¡REPORTED SPEECH!
CREATOR: Laleska Rodríguez
If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request. Statements When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:
pronouns present tense verbs (3rd person singular) place and time expressions tenses (backshift) Type
Example
direct speech
“I speak English.”
reported speech (no backshift)
He says that he speaks English.
reported speech (backshift)
He said that he spoke English.
Questions When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:
pronouns present tense verbs (3rd person singular) place and time expressions tenses (backshift) Also note that you have to:
transform the question into an indirect question use the interrogative or if / whether Type with interrogative
without interrogative
Example direct speech
“Why don’t English?”
you
speak
reported speech
He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
direct speech
“Do you speak English?”
reported speech
He asked me whether / if I spoke English.
Requests When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:
pronouns place and time expressions For pronouns and place / time expressions see statements in reported speech. Tenses are not relevant for requests – simply use ‚to‘ + infinite verb. Example: She said, “Say hello to your mum.“ – She asked me to say hello to my mum. For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb. Example: He said, “Don’t give up, Bob.“ – He advised Bob not to give up. Type
Example
direct speech
“Carol, speak English.“
reported speech He told Carol to speak English.
Additional Information and Exeptions Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:
main clauses connected with and / but tense of the introductory clause reported speech for difficult tenses exeptions for backshift requests with must, should, ought to and let’s Main Clauses connected with and / but If two complete main clauses are connected with ‚and‘ or ‚but‘, put ‚that‘ after the conjunction. Example: He said,“I saw her but she didn’t see me.“ – He said that he had seen her but that she hadn’t seen him.“ If the subject is left out in the second main clause (the conjunction is followed by a verb), do not use ‚that‘. Example: She said,“I am a nurse and work in a hospital.“ – He said that she was a nurse and worked in a hospital.“ Tense of the Introductory Clause The introductory clause usually is in Past Tense. Example: He said that … Present Tense is often used to report a conversation that is still going on, e. g. during a phone call or while reading a letter. Example: “I am fine.“ – Tom says / writes that he is fine. The introductory clause can also be in another tense. In the following table you can see, for which tense of the introductory clause you have to use backshift in reported speech.
How to use Reported Speech If you have a sentence in Direct Speech, try to follow our 5 steps to put the sentence into Reported Speech.. 1. Define the type of the sentence (statement, questions, command) 2. What tense is used in the introductory sentence? 3. Do you have to change the person (pronoun)? 4. Do you have to backshift the tenses? 5. Do you have to change expressions of time and place?