Direct and indirect speech by cristi830330

Grammar III Cristina Castro Direct and indirect speech

Direct and indirect speech Direct Speech Direct statement  The check is in the mail.  The haircut looks great.  The traffic was bad.

Subject Reporting Verb he

said

Indirect Speech Subject Reporting Verb Noun / Pronoun Indirect statement told the bank the check was in the mail. He Ann that the haircut looked great. Her the traffic had been bad. said

Grammar Rules: 1. Direct speech states the exact words that a speaker used. In writing, put quotation marks before and after the speech you are quoting.  “The check is in the mail”, he said.  “I like this tie”, she told him. The quotation can go at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.  

He said, “The traffic is bad.” “The traffic is bad.” He said

2. Indirect speech (also called reported speech) reports what a speaker said without using the exact words. The word that can introduce indirect speech.  He said that the check was in the mail.  She told him that she liked that tie. 3. Reporting verbs (such as say or tell) are usually in the simple past for both direct and indirect speech.  Direct speech: “it´s a great haircut”, he said.  Indirect speech: He said it was a great haircut. / He told her that it was a great haircut. When you mention the listener, it is more common to use tell than said. 

“I´m sorry to be late”, Rick told Ann.

Do not use tell when you don´t mention the listener. 

He said he had been sick. 2

 Not: He told he had been sick. 4. When the reporting verb is in the simple past (said, told) in indirect speech, we often change the verb tense the speaker used. a. The simple present becomes the simple past:  Direct speech: “I only buy shoes on sale,” she said.  Indirect speech: She said she only bought shoes on sale. b. The simple past become the past perfect:  “Direct speech: I found a great store,” she said.  Indirect speech: She said she had found a great store. 5. You don´t have to change the tense when you report: a. Something that was just said.  A: I´m tired from all this shopping. B: What did you say? A: I said I’m tired. / I said I was tired. b. Something that is still true.  Rick said the bank wants a check.  Rick said the bank wanted a check. c. A general truth or scientific law.  Mrs. Smith told her students that water freezes at 0 grades Celsius.  Mrs. Smith told her students that water froze at 0 grades Celsius. 6. When the reporting verb is in the simple present, do not change the verb tense in indirect speech.  Direct speech: Ann: I run a mile every day.  Indirect speech: Ann says that she runs a mile every day. In newspapers, magazines, and on the TV and radio news, reporting verbs are often in the simple present. 

Fifty seven percent of women report that they always tell the truth.

7. In indirect speech, make changes in pronouns and possessives to keep the speaker´s original meaning.  Rick told Ann, “I like your haircut”  Rick told Ann that he liked her haircut.

List of reporting verbs: Statements  Acknowledge  Add  Admit  Announce  Answer  Argue  Assert  Believe  Claim  Comment  Complain  Conclude  Confess  Declare  Deny  Exclaim  Explain  Indicate  Maintain  Mean  Note  Observe  Promise  Remark  Repeat  Reply  Report  Respond  Say  Shout  State  Suggest  Tell  Warn  Whisper  Write  Yell

Instructions, Commands, Requests, and Invitations Questions  Advise  Ask  Ask  Inquire  Caution  Question  Command  Want to know  Demand  Wonder  Instruct  Invite  Order  Say  Tell  Urge  Warn

Indirect speech: Tense changes Subject Reporting Verb Noun / Pronoun Indirect statement him he lived in Dresden. me he had moved there in June you he was looking for an apartment. him that he had started a new job. He told her he was going to stay there. us he would invite me/us for the holidays. them we could go to museums. he might look for a roommate. he should get back to work. he had to finish his report. I / we had to come to visit. we ought to see each other more often said

Grammar Rules: 1. When the reporting verb is in the simple past, the verb tense in the indirect speech statement often changes. Direct speech Simple present  He said “it is cloudy” Present progressive  She said “a storm is coming” Simple past  He said “Klaus called” Present perfect  She told him, “I’ve heard the news.”

Indirect speech Simple past  He said that it was cloudy. Past progressive  She said a storm was coming. Past perfect  He said that Klaus had called. Past perfect  She told him that she´d heard the news.

2. Modals often change in indirect speech. Direct speech will  I said “the winds will be strong.” can  “You can stay with us,” they told us. may  He said “The storm may last all night.” must  “You must leave,” he told us.

Indirect speech would  I said the winds would be strong. could  They told us we could stay with them. might  He said that the storm might last all night. had to  He told us that we had to leave. 5

3. The following do not change in indirect speech: a. Should, could, might, and ought to:  Direct speech: “You should listen to the news,” he told us.  Indirect Speech: He told us that we should listen to the news. b. The past perfect:  Direct speech: “I had moved here a week before the flood,” he said.  Indirect speech: He said that he had moved here a week before the flood. c. The present and the past unreal conditional:  Direct speech: “If I knew, I would tell you,” said him.  Indirect speech: Jim said if he knew he would tell me.  

Direct speech: “If I had known, I would have told you,” said Jim. Indirect speech: He said that if he had known, he would have told me.

d. Past modals:  Direct speech: I should have left.  Indirect speech: He said that he should have left.  

Direct speech: “We couldn´t have known Indirect speech: They said they couldn´t have known.

4. Change time words in indirect speech to keep the speaker´s original meaning. Direct speech Now Today Tomorrow Yesterday This week / month / year Last week / month / year Next week / month / year

Indirect speech Then That day The next day The day before That week / month / year The week / month / year before The following week / month year

5. Change here and this in indirect speech to keep the speaker´s original meaning. Direct speech Indirect speech Here There  I love it here  Jim said he loved there. This That  This climate is great.  He told me that that climate was great.

Indirect instructions, commands, requests, and invitations: Subject Reporting verb told advised asked He said invited

Noun / Pronoun Indirect speech Connie her her

to drink warm milk. not to drink coffee to turn out the light. to visit the clinic.

Grammar Rules: 1. In indirect speech use the infinitive (to + base form of the verb) for: a. Instructions:  Direct speech: “Come early” said the doctor.  Indirect speech: The doctor said to come early. b. Commands:  Direct speech: “Lie down”  Indirect speech: The doctor told her to lie down. c. Requests:  Direct speech: “Could you please arrive by 8:00?”  Indirect speech: He asked her to arrive by 8:00. d. Invitations:  Direct speech: “Could you join us for dinner?”  Indirect speech: They invited us to join them for dinner. 2. Use a negative infinitive (not + infinitive) for: a. Negative instructions:  Direct speech: “Don´t eat after 9:00 pm.”  Indirect speech: He told me not to eat after 9:00 p.m. 7

b. Negative commands:  Direct speech: “Don´t wake Cindy!”  Indirect speech: He told me not to wake Cindy. c. Negative requests:  Direct speech: “Please don´t set the alarm”  Indirect speech: She asked me not to set the alarm.

Indirect Questions:

Subject

Indirect speech: Yes / No Questions Reporting verb

Noun / Pronoun

asked

her

Indirect Question if she had any experience. whether she could create spreadsheets (or not) she would stay for a year.

Indirect speech: Wh- Questions about the subject Subject

Reporting verb

asked

Indirect speech: Wh- Questions about the predicate Subject Reporting verb

asked

Noun / Pronoun Bob him

Noun / Pronoun Melissa her

Indirect Question who had told him about the job? what had happened on his last job?

Indirect Question who (m) she had worked for. where she worked now. how she was going to get to work. why she has decided to change jobs how much she was making.

Grammar Rules: 1. Use if or whether in indirect yes/no questions.  “Can you type?” she asked: She asked if I could type.  “Do you know how to use a scanner?” he asked: He wanted to know whether I knew how to use a scanner. Whether is more formal than if. We often use whether or not to report yes/no questions. 

He wanted to know whether or not the report was ready.

2. Use questions words in indirect wh- questions.  “Where is your office?” I asked: I asked where his office was.  I asked, “How much is the salary?” I asked how much the salary was. 3. Use statement word order (subject + verb) not question word order for: a. Indirect yes/no questions.  Did they hire Li? : I asked if they had hired Li. b. Indirect wh- questions about the predicate (usually the last part of the sentence)  Who did they hire? : I asked who they had hired. c. Indirect wh- questions about the subject (usually the first part of the sentence)  Which company hired Li? : I asked which company had hired Li. If a direct question about the subject has the form question word + be + noun, then the indirect question has the form question word + noun + be. 4. In indirect questions: a. Do not use the auxiliary do, does, or did.  Why did you leave: She asked me why I had left. b. Do not end with a question mark (end with a period). Practices: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?05 http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?06 http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?07 http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?08 http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?09 http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?10 9

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