Reported

Speech
Presentation.
Statements in indirect speech.
Tense changes.
Other changes : adjectives, adverbs etc.
Say/ tell ; Infinitive, gerund constructions.
Questions.
Requests, offers,suggestions,commands etc.
Exercises 1
Exercise 3 +(key)
Exercises 2
Exercise 4 +(key)
Departamento de Ingls.
Curso : 3 de Escuela Oficial de Idiomas.
Profesor : ALFONSO GARCIA BALAN

Im feeling
tired

You want to tell someone else what Ann

said.
There are two ways of doing this:
You can repeat Anns words (direct
speech) :
Ann said Im feeling tired.
Or you can use reported speech:
said ( that ) she was feeling tired.
Compare the two sentencesAnn
:
direct
reported

Ann said

am

feeling

tired .

Ann said (that) she was feeling tired.

Statements in indirect speech : tense

changes necessary

Indirect speech can be introduced by aq verb in a present

tense:
he says that.... This is usual when we are:
1 reporting a conversation that is still going on.
2 reading a letter and reporting what it says.
3 reading instructions and reporting them.
4 reporting a statement that someone makes very often.

But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past

tense.
Verbs in the direct speech have then to be changed into a
corresponding
past tense.

Tense changes
The changes are shown in the following table
Direct speech
SIMPLE PRESENT
I never eat meat, he explained

Indirect speech
SIMPLE PAST
He explained that he never ate meat.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

PAST CONTINUOUS

Im waiting for Ann, he said

He said he was wating for Ann.

PRESENT PERFECT

PAST PERFECT

I have found a flat, he said

He said he had found a flat.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

He said, Ive been wating for ages

He said he had been wating for ages.

SIMPLE PAST

PAST PERFECT

I took it home with me, he said

He said he had taken it home with him.

FUTURE

CONDITIONAL

He said, Ann will be in Paris on Monday

Monday.

FUTURE CONTINUOUS

He said that Ann would be in Paris on

CONDITIONAL CONTINUOUS

Ill be using the car myself on the 24th, he said He said hed be using the car himself
on the 24th.

Other changes necessary when turning

direct speech into indirect speech.
THIS used in time expressions usually become THAT :
He said, She is coming this week / He said that she was coming that week .

Otherwise THIS and THAT used as adjectives usually change to THE :

He said, I bought this pearl/ these pearls for my mother
He said that he had bought the pearl/pearls for his mother.

THIS,THESE used as pronouns can b ecome IT,THEY/THEM

Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time change

Direct
Indirect
as
follows:
Today

that day

Yesterday

the day before

The day before yesterday

two days before

Tomorrow
day

the next day/the following

The day after tomorrow

in two daystime

Next week/ year etc.

The following week/year

Last week/ year etc.

etc.

The previous week/year

Say, tell
Say can introduce a statement or follow it :
Tom said, Ive just heard the news or Ive just heard the
news, Tom said.

say+to+person addressed is posible, but following the direct

statement

Infinitive
gerund
constructions
tell requiresand
the person
addressed:
tell me
he told us in
A agree,refuse,offer,
indirect
speech promise,threaten + infinitive can sometimes be used
instead of say (that)...
Paul : Ill help you if you like.
Paul offered to help her/me or Paul said that hed help her/me.

B accuse+object+of, admit, deny,apologize for, insist on+gerund

can sometimes
be used instead of say that :
You took the money! might be reported by He accused me of
taking the money.

C other useful verbs are : add, admit, answer, argue, assure +object,
complain,
deny, explain, observe, point out, promise, remark, remind +
object, reply.
These can be used with direct or indirect speech.

Questions in indirect speech

Direct : He said, Where is he going?

Indirect : He asked where she was

going.

A Tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time and

place change in statements.
The interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative form The
question mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions :
B If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry,
e.g. Ask, inquire, wonder, want to know etc.:
He said, Where is the station? = He asked where the station was.

C ask can be followed by the person addressed (indirect object).

He asked, What have you got in your bag?= He asked (me) what I had got in
my bag.

But inquire, wonder, want to know cannot take an indirect object, so if we

wish to report a question where the person addressed is mentioned, we
must use ask :
He said, Mary, when is the next train?= He asked Mary when the next train
was.

D If the direct question begins with a quqestion word ( when, where,

who, how, why etc. ) the question word is repeated in the indirect
question :
He said, What do you want? = She asked (them) what thet wanted.

Requests for instructions or advice:

What shall I do with it? = Tell me what to do with it.

Offers :
Shall I bring you some tea?

He offered to bring me some tea.

Suggestions :
Shall we meet at the theatre?

He suggested meeting at the theatre.

Commands, requests, advice in indirect

speech
He said, Lie down, tom

He told Tom to lie down.

The following verbs can be used: advise, beg, command, encourage,

entreat, forbid
forbid, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, urge,
warrn.
Negative commands, requests etc. Are usually reported by not + infinitive
:
Dont swim out too far, boys, I said
too far

I warned/told the boys not to swim out

Exclamations and yes and no

1.- Which of the following answers : A, B, C, is correcct ? CLICK the

picture you think is the correct one according to its transformation into
reported speech.

How much do you think it will cost ?

He said.

A: He asked how much I think it would

cost.

B: He asked how much I thought it would

cost.

C: He asked how much I thought it will

cost.

2.- CLICK the picture you think is the correct one according to its
transformation into reported speech.

Im leaving tomorrow.she said

by the 4.30 from Victoria.

She said she was

leaving tomorrow
by the 4.30 from
Victoria.

She said I wsas

leaving today
by 4.30 from
Victoria

She said she was

leaving the
following day by
the 4.30 from
Victoria

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3.- Choose the best alternative according to the usage of the verb tenses.
A.- The clerk said it would / will take a little time to look up her file.
B.- She reminded me to insure / insuring my luggage.

key

C.- She told him not to put / to put not sticky things in his
pocket.

4.- You have to read a sentence and write a new sentence with the same
meaning.
1.- Listen carefully, he said to us.
He
told ..............................................................................................................................
2.- Dont wait for me if Im late, Ann said.
Ann
said.............................................................................................................................
3.- Can you speak more slowly? I cant understand, he said to me.
He
asked..........................................................................because....................................
4.- Read the instructions before you switch on the machine, he said to me.
He
told ..............................................................................................................................
.
5.- Dont come before 6 oclock, I said to him.

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5.- Yesterday you met a friend of yours, Charlie. Charlie told you alot of
things. Here are some of the things he said to you :

2 My father is in
hospital.
4 Margaret has had a baby.

1 Im thinking of going to live in

Canada.

3 Ive been playing tennis a lot

recently.

5 Ill tell Jim I saw you.

6 I dont know what Fred is
doing.

Later that day you tell another friend what Charlie said. Use reported
speech.

key

1 Charlie said
that....................................................................................................
2 Charlie
said...........................................................................................................
3
Charlie.............................................................................................................
......
4

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4.- Key
1 He told us to listen carefully.
2 Ann said not to wait for her if she was late.
3 He asked me to speak more slowly because he couldnt understand.
4 He told me to read the instructions before I switched on yhe machine.
5 I told him not to come before 6 oclock.

5.- Key
1 Charlie said that he was thinking of going to live in Canada.
2 Charlie said that his father was in hospital.
3 He said ( that) he had been playing tennis a lot recently
4 He said (that) Margaret had had a baby.
5 He said (that) he would tell Jim he had seen me./ ... He saw me.
6 He said (that) he didnt know what Fred was doing.

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