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Reported Speech

This document discusses how to report speech in indirect or reported speech. It notes that reported speech involves paraphrasing what was said by changing pronouns, adverbs of time and place, and verb tenses. It provides examples of how the tense shifts depending on whether the reporting verb is in the past or present tense. The document also covers how to report questions, statements, requests, orders and other speech acts. Verb tenses in reported clauses shift to past tense when the reporting verb is in the past.

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Erica Last
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352 views

Reported Speech

This document discusses how to report speech in indirect or reported speech. It notes that reported speech involves paraphrasing what was said by changing pronouns, adverbs of time and place, and verb tenses. It provides examples of how the tense shifts depending on whether the reporting verb is in the past or present tense. The document also covers how to report questions, statements, requests, orders and other speech acts. Verb tenses in reported clauses shift to past tense when the reporting verb is in the past.

Uploaded by

Erica Last
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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REPORTED SPEECH

 In reported speech, we paraphrase what is given between inverted commas (“…”) in direct speech.

Examples: Peter: “I’m going home.” → Peter said he was going home.
“I’ve never been to Italy.” → I told them I had never been to Italy.

 We usually use reporting verbs such as say*, tell*, ask, but we can also use others, i.e. promise, think, believe,
swear, etc.

Examples: The applicant thought he would be accepted for the job.


The suspect swore he’d never had any problems with the law before.

* say + something; tell + someone + something

 Pay attention to deictics (i.e. words that are dependent upon the context)! Very often they must be changed.

Examples: Jack: “Come see me tomorrow.” → Jack said to come see him the next day.
Anna: “I’m meeting my friend here.” → Anna said she was meeting her friend there.

REPORTED STATEMENTS

 If the verb in the main clause is in the present, the tense in the subordinate clause doesn’t change.

Examples: Sarah: “I’m staying in tonight.” → Sarah says she’s staying in tonight.
Present Cont. Present Cont.

 If the verb in the main clause is in the past, the tense in the subordinate ‘moves back’:

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Future > Future in the past

Present (Simple / Continuous / Perfect) > Past (Simple / Continuous / Perfect)*

Past (Simple / Continuous / Perfect) > Past (Simple / Continuous / Perfect)

Examples:

Direct Speech Reported Speech


The President swore he would do
President: “I will do everything in my
everything in his power to protect his
power to protect my people.”
people.
Jake said he didn’t like tea.
Jake: “I don’t like tea.”
Susan told us they were driving to see
Susan: “We’re driving to see Mum.”
their mother.
“The party ended by 3 a.m.” They said the party had ended by 3
a.m.

Witness: “I was on my way home The witness said he was on his way
when I saw this man snatch the home when he saw the man snatch the
woman’s handbag.” woman’s handbag.

* Sometimes, when we report things that are still true now, we can keep the same tense as in the Direct Speech.
Examples: The boy said the population of London is 9 million.
The teacher told us that water dilates when it freezes.

REPORTED QUESTIONS

 Direct questions become statements in reported speech, i.e. there is no inversion or auxiliary used.

Examples: Bill: “How old are you?” → Bill asked me how old I was.
The boss: “What are you doing here?” → Our boss wanted to know what we were doing there.

 If the question is not a Wh- question, we can use if or whether to link the subordinate to the main clause.

Examples: Dr Lawrence: “Have you been ill?” → Dr Lawrence asked if I’d been ill.
Man to woman: “Can you speak English?” → He asked whether she could speak English.

REPORTED SPEECH AND USE OF THE INFINITIVE

 We can report orders, requests, advice, invitations and warnings using the construction Verb + Object +
Infinitive.

Examples: “Would you like to go on a trip with us?” → She invited me to go on a trip with them.
“Shut up, will you?” → He told us to shut up.
“It’s not wise to give up now.” → He warned us not to give up at that moment.

 We can also report offers, promises and threats using the construction Verb + Infinitive.

Examples: “May I help you with your bags?” → I offered to help them with their bags.
“I promise I will come to your birthday.” → She promised to come to my birthday.

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