DIRECT / REPORTED SPEECH



direct / reported speech

A. STUDY THE FOLLOWING TABLE.

Note the changes

in verb tenses

in pronouns

in structures (questions)

in words referring to moments

|Direct speech |Reported speech |

|Main clause (proposition principale) in the present |

|The manager says : "You will die if you sit on your laurels." |He says thay they will die if they sit on their laurels. |

|Main clause in the past |

|The manager said : "You will die if you sit on your laurels." |The manager said they would die if they sat on their laurels. |

|He said : "I have always believed in innovation." |He said (that) he had always believed in innovation." |

|He said : "We are less successful when we are carrying out less |He said (that) they were less successful when they were carrying out |

|research." |less research. |

|He told the employees : "You must/should always do your best." |He told the employees they must/should always do their best. |

|He asked : "What are our competitors doing ?" |He asked what their competitors were doing. |

|He wondered : "What profits do other firms make ?" |He wondered what profits other firms made. |

|He wondered : "Am I right ?" |He wondered if / whether he was right. |

|One client asked : "Who's the boss ?" |One client asked who the boss was. |

|Other words |

|now |then |

|today |that day |

|tomorrow |the next day |

|yesterday |the day before |

|next week |the following week |

|last year |the past year |

Now turn the following sentences into direct speech if they are in reported speech or vice-versa, as in the examples above.

B. ACTIVITY one :

1. The manager said they'd better boost their productivity if they wanted to survive.

1. He thought there should be a more competitive spirit in the company.

1. He announced : "Three new products will soon come out of our labs."

1. An FDA official declared : "All firms must test a product before getting approval."

1. A client complained :"The company has increase its prices too much recently."

1. The manager answered that high prices were necessary for R&D.

1. He added : "Any company needs high profits."

1. And he concluded : "This has always been our policy."

1. One journalist wrote that Peters was one of the best managers the firm had ever had.

1. He wondered what would happen when Peters retired the following year.

C. ACTIVITY two :

1. The chairman asked the treasurer if he could make a report on the new project.

1. Afterwards, he asked : "Will someone put a question about it ?"

1. Somebody queried whether the price would be reduced.

1. Another member asked : "Who will be in charge of the construction ?"

1. Someone else asked if it was possible to use another type of material.

1. "Do we really need this new building ?" one member enquired.

1. In fact, he wondered whether that building was absolutely necessary.

1. His neighbour asked when the building would be completed.

1. A fifth member questioned them : "What do you propose to do ?"

1. Finally the Treasurer wondered if the project would ever be realised.

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