REPORTED SPEECH



REPORTED SPEECH

1. Introduction

2. Statements in indirect speech: Changes

1. Changes in the tense of the reported verb. (exceptions)

2. Changes in pronouns

3. Changes in adverbs and adverbial phrases.

4. Some other changes

3. Questions in indirect speech

1. Yes/No questions

2. Information questions

4. Commands in indirect speech.

5. Suggestions, requests in indirect speech.

6. Exclamations in indirect speech.

7. “Yes” and “No” in indirect speech.

8. The modal auxiliaries in indirect speech.

9. Introductory verbs.

10. Mixed exercises on indirect speech.

En el estilo indirecto, a diferencia del estilo directo, damos la idea del hablante, sin repetir sus mismas palabras. Se prescinde de los dos puntos (:) y de las comillas y las palabras se incorporan a la oración principal.

Este estilo es el que se emplea en la conversación o en la narración de unos hechos en los que no se quiere reproducir el diálogo sostenido al pie de la letra.

Estilo directo: Peter said: « I want a new suit. »

Estilo indirecto: Peter said that he wanted a new suit.

La diferencia se nota, como ya hemos indicado, en la ausencia de (:) y de las comillas, pero además en el cambio de los pronombres personales, adjetivos y pronombres posesivos y demostrativos y en los tiempos de los verbos. También, si existen, se producen cambios en los adverbios de lugar y tiempo.

Cuando el verbo de la oración principal que introduce el estilo indirecto está en presente, futuro o pretérito perfecto, se puede prescindir de los cambios, y también cuando se habla de verdades universales:

Peter says: «It's going to rain.»

Peter says that it's going to rain.

Your father will say: « You can't go.»

Your father will say that you can’t go.

Los cambios siempre se producen cuando el verbo principal está en pasado.

The teacher told me: «You are very clever.»

The teacher told me that I was very clever.

Excepciones:

a. Verdades universales: No debe haber cambios en los tiempos verbales cuando una frase expresa un hecho supuestamente universal y no aplicable solamente al tiempo en la que se dijo.

Socrates said, “Virtue is knowledge” Socrates said that virtue is knowledge

b. Acciones habituales: Una acción habitual es algo que normalmente no cambia

He said,”I get up at seven everyday” He said he gets up at seven everyday

c. Frases condicionales: Las frases condicionales que implican una condición improbable (Tipo II) o imposibles (Tipo III) tampoco cambian en estilo indirecto.

He said, “ If he came I would be surprised”

He said that if he came he would be surprised

Backshift

You must change the tense if the introductory clause is in Simple Past (e. g. He said). This is called backshift.

Example

He said, “I am happy.” – He said that he was happy.

|Direct Speech |Reported Speech |

|Simple Present |Simple Past |

|Present Progressive |Past Progressive |

|Simple Past |Past Perfect Simple |

|Present Perfect Simple | |

|Past Perfect Simple | |

|Past Progressive |Past Perfect Progressive |

|Present Perfect Progressive | |

|Past Perfect Progressive | |

|Future I (going to) |was / were going to |

|Future I (will) |Conditional I (would) |

|Conditional I (would) | |

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to do not normally change.

Example:

He said, “She might be right.” – He said that she might be right.

Cambios en los pronombres

Los pronombres personales y los adjetivos y pronombres posesivos cambian de primera o segunda persona a tercera.

They said, “ We’ve brought our books; the books on the desk are ours”

They said that they had brought their books and they said that the book on the desk were theirs.

Además, observa como cambian también this y these que cambian a that y those respectivamente

He said, “These are my books” He said that those were his book

Cambios en los adverbios y frases adverbiales:

Place and Time expressions

For place and time expressions you have to check whether place and time are the same in direct and reported speech or not. Check out the following example:

It is Friday and you meet James at a restaurant. James tells you that he saw Caroline in this restaurant today. (“I saw Caroline here today.”) A few minutes later, Helen joins you and you want to report what James has told you. Place (here) and time (today) are the same and you can say:

→ James said that he had seen Caroline here today.

One day later, you meet Mary at the same restaurant. Again, you want to report to her what James has told you. The place is the same, but not the time (it happened yesterday). So you would say:

→ James said that he had seen Caroline here yesterday.

Still a few days later, Tom rings you at home. Again, you want to report to him what James has told you. However, now you are not at the restaurant (but at home) and a few days have passed since then. So you would say:

→ James said that he had seen Caroline at the restaurant on Friday.

Estilo Directo Estilo indirecto

Today that day

Yesterday the day before/the previous day

Tomorrow the day after/the next day/the following day

Next week/year the following week/year

Last week/year the previous week/year

Here there

Now Then

|here | there |

|this | that |

|these | those |

| | |

He said, “I’ll see you tomorrow”

He said he would see him the following day

Otros cambios

Estilo Directo Estilo indirecto

Ago before

Come go

Bring take

He said, ”I saw him four days ago”

He said he had seen him four days before

Questions

For pronouns, tenses and place / time expressions see statements in reported speech.

Besides, note that instead of ‚that‘ you use the interrogative. If there is no interrogative, use ‚whether‘ / ‚if‘.

|  |Direct Speech |Reported Speech |

|statement |He said: “She lives in London.“ |He said that she lived in London |

|question with interrogative |He asked:“Where does she live?“ |He asked where she lived. |

|question without interrogative |He asked: “Does she live in London?“ |He asked whether she lived in London. |

| | |He asked if she lived in London. |

It is also important that you use an indirect question in reported speech, i.e. after the interrogative or ‚whether‘ / ‚if‘ you continue the sentence as if it were a statement (subject-verb etc.). The auxiliary verb ‚do‘ is not used in indirect questions.

Example:

He asked: “Where does she live?“ – He asked where she lived.

Commands

¿Cómo pasamos órdenes a estilo indirecto?

Para pasar órdenes (commands) a Estilo Indirecto usaremos los verbos TELL o ORDER, nunca el verbo SAY. Pero lo más importante es recordar que una orden tiene como objetivo, conseguir que alguien haga algo, que lleve a cabo una acción. Así pues nosotros pondremos una orden en estilo indirecto , reflejando la acción que se ordena de la forma más simple: to + infinitivo

Estilo directo: My father told me : Work hard for your exam!

Estilo indirecto: My father told me to work hard for my exam.

En caso de que la orden sea negativa , al infinitivo se le antepone not .

Estilo directo : My father told me : Don't get back home late!

Estilo indirecto: My father told me not to get back home late.

Suggestions, requests in indirect speech.

Suggestions

El verbo “suggest” se utiliza para hacer sugerencias en estilo indirecto. Se puede emplear de dos maneras:

• Sujeto + forma correcta del verbo + proposición encabezada por “that”

“Why don’t we go out?” He suggested. He suggested that they go out

• Sujeto + forma correcta del verbo en –ing

“Why don’t we go out?” He suggested. He suggested going out

Requests

For pronouns and place / time expressions see statements in reported speech. Tenses are not relevant for requests – simply use ‚to‘ + infinite verb.

Example:

She said, “Say hello to your mum.“ – She asked me to say hello to my mum.

For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb.

Example:

He said, “Don’t give up, Bob.“ – He advised Bob not to give up.

Example:

“Can I have a sandwich?”, .- He asked for a sandwich

Exclamaciones

Las exclamaciones tienen el mismo tratamiento que las aseveraciones

E.g. “What a dreadful thing!” o “How dreadful!” He said that it was a dreadful thing/that it was dreadful

“Yes” y “No” en Estilo indirecto

Yes y No se expresan en estilo indirecto mediante la fórmula Sujeto + verbo auxiliar apropiado: He said, “Can you swim?” and I said, “No”

He asked (me) if I could swim and I answered that I couldn’t

He said, “Will you have time to do it?” and I said, “yes”

He asked if I would have time to do it and I answered that I would

The introductory verbs in Reported Speech:

Say and tell:

Say and Tell with Direct Speech:

1. Say can introduce a statement or follow it:

Tom said, “I’ve just heard the news”, or

“I’ve just heard the news”, Tom said

Inversion of say and noun subject is possible when say follows the statement:

“I’ve just heard the news”, said Tom

say + to + person addressed is possible, but this phrase must follow the direct statement; it cannot introduce it:

“I’m leaving at once”, Tom said to me - Inversion is not possible here –

2. tell requires the person adressed: tell me he told us I’ll tell Tom

except with tell lies/stories/the truth, when the person adressed need not be mentioned: He told (me) lies

tell used with direct speech must be placed after the direct statement:

“I’m leaving at once”, Tom told me - Inversion is not possible with tell –

Say and Tell with Indirect Speech

Indirect statements are normally introduced by say or tell + object.

Say + to + object is possible but much less usual than tell + object

He said he’d just heard the news.

He told me he’d just heard the news

B. Other useful verbs which can be used either with direct or indirect speech are: add*, admit*, assure + object, answer*, argue*, boast*, complain*, deny*, explain*, grumble*, observe*, point out, promise, remark*, remind + object, reply.

With direct speech they follow direct statements

“It won’t cost more”, Tom assured us.

Starred verbs (*) can be inverted, provided the subject is a noun:

“But it will take longer”, Bill objected/objected Bill

They can all introduce indirect statements, that should be placed after the verb:

Tom assured us that it wouldn’t cost more. But Bill objected/pointed out that it would take longer.

C. murmur, mutter, shout, stammer, whisper can precede or follow direct statements or questions. Noun subjects can also be inverted and when introducing indirect statements that is usually necessary.

“You are late”, whispered Tom/Tom whispered.

Tom whispered that we were late

There are, of course, a lot of other verbs describing the voice or the tone of voice, e.g. bark, growl, snarl, sneer, roar, scream, shriek, yell. But these are more common with direct than indirect speech.

D. Infinitive and gerund constructions in Indirect Speech

Agree, refuse, offer, promise, threaten + infinitive can sometimes be used instead of say (that).

E.g. ANN: “Would you wait half an hour?”

TOM: “All right”

Tom agreed to wait or Tom said he would wait.

Accuse + object + of, admit, deny, apologize for, insist on + gerund can sometimes be used instead of say that.

E.g. TOM: “I’ll pay for both of us.

BILL: “Let’s each pay our own share”

TOM: “No, I’ll pay”.

“No, I’ll pay” could be reported as Tom insisted on paying

E. Introductory verbs in questions:

In questions, the introductory verb say must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g. ask, inquire, wonder, want to know

He said: “Where’s the station?” He asked where the station was.

Ask, inquire, wonder, can also be used in direct speech (placed at the end of the sentence) “Where’s the station?”, He inquired.

Ask can be followed by the person adressed (Indirect object), but inquire, wonder, want to know cannot take an indirect object, so if we wish to report a question where the person adressed is mentioned, we must use ask.

F. Other introductory verbs

1. For commands: tell, command, order, encourage, entreat, forbid, remind, urge, etc...

He said, “Go away” He told/ordered/commanded... me to go away

2. For requests: ask, request, implore, beg, etc...

“Could I see her again?” He asked/implored/begged...to see her again

3. For offers and invitations: offer, invite

“Shall I bring you some tea?” He offered to bring me some tea

4. For speculations: wonder

“Shall I ever see them again?” he wondered He wondered if he would ever see them again

5. For advice: tell, advise, warn, recommend...

“Don’t swim too far, boys,” I said I told/warned the boys not to swim too far.

6. For suggestions: suggest

“Let’s stop now” He suggested stopping then

He suggested that they should stop

7. For exclamatory sentences:

He said, “Thank you” He thanked me

He said, “Curse the wind” He cursed the wind

He said, “Welcome” He welcomed me

He said, “Happy Christmas” He wished me a happy Christmas

He said, “Congratulations” He congratulated me

He said, “Liar” He called me a liar.

He said, “Damn it” He swore.

Exercises on Reported Speech

The following exercises have been taken (mostly) from the following web page. There you can find many more at different levels and on-line answers.

(100 free exercises on R.S.)

1. Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question.

1. "Next week he will visit his aunt in Oslo."

Mary knew that he.........................aunt in Oslo the following week.

2. "We should tell her the truth."

He was sure that we …………………the truth.

3. "Who broke the windows?"

The principle wanted to know ……………………the windows.

4. "Jill wants to sing at the concert next week."

He realized that Jill ................................at the concert the following week.

5. "Please, explain that to me again."

Helen begged the teacher politely …………………….that …………………again. (infinitive construction)

6. "I lived in St. Paul some years ago."

Suzanne told us that …………………..in St. Paul……………………..

7. "This dress suits you very well."

Everybody maintained (that) that dress ……………………very well.

8. "Did you copy your homework?"

Mr. Clever asked the lazy boy if …………………….homework.

9. "Don't copy your homework."

Mother told us ……………………..homework. (infinitive construction)

10. "I didn't tell anybody about that."

The little boy maintained that …........................anybody about that

2. Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question.

1. He said, "I like this song."

→ He said ............................................................

2. "Where is your sister?" she asked me.

→ She asked me ..............................................................

3. "I don't speak Italian," she said.

→ She said ..........................................................

4. "Say hello to Jim," they said.

→ They asked me ............................................................

5. "The film began at seven o'clock," he said.

→ He said .........................................................................

6. "Don't play on the grass, boys," she said.

→ She told the boys .........................................................................

7. "Where have you spent your money?" she asked him.

→ She asked him .............................................................................

8. "I never make mistakes," he said.

→ He said .......................................................................

9. "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know.

→ He wanted to know .............................................................................

10. "Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience.

→ The stuntman advised the audience .....................................................................

3. Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question.

(1) "I'm going to France next week."

He said that .....................................to France .............................week.

(2) "They haven't spoken to their parents for six years."

She said that they ................................to their parents for six years.

(3) "Sue doesn't want to go out with me."

He said that Sue ....................................to go out with……………………………………...

(4) "You'll have to be here at 3 o'clock this afternoon."

She told me that I ...............................at 3 o'clock……………………………………………….

(5) "I moved into my flat three years ago."

I said that I ...................................into my flat three years…………………………………..

(6) "If I hear anything I'll phone you."

He told me that if he ....................................anything he………………………………………….

(7) "You can move into the flat as soon as you want."

She told ........................that they ......................into the flat as soon as……………………….

(8) "You must bring me the money tomorrow."

He told us that ...............................the money…………………………………..

(9) "I often go to the cinema."

She told us that she often ............................to the cinema.

(10) "I'm going to do it now if you'll let me."

She told him that she .................................if he………………………………………………...

Exercise 4. Last week you met a friend of yours called Charlie; you hadn't seen him for a long time. Here are some of the things Charlie said to you:

(1) I haven't seen Diane recently

(2) I don't know why Fred was sacked from his company

(3) I'm living in London with my parents

(4) You look much older than me

(5) You can come and stay with me if you are ever in London

(6) I'll tell Anne I've seen you here

(7) I want to go on holiday but I can't afford it

Exercise 5: Match what somebody says to you (on the left - which is the opposite of what they said before) with your answers (on the right).

1-“That restaurant is very expensive”

2-“Ann is coming to your party”

3-“I know lots of people”

4-“I have seen this film before”

5-“I'll tell your girlfriend your little dirty secret”

a. Is she? I thought you said that she wasn't coming to my party

b. Is it? But you said it was cheap

c. Do you? But you told me that you didn't know anyone!

d. Will you? But you promised you wouldn't tell it!

e. Have you? I thought you said that you hadn't seen this film

Exercise 6: The following ideas are direct speech. Change these commands into reported speech.

Don't tell anyone what happened yesterday!

Stay in bed till you feel a bit better!

Don't wait for me if I'm late!

Don't forget me even if you marry Joe!

Don't make me any personal question!

Speak a bit louder or I won't understand you!

Exercise 7: The following ideas are direct speech. Change these REQUESTS into reported speech.

Can you open your bag, please?

Could you repeat what do you say?

Do you think you could give me a hand, Tom?

Would you mind not making so much noise?

Will you marry me, John?

Please slow down !

Exercise 8 : Here are some things that Joe said to you. Match them to your related answers.

1. Jane has a very well- paid job

2. You shouldn't complain about your job to your boss

3. Have you told your wife that you have problems?

4. Why don't you tell Ann that you love her?

5. Don't ask me any other favour

6. What do you think about my job?

7. Could you lend me some money I need?

a. But you told me not to ask me any other favour!

b. But you asked me to tell Ann that I love her!

c. But you said Jane had a very-well paid job!

d. Again? Yesterday you also asked me what I thought about your job!

e. However you told me not to complain about my job to my boss!

f. Again? Yesterday you also asked if I told my wife that I had problems!

g. Have you? But yesterday you asked me to lend you some money you needed!

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