REPORTED SPEECH

Reported speech is when we quote someones actual words. For this, we need to use reporting
verbs. The most common are:
I knew the answer, he said
She has bought a new car, he told me
But these reporting verbs are very neutral, we can use reporting verbs that tell us more about the
way someone says something:
Jump now!, the fireman shouted
Do you take sugar?, she asked
Here is a list of the most common reporting verbs:
Add admit advise agree announce answer ask beg claim demand
explain insist
Order persuade promise remind reply report say suggest tell think
warn exclaim
Cry whisper moan insist yell urge assume believe consider
imagine suppose think wonder..

Some report verbs need an indirect object:

Bring some money, she reminded us
The police told us, You wont be charged this time
We can report five types of sentences:
STATEMENTS: we use a that clause
I cant help you He admitted (that) he couldnt help us
I am very clever He thinks (that) he is very clever
However, when reporting we need to make some changes:
Here
Ago
Before
Last week
Next week
Now
This
That
Today
These

There
Before
Earlier
The week before/ the previous week
The week after / the following week
Then/ at that moment
That
That
That day
those

Some other changes are:

Verbal shift
Present simple past simple

Example
I want to buy it She said (that) she wanted to buy it

Present cont past cont

She is writing a letter She said that she was writing a

letter

Past simple past simple/ past

perfect
Past contpastcont/ past perfect
cont*

I saw your brother She said she had seen my brother

Present perfectpast perfect

Ive come to help you She said I had come to help me

Past perfectpast perfect

She had studied English She said that she had studied
English

willwould

Ill clean it up She said that she would clean it up

cancould

I can do this She said she could do that

mustmust/ had to

We must go now She said she had to go then

maymight

She may leave soon She said she might leave soon

They were trying to do the exam She said they had

been trying to do the exam

QUESTIONS: when we report questions, we do not follow the normal question order, instead we
use the word order of a statement. We can distinguish two kinds of questions:
YES/NO questions: we use a noun clause beginning with if / whether (of course using the
necessary verbal shifts)
-

Are you happy here? She asked me if/ whether I was happy there

We can use both if/whether in most cases but we only use whether (not if) when we are asking
someone to make a choice:
-

Do you want coffee or tea? she asked

She asked me whether I wanted coffee or tea

We must also use whether when we include the phrase or not. We use whetheror not to
emphasize the necessity for an answer, often because we are irritated or angry:
-

Are you going to tell me the answer or not? she said

She asked him whether he was going to tell her the answer or not

WH-questions: we use a question word instead of if

-

Who built that castle? she wanted to know

She wanted to know who had built that castle

What time is it? she asked

She asked us what the time was

SUGGESTIONS: when we report suggestions, we can use

Suggest + (that) + noun clause

Why not get your hair cut?

He suggested (that) I (should/ could)* get my hair cut
We often omit the modal verb

Suggest + -ing
-

He suggested getting my hair cut

COMMANDS: when we report orders we often use ask + to infinitive

-

Wake me up early, dad, Peter said

Peter asked his dad to wake him up early
Ojo! Peter asked his dad NOT TO wake him up early

OFFERS/ REFUSALS .We use the same pattern as in commands with verbs that imply offers
and refusals:
Agree promise swear threaten volunteer vow offer refuse..
-

I wont do it she refused to do it

When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote
down happy. They told me I didnt understand the assignment and I told them they
didnt understand life.
John Lennon