I told you so!

1. Intro warm-up situation

Narration

The editor of the newspaper is interviewing Mr.Tomas Cortez, Antonios father. He

is talking about his town and family in a local newspaper.

Conversation

How old
are you?

Im 55.

Are you
married?

Do you
have any
children?

Yes, I am.
My wifes
name is
Juliet.

Yes, we have
4 twins. 4
sons and 4
daughters.

Really? Thats
exaggerated!
Where do you
live?

What are the

best things
about where
you live?

On Victoria
road. Its a
nice house
and were very
happy there.

The best things?

Well, were very
close to a
shopping center,
schools and the
hospital. Also,
there are a lot of
trees around
there. We like
that.

What is the
worst
thing?

Do you
have a
favorite
restaurant?

Its the traffic.

Its terrible. Its
a real
problem.

No, I dont have

a favorite one.
We eat out on
weekends. But
Dudes burgers is
my familys
favorite
restaurant.

Where do
you do your
shopping?

What do you
do in your
free time?

At a big
supermarket.
Portal del
Prado or
Americanos.

I read and also

enjoy
gardening. But I
dont have a lot
of free time, Im
a teacher.

Which place
do you like
best in your
town?

Do you think
the area will
change in
the next 10
years?

The place I
like best is
Barquis
Park.

Yes, the area will

change in the
next 10 years.
There will be
more stores and
businesses. I
think it will be
noisier.

Narration
Afterwards Mr. Cortez talks about the interview with his wife Juliet.
Conversation

So, tell me.

What did he ask
you? Did he ask
any questions
about me?

What else?

Well, first he
asked me how
old I was and if
I was married.
And then he
asked me if we
had any
children.

Uhmm very
general
questions
really. He asked
me where I
lived and what
the best and
worst things
were.

Is that all?

Yeah and the

rest I cant
remember. So
youll just have
to read the
interview in the
newspaper,
wont you?

2. Answer the questions

Write the correct answer to the questions:

Questions
Where does Mr. Cortez do his
shopping?
Does Mr. Cortez have a favorite
restaurant?
What questions did Mrs. Cortez ask?
Did the interviewer ask him about his
free time?
What did the interviewer say about
his children?

Answers

True or false:
True False
She asked him which place in his town he liked best.
She asked him if he thought the area would change in the next 10 years.
She asked him if he had children.

3. Language structure

Reported speech and expressions of opinion.

Compare

He is American
"He is American" she said

She said he was American

I'm happy to see you

Mary said that she was happy to see
"I'm happy to see you", Mary said
me
Are you busy tonight?
He asked, "are you busy tonight?"

He asked me if I was busy tonight

Dan is living in San Francisco

"Dan is living in San Francisco," she She said Dan was living in San
said
Francisco
I'm making dinner
He said, "I'm making dinner"

He told me that he was making dinner

Why are you working so hard?

"Why are you working so hard?" they They asked me why I was working so
asked
hard
We went to the movies last night
"We went to the movies last night," he He told me they had gone to the
said
movies last night

Identify

Identify the indirect speech for each of the following sentences:

Sentences
I work in Argentina
I am doing my job
We saw a good film on TV
I was dancing with Mary
I have done this before
I have been doing this for two years
I will visit my mother
I will be flying to Spain
I will have arrived there by 5 pm
I will have been selling books for
two years

Indirect speech

Learn

Reported speech
It's the way we reproduce what someone else says without using quotation marks
(" "). Indirect speech is used by the narrator when in his own words he says what a
person says, that is, when in one way or another, he summarizes his words or
thoughts. In other words the narrator speaks.

Compare

Direct style: Peter: "I'm going to make some copies".

Reported Speech: Peter said he was going to make some copies.
The most commonly used verbs to say what someone else said:
"Say" and "tell" are the most used.
Example with "say": Anne said she was bored.
Example with "tell": My boss told me to call you.
Other verbs are also used:
Ask(ed): for questions. Note: With ask we also use if / whether, this is if
conditional.
Example with "ask": The authorities asked if there was a health problem in the
area.

How to report questions in Indirect speech:

From direct to indirect questions:
Examples: Where do they sell the tickets? He asked where they sold the
tickets.
Direct Speech

Reported Speech
What

"Whose dog is missing?"

He asked what I was looking for

Where
She asked where they could go that
night
When

"Where can we go tonight?"

"When did they go to India?"

He asked when they had gone to India

Who

"Who told you that?"

He asked me who had told me that

How

"How old are the twins?"

He asked how old the twins were

Why

"Why did Carla leave so early?"

He asked why Carla had left so early

Which

"Which skirt did you choose?"

"Whose dog is missing?"

She asked me which skirt I had chosen

Whose
He asked whose dog was missing
Yes - no questions

"Are these your glasses?"

"Isn't that Jen's boyfriend?"

He asked me if those were my glasses

She asked me if that wasn't Jen's
boyfriend

Difference between "say" and "tell"

Use "say" to say one thing, it is also used in certain expressions.

Example 1, to say one thing: She said she was busy.

Note: This is one thing. It isn`t a long story.
Example 2, with an expression: She said her name.
Said is used "to say your name". It is not correct to say: "tell your name".
With tell we tell something longer, give an order or it is used with certain
expressions.
Example 1, to tell something longer: They told us that it was very complicated to
find a solution for that problem.
Example 2, to give an order: She told me to leave.
Example 3, an expression: She told me a lie. It is correct to say: to tell a lie, but it
is not correct to say to say a lie.
Change of verb tenses in reported speech
Direct speech

Indirect speech

1.Present

1.Past

2.Simple Past

2.Simple Past or Past

Perfect

3.Present Continuous

3.Past Continuous

4.Past Continuous

4.Past Continuous

5.Present Perfect

5. Past Perfect

6.Past Perfect

6. Past Perfect

7. Can

7. Could

8.Shall

8. Should

9.Will

9.Would

10.May

10. Might

11.Need

11. Had to or Need

12.Must

12. Had to or Must

Note: it is important to repeat these structures many times to memorize and not
have to take a look at the list again.
Examples of how to do the change of tenses:
Direct style:
John said: "I'm working too hard Present continuous. Changes to: Past
continuous.
Reported speech:
John said he was working too hard.
Observe how the I pronoun changes to he because we talk about what another
person said, not me.
It is possible to omit that in reported speech
In English that can be omitted when it refers to the object in the sentence, but it
cannot be omitted when it refers to the subject in the sentence.
It is difficult to know when we refer to the object or to the subject in the sentence,
but a tip to know this is to observe if that is referring to I, you, he, she they are
subjects in the sentence. But if on the contrary, that is referring to me, you, him,
her they are objects in the sentence.
Examples:
The woman (that) she mentioned was not my secretary.
Note: in this case, that refers to the object she mentioned, thus it is optional.
We like trips that are exciting.
Note: in this case, "that" is referring to the subject trip, thus, it cannot be omitted.
Reporting verbs
There exist reporting verbs with that and to

Reporting verbs with that: accept, acknowledge, add, admit, agree, announce,
believe, complain, confirm, decide, discover, estimate, explain, feel, forget, hope,
inform.
Example: He replied that it was impossible to call Karen.
Reporting verbs with "to": agree, forbid, instruct, invite, order, persuade,
remund, urge, warn.
Example: They have agreed to meet after 4 o'clock.

Expressions of opinion

In English, a variety of phrases can be used to express opinion; it can be formal or

informal. These can also be used to express a point of view, to express agreement
or disagreement with someone.
To express an opinion informally:
In my opinion
I think that
I feel that
It seems to me that
If you ask me
To express an opinion formally:
Id like to point out
Dont you agree that
Id just like to say that
To express agreement (from less to high formality):
Youre right.
I think so too.
I agree with you.
You could be right.
I couldnt agree more.
Thats a good point.
I see what you mean.
Thats just what I was thinking.
I agree entirely.
Thats exactly what I think.

To express disagreement (from ascending order of formality):

To express an opinion adequately without bothering a person when disagreeing.
Youre wrong.
I dont think so.
I disagree.
You cant be serious.
Yes, but
I think youre wrong.
Yes, thats quite true, but
Perhaps, but dont you think that
I see what you mean, but

Pronunciation

In English these two short vowels are often confused, exaggerating the movements
for /

/ and /

Watch the video and pronounce the words with

sound in the following link:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/vow
el_short_7.mp4
Watch the video and pronounce the words with

sound in the following link:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/vow
el_short_6.mp4

Then, pronounce the following words: Sat / And / End / Pan / Sad / Said

Vocabulary

Insist
Know
Mean
Mention
Notice
Persuade
Predict
Promise
Realize
Repeat
Reply
Think
Threaten
Warn
Wish
Worry

Remember that

The indirect style is also used with modal verbs, verb tense changes in indirect
style also with some modal verbs.
Note: with "would", "could", "should", "might" and "ought to", the verb tense does
not change.
Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

Will
Would
"I'll go to the movies tomorrow," John John said he would go to the
movies the next day.
said.
Can
Could
Debra said, "Allen can work tomorrow."

Debra

said

Allen could

work the next day.

Must

Had to
She said I had to work the next
She said, "You must work tomorrow."
day.
Shall
Should
"Shall we go to the beach today?" Tom Tom asked if we should go to
the beach that day.
asked.
May
Might/Could
Jane said, "I may not be in class Jane said she might not be in
class the next day.
tomorrow."
Attention!
Below you can see the changes on expressions of time when reported speech is
used.
Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

Today

That day

Tonight

That night

This week/month/year

That week/month/year

Tomorrow

The next day

Next week/month/year

The following week/month/year

Yesterday

The day before/the previous day

Last week/month/year

The day/month/year before or the

previous
day / month / year

Now

Then/at that moment

Others changes

Here

There

4. Exercising

Choose the correct answer in each sentence:

1. Mary "I love chocolate."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ___ chocolate."
a. loved
b. loves
c. loving
2. Mary: "I went skiing."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ___ skiing."
a. went
b. had gone
c. have gone
3. Mary: "I will eat steak for dinner."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ___ eat steak for dinner."
a. willing
b. will
c. would
4. Mary: "I have been to Sydney."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ___ to Sydney."
a. had been
b. has been
c. was being
5. Mary: "I have had three cars."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ___ three cars.
a. has
b. has had
c. had had

Exercise 2
Write the reported speech to complete the sentence:
1. Where is my umbrella? She asked.
She asked ______________________________________
2. How are you? Martin asked us.
Martin asked us__________________________________
3. He asked, Do I have to do it?
He asked ________________________________________
4. Where have you been? the mother asked her daughter.
The mother asked her daughter ______________________
5. Which dress do you like best? she asked her boyfriend.
She asked her boyfriend ___________________________

5. Producing

In this space, you will answer the questions by

writing and recording your voice.
This activity is available at the button Activities
/ Learning Activity 3 / Evidence: Reporting
information.

6. Test

In this space, you will present a test.

This test is available at the button: Activities /

Learning Activity 3 / Evidence: Test I told you
so!

References
BBC. (s.f.). Pronunciation tips from bbclearningenglish.com. Consultado el 4 de
noviembre
de
2013,
en
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/vow
el_short_7.mp4
BBC. (s.f.). Pronunciation tips from bbclearningenglish.com. Consultado el 4 de
noviembre
de
2013,
en
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/vow
el_short_6.mp4

Document control

Author

Name

Charge

Dependence

Date

Andrs Rafael
Flrez Salas

Experto temtico

Centro de Comercio y
Servicios.
Regional Atlntico

November
2013

Andrs Felipe
Velandia Espitia

Guionista - Lnea
de produccin

Centro Agroindustrial.
Regional Quindo

November
2013

Rachman
Bustillo Martnez

Guionista - Lnea
de produccin

Centro Agroindustrial.
Regional Quindo

November
2013

Adaptation