Reported Speech 124-140
Reported Speech 124-140
Reported Speech 124-140
'"
~12411 Listen and repeat. Then act out.
• Direct Speech is the exact words someone • Reported Speech is the exact meaning of
said. We use quotation marks in Direct what someone said but not the exact
Speech. words. We do not use quotation marks in
"I won't be back before 7:00," he said. Reported Speech.
He said he wouldn't be back before 7:00.
tell the truth, tell a lie, tell (sb) the time, tell sb one's name, tell a
Expressions with tell story, tell a secret, tell sb the way, tell one from another, tell sb's
fortune, tell sb so, tell the difference, etc.
Expressions with ask ask a favour, ask the time, ask a question, ask the price, etc.
I can only help you if you say / tell me the I 4 Tom told / said he would be home late.
problem . 5 The teacher said / told us to do the exercise.
2 My mother said / told dinner will be ready soon. I 6 Can you tell / say the difference between these
3 My dentist told / said me to eat less chocolate. two pictures?
122
Reported Speech o
2 Fill in: say, tell or ask in the correct form.
When I arrived at school that morning, I 1) ... ~ajd .... good morning to my classmates and sat down
at my desk. Then our teacher came into the room and 2) ..... . ... . us that we were having a special
visitor after lunch. All morning, even though our teacher 3) us to continue working, we
were too excited to do our exercises. No one could 4) . for certain who it would be, but
we all had guesses. Suddenly, we heard a knock at the door. It was Steve Long, a local TV news
presenter who had gone to our school years ago. He 5) • .. . . a few words about his time at
the school and then 6) us about his life as a TV presenter. Afterwards, we 7)
him a few questions. It was a very interesting day!
123
o Reported Speech
• If the reported sentence deals with the unreal past, type 2 or 3 conditionals or wishes, the
tenses remain the same.
"It's time we went, " he said. -+ He said it was time they went.
"If I were you, I would apologise, " he said. -+ He said that it he were me, he would apologise.
• Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to the context.
"I will show you my new dress," she said. -+ She said she would show me her new dress.
• Certain words change as follows depending on the context.
Direct Speech: this/these here come "Put that box down over here, " she said.
Reported Speech: that/those there go She told him to put that box down over there.
• Time words and tenses can change or remain the same depending on the time reference. If the
reported sentence is out of date, the tenses change. If the reported sentence is up to date, the
tenses can remain the same.
"I'm going to Madrid next week, " she said. -+ She said she is going /was going to Madrid next week.
(up-to-date reporting - immediately reported after said)
"I'm going to Madrid in March, " she said. -+ She said she was going to Madrid in March. (Now it's April.
She was in Madrid in March, out-ot-date reporting.)
3 Jim met Ann while she was on holiday. Read Ann's words, then report what she
said.
6
2 7
3 8
4 9
5 10
124
Reported Speech o
4 Turn the following sentences into reported speech.
"A lot of English words are borrowed from other languages," the teacher said to us.
· Tbe. te.tJcber. t{))d. uf3. .thii1t. ~. lQt .Qf Et;/gJi.~b .wordEl.cJr.t< .b.Qrrowtid.fr.a01 .atb~r. ljwguEJ@~f3... .... .
2 "China is a densely populated country," she said . .......... " .................................. .
3 "It's time they moved to a new house," Ann said . . .............................................. ..
4 "Water freezes below O°C," he said. .•............. . ..............................•.....•......
5 "I was reading the children a story last night when the lights went out," she said . ................... .
6 "I'll help you to repair your car tomorrow, " he said to me . .............•.....•..........•...........
7 "I didn't understand the meaning of the film ," he said . ........................................... ..
8 "You can come to me if you have any problems," she said to him . ............................... ..
9 "I saw the film you recommended last night, " he said to her . ..................................... ..
10 "I'm going to Spain next week," he said . .••..•..•.........•.•.•.•.......•........................
11 "She doesn 't understand ," he said . ............................................................. .
12 "I would invite more people if I had a bigger flat," he said . ....................................... ..
13 "I will not repeat this again, " he said to us . .................................................... ..
14 "I've applied for several jobs this week, " he said . ................................................ ..
125
o Reported Speech
5 Frank went for an interview for a job at a summer camp. First read, then report
Mr Roberts' questions.
. t0r.R.:o.b.({r.t~ . !?f?k({d . fr,:;Jnk why h(; want~d to work for S.J..i/WY SumlJ1~r. C!?rnp, ........... .
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
6 Turn the following into indirect questions. Omit question marks where necessary.
Where's the post office? (Do you know ... ) . Do.yo.LJ know. wfJ~r~. ttJe. paBt.offict;. j~? . . ....... .
2 What have you told her? (I wonder ... ) .. .. . ..... . . ......... .
3 Are we going out tonight? (I want to know ... ) ............................................... ..
4 Is this correct? (I doubt ... ) . ... .. . .....................................•.............
5 Whose car is this? (I wonder ... ) ..... . . . ........................................... .
6 Does this train stop at Leeds? (Could you tell me .. .) .......................................... .
6 "Will you get me some bread at the supermarket? " Jim asked Pam.
7 "How many countries are there in the EU?" the teacher asked.
126
Reported Speech 0
8 Pamela is interested in buying a car. Turn Pamela's direct questions into indirect ones.
May I pay by
card?
Reporting Commands/Requests/Suggestions
To report commands, requests, suggestions or instructions, we use an introductory verb (advise,
ask, beg, instruct, urge, offer, order, suggest, tell, etc.) followed by a to-infinitive, an -ing form or
that-clause according to the introductory verb.
"Touch your toes, " he said to us. -+ He told us to touch our toes. (command)
"Don't lie down," he said to us. -+ He told us not to lie down. (command)
"Can I go out?" he said. -+ He asked to go out. (request)
"Please, lend me some money, " he said to her. -+ He asked her to lend him some money. (request)
"Please, please, forgive me!" she said. -+ She begged me to forgive her. (beg)
"Let's play football," he said. -+ He suggested playing football. (suggestion)
"Put all the ingredients in the bowl, " she told him. -+ She told him to put all the ingredients in the bowl.
(instructions)
9 Report what the flight attendant told the passengers before takeoff.
1 S.ne. ask~d .tbero. to. fas.tttt:1 .tbeir. ~afety. belts. be.fo.m t~keoff. . .............................. .
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
127
o Reported Speech
10 Fill in the gaps with a verb from the list below in the simple past.
"Open the door, please," she said to William. 4 "Get out of the car, " Josh said to the man .
She .... .a~ked . .. William to open the door. Josh ...... . ....... the man to get out of his
2 "Let's go to the shopping centre, " Sarah said. car.
Sarah .... .......... going to the shopping 5 "You should always lock the door at night," his
centre. father told him.
3 "Please, please don't tell Lisa about her surprise His father ............. . him to lock the door
birthday party," he said to me. at night.
He ............... me not to tell Lisa about her
surprise birthday party.
3 "You should always throw your rubbish in the bin," the teacher told us.
128
Reported Speech 0
12 Underline the correct item. Then write the speaker's exact words.
A: Is Frank playing basketball tomorrow? 4 A: Did Bob watch the late film with you?
B: No. He said he will play / would play basketball B: No, he said he has to / had to go for a job
the next weekend instead. interview the next morning.
"I."Yill pJ~y. b.~f3kt:.t.bA/j next. Wtttt~t;IJ~. infJ1;t;~d"
2 A: Have you seen Liam? 5 A: Why isn't Karen in today?
B: Yes. He said he went / was going to the B: She's still in bed . She said she has / had a
supermarket. stomachache.
3 A: Tom is really working hard these days. 6 A: Did Tim send you a postcard from Spain?
B: Yes. He told me he have to / has to finish his :I B: Yes. He told me he has / was having a great
report by Friday. I time over there .
••••••••••••••••• •••• •••••••••••••••••••• I
13 The following people witnessed a car accident. Read what they said, then report
their words, as in the example.
3 I was reading a
newspaper in a cafe
It happened very
when I heard a loud
suddenly. We
crash. When I went
were lucky that
outside, I saw that a
no one got hurt.
car had driven into a
shop window.
129
o Reported Speech
14 Turn the sentences into reported speech. In which of the sentences do the
tenses remain the same? Why?
The recipe says, "The oven needs to be heated before use."
.
rb~. r.e:cipe: .t'lQ}/f3. (thtltJ the: .av.e:1J . n~~M .t.Q Poe: he:fJte:d bt<fart< Ut'le:·. .......................... .
.rb~. t~(J;3.e:!7 .do.oot. CMO@C. be:~Ji/,J~e. the. ilJtrod.uctory. v~rb.i;3, in .t~~ .pr:~~e:n1{ ;3,imple:.. ...... . .
2 "When you freeze water, you get ice," the Science teacher said.
130
Reported Speech
o
Exclamations - Yes/No short answers - Question tags
• Exclamations are introduced in reported speech with exclaim, thank, wish, say, cry out in pain,
give an exclamation of surprise/horror/disgust/delight, etc. The exclamation mark becomes a full
stop. Exclamatory words such as Oh!, Eee!, Wow! etc. are omitted in the reported sentence.
"Ow!" she said as she hit her head on the door. -+ She cried out in pain as she hit her head on the door.
• Yes/No short answers are expressed in reported speech with a subject + appropriate auxiliary
verb or subject + appropriate introductory verb.
"Can you help me?" he said. "No," she said. -+ He asked her if she could help him and she said she
couldn't. or He asked her if she could help him, but she refused.
• Question tags are omitted in reported speech. We can use an appropriate introductory verb to
convey the same meaning.
"He isn 't lying, is he?" she said. -+ She wondered if he was lying.
"He didn 't steal the money, did he? " she said . ... S.ht;: . w()nc:J~r~d. jf. he: h~d. fi.t.alt7n t.ht;: tJ1a n ey. .
2 "Wonderful! " he said , when the bank manager agreed to lend him the money. •..... ..... •
3 "Ouch! " he said , as the nurse gave him the injection . ............................................ ..
4 "I don't suppose you could lend me any money, could you? " he asked me . .................... . ... .
5 "Wow! " she said, when she first saw the Pyramids . .............................................. ..
6 "Would you like another piece of cake?" she asked. "Yes , please," he replied . ..........•...•••......
7 "Ugh! " she said, as she stepped into the mud puddle .............................................. .
A " Oh, what a surprise!" Lisa said, as she walked in the door.
" Happy birthday, Lisa!" said her friends .
"We wanted to surprise you!", her best friend Karen said .
"Wow! Thank you all so much!" Lisa said.
" Would you like to open your presents now?" Karen asked.
"Sure," Lisa said.
"And let's play some music, shall we?" Karen said. "I've got some
great new CDs which I think you'll like ."
131
o Reported Speech
When we report a speaker's words we don't just apply rules mechanically; we interpret what we
hear or read. So we use appropriate reporting verbs (introductory verbs) like the following:
~--- - --T
Introductory Verb Direct Speech Reported Speech
agree "Yes, I'll do it again. " He agreed to do it again.
demand "Tell me the truth!" He demanded to be told the truth.
offer "Would you like me to drive you He offered to drive me home.
home?"
promise + to-inf "I will pay you on Friday. " He promised to pay me on Friday.
refuse "No, I won 't tell you her secret. " He refused to tell me her secret.
threaten "Keep quiet or I'll punish you. " He threatened to punish me if I didn't
keep quiet.
claim "I witnessed the crime. " He claimed to have witnessed the crime.
advise 'You should talk about your He advised me to talk about my problem.
I
problem. "
allow 'You can use my phone. " He allowed me to use his phone.
ask "Please, close the door." He asked me to close the door.
beg "Please, please don't hit the dog." He begged me not to hit the dog.
command "Move to your right. " He commanded me to move to my right.
encourage "Go ahead, say what you think. " He encouraged me to say what I thought.
forbid 'You mustn't come home after He forbade us to come home after eleven.
eleven. "
instruct "Mix the eggs with the flour." He instructed me to mix the eggs with the
+ sb flour.
invite + to-inf "I'd like you to come to my party. " He invited me (to go) to his party.
order "Don't leave your room again. " He ordered me not to leave my room again.
permit 'You may speak to the judge. " He permitted/allowed me to speak to the
judge.
remind "Don't forget to turn the lights off." He reminded me to turn the lights off.
urge "Try to have sympathy for the I He urged me to try to have sympathy for
warn
family. "
"Don't touch the wire with wet
Ithe family.
He warned me not to touch the wire with
hands. " wet hands.
want "I'd like you to be more polite. " He wanted me to be more pOlite.
accuse sb of 'You acted as if you were guilty. " He accused me of acting as if I were guilty.
apologise for "I'm sorry I hurt you. " I He apologised for hurting me.
admit (to) 'Yes, I was wrong. " He admitted (to) being wrong.
boast about "I'm the fastest runner of all. " He boasted about being the fastest runner
of all.
complain to sb + ·ing "You always argue. " He complained to me about my arguing.
form
about
deny "No, I didn't eat your cake. " He denied eating/having eaten my cake.
insist on 'You must wear that blouse." He insisted on me/my wearing that blouse.
suggest "Let's order a pizza. " He suggested ordering a pizza.
--- -
agree 'Yes, she's very kind. " He agreed that she was very kind.
claim "I saw the accident. " He claimed that he had seen the accident.
complain 'You never ask my opinion." IHe complained that I never asked his
+ that-clause opinion.
deny "I have never met her!" He denied that he had ever met her.
exclaim "It's a tragedy!" He exclaimed that it was a tragedy.
explain "It's a complicated problem. " He explained that it was a complicated
problem.
132
Reported Speech o
Introductory Verb r- Direct Speech Reported Speech
inform sb } "Your request is being reviewed. " He informed me that my request was being
+ that- reviewed.
promise clause "I won't be late. " He promised that he wouldn't be late.
suggest "You ought to give her a call. " He suggested that I (should) give her a call.
explain to sb + how 'That's how I succeeded. " He explained to me how he had
succeeded.
wonder He asked himself, "Howald is He wondered how old she was.
where/what/why/ how + she?"
clause He asked himself, "Where are my He wondered where his keys were.
(when the subject of the keys?"
introductory verb is not He asked himself, "Why is she so He wondered why she was so cold.
the same as the subject cold?"
in the indirect question) He asked himself, "What is the He wondered what the right answer was.
right answer?"
wonder whether + He asked himself, "Shall I invite He wondered whether to invite them. /
to-inf or clause them?" He wondered whether he should invite them.
wonder where/what! He asked himself, "Where shall I He wondered where to go.
how + to-inf go?"
(when the subject of the He asked himself, "What shall I He wondered what to read first.
infinitive is the same as read first?"
the subject of the verb) He asked himself, "How shall I He wondered how to tell her.
tell her?"
18 Fill in the gaps with the introductory verbs from the list below in the past simple .
133
o Reported Speech
19 Turn the following into reported speech using appropriate introductory verbs.
"Why don't we playa game of chess? " said I 5 "Would you like me to help you make the cake? "
Elizabeth . she said .
fJi?t1f<~tb . f;i1,J0g.e.~1(t;d.pl.qyin(3. ~ 0~~. of .ci]tif;i~.
2 "I'm a brilliant driver," said James. I 6 "Don't forget to turn off the oven ," he said .
3 "No, I won 't tell you my password ," Paula said . 7 "Yes, I broke the vase," Tom said.
4 "I'm sorry I haven't replied to your email ," said : 8 "Put your hands up! " the police officer said to
Rachael. the thief.
21 Turn the sentences into reported speech using the following introductory verbs:
urge, promise, encourage, ask, complain, exclaim, inform, refuse.
Sam: How long will it take you to finish the essay, Chloe?
S~ro .~~l<ed hQI(v'. lalJ@.it. w.aIJ!d .1;.;i~~. ChJQ(:. to.finjf;ih. th.e. ~p.~~y•...........
2 Chloe: I think I will need about another 4 hours.
6 Chloe: No, I won 't rush because I want a good mark on this essay.
134
Reported Speech o
22 Turn the following into direct speech, as in the example.
The policeman said they had to leave the area 4 Jane said that she might have upset her best
immediately. friend.
® "You must leave the area now." a "I may upset my best friend ."
b "You had to leave the area then. " b "I might have upset my best friend. "
2 Steven said he had finished his homework 5 Harry said that they were going to continue
before he went out. working the next day.
a "I have finished my homework before I went a "We are going to continue worki.ng tomorrow."
out. " b "We were going to continue working
b "I had finished my homework before I went tomorrow."
out. "
6 Sarah said it was the best birthday present she
3 She told them the letter had been sent the day had ever received .
before. a "This is the best birthday present I've ever
a "The letter had been sent yesterday. " received ."
b "The letter was sent yesterday. " b "This was the best birthday present I've ever
received ."
135
o Reported Speech
The policeman ordered the driver to stop his car. The driver
agreed, but he wondered what the matter was. The policeman
inquired if the driver had seen the speed limit signs. The driver
denied having seen any. The policeman explained that it was
illegal to drive at more than 50 Ian an hour on that stretch of road.
The driver protested that he hadn't been speeding but the
policeman insisted that he would have to give him a ticket.
Subjunctive
The bare infinitive form of the subjunctive is used after certain verbs and expressions to give
emphasis. These are: advise, ask, demand, insist, propose, recommend, request, suggest, it is
essential, it is imperative , it is important, it is necessary, it is vital followed by (that) + subject.
We use should + simple form instead of the bare infinitive form of the subjunctive.
He insists (that) we be here on time. (less usual) He insists (that) we should be here on time. (more usual)
6 "You need to keep a record of your appointments, " she said . (advise)
136
Reported Speech 0
27 Write the correct form of the verb in brackets. Some of the verbs are passive.
1 It is vital that the new measures ...... .~bould. bril1@!brinq . . . . . .. (bring) hooliganism under control.
2 We demanded that he ......................................... (change) the date of the meeting.
3 He proposed that we ..................................•..•.......... (see) a lawyer immediately.
4 She insisted that his identity ................................................ (reveal) to the press.
5 We suggested she ......................................................... (consult) her lawyer.
6 It is important that he ..........•................•..............•.••. (remain) unseen for a whi le.
7 We requested that our luggage .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . . . . .. .. ... (deliver) to our hotel.
8 The specialist recommended that she .................................. (take) some time off work.
R: Why did you become a skier? A: Speeding down a slope! It's always
A: Well , both my parents were thrilling.
competitive skiers, so I think it runs R: Is competitive skiing dangerous?
in the family. A: No, not at all. No more so than
R: Have you always liked skiing? other sports.
A: Oh yes. I fell in love with the sport R: What are your ambitions for the
the very first time I put on skis, at future?
--
. the age of 6!
R: What do you like best about racing?
A: Well, I hope that I will win a gold
medal next year!
e.g. The reporter asked Mr Jones why he had become a skier. Mr Jones replied that...
Now write a short article for a sports magazine using the information
from the Speaking Activity above.
This week 's feature interview is with Mr Alex Jones, a competitive skier. We first asked
Mr Jones why he had become a skier. Mr Jones repl ied that ..................... .
j
............................................................................... J
137
English In Use
Use the word in bold to form a word that best fits each gap.
138
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Alternative Proxies: