Reported Speech

Presentation.
Statements in indirect speech.
Tense changes.
Other changes : adjectives, adverbs etc.
Say/ tell ; Infinitive, gerund constructions.
Questions.
Requests, offers,suggestions,commands etc.
Exercises 1 Exercise 3 +(key)
Exercises 2 Exercise 4 +(key)
Departamento de Ingls.
Curso : 3 de Escuela Oficial de Idiomas.
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Profesor : ALFONSO GARCIA BALAN
 Im feeling
tired

You want to tell someone else what Ann said.

There are two ways of doing this:
You can repeat Anns words (direct speech) :
Ann said Im feeling tired.
Or you can use reported speech:
Ann said ( that ) she was feeling tired.

Compare the two sentences :

direct Ann said I am feeling tired .
reported Ann said (that) she was feeling tired.

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Statements in indirect speech : tense changes necessary

Indirect speech can be introduced by aq verb in a present tense:

he says that.... This is usual when we are:
1 reporting a conversation that is still going on.
2 reading a letter and reporting what it says.
3 reading instructions and reporting them.
4 reporting a statement that someone makes very often.

But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past tense.

Verbs in the direct speech have then to be changed into a corresponding
past tense.

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Tense changes
The changes are shown in the following table
Direct speech Indirect speech
SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST
I never eat meat, he explained He explained that he never ate meat.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS

Im waiting for Ann, he said He said he was wating for Ann.

PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT

I have found a flat, he said He said he had found a flat.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

He said, Ive been wating for ages He said he had been wating for ages.

SIMPLE PAST PAST PERFECT

I took it home with me, he said He said he had taken it home with him.

FUTURE CONDITIONAL
He said, Ann will be in Paris on Monday He said that Ann would be in Paris on Monday.

FUTURE CONTINUOUS CONDITIONAL CONTINUOUS

Ill be using the car myself on the 24th, he said He said hed be using the car himself on the 24th.
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Other changes necessary when turning direct speech
into indirect speech.
THIS used in time expressions usually become THAT :
He said, She is coming this week / He said that she was coming that week .

Otherwise THIS and THAT used as adjectives usually change to THE :

He said, I bought this pearl/ these pearls for my mother
He said that he had bought the pearl/pearls for his mother.

THIS,THESE used as pronouns can b ecome IT,THEY/THEM

Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time change as follows:

Direct Indirect
Today that day
Yesterday the day before
The day before yesterday two days before
Tomorrow the next day/the following day
The day after tomorrow in two daystime
Next week/ year etc. The following week/year
Last week/ year etc. The previous week/year etc.
A year etc ago a year before/the previous year
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Say, tell
Say can introduce a statement or follow it :
Tom said, Ive just heard the news or Ive just heard the news, Tom said.

say+to+person addressed is posible, but following the direct statement

tell requires the person addressed: tell me he told us

Infinitive and gerund constructions in indirect speech

A agree,refuse,offer, promise,threaten + infinitive can sometimes be used
instead of say (that)...
Paul : Ill help you if you like.
Paul offered to help her/me or Paul said that hed help her/me.

B accuse+object+of, admit, deny,apologize for, insist on+gerund can sometimes

be used instead of say that :
You took the money! might be reported by He accused me of taking the money.

C other useful verbs are : add, admit, answer, argue, assure +object, complain,
deny, explain, observe, point out, promise, remark, remind + object, reply.
These can be used with direct or indirect speech.
It wont cost more,said Tom But it will take longer , said Bill
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Tom assured us that it wouldnt cost more. But Bill objected that it would take longer.
Questions in indirect speech
Direct : He said, Where is he going? Indirect : He asked where she was going.

A Tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time and place
change in statements.
The interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative form The question
mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions :
B If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g. Ask,
inquire, wonder, want to know etc.:
He said, Where is the station? = He asked where the station was.

C ask can be followed by the person addressed (indirect object).

He asked, What have you got in your bag?= He asked (me) what I had got in my bag.

But inquire, wonder, want to know cannot take an indirect object, so if we wish to
report a question where the person addressed is mentioned, we must use ask :
He said, Mary, when is the next train?= He asked Mary when the next train was.

D If the direct question begins with a quqestion word ( when, where, who, how,
why etc. ) the question word is repeated in the indirect question :
He said, What do you want? = She asked (them) what thet wanted.

E If there is no question word, if or whether must be used:

Is anyone there? He asked = He asked if/whether anyone was there.
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Requests for instructions or advice:
What shall I do with it? = Tell me what to do with it.

Offers :
Shall I bring you some tea? He offered to bring me some tea.

Suggestions :
Shall we meet at the theatre? He suggested meeting at the theatre.

Commands, requests, advice in indirect speech

He said, Lie down, tom He told Tom to lie down.

The following verbs can be used: advise, beg, command, encourage, entreat, forbid
forbid, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, urge, warrn.
Negative commands, requests etc. Are usually reported by not + infinitive :
Dont swim out too far, boys, I said I warned/told the boys not to swim out too far

Exclamations and yes and no

He said, What a dreadful thing! Or How dreadful ! = He said that it was a dreadful thing.
He said, Thank you! = He thanked me.
He said, Happy Christmas! = He wished me a happy Christmas.
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1.- Which of the following answers : A, B, C, is correcct ? CLICK the picture you think
is the correct one according to its transformation into reported speech.

How much do you think it will cost ? He said.

A: He asked how much I think it would cost.

B: He asked how much I thought it would cost.

C: He asked how much I thought it will cost.

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2.- CLICK the picture you think is the correct one according to its transformation into
reported speech.

Im leaving tomorrow.she said

by the 4.30 from Victoria.

She said she was

leaving tomorrow by
the 4.30 from
Victoria.

She said I wsas

leaving today by
4.30 from Victoria

She said she was

leaving the following
day by the 4.30 from
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3.- Choose the best alternative according to the usage of the verb tenses.

A.- The clerk said it would / will take a little time to look up her file.

B.- She reminded me to insure / insuring my luggage.

C.- She told him not to put / to put not sticky things in his pocket. key
4.- You have to read a sentence and write a new sentence with the same meaning.
1.- Listen carefully, he said to us.
He told ..............................................................................................................................
2.- Dont wait for me if Im late, Ann said.
Ann said.............................................................................................................................
3.- Can you speak more slowly? I cant understand, he said to me.
He asked..........................................................................because....................................
4.- Read the instructions before you switch on the machine, he said to me.
He told ...............................................................................................................................
5.- Dont come before 6 oclock, I said to him.
I told .................................................................................................................................

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 5.- Yesterday you met a friend of yours, Charlie. Charlie told you alot of things. Here are
some of the things he said to you :

1 Im thinking of going to live in Canada.

2 My father is in hospital.

4 Margaret has had a baby. 3 Ive been playing tennis a lot recently.

5 Ill tell Jim I saw you.

6 I dont know what Fred is doing.

Later that day you tell another friend what Charlie said. Use reported speech.
key
1 Charlie said that....................................................................................................
2 Charlie said...........................................................................................................
3 Charlie...................................................................................................................
4 Charlie...................................................................................................................
5 Ch..........................................................................................................................
6 ...............................................................................................................................
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4.- Key
1 He told us to listen carefully.
2 Ann said not to wait for her if she was late.
3 He asked me to speak more slowly because he couldnt understand.
4 He told me to read the instructions before I switched on yhe machine.
5 I told him not to come before 6 oclock.

5.- Key
1 Charlie said that he was thinking of going to live in Canada.
2 Charlie said that his father was in hospital.
3 He said ( that) he had been playing tennis a lot recently
4 He said (that) Margaret had had a baby.
5 He said (that) he would tell Jim he had seen me./ ... He saw me.
6 He said (that) he didnt know what Fred was doing.

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