1. REPORTED SPEECH
2. EXPLANATION 3. REPORTING QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
DEFINITION
1. REPORTED SPEECH
2. EXPLANATION 3. REPORTING QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
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Indirect Speech refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said. It is almost always used in spoken English.
EXAMPLE
We use reported speech when we are saying what other people say.
1. REPORTED SPEECH
2. EXPLANATION 3. REPORTING QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
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‘I want to travel’= He says he wants to travel. ‘We think you are right’= They told me they think I am right. .
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Reporting facts or words just said.
1. REPORTED SPEECH
When we are reporting things or words just said, we don't change the tense.
2. EXPLANATION 3. REPORTING QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
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He says sales are increasing considerably. The boss says he wants to attend to the meeting. The manager says he wants to see you immediately Subtopic 2.3
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Reporting the past
When we tell people what someone has said in the past, the tense goes back a tense. 1. REPORTED SPEECH
You look very nice. = I told him (that) he looked very nice.
2. EXPLANATION
Polly has bought a new car. = She said to us (that) Polly had bought a new car.
3. REPORTING QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
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Backshift of tenses BelowDIRECT is aSPEECH table showing that changes time to REPORTED SPEECH time Present Continuous Past Continuous We’re doing it wrong. Present Simple I am happy. Past Simple I had my first lesson yesterday.
I can’t fix the machine.
I told Ted we were doing it wrong. Past simple He said he was happy. Past Perfect He said that he had had his first lesson the previous day. Past Perfect He said he had been sad. Past Perfect He said that he had never driven a car before. Could He told me he couldn’t fix the machine.
I will call back later.
Would He told me that he would call back later.
Present Perfect I have been sad. Past Perfect I had never driven a car before. Can
Will
Changing Pronouns and Time Signifiers When changing from direct speech to indirect speech, it is often necessary to change the pronouns to match the subject of the sentence. For example: She said, "I want to bring my children." BECOMES She said she wanted to bring her children. Jack said, "My wife went with me to the show." BECOMES Jack said his wife had gone with him to the show.
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It is also important to change time words (signifiers) to match the moment of speaking.
For example: She said, "I want to bring my children tomorrow." BECOMES She said she wanted to bring her children the next day.
CHANGES IN MODALS
CHANGES IN OTHER WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
Direct speech
Direct speech
Reported speech
Reported speech
Can
Could
Now
Then
May
Might
Today
That day
Must
Must/had to
Yesterday
The previous day / the day before
Will
Would
Last Week
The previous week / the week before
A month ago
The previous month / the month before
Tomorrow
The following day / the day after / the next day
Next week
The following week / the week after
Here
There
This / these
That /those
Indirect Questions (use ask)
1. REPORTED SPEECH
 When reporting questions, it is especially important to pay attention to sentence order. When reporting yes/ no questions connect the reported question using 'if'.
2. EXPLANATION
3. REPORTING QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
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For example : She asked, "Do you want to come with me?" BECOMES She asked me if I wanted to come with her.
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For example : Dave asked, “What are you doing?" BECOMES Dave asked what I was doing.
Say versus Tell Say and tell are the most common verbs to report. After say you can use ‘that’ (optional), or a subject, but do not use an object pronoun. She said (that) she would attend to the meeting. After tell you need to indicate who receives the action, you need to use an object pronoun (me, him, us…) and ‘that’ is optional. She told me (that) she would attend to the meeting.
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