Reported speech

Entry test
1 In the following extract from a composition, circle
the underlined verbs that are not in a correct form.
In a recent report on hygiene in shops and
restaurants, it is claimed (1) that over forty per
cent of the establishments involved in the survey
fell (2) below acceptable standards. One butcher
quoted in the report even boasted that several of
his customers have become (3) ill after eating
chicken bought at his shop. When ene of the
customers complained, she was told that it can't
have been (4) the chicken but anyway she should
have washed (5) it thoroughiy under the tap
before she cooked it. The butcher conceded he
had acted (6) somewhat irresponsibly but seemed
happy to admit that he will sell (7) the same
chicken in the future if it was ever necessary. All
this is rather worrying. Of particular cause for
concern is the attitude expressed by a chef at an
expensive restaurant who related how he had once
served (8) food reheated from three-day-oid
leftovers and soid it at a vastiy inflated price. The
author of the report, interviewed on televisin, said
that as a result of his studies he came (9) to the
conclusin that the more you gay (10) for a meai,
the more likely you are to get ill.

FOR TENSES IN REPORTED SPEECH, SEE SECTION 1.

Fill the gap in each of the following sentences so

that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the
first sentence.
EXAMPLE; 'That's right. The flight leaves at 16.25,'
she said.

She confirmed t\\at the f]c\t Ic/t at 16.25.

T'm sorry I shouted at you,' Ruth said to Rita.
Ruth apologised
her.
'Look Dominic, you really shouldn't get so angry
with people,' said Marin,
Marin advised
so angry with people.
'Thanks for everything you've done for me over
the last week,' he said to his parents.
He told his parents
for him over the
past week.
My previous boss said, Tf you will agree to help
me, l'll see what I can do about your working
hours.'
My previous boss promised
help him.
'Do you think you'll be able to get here
tomorrow?' asked my mother.
My mother wondered
it the
following day.
'Do you think you might be able to get the money
by this evening?' she enquired.
She asked me
of the money by that evening.
'I'd rather you didn't tell anyone about it yet,' my
wife said.
My wife asked me
yet.
'Don't worry, l'm not really going to take all youi
money' he said.
The man reassured me he had
money
'l'm afraid I am not in a position to lend you any
money at the moment,' he said, 'though I wouid if
I could.'
He said that
able to.
'But you really must come and stay with us for the
weekend,' said Philip.
Philip insisted
for the weekend.

FOR TENSES IN REPORTED SPEECH, SEE SECTION 1. FOR REPORT

STRUCTURES, SEE SECTION 2.

mem
212

REPORTED SPEECH

T H E BASICS

1 GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

CHANCES

W h e n we report what somebody says or thinks, we

c o m m o n l y make changes i n vocabulary and
grammar:
Reason
Changes
Exaniples
We are
reporting w h a t
somebody
clse said.

chaage personal
pronouns, or
use other
nouns to make
the reference
clear

'I love you.'

becomes: He said he
loved me.
'Yu're being
lidiculous.' becomes:
le tohi Roula she
was being lidiculous.

We are
reporting the
original saying
or thought in
a diferent
place.

change words
refciring to
place or other
things that are
no longer there

7 love a here.'
becomes: Slie told
me she loved il by
the sea.
'Hey! Look at this!'
becomes: She drew
n\y ailenlion to the
headline in the
paper.

We are
reporting the
statement at a
dillereni time.

cliange tenses
and words
referring to
time

7 only got Iwre

yesterday.' becomes:
Slie satd she had only
got here on
Wednesday.
'l'm coming
tomorrow.' becomes:
He said he's coming
today.

2 REPORTING ORDERS AND QUESTIONS

FLEXIBLE CHANGES

T h e changes we make to tenses and vocabulary w h e n

r e p o r t i n g are not fixed transformations. T h e possible
variations i n w h o w e are talking to, and where and
w h e n we are speaking, mean we must be flexible. A l l
references to place and person and time, including
tense, m u s t i a k e sense to the speaker and listener at
the time and place i n w h i c h they are speaking. Here
are some examples to show h o w report words and
structures can change according to the siiuation:
Sitiiation
Report
Original
Person j o i n s a
g r o u p o f people
chatting at a
party

'Helio. 1 was just

saying to George
here that they've
given the go-aliead
for that new
airport.'

'They've given
the go-uhead for
that new
airport.'

Shouting to
somebody i n
another r o o m

'What ditl you say^

l can't hear you.' 'l
said your dinner's
ready!'

'Your dinner's
ready!'

Impatiently
w a i t i n g for
somebody

'He said he would

be here at eighi
o'clock.'

7 promise TU be
ihere al eight
o'clock.'

Sitting i n a caf,
telling a friend
about a l o n g
discussion you
had a couple o f
days ago w i t h a
coUeague

'Anyway, then she

said she was
thinking
ofleaving
work and going
abroad for a year.'

'Tm thinking of
leaving this
place. [ may
spend a year
abroad.'

I ftaid ^our dinner's in

oven - l'm leaving -jQUy/

iht

We usuaily report orders iising verbs such as ask,

tell, j'orbid, etc. w i t h a l-ininitive:
He told me to he there at nine o'clock sharp.
We report quesiions using verbs such as ask, want
to know, etc. w i t h vv'/i-clauses or (/-clauses (see
Section ):
He asked me where I'd been.
She enquired whether I wanted to wait for a reply.

213

GRAMMAR

SECTION I

Ile a.<:kcd inc how od I am.

Howcver, there is a strong grammaticai tendcncy
to keep the tenses i n a sentence i n agreement:
Hert.^feame how od I was. (and you are still the
same age)

Tenses in reported speech

1 TENSES OF THE REPORT

Decausc we usuaily report what was said iti the past,

wc n o r m a l l y use a Past tense for the report verb:
Last night in a televisin address, the Presidcnt claimed
he'd done nothing wrong.
We often use Past Continuous to report gossip, or
to repeat w h a t somebody else has just said:
Nikos was saying you've thinking ofleaving.
We may use a report verb i n a Present tense i f we
fcel the original statement is still relevant:
John says he's on his way and will he here in tvvciiy
minutes. ( = reporting a phone message)
Wc use a future f o r n i to report words not spoken:
/ bct he'll say he's bu.'iy.
2 REPORTING PAST

TENSES

W h e n reporting a statement or question that

refcrred to the past, wc c o m m o n l y use Past Perfcct:
fie told me hc'd hatcd sciencc al school. ( = original:
7 hated .sciencc at school.')
Where the time rclationship is obvious, wc can
report past events w i t h Past Simple rather than
Past Perfcct:
The palacontologist claimed the world had bcgun/
began earlier ihan originally thought.
We can report Present Perfcct w i t h Past Perfect, or
we can Icave it as Present Perfect i f the time
pcriod is still continuing:
He told me he'd heen working all day. (He's probably
finishcd, or it's n o l the same day.)
He told me lic's bcen working all day. (It's the same
day and maybe he's still w o r k i n g . )
3 REPORTING PRESENT

Both are acceptable and there's no difference in

meaning:
Thcy a.skcd me where you live/Uved.
She lold me .'he hadn't /hasn't got much money.

VERB

If we don't belicve the speaker, we use a Past tense:

He claimed the Earth was fat.
He told me he was broke but know he was lying.
4 REPORTING MODAL VERBS

For many modal verbs (see Units 3 and 4) there is no

difference between direct and reported speech:
7 might go but I don't want to.' becomes:
Lie said te might go but he didn't want ta.
'Yon .shouldn't have caten so much.' becomes:
My wife said I shouldn't have caten so muci.
Those that can change (if necessary) are:
Modal

Changes

can

becomes: could (or

would he able to)

must

will

may
nccdn't

TENSES

Examples

'Can I borrow your

balli'' becomes:
He asked ifhc could
borrow our ball.
'You must go back
becomes: had to or
again latcr' becomes:
was / wcre lo (to
They told me I had to
cxprcss obligation)
go back again latcr.
'TU come latcr.'
becomes: would
becomes: She told me
she would come later.
7 iiiflv come.' becomes:
becomes: might
Lie said he might come.
'You necdn'tgo Lonight.'
becomes: didn't nccd
becomes:
He said I
to or (fi't have to /
didn't
necd
to go lajt
wouldn't have to
night.

We may use Past tenses to report Present tenses i f

thcy refer to things that are no longer r d e v a n t :
Jo said she felt sick. ( = she isn't any longer)
But, we can use Present tenses i f the statement is
still t h o u g h t to be relevant:
Jo said she is feeling sick. ( = she sdll is)
There can sometimos be a conflict between logical
t r u t h and grammaticai habit w h e n r e p o r t i n g
situations that are still true at the time o f
reporting. I f somebody asks your age, it is logical
to report it (a short time later) as:
214

W h a t are the likcly original statements w h i c h these

report?
1
2
3
4
5

T h c y said they w o u l d be at the station by ten.

She said she had to wash her hair this evening.
He tried to convincc me that Goa was i n Africa.
She claimed she spent her childhood in Australia.
She said she'd given up studying English and was
g o i n g to get marricd instcad.

T E N S E S IN R E P O R T E D S P E E C H

Piractice

Softly Softly: 'We don't actually stock w h a t you

want but there is a shop d o w n the road that does.'
Disk Jockey: 'We n o r m a l l y keep them b u t we've
had a r u n o n t h e m and l ' m aft-aid we've sold out.
We're expecting some in sometime next week.'
Apple Core: 'We only dea! w i t h Apple Mac, so w e
w o n ' t be able to help y o u . '

P u l a cross (X) by any of the options b e l o w that

cannot complete the sentence. Put a question m a r k
(?) besitle any that are possible but very unlikely.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

T o n i just told me he is I was going honie because

he doesn't fee! well.
According to Shakespeare, life is I was nothing but a
w a l k i n g shadow.
It's reported that there ]\as been/ had been a massive
earthquake in hidonesia.
Shakespeare wrote that all the w o r l d is / was a stage.
W o u l d you believe it, he's told the others he has I
had passed Proficiency.
A l i says he'd/he'il see you later
He told me just n o w he is I was definitely going
to resign.
M y m o t h e r was always saying that you can I coxdd
take a horse to water but you can't I co\ddn \e
il drink.

0 VVriie the appropriate form of the verbs in

brackets. More than one form is possible in one
sentence.

S u r f ' n Byte: 'We've got something very similar b u t

1 can't guarantee that it w i l l do what y o u want it
to do.'
Graphics U n l i m i t e d : ' I think there's a place not far
f r o m here where they may be able to help you. A
friend o f mine b o u g h t something similar f r o m
them last week.'
Softly Softly: You were here a few hours ago. We
still don't stock t h e m . '
O Fill t a c h o f the n u n i b e r e d gaps w i t h
one suitable w o r d .
j It was quite an emotional day, 1 must admit. A few of
J

the younger clerks just (1)

i (2)
I

the farewells from eider colleagues were quite touchlng;

one said I (3)

which 1 (4)

about all 1 (5)

2
3
4
5
6
7

me good luck and

1 would be happy in my new Job. Some of

Exanxple: H e asked me i f I (be) going to the party

tonight. nrn, t f i i i
WiUiam says he (want) to be a policeman when he
grows up
Jenny called after me to ask i f 1 (be) g o i n g to the
party the f o l l o w i n g evening
At l u n c h time m y wife called to ask me where I
(be) all m o r n i n g
She called me on m y mobile and asked me where 1
(be)
She demanded to k n o w w h y 1 (not come) h o m e
last night
She demanded to know w h y 1 (not come) home
the night before
Nikos asked i f i (ever visit) Thessaloniki before.

^^S^

been a kind of modei for him,

rather nice. The managlng director

made a speech at lunch tline, tlie usual gushing stuff

had ()
(7)

done for the firm, how much 1

to its etilos and how the place

hardly be the same without me. Fortunately

he omitted to tecali a conversation in which he had

(8)

me an incompetent idiot who didn't deserve

to be working in a company as good as his. When it

was my turn to respond, 1 couldn't believe the clichs
I (9)

out with: about what a pleasure it had

been to work in a firm that (10)

standards and (11)

such high

stand comparison with any

company in the country; about how 1 (12)

everybody and how 1 really (13)

miss

their kindness

in presenting me with a pen. The cleaning lady was the

8 l ' h e teacher wanted to k n o w i f 1 (can take) his class
for h i m that evening
Report what the assistant said to you in each
shop when you were hunting for a particular piece
of conipiicer software.

last person to say goodbye to me. She just said she'd

always (14)
(15)

me as a geneman. I thought that

sweet.

iAVuii;W: John Brown's Software Store; 'l've ne\cr heard

o f that parlictilar product, l ' m not sure it exists.'
Ill John li/ou'n'i S/tiunrc Sfurt (he nuiti idii/ ht-'il t i f i c r
hfnii u/ thf (Jroiltict, addn\) thit \\( wasn't sut l

215

GRAMMAR

SECTION 2
Report structures
1 TH/Hr-CLAUSES AND

IVH-CLAUSES

We use /wt-clauscs to report statements:

./" siiggcslcd that I should go to see the fdm.
We can also use /w-clauses to report statements
w h i c h include w/i-clauscs:
She icmemhercd that what was strange was that the
caller refuscd to Icave his ame. She claimed that
whether we stayed or not made no difference lo her.
2

W^H-CLAUSES

Wc use wh-clauses to report questions w i t h whwords (why, when, etc.):

The department manager asked me when I was
thinking
ofleaving.
Our neigldwurs wanted to know where we
were going on holiday.

The w o r d order is n o r m a l l y subject-verb, n o t

vcrb-subject as in direct questions. There is no
question m a r k :
X
-Tc-asked-m-k0w^i4-4-ma-nage'it
y He a.<;ked me liow I managed it.

/F-CLAUSES

We use if-clauses to report yes/no questions:

My mother just rang lo check ifl was coming.
We can also use if in t/idt-clauses to report
conditionals, and if / whether i n statements w h i c h
talk about alternativcs:
She said that if we were staying, she'd have to make
up ihe sparc bed.
4

INFINITIVE A N D

-ING

F O R M S IN

REPORTING

We can r e p o r t statements, orders and questions w i t h

verbs followed by a to-infinitive, w i t h and w i t h o u t an
object:
She promised / ojfered to come with us.
She advised me/ warncd us nol to go with them.
V/c can also use report verbs followed by -ing.
Somctimcs w c nccd a prcposition:
He admiitcd/ recalled her taking the money
We apologised for/accuscd
her of taking ihe money.

216

No t e that after some verbs we can use a nurnbcr o f

structures:
He agrced lo marry her/ to her marrying him /
that it was a good idea / with me.
I advise you to go home / that your rent is duc.
I advise taking the pills /agninst going there.
5 IMPERSONAL REPORTS

We can report what people generally say or t h i n k

using passive report verbs. There are t w o structures /( + t/mt-clause, or subject + to-infinitive:
It's reputed that he's worlh 100 million.
He's repuled to be worlh 10 million.
Here are report verbs we use in the same way:
know rumour
report
say
believe feel
Some verbs, e.g. suspect and liiii, can't be used w i t h
a to-infinitivc structure:
He is suspectcd of being guilty of cheating.
It's been hinted thal he's wovth even more.
Mere are examples o f report verbs we can use only
in the structure It + t/irtt-clause:
suggcst
Icarn
accept announce
arge
hope
6 S U M M A R I S I N G IN R E P O R T E D

SPEECH

W h e n wc report what people generally say or think,

wc c o t n m o n l y summarise the original statement. The
aim is to report the meaning, not the exact words:
Original
Report
7 don't know. Maybe TU give up
work for a whde. Tm fed up wilh
this Job anyway. What I really
vvrtiit to do is lo travel overseas
a bit. A year, mayhe.'

7 ADDING PERSONAL

Anyway, she said

she was thinking of
leaving her Job and
goi'^g abroad, possibly
for a year.

COMMENTS

W h e n reporting. we may add dctails and give our

reaction. c.g. by using a particular report verb. In this
example, these interpretations are in bold:
She was going on about leaving, which I thought was
strange. She ewn said something about travclling, which
in my opinin would he a complete waste of lime.

Add the missing w o r d in each o f these examples

1
2
3
4
5

Sylvia said
she hadn't got cnough time.
We enquired
or not they were staying.
She asked
I w o u l d stay long.
The fircmcn told us
leavc the building.
M y fathcr asked me
I intcnded to do.

REPORT STRUCTURES

Practice
0 Match the comments, (a-e) with the openings 1 (1-5). Make a
report combining the two.
Example: 1 didn't k n o w . . . 'Are you really g o i n g to Siberia?'
1 didn't know you were going to Siberia.
1

T h e president wanted it to be
k n o w n ...
2 Fortunately Jane let me
k n o w ...
3 The plice wanted to
know...
4 M y angry boyfi'iend wanted
me to k n o w ...
5 A client just wanted to check ...
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

a ' W h y haven't you got a

road tax disc?'
b ' I don't care whether you
come or not.'
c ' D o you k n o w when we're
meeiing next?'
d '1 w o n ' t be able to pick you
up.'
e '1 am definitely not resigning.'

Underline all the options that can complete each sentence.

M y lawyer
me to be on time.
a wanted
b offered
c asked
d told
Many people
to help.
a offered
b agreed
c didn't m i n d
d proinised
'l'heir teacher
against talking to strangers.
a advised
b recommended c suggested
d warned
M y girlfriend suggested
alone.
a 1 go
b going
c 1 went
d to go
Many people
on Rita's iiew hairstylc.
a c o m p l i m e n t e d b talked
c cominented
d remarked
In the end they agreed to o u r
t w o teams for the tournament.
a entered
b enter
c entry
d entering
I tried to
Tara f r o m having her nose pierced.
a persuade
b discourage
c encourage
d dissuade
The actress
to having had first-night nerves.
a admitted
b agreed
c accepted
d confessed
Rewrite each sentence in two ways, a and b. You will need to

use t/irtt-clauses, vv/i-clauses, nfinitive chnises or -ing clauses.

Example: T v e done nothing to be ashamed of,' she sobbed.
a She denied havinij done ainjthirxg lo be asiuuned o f
b She refused to admit that she had been in ainj way responsible.
1

T U be there w i t h you lot before you can blink,' the sergeant told
them.
a T h e sergeant said
next to no time.
b T h e sergeant promised
a matter o f minutes.

'1 don't t h i n k eiTiployees should be forced to w o r k overtime,' he

said.
a 1 le disapproved
made to w o r k overtime.
b H e was opposed
obligatory

'Either you hai^ti over those photos, or l ' l l tell the Tax OIHce
everything,' BJ said to her.
a BJ threatened
photographs.
b B J saiil that he
have the photos.

' D o 1 really need l o stay?' she

said.
a She enquired
stay
b She asked to be
leave.

'1 have been unfairly treated,' the

n u m b e r nine complained.
a T h e n u m b e r nine felt
treated.
b T h e n u m b e r nine claimed to
treaiment.

0 Complete the
second sentence so t h a t
it has a s i m i l a r m e a n i n g t o the
f i r s t sentence, u s i n g the w o r d
g i v e n . D o n o t change the w o r d
given. You m u s t use b e t w e e n three
and eight w o r d s , i n c l u d i n g t h e
w o r d given.
Example: T h e governntent has been
suggesting that taxes w i l l be cut.
hints
The government lu) been droppincj
hints ttuit taxes w i l l be cut.
1

They t h i n k a man called Jorge is

the ringleader.
suspectcd
A m a n called Jorge
the
ringleader.
2 People say the epideinic is likely
to be b r o u g h t under c o n t r o l by
the end o f the m o n t h .
hoped
It
under control by the end
o f the m o n t h .
3 People say that the total a m o u n t
collected is nearing 100,000.
reckoned
The total a m o u n t
100,000.
4 It is often said that science has
damaged more than benefited
the environment.
harm
Science is often
good to
the e i w i r o n m e n t .

217