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REPORTED SPEECH consists in telling somebody else what you or a person said before
When reporting speech, a few changes occur:
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First....
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Choose an appropriate reporting (= introductory) verb - depending on the type of discourse
N.B.: The verb is usually conjugated in the simple past
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Then
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Change the tenses to their past form, unless what is said is still true
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Don't forget to
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Change personal pronouns, possessive adjectives or pronouns - depending on the speaker(s)
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and to
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Change time and place adverbs.
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Remember to
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Change the punctuation - depending on the type of discourse
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REPORTING / INTRODUCTORY VERBS
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DIRECT SPEECH
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REPORTED SPEECH
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TYPE OF DISCOURSE
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INTRODUCTORY VERB
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LINK WORD
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WORD-ORDER
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assertion
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to add / to admit / to announce / to declare / to deny / to explain / to insist / to mention / to promise / to propose / to remind / to say / to suggest / to tell someone......
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That / O
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No Changes
same word-order as direct speech
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yes/no question=
question starting with an auxiliary
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to ask someone / oneself / to doubt / to wonder..
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S + (Aux.) + Vb.
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WH-question
question starting with WH-
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to ask / to inquire / to wonder..
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WH-
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S + (Aux.) + Vb.
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answer
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to answer / to reply / to explain
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that / O
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No Changes
same word-order as direct speech
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advise
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to advise someone
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To
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+ Vb
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order
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to tell / to forbid / to order
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(not) To
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+ Vb
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TENSES
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Tense in "Direct speech"
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Tense to use in reported speech
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SIMPLE PRESENT
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SIMPLE PAST
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Cindy asked: "Do you like watching TV?"
Giles said: "I don't mind watching TV, but there are things I like better
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Cindy asked Giles if he liked watching TV
Giles answered he didn't mind watching TV, but there were things he liked better.
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PRESENT BE-ING
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PAST BE-ING
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Frank declared: " I am thinking about moving"
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Frank declared he was thinking about moving
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PAST BE-ING
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PAST PERFECT BE-ING
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He told them: "I wasn't expecting your visit"
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He told them he hadn't been expecting their visit
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PRESENT PERFECT
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PAST PERFECT
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She said: " I have just seen an old friend of mine"
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She said she had just seen an old friend of hers.
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PRESENT PERFECT BE-ING
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PAST PERFECT BE-ING
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He asked: "Paul, how long have you been studying English?"
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He asked Paul how long he had been studying English
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PAST PERFECT
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PAST PERFECT
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They said: "If we had arrived two minutes later, there would have been no cake left"
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They said that if they had arrived two minutes later, there would have been no cake left.
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PAST PERFECT BE-ING
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PAST PERFECT BE-ING
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He declared: " You had been telling me you wanted to see her"
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He declared they had been telling him they wanted to see her.
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FUTURE (WILL)
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CONDITIONAL (WOULD)
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I asked: "Where will you spend your holiday ?"
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I asked where they would spend their holiday.
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WILL + BE-ING
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WOULD + BE-ING
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Anna declared:" I will be announcing my engagement next month"
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Anna declared she would be announcing her engagement the following month
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WOULD
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WOULD
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Tony said: "I would like something to eat. I wouldn't mind a drink either."
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Tony said he would like something to drink and wouldn't mind a drink either.
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ADVERBS OF TIME AND PLACE, DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
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Direct speech
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Reported speech
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NOW
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THEN
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LAST (year, month, week...)
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THE (year, month , week...) BEFORE
THE PREVIOUS (year, month, week...)
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YESTERDAY
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THE DAY BEFORE
THE PREVIOUS DAY
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TOMORROW
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THE NEXT DAY
THE FOLLOWING DAY
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NEXT (week, month, year...)
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THE (week, month, year...) AFTER
THE FOLLOWING (week, month, year...)
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THIS
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THAT
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THAT
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THAT
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THESE
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THOSE
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THOSE
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THOSE
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HERE
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THERE
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THERE
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THERE
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