REPORTED SPEECH

Unit 11 – English 12
 CONTENTS
I. DEFINITION
II. BASIC RULES
1. Tense changes
a. Basic tense changes
b. Other tense changes
2. Time and place changes
3. Pronoun changes
4. Reporting Verbs
5. Use of 'That' in reported speech
6. Indirect Questions
III. PRACTICE
 I. DEFINITION
Reported speech (also known as indirect speech)
refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said.
It is almost always used in spoken English.
Reported speech doesn't use quotation marks to
enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be
word for word.
When we use reported speech, we are usually talking
about the past (because obviously the person who
spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore
usually have to be in the past too.
"I'm going to the cinema".
He said he was going to the cinema.
 II. BASIC RULES
When changing from quoted speech to reported
speech, several changes occur. In all sentences, the
quotation marks and the comma immediately before the
first quotation mark are removed. Next, the word "that"
is usually inserted after the reporting verb (say, ask,
told, etc.) Then, the subject pronoun is changed so that
the meaning of the quote is not changed. Lastly, the
tense of the verb is changed, or shifted.
She said, "I'm teaching English online."
She said she was teaching English online.
 1. Tense changes
a.Basic tense changes
As a rule when you report something someone has
said you go back a tense (the tense on the left
changes to the tense on the right):
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching › She said she had been teaching
English for seven years." English for seven years.

Past simple Past perfect

She said, "I taught online › She said she had taught online
yesterday." yesterday.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I was teaching › She said she had been teaching
earlier." earlier.

Past perfect
Past perfect
She said, "The lesson had
› NO CHANGE - She said the lesson
already started when he
had already started when he arrived.
arrived."

Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I'd already been › NO CHANGE - She said she'd already
teaching for five minutes." been teaching for five minutes.
 b. Other tense changes
Modal verb forms also sometimes change:
Direct speech Indirect speech
will would
She said, "I'll teach English › She said she would teach English
online tomorrow." online tomorrow.
can could
She said, "I can teach English › She said she could teach English
online." online.
must
had to
She said, "I must have a
› She said she had to have a
computer to teach English
computer to teach English online.
online."
shall should
She said, "What shall we learn › She asked what we should learn
today?" today.
may might
She said, "May I open a new › She asked if she might open a new
browser?" browser.
!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought
to.
Things are slightly more complicated with imperatives.

positive imperative tell + infinitive

Shut up! He told me to shut up.

negative imperative tell + not + infinitive

Don't do that again! He told me not to do it
again.

imperatives as requests ask + infinitive

Please give me some money. He asked me to give him
some money.
 You can use the present tense in reported speech if
you want to say that something is still true i.e. my name has
always been and will always be Lynne

Direct speech Indirect speech

She said her name was Lynne.
"My name is Lynne", she
or
said.
She said her name is Lynne.

You can also use the present tense if you are

talking about a future event.

Direct speech (exact

Indirect speech (not exact)
quote)
"Next week's lesson is
She said next week's lesson is
on reported speech ",
on reported speech.
she said.
 2. Time and place changes
Time and place references often have to change:
If the reported sentence contains an expression of
time, you must change it to fit in with the time of
reporting.
now › then
today › that day

here › there

this › that

this week › that week

the following day
tomorrow › the next day
the day after
 the following week
next week › the next week
the week after
the previous day
Yesterday › the day before
the previous week
last week › the week before
previously
Ago › before
2 weeks previously
2 weeks ago › 2 weeks before
Tonight › that night
the previous Saturday
last Saturday › the Saturday before
the following Saturday
the next Saturday
next Saturday › the Saturday after
that Saturday
Examples:
I went to the theatre last night.
He said he had gone to the theatre the night before.
I'm staying here until next week.
He said he was staying there until the following week.

In addition if you report something that someone said in

a different place to where you heard it, you must change
the place (here) to the place (there).
Example:

At work At home

"How long have you She asked me how long I'd

worked here?" worked there.
 3. Pronoun changes
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.
For example:

Me You
She said she teaches
"I teach English online."
English online.

You also need to be careful with personal pronouns.

They need to be changed according to the situation. You
need to know the context. For example, there is possible
confusion when you try to change reported speech to
direct speech:
She said she'd been waiting for hours.
(Is she one person or two different people?)
I told them they would have to ask permission.
(Are we talking about two groups of people or
only one?)
 4. Reporting Verbs
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in
indirect speech.

We use “asked” to report questions:

I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.

We use “told” with an object.

Lynne told me she felt tired.

We usually use “said” without an object.

Lynne said she was going to teach online.

If “said” is used with an object we must include “to”

Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China.
 There are many other verbs we can use apart from said,
told and asked. These include:

accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised,

begged, boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied,
invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and
thought.

Using them properly can make what you say much more
interesting and informative.
For example:
He asked me to come to the party:
He invited me to the party.
He begged me to come to the party.
He ordered me to come to the party.
He advised me to come to the party.
He suggested I should come to the party.
5. Use of 'That' in reported
speech
In reported speech, the word “that” is often used.
He told me that he lived in Greenwich.

However, “that” is optional.

He told me he lived in Greenwich.

!Note – “That” is never used in questions, instead we

often use “if”.
He asked me if I would come to the party.
 6. Indirect Questions
Use verbs of speech for questions (asked, wondered,
enquired, wanted to know, tried to find out, etc.)

Use question words (where, when, who, why, how, etc)

instead of “that”

Change verb tenses, pronouns, and time expressions

(just like reported statements)

Use question word + subject + verb word order (unlike

a direct question)
question word + subject + verb
He asked when they would arrive.
My friend asked if I was coming
QUESTION FORM INDIRECT FORM

My friend said "Are

My friend asked if I was coming
you coming?"

TRANSFORMATION
PROCESS:
"Are you
1) Put the subject My friend said
coming?"
before the verb.
2) Change the pronoun:
you to I
3) Join the clauses My friend asked IF I was coming.
using if
4) Adjust the 2nd verb
to the time frame of the
1st verb.
III. PRACTICE
 THANKS FOR
KOOL!!! your
Attention!!