Reported Speech

Direct and Reported Speech A) DIRECT SPEECH: words actually spoken; quotation marks. B) REPORTED SPEECH: we only give the meaning of what was said; no quotation marks. C) TELL or SAY? TELL + IO + DO SAY + DO / SAY + TO + IO+ DO TELL always has an indirect object, except in some expressions like tell the time, tell the truth ... Changes in Reported Speech A) Changes of PERSON, TIME and PLACE depend on changes in the situation. The most important changes are: Pronouns I / we................................... he, she / they Time tomorrow ............................ the next / following day yesterday ........................... the day before now .................................... then today / tonight ..................... that day / night this morning ........................ that morning on / next Tuesday ............... the following Tuesday last Tuesday ....................... the previous Tuesday the day after tomorrow.......... in two days time ago...................................... before Place here .................................... there Demonstratives this / that ............................ the B) TENSE CHANGE: Tense change depends on whether the introductory verb is present or past. - If the introductory verb is present, there is no tense change. - If the introductory verb is past, there is often a tense change. If the statement is up to date when we report it, we can leave the same tense or change it. We change the tense if we think the statement may be untrue. In news reports, the tense usually changes. Direct Speech Reported Speech Direct Speech Reported Speech Simple Present ......... Simple Past WILL ...................... WOULD Present Continuous .. Past Continuous CAN ....................... COULD Simple Past ............. Past Perf/S. Past* MAY ...................... MIGHT Past Continuous ...... Past Perf/Past Cont.* MUST .................... HAD TO Present Perfect ........ Past Perfect WOULD NO CHANGE Past Perfect ............ Past Perfect COULD MIGHT SHOULD OUGHT TO       A) Reporting verbs: SAY, TELL, ANNOUNCE, EXCLAIM,... Reported statements B) Introduced by THAT (it can be omitted) C) Pronoun, verb and adverb change Reported questions A) Reporting verbs: ASK, WONDER, WANT TO KNOW B) WH-QUESTIONS: introduced by an INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN (it cannot be omitted) C) YES/NO QUESIONS: introduced by IF or WHETHER (they cannot be omitted) D) Pronoun, verb and adverb change.Word order changes E) EMBEDDED QUESTIONS: Could you tell me ...? Do you know ...? Reported functions (requests, orders, offers, ...) A) REQUESTS: - Reporting verb: ASK, BEG ... - Indirect Object + TO-INFINITIVE / NOT TO-INFINITIVE B) ORDERS: - Reporting verbs: TELL, ORDER, COMMAND ... - Indirect Object + TO-INFINITIVE / NOT TO-INFINITIVE C) OFFERS, SUGGESTIONS ... OFFER PROMISE AGREE REFUSE THREATEN REMIND ADVISE INVITE + TO-INFINITIVE SUGGEST ADMIT INSIST ON APOLOGIZE FOR + -ING D) PROMISE THAT, AGREE THAT ... PROMISE AGREE REMIND WARN ADVISE ADMIT INSIST EXERCISES: 1. 'What do you think of the college?' She asked .........................................  . 2. 'I'll call you later tonight,' Keith promised.  Keith promised that ................................................  . 3. 'I didn't break the window,' said the boy.  The boy denied.....................................................  4. 'Why don't you come this evening?'  She suggested........................................................ . 5. 'You look really tired,' he told her.  He said .......................................................  . 6. 'You must do your homework tonight.' the teacher said.  The teacher told ......................................................  . 7. 'What's your name?' he asked.           He asked ........................................................  . 8. 'I might be late for work.' he told me.  He told ........................................................  . 9.‘Please don’t smoke in here!’  the waiter said to the customers.  The waiter told...................................................... 10. ‘Will it be alright to come over tomorrow?’ he wanted to know. He wanted........................................................................ 11. ‘What has she been doing while I was out?’ asked Susan  Susan asked......................................................................... 12. ‘Who ate the last piece of cake?’ Sue asked. Sue asked............................................................................................ 13. ‘The students were standing outside the classroom, waiting for the teacher to arrive.’ commented Graham. Graham commented............................................................................ 1 "I can't believe what you're saying," Paul told me. 2 "Would you like a cup of tea? she said to the girls. 3 "What time did you arrive in London?" he asked. 4 "I'm sorry to be late, but I missed the bus" she said. 5 "Thank you for the postcard you sent me," she said to Jane. 6 "What were you doing last night at 9.30?" he asked. 7 "I'll show you when I finish," he said. 8 "The film had already started when Peter arrived," she said. 9 "I was having a shower when the phone rang," she said. 10 "You must finish the report today," my boss told me.