Prep ENG 242 Intro to Sociolinguistics



The purpose of this material: a) Supplementary notes to textbook

b) Weekly, lesson-by-lesson review guide

CHAPTER 6: PRONOUNS

Definition: a category of pro-forms associated with nouns and noun phrases, as seen below:

As it turned out, somebody offered Elaine a bicycle at a price which she and her friends know was way below that of a new one.

A pronoun substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. In the sentence Mercy thought she was hired, she is a pronoun representing Mercy. Pronouns are the commonest of a class of words referred to as pro-forms: words that replace other words or constructions (including phrases, clauses, and entire sentences). Examples of other pro-forms are there, so, and will, as used in these sentences:

a. preposition phrase: I saw you there (at the party).

b. verb phrase: I’m afraid no one will (answer the phone).

c. adjectival phrase: Jude is very quiet and so is Florence. (very quiet)

d. sentence: I thought so. (I thought the game might be canceled.)

Types of Pronouns

Central pronouns:

Personal: person (1st/2nd/3rd), number (singular/plural), case (subject/object), gender (masculine/feminine/nonpersonal)

Reflexive pronouns:

Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that refer or reflect back to people or things often (but not always) specified within the same clause. Reflexive use typically requires a subject noun phrase and an object, direct (Od) or indirect (Oi), with the subject and object being co-referential items; that is, the agent (subject of the verb) and the sufferer (object of the verb or bearer of the action) are one and the same entity. In this case, the verb must be an active verb. Reflexive pronouns are formed by combining the first possessive forms plus -self (singular) and -selves (plural) in the first and second persons and the object forms plus those same endings in the third person. Here are examples:

a. The couple could not see themselves selling bread for a living. (Od)

b. The CEO gave herself a big pay raise. (Oi)

c. Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in 1804. (Od)

d. The bird made itself a nest in the tree. (Oi)

e. The harder we worked, the more we found ourselves sinking into debt. (Oi)

In a, the couple would not like to sell bread for a living, while in b, the CEO is the one who benefits from the pay raise. Reflexive pronouns are never subjects of sentences or objects of prepositions.

Practice 1

In the sentences below and for each improper usage, (1) provide a correct alternative, and (2) explain the basis of the error and of your correction. Be sure not to alter the original meaning of the sentence. Mark “Correct” against each sentence you think is correct:

a. Myself and Jane witnessed the accident.

b. His carelessness has cost themselves a fortune.

c. You could have given yourself a little more time.

d. I made me a little sandwich for lunch.

e. Should you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to either Sue, or Jane, or myself.

f. Blacks have allowed ourselves to be polarized.

g. We brought ourselves undue hardship by taking a short cut.

h. Her facial injuries were so severe she could hardly recognize herself in the mirror.

i. Please leave a message for the director and myself, and we will return your call.

j. I think that you totally understood the role of Noel Adams and myself.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns refer to possessions of people or things as known or understood within a given context (spoken or written). The only possessive pronoun with an interrogative function is whose, as in Whose book is this? It should be noted that the third person singular forms his and its remain unchanged either as attributive or absolute pronouns. The preposition of has a special grammatical function in helping to establish possession periphrastically, as in these phrases:

the prime minister of India = India’s prime minister

the son of the preacher the preacher’s son

The preposition of is also used similarly with body parts solely for lexical purposes in idiomatic expressions; it, therefore, does not have the same meaning we just saw in the two phrases. Here are examples:

the neck of the bottle

the nose of the plane

the mouth of the river

the butt of the joke

the head of the nail

the foot of the mountain

the tail of the line

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns are words that introduce relative clauses and represent understood noun phrases in the main clause. They are either personal (who, whom, whose, that) or impersonal (whose, which, that, when, where, and why). The personal pronouns may represent the subject (S), the direct object (Od), or indirect object (Oi). Here are examples:

a. That is the fellow who/that spilled your milk! (S)

b. I saw the student whom you recommended to me. (Od)

c. Where is the man to whom you referred me? (Oi)

d. This is the house that/which Jack built. (Od)

e. He wanted to know why I refused the offer. (Od)

f. Here is the bucket whose handle I broke. (Poss)

g. This is the man whose home I built. (Poss)

h. Friday is the day when I may dress to work casually.

i. We met on the boat where I had my first ocean ride.

Who or Whom?

Whether you elect who or whom as a pronoun depends on the grammatical function of the noun or noun phrase that either form represents. Choosing who suggests the underlying form is subject of the sentence; choosing whom suggests the underlying form is object of the sentence.

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are commonly used to formulate most so-called “information” questions: who, whom, whose, which, what, where, why, and how. With the exception of how, these forms are also often referred to as wh-words. Interrogative pronouns sometimes function as relative pronouns, except that the first occur in independent clauses and latter in dependent clauses. Interrogative pronouns occur at the head of the main clause and can function as subject, object, or possessive pronoun as seen in these examples:

a. Who is at the door? (S)

b. Whom did they meet at the bank? (O)

c. Which do you prefer: a loan or a gift? (O)

d. What did she charge for opening an account? (O)

Practice 2: Provide a corresponding information question for each of the following statements, using the underlined nouns as suggestions.

a. Josh built the beautiful home nearby. __________________________________________

b. Mildred’s version of the accident is accurate __________________________________________

c. Paris is Americans’ destination of choice. __________________________________________

d. James spoke French to Phyllis at the party. __________________________________________

e. The tailor made me a suit. __________________________________________

Whom: Direct Object Pronoun or Indirect Object Pronoun?

Whom may function only as a direct object pronoun or an indirect object pronoun. The assignment of either syntactic function depends on the verb in question: mono-transitive verb or ditransitive verb. If mono-transitive, the pronoun functions as a direct object; if ditransitive, the pronoun is used as an indirect object. It is important, therefore, to determine whether the verb takes one object (mono-transitive verb) or two (mono-transitive verb) before assigning a function. Some verbs require only one object, while others require two. Whenever a verb takes (or requires) only one object, the object is direct; whenever it takes two objects, one is direct and another is indirect (except in cases of subject complements). The syntactic order of the objects is not important, but it is worth noting that if the indirect object comes second, a preposition is necessary, for example: Paul showed me the picture. vs. Paul showed the picture to me.

Practice: Write a short, simple sentence using each of these verbs. Mark each object direct (Od) or indirect Oi) as shown in the example. (Hint: Some verbs take only one object, while others require two objects.)

Example: Od

Revise: I have revised the essay.

1. Invite: ____________________________________________________________________

2. Read: ____________________________________________________________________

3. Respect: ____________________________________________________________________

4. Give: ____________________________________________________________________

5. Know: ____________________________________________________________________

6. Send: ____________________________________________________________________

7. Lend: ____________________________________________________________________

8. Listen: ____________________________________________________________________

9. Watch: ____________________________________________________________________

10. Write: ____________________________________________________________________

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are commonly used in English to mark a contrast in location (physical and perceptual): this/that, these/those.

a. These are my pictures.

b. Is that John’s book?

c. These are hard times.

d. Those were better days.

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are those which refer to people or things without specificity. Related to indefinite pronouns are assertive and non-assertive forms, more fully discussed under Sentence Types. The indefinite pronouns may be simple (some, any, none, each) or compound (by combination with some, any, and no with one, body, and thing). Unlike the simple indefinites above, each and every always imply count nouns. Each can combine only with one, while every combines more freely with one, body, and thing.

CHAPTER 10: THE SIMPLE SENTENCE, 204

The simple sentence comprises two constituents: the subject and the predicate—the subject being a noun or noun phrase, and the predicate being the verbal component of the sentence: the verb / verb phrase (and the complement). The following sentences illustrate the distinction:

Subject Predicate

Paul laughed.

Someone felled a tree.

Jane is in the house.

They elected her mayor.

I put a rug on the floor.

He gives me money.

We will discuss the simple sentence in terms of seven clause patterns, each of which has an obligatory subject and an obligatory verb. The patterns are as follows:

Pattern Shades of the Verb

SV: Subject Verb VI Intransitive verb

SVA: Subject Verb Adverbial VI Intransitive verb

SVO: Subject Verb Object VMono Montransitive verb

SVOA: Subject Verb Object Adverbial VMono Montransitive verb

SVC: Subject Verb Complement VCop Copulative verb

SVOO: Subject Verb ObjectI ObjectD VDi Ditransitive verb

SVOC: Subject Verb Object Complement VCompTrans Complex trans. verb

OI: Indirect object

OD Direct object

CS: Subject complement

CO: Object complement

The patterns above are illustrated as follows:

1. SV: a. Paul laughed.

S VI

b. It rained.

S VI

2. SVO: Someone felled a tree.

S VMono Od

3. SVC: Tom is a home builder.

S VI Cs

4. SVA: Jane is in the house.

S VIntens Aplace

5. SVOC: a. They elected her mayor.

S VComplexTrans Od Co

b. Napoleon crowned himself emperor.

S VComplexTtrans OReflex Co

6. SVOA: I put a rug on the floor.

S VComplexTrans Od APlace

7. SVOO: He gives me money.

S VDi Oi Od

Clauses 1 and 5 comprise alternatives with identical structures, although the surface categories differ: sentence (a) has an intransitive verb, whereas (b) has a predicative adjective, serving as subject complement. Just as the subject and complement of sentence 2 above and the object and complement of sentence 5 above, the subject and complement of sentence 7 constitute an intensive construction by virtue of their co-referentiality. Sentence 7 still differs from the other two sentences in that the relationship is not expressed by a verb.

Practice

Here are ten verbs: announce, call, choose, crown, designate, elect, make, name, nominate, select. Use them in sentences as follows:

1) Write ten sentences using each verb as a monotransitive form.

2) Write ten sentences using each verb as a complex-transitive form.

Example:

Verb: appoint

Mono: President Bill Jefferson Clinton appointed three Supreme Court judges.

CompTrans: President Obama appointed Hillary Clinton Secretary of State.

Practice Exercise: Verbs

Write two sentences for each of the following verbs, one in which it is intransitive and another in which it is monotransitive. You may use any tense of your preference.

a. run

Intransitive:

Montransitive:

b. drive

Intransitive:

Montransitive:

c. cross

Intransitive:

Montransitive:

d. melt

Intransitive:

Montransitive:

e. worry

Intransitive:

Montransitive:

Syntactic Characterization of Clauses, 207ff

The terms “subject,” “object,” “complement,” and “adverbial” have been used in labeling various words, and phrases in the seven major sentence types discussed above. Let us now briefly identify the characteristics associated with these terms as they are used in English.

a) Typical situations

Syntax Semantics

Subject Agentive

Direct object Affected

Indirect object Recipient

b) Other less frequent possibilities

Syntax Semantics

Subject Instrumental, Recipient, Affected (with intransitive verbs), Locative, and Temporal

Direct object Locative, Affected

Examples: to plaster, to thatch, or to roof a house

Semantic Roles of Clause Elements, 209

-Centrality of the verb

-Participant = noun or noun phrase

1. Agentive

A subject typically fulfills the role of agentive, i.e., the animate entity that brings about the action denoted by the verb, for example:

Ag

a. John cut a tree.

Ag

b. Jane opened the door.

Ag

c. Sue ate the apple.

Ag

d. My parents housed Mary.

Ag

e. I called for Ali.

2. Affected

A direct object usually fulfills the role of affected; that is, the participant or entity directly affected by the action denoted by the verb. The affected participant may be animate or inanimate. In the above examples, the objects tree, door, and apple are inanimate participants, while Mary and Ali are animate.

Af

a. John felled a tree.

Af

b. Jane opened the door.

3. Recipient

An indirect object commonly fulfills the role of recipient, that is, of animate being passively implicated by the happening or state. The following sentences illustrate the recipient role.

R

a. He gives me money.

R

b. She sent her friends cards.

R

c. He offered the children a piano lesson.

R

d. He has money.

R

e. He sold his house to Alex.

4. Attribute

Attributes may either serve as identifying elements (a and b below) or as personal characterization (c and d below), as in these examples:

A

a. Manley is the mayor.

A

b. His hard work is the main reason for his promotion.

A

c. Manley is a good mayor.

A

d. His work ethic is commendable.

5. Instrument

Besides being agent, the subject can fulfill an instrumental role in the clause, even though this function is much less restricted than that of agent. A sub-class of instrumentals is called natural forces, which have the capacity to initiate an action. Examples are winds, floods, and fires. Other instrumental agents generally serve as tools which animate agents use to bring about actions.

I

a. A knife cut my hand (or I accidentally cut my hand with a knife).

I

b. A car killed three persons (or Someone killed three persons with a car)

I

c. A thunderbolt began the forest fire.

Examples a and b suggest that the subjects, knife and car, are not independent entities but rather aids to some animate beings. The instrumental subject in example c, on the contrary, is an independent, uncontrollable agent.

6. Experiencer

The experience is the agent, subject, or object that experiences or feels some kind of emotion or sensation, or perceives something. Associated verbs are see, hear, understand, hurt, insult, argue, apologize, regret, enjoy, etc.

E E

a. John and Jack argued over the car.

E

b. The loud music woke her up.

E

d. Gwendoline wondered why the children were not home yet.

7. Locative

Clauses also have a sub-class of subjects which function locatively to designate the place of the action. The following examples illustrate the three types of subject.

L

a. This bottle can hold half a gallon of water.

L

b. The mountain range stretches much of the country's eastern shore.

Practice Exercise: Case Roles

Label the underlined arguments in the following sentences using the abbreviations of the respective case roles (Agent, Affected, Experiencer, Instrument, Location, Recipient). Use abbreviations only.

a. She drove the car to the mall.

b. The Simons celebrated their wedding anniversary all week long.

c. The evil that men do lives after them.

d. The Concord crossed the Atlantic in less than three hours.

e. The birds will soon migrate from North America in search of warmer regions.

f. My neighbor won the lottery.

g. Jane and Paul have fallen out.

h. The can opener slashed Jane. Alex helped her, while her sister just looked on.

Chapter 11: Sentence types and discourse functions

Simple sentence types

1) Declaratives:

-Usually contain a subject, which comes before the verb

-convey information

2) Interrogatives:

-Yes/No questions with operator before the subject

-Wh-questions, with Wh-word at start of sentence

-Attributive questions

-Use: to seek information

Yes/No Questions:

Operator/auxiliary verb comes before the subject.

In absence of an operator, use DO + subject.

If TO BE is the main verb, BE is used as operator, followed by subject.

Positive Yes/No Qs:

Statement Question

someone anyone

somebody anybody

already yet

Tag Qs:

A tag question is a brief question that a speaker attaches to the end of a statement. Generally, the tag is negative if the first part of the sentence is a statement; the tag is positive if the first part of the sentence is negative, as seen here:

a. The semester has begun, hasn't it? aa. The semester hasn't begun, has it?

b. The bus is full, isn't it? bb. The bus isn't full, is it?

Declarative Qs.:

Also called intonation questions

Yes/No Qs With Modal Auxiliaries:

Modals of permission: may, can

Modals of obligation: must, have to

Expression of politeness: might, could, would (p. 236)

WH-Qs (p. 237)

The WH-element or word may serve various grammatical functions: subject, direct object, subject complement, object complement, or adverbial.

Practice:

Construct simple sentences of your own and label each question-word to show its grammatical function. The first one is done for you.

S

Who Who ate my apple?

Whom _______________________________________________________________

Whose _______________________________________________________________

What _______________________________________________________________

Which _______________________________________________________________

When _______________________________________________________________

Why _______________________________________________________________

How _______________________________________________________________

Alternative Qs:

The alternatives may be real choices from which to pick (alternative) or simply a choice with which to agree or disagree (yes/no), p. 239.

Rhetorical Qs:

Do not require responses.

3) Imperatives/Directives

-Usually have no expressed grammatical subject.

-Use: to instruct or direct someone

4) Exclamatives:

-Usually have an initial introduced by WHAT or HOW

-Use: to express a speaker's feelings

Chapter 12: Pro-Forms and Ellipsis

Pro-forms are words that replace other words or constructions (including phrases, clauses, and entire sentences). Their primary purpose is linguistic economy and to ensure non-redundancy (or non-repetition) in usage. Example:

She will sing a song tonight, but I don’t think she will sing a song tonight.

She will sing a song tonight, but I don’t think she will do so.

She will sing a song tonight, but I don’t think she will (.

…

Ellipsis

The nature of ellipsis

Definition: Ellipsis is omission of grammatical information (usually a word or words) in a phrase or sentence. The phrase or sentence in which there is an ellipsis that is called an elliptical phrase or sentence. Two rules to note:

1. For each elliptical phrase or sentence, there is always the possibility to recover the omission.

2. After inserting the missing word/words, the sentence should still remain grammatical.

For example:

They asked me to have lunch with them, but I didn’t have time to.

to = to have lunch with them

Anyone who wishes to leave may.

may = leave

She really wanted to see her parents, but could not.

not = see her parents

Underline the material that has been omitted in the following sentences:

1. Always do the right thing, even if everyone around you does not.

2. She understands algebra as quickly as he.

3. He loves languages as much as I.

4. I would not do sports if I didn’t have to.

Positional categories of ellipsis

Initial: Omission of the initial elements

1. (I) hope he’s here.

2. (I) knew it!

3. (I) couldn’t have expected more!

Medial: Omission of the medial elements

1. Joe drives a truck and Pete (drives) a limousine.

2. ________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________

Final ellipsis: Omission of the final elements

(See first examples above.)

Structural ellipsis

An understanding or interpretation of the ellipsis depends on one’s knowledge of grammatical structure, e.g.:

1. The conjunction that in verbs of perception: think, believe, doubt, regret, know, require, guarantee…

I think (that) she will come.

2. Omission of determiners, pronouns, operators

Rewrite these headlines, including all the information:

a. Jury Set To Hear Case Of Teenage Mom

____________________________________________________________________

b. No Good News for Toyota As Quarter Ends

____________________________________________________________________

c. Midterm Elections Likely Victory For Liberals

____________________________________________________________________

d. Oman Tour A Boost For Tourism

____________________________________________________________________

e. Arrest Made In Shooting Of Police Officer

____________________________________________________________________

Homework assignment:

1. Bring to the next class two examples of each of the three omissions (initial, medial, and final).

2. Bring to the next class five news headlines with ellipsis or omission of structural items as shown in the five sentences above.

Elliptical clauses

Ellipsis of predication in the finite clauses (that is, the clauses whose verbs are conjugated), 259

1. I’m happy if you are.

2. I’ll do what I can.

Ellipsis of clause: involving a WH-interrogative clause

1. We’re likely to win some day. Yes, but when?

2. I’ve lost my keys and have no idea where.

3. He wanted to ask a question in German, but didn’t know how.

4. why: ____________________________________________________________________

5. how: ____________________________________________________________________

6. which: ____________________________________________________________________

Chapter 13: Coordination and Subordination

Practice…Coordination

Edit the sentences below by using coordinating conjunctions where appropriate. In some cases, you have been given clues for choosing the coordinator.

1. I got very upset. They would not stop talking. I eventually had to leave.

______________________________________________________________________________________

2. I have a story. This story has ruined my life.

______________________________________________________________________________________

3. Irene left early. Liz followed. [addition]

______________________________________________________________________________________

4. The committee felt obligated. The chairperson did not. [contrast]

______________________________________________________________________________________

5. The children should leave. I will. [alternative]

______________________________________________________________________________________

6. Emily does not want to see the doctor. Does Liz. [negative alternative]

______________________________________________________________________________________

7. Liz drove very carefully. The traffic was unusually heavy. [reason]

______________________________________________________________________________________

8. Neither side made a convincing argument. The committee decided to postpone its decision. [result]

______________________________________________________________________________________

9. The college anticipated the budget cuts. It still needed to cut several student programs. [concession]

______________________________________________________________________________________

10. The test was difficult. The teacher gave the students another chance. [result]

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Subordination

Based on their potential function, we distinguish several major functional categories of subordinate clauses - nominal, adverbial, relative, and comparative. We can present these various distinctions graphically as follows:

[pic]

Forms of Subordinate Clauses

To illustrate the various forms of the subordinate clause, let's look at several examples. In each example, we will keep the grammatical function constant (making all of the subordinate clauses function as adverbials in the main clause) so that we can concentrate on the changes in form:

(1) Since he arrived, she left early. [full clause]

(2) Shocked by the news, she left early. [-ed clause]

(3) Hearing the news, she left early. [-ing clause]

(4) Her hearing the news, she left early. [absolute clause]

(5) To hear the news, she left early. [infinitive clause]

(6) Anxious and fretful, she left early. [verbless clause]

Chapter 14: The Complex Sentence

Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex

Experienced writers use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting and lively. Too many simple sentences, for example, will sound choppy and immature while too many long sentences will be difficult to read and hard to understand.

This page contains definitions of simple, compound, and complex sentences with many simple examples. The purpose of these examples is to help the ESL/EFL learner to identify sentence basics including identification of sentences in the short quizzes that follow. After that, it will be possible to analyze more complex sentences varieties.

Simple Sentence

A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects are in gray, and verbs are in underscore. 

A. Some students like to study in the mornings.

B. John and Laurence play football every afternoon.

C. Alice goes to the library and studies every day.

The three examples above are all simple sentences. Note that sentence B contains a compound subject, and sentence C contains a compound verb. Simple sentences, therefore, contain a subject and verb and express a complete thought, but they can also contain a compound subjects or verbs.

Compound Sentence

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each of the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma. In the following compound sentences, subjects are in gray, verbs are in underscore, and the coordinators and the commas that precede them are in boldface. 

A. I tried to speak French, and my friend tried to speak English.

B. Alexander played football, for Mary went shopping.

C. Alexander played football, so Mary went shopping.

The above three sentences are compound sentences. Each sentence contains two independent clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it. Note how the conscious use of coordinators can change the relationship between the clauses. Sentences B and C, for example, are identical except for the coordinators. In sentence B, which action occurred first? Obviously, "Alexander played football" first, and as a consequence, "Mary went shopping. In sentence C, "Mary went shopping" first. In sentence C, "Alexander played football" because, possibly, he didn't have anything else to do, for or because "Mary went shopping." How can the use of other coordinators change the relationship between the two clauses? What implications would the use of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of the sentence?

Complex Sentence

A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the following complex sentences, subjects are in gray, verbs are in underscore, and the subordinators and their commas (when required) are in boldface.

A. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page.

B. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error. 

C. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.

D. After they finished studying, John and Mary went to the movies. 

E. John and Mary went to the movies after they finished studying.

When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences A and D, a comma is required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the sentence with subordinators in the middle as in sentences B, C, and E, no comma is required. If a comma is placed before the subordinators in sentences B, C, and E, it is wrong.

Note that sentences D and E are the same except sentence D begins with the dependent clause which is followed by a comma, and sentence E begins with the independent clause which contains no comma. The comma after the dependent clause in sentence D is required, and experienced listeners of English will often hear a slight pause there. In sentence E, however, there will be no pause when the independent clause begins the sentence.

Complex Sentences / Adjective Clauses

Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also complex because they contain an independent clause and a dependent clause. The subjects, verbs, and subordinators are marked the same as in the previous sentences, and in these sentences, the independent clauses are also in dotted underscore.

A. The woman whom my mom talked to sells cosmetics.

B. The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.

C. The house which Abraham Lincoln was born in is still standing.

D. The town where I grew up is in the United States of America.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

We often have to give information about what people say or think. In order to do this you can use direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech.

Direct Speech / Quoted Speech

Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech)

Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.

For example:

She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."

or

"Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.

Indirect Speech / Reported Speech

Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.

When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs, therefore, usually have to be in the past too, for example:

Direct speech Indirect speech

"I'm going to the cinema", he said. He said he was going to the cinema.

Tense change

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):

Direct speech Indirect speech

Present simple Past simple

She said, "It's cold." She said it was cold.

Present continuous Past continuous

She said, "I'm teaching English online." She said she was teaching English online.

Present perfect simple Past perfect simple

She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." She said she had been on the web since 1999.

Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I've been teaching English for She said she had been teaching English for seven years.

seven years."

Past simple Past perfect

She said, "I taught online yesterday." She said she had taught online yesterday.

Past continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I was teaching earlier." She said she had been teaching earlier.

Past perfect Past perfect

She said, "The lesson had already started NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started

when he arrived." when he arrived.

Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I'd already been teaching for NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for

five minutes." five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change:

Direct speech Indirect speech

Will would

She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." _________________________________________________

can could

She said, "I can teach English online." _________________________________________________

must had to

She said, "I must have a computer to teach _________________________________________________

English online." English online.

shall should

She said, "What shall we learn today?" _________________________________________________

may might

She said, "May I open a new browser?" _________________________________________________

!Note - There is no change to could, would, should, might or ought to.

Direct speech Indirect speech

"I might go to the cinema", he said. He said he might go to the cinema.

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 so:

Direct speech Indirect speech

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

Or

She said her name is Lynne.

You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.

Direct speech (exact quote) Indirect speech (not exact)

"Next week's lesson is on reported speech," She said next week's lesson is on reported speech

she said.

Time change

If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting.

For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.

Today + 24 hours - Indirect speech

"Today's lesson is on presentations." She said yesterday's lesson was on presentations.

Expressions of time if reported on a different day: Complete the blanks

this (evening) _________________________________________

today _________________________________________

these (days) _________________________________________

now _________________________________________

(a week) ago _________________________________________

last weekend the weekend before last / the previous weekend

here _________________________________________

next (week) _________________________________________

tomorrow _________________________________________

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), for example:

At work At home

"How long have you worked here?" She asked me how long I'd worked there.

Pronoun change

In reported speech, the pronoun often changes, for example:

Me You

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

Reporting Verbs

Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.

We use asked to report questions.

For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.

We use told with an object.

For example: Lynne told me she felt tired.

!Note - Here “me” is the object.

We usually use said without an object.

For example: Lynne said she was going to teach online.

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

For example: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China.

!Note - We usually use told.

For example: Lynne told me that she'd never been to China.

There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked.

These include the following:

accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologized, 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.

Use of 'that' in reported speech

In reported speech, the word that is often used, for example:

He told me that he lived in Greenwich.

However, that is optional, for example: He told me he lived in Greenwich.

!Note: “That” is never used in questions; instead we often use if, for example:

He asked me if I would come to the party.

SUMMARY OF FINAL EXAMINATION CONTENT

Review all material and exercises relating to sections of the course work identified below.

CHAPTER 11: SENTENCE TYPES AND DISCOURSE FUNCTIONS

A. Sentence Types

Simple, Compound, Complex, or Compound-Complex

B. Discourse Functions

1) Declaratives

2) Interrogatives

• Yes/No Qs.

• Positive Yes/No Qs.

• Tag Qs.

• Declarative Qs.

• Yes/No Qs. with modal auxiliaries: may, can; must, have to; might, could, would

• WH-Qs. with who, whom, whose, what, which, when, why, how

• Alternative Qs.

• Rhetorical Qs.

3) Imperatives/Directives

4) Exclamatives

C. Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech = Quoted Speech

Indirect Speech = Reported Speech

Without THAT: quotation marks; no modification of tense

With THAT: modification of tense

CHAPTER 13: COORDINATION AND SUBORDINATION

A. Coordinating Conjunctions

• Addition: and

• Contrast: but, yet

• Result or effect: so

• Reason or choice: for

• Negative choice: nor

Punctuation note: The conjunctions are each preceded by a comma.

Note about structure: A sentence with only a compound subject is NOT a compound sentence (e.g., John and Mary were there Vs. John was there, and he saw Mary)

B. Subordinating Conjunctions

• Time: after, before, once, until, when, whenever, while

• Reason or cause: as, because, since

• Result or effect: in order that, so, so that, that

• Condition: if even, if, provided that, unless

• Contrast: although, even though, though, whereas

• Location: where, wherever

• Choice: rather than, than, whether

CHAPTER 14: THE COMPLEX SENTENCE

A. Complex (with subordinators)

B. Compound-complex (with coordinators and subordinators).

C. Relative Pronouns & Adjective Clauses

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