Martha Silva Vigo

mmsilva@elcultural.com.pe

Use tell when you mention the listener (s).

Use say when you dont.
Maggie told her parents to stay home.
Maggie said to stay home.

said
1. She _______to
use her computer.
told
2. He ________us
to listen to the news.
told
3. They _______John
to buy the newspaper.
said
4. Pete _______to
get the best tickets for the game.

When say and tell are in the past tense, the

verbs in the indirect speech statement often
change or backshift.
They said, The weather is awful.

They said (that) the weather was awful.

I didnt do well on my exam.

He said (that) he hadnt done well on his exam.

He said, I ll be there by six.

He said (that) he would be there by six.

You must do your homework.

He said (that) I had to do my homework.
You have to rest.
He said (that) I had to rest.

They said, We are working hard on this

project.
They said (that) they were working on that
project.
They said ,We have visited many
places.
They said (that) they had visited
many places.
I said, You were dancing at that party.

She said, I had been dancing at that party.

Backshift of tenses
FROM

Simple Present

TO

Simple Past

Simple Past
Present Perfect

Past Perfect

Past Perfect
PROGRESSIVE FORMS
am/are/is

was/were

was/were

has been
had been

had been

Modals that backshift

FROM
Will

Can
May
Must

TO
Would
Could
Might
Had to

Have to

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cramup/grammar/reportedspeech/exercises?07

Relative clauses and noun clauses

An adjective clause gives information about a noun
or a pronoun (someone,something.)
Use a relative pronoun ( who, that) to describe or give
additional infomation about people. Where ( places)

A mariachi is a singer who / that sings traditional

Mexican songs.
Brazil is the country where people dance
Samba.

Defining Relative Clauses:

who, that, where

We often use relative clauses to explain what a

place, thing, or person is or does.
Use WHO for a person
e.g.
A cook is a person.
A cook works in a restaurant.

A cook is a person who works in a restaurant

Defining Relative Clauses:

who, that, where

Use THAT for a thing.

e.g.
A clock is a thing.
A clock tells the time.
A clock is a thing that tells the time.

Defining Relative Clauses:

who, that, where

Use WHERE for a place.

e.g.
A post office is a place.
At the post office you can buy stamps.
A post office is a place where you can buy
stamps.

Defining Relative Clauses:

who, that, where

You can use THAT instead of WHO.

e.g.
She is the woman who/that works with my
brother.

You can use WHICH instead of THAT to talk

about things
e.g.
It is a thing which/that connects two
computers.

In some adjective clauses, the

relative pronoun is the subject of
the clause.
The person who comes for dinner should
bring a gift.

The friend who sent me flowers lives in

Paris.

In other adjective clauses, the relative

pronoun is the object of the clause.
The person who / whom you invite should
bring a gift.

She is the woman who / whom Peter

proposes.
That is the man who / whom Carmen is deeply
in love with.

When the relative pronoun is the object of

the clause, it may be omitted.
The book that you bought gives great
information about holidays
The book you bought gives great
information about holidays
She is the woman who Peter proposes.

She is the woman Peter proposes.

When the relative pronoun is the

subject of the clause, it may not be
omitted.
The author who wrote that book did a great job.
The author wrote that book did a great job.

The person who comes for dinner should

bring flowers.
The person comes for dinner should bring
flowers.
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cramup/tests/relative-clauses-2