
She said (that) she was learning Spanish.

Past
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Past Simple becomes Past Perfect Simple:
“I missed the train,” he said.
He said (that) he had missed the train.

Present Perfect Simple becomes Past Perfect
Simple:
“I have missed the train,” he said.
He said (that) he had missed the train.

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Past Progressive becomes Past Perfect Progressive:
She said, “I was staying with a friend.”
She said (that) she had been staying with a friend.

Present Perfect Progressive becomes Past Perfect
Progressive:
She said, “I have been staying with a friend.”
She said (that) she had been staying with a friend.

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Will becomes would:
She said, “I’ll call you.”
She said (that) she would call me.

Can becomes could:
He said, “I can run very fast.”
He said (that) he could run very fast.

May becomes might:
They said, “we may go on holiday.”
They said (that) they might go on holiday.

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Must becomes had to (obligation) and
becomes must (deduction):
She said, “ I must get up early every day.”
She said (that) she had to get up early every
day.

He said, “You must be tired.”
He said (that) I must be tired.
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Must not becomes must not (prohibition):
She said, “You mustn’t smoke.”
She said (that) I/we mustn’t smoke.

Need becomes needed/hadto:
She said, “I need to go shopping.”
She said (that) she needed/had to go shopping.

Needn’t becomes needn’t/didn’t have to (present) and
wouldn’t have to (past):
He said, “I needn’t hurry.”
He said (that) he didn’t have to hurry.
She said, “You needn’t pick me up tomorrow.”
She told me (that) I wouldn’t have to pick her up the following
day.

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
Would, could, might, should, ought to do
not change in Reported Speech.
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Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
Now
Then
Today – tonight
That day – that night
Yesterday
The day before / previous day
Tomorrow
The next / following day
Last week (month etc.)
The previous week (month etc.) / the
week (month etc.) before
Next week (month etc.)
The following week (month etc.)
ago
before
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Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
This / these
That / those
here
there
Pronouns / possessive adjectives
They change according to the context.
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
When the reporting verb is in the Present, Future or Present Perfect
Tense:
He says, “I’ll be a teacher when I grow up.”
He says (that) he will be a teacher when he grows up.
When the sentence expresses a general truth or something that is
unlikely to change:
She said, “The days are longer in the summer.”
She said (that) the days are longer in the summer.

She said, “I prefer coffee to tea.”
She said (that) she prefers coffee to tea.
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
The Past Perfect (Simple and Progressive) does not
change in Reported Speech:
She said, “I had prepared dinner in advance.”
She said (that) she had prepared dinner in advance.

The Past Progressive does not usually change; Past
tenses in time clauses do not change:
“I was speaking on the phone when the doorbell rang,”she
said.
She said (that) she was speaking on the phone when the
doorbell rang.
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When something is reported immediately after it is
said:
“This dress looks awful,” Mary said.
Mary said (that) this dress looks awful.
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The Past Simple in colloquial speech can either
change or remain the same:
“I got my school report yesterday,” said Jim.
Jim said (that) he got / had got his school report the
day before.

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When something, although said earlier, will
take place in the future:
John said, “ I’m flying to Rome tomorrow.
John said (that) he is flying to Rome tomorrow.
(It is still today).

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When there is a Conditional (Type 2 and 3) or a sentence
with wish / if only:
Peter said, “If I were rich, I would travel a lot.”
Peter said (that) if he were rich, he would travel a lot.

Karen said, “If I hadn’t woken up late, I wouldn’t have missed
the bus.”
Karen said (that) if she hadn’t woken up late, she wouldn’t have
missed the bus.
Susan said, “I wish I knew his name.”
Susan said (that) she wished she knew his name.
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
Reported Questions are introduced with the
verbs ask, inquire, wonder, want to know
etc. The auxiliaries do, does, did and
question marks are not used. The word
order is the same as in statements and the
tenses change according to the rules:
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TYPE
FORM
EXAMPLES
Yes – No Questions
Ask / wonder etc. + if
/whether + subject + verb
“Do you speak German?”
She wondered if I spoke
German.
Wh- Questions
Ask / wonder etc. +
question word + subject +
verb
“Where do you live?”
She wanted to know
where I lived.
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
Whether often indicates uncertainty or
doubt. It is used when there is a choice
between two alternatives:
He wondered whether I had posted the letter
or not.
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
Question Tags are omitted in Reported
Speech.
“They haven’t arrived yet, have they?” he said.
He asked whether / if they had arrived yet.
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
To report commands, requests, advice, warnings, or
suggestions we use the verbs tell, ask, beg, order,
command, advise, forbid, warn, encourage etc. + (object) +
full infinitive:
The flight attendant said, “Please return to your seats and
fasten your seat belts.”
The flight attendant asked us to return to our seats and fasten
our seat belts.
“Don’t talk so fast,” he said.
He advised me not to talk too fast.
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Refuse / offer / promise (+object) / threaten (+object) / claim /
agree etc. + full infinitive:
“I ‘ll pick you up from the airport,” he said.
He offered to pick me up from the airport.
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Accuse sb of / complain to sb about / insist on / admit to /
deny / apologise for + -ing form:
Susan said, “He stole the old woman’s handbag.”
Susan accused him of stealing the old woman’s handbag.

“I didn’t write anything on the desk,” he said.
He denied having written anything on the desk.
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Complain / explain / agree / claim / deny /
promise / threaten / warn + (object)
+
THAT – CLAUSE
“My coffee is too cold,” she said.
She complained that her coffee was too cold.
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
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“Let’s go for a swim,” Peter said.
Peter suggested
going for a swim.
that they go / went for a
swim.
that they should go for a
swim.
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JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!
'I've conducted a number of tests,' Dr Grey said.
__________________________________________
'I must put you on a very strict diet,' she told me.
__________________________________________
'You're putting on a lot of weight,' she said.
__________________________________________
'You have gained 5.5 kilos in six months,' she added.
___________________________________________
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'You will get very fat if you go on like this,' she told
me.
______________________________________________
 'You should eat very little,' she said.
_______________________________________________
 'So I'll have to live on nuts and water,' I said nervously.
_______________________________________________
 'You can live on nuts and water without the nuts,' she
said.
_______________________________________________
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'Are you enjoying yourself?' He wanted to know
_____________________________________________
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'Do you always go to church on Sunday?' He wondered
_____________________________________________
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'Have you seen John recently?' She asked me
_____________________________________________
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'Has Debbie been working here long?' He wanted to know
_____________________________________________
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'Did you study hard for the exam?' She wondered
_____________________________________________
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'What does Frank do for a living?' I wanted to know
_____________________________________________
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'Why is Maria crying?' She wondered
_____________________________________________
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'What kind of holiday has Marco had?' You wanted to know
_____________________________________________
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'How long have you both been living here?' They inquired
______________________________________________
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'Where did they go last week?' She wanted to know
______________________________________________
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'Who
were
you
looking
for?'
He
______________________________________________
asked
me
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'Go on holiday when the weather gets warmer,' she
told him. (advise)
_____________________________________________
 'Keep out of this room at all times,' she said to them.
(warn)
______________________________________________
 'Remember to post those letters,' he said to me.
(remind)
______________________________________________
 'Don't go into my study,' he said to them. (ask)
_______________________________________________
 'Don't wait for me,' I said to him. (tell)
_______________________________________________
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