Reported speech Context listenin ‘You are going to hear a radio interview. Rachel, areporter in the studio, is talking toa man called James Baker, who is sailing in a round-the-world yacht race. What do you think she is asking him? BB 20) Listen and check if you were right. (C220) Later, Rachel tells a colleague about the conversat and fill in the gaps with James's actual words. in. Read what Rachel says, then listen again 1 Rachel: James told me he was about 100 6 Rachek He told me the sea was calm, the sun kilometres off the coast of Australia. was shining James; ‘'m ——— about 100 kilometres James: ‘The sea calm, the sun off the coast of Australia’ 2 Rachel: He said he hadn't seen another boat for 7 Rachet He said that he could sometimes see a few days. sharks and dolphins swimming. James; ‘I____________another boat for James: ‘I____sometimes see sharks a few day and dolphins swimming” 3) Rachel: He said he thought he might win. 8 Rachel He said he would spend two hours ina James: ‘1 —win! pera | James: ‘I_____twohoursina | hot bat 4 Rachel: He said there had been a terrible storm. James: ‘There __aterrible storm! : 9 Rachel He said he had to get his hair cut. Rachel: He said he hadn't slept for three days. | James: my hair cut | James; ‘|_______for three days’ FEB 0920) complete the questions that Rachel asked. Then listen again to check. | asked him where he was. ‘Where — lasked him if he thought he was going to win. ________towin?’ | 1 2 3. Lasked him what the weather was like. ‘What __ EEE 4 | asked him if he could see dolphins there. “__ Z — dolphins there?’ TEBE can you see any pattern to the changes to the tenses in Exercises 3 and 4? 107Tense changes in reported speech ‘When we report what someone else said, we are usually reporting ata later time so we change the tenses used by the original speaker. present simple | past simple | ‘fm (am) about 100 km from Australia’ _| He said (that) he was about 100 km from Australia. | present continuous | past continuous “The sun's (is) shining” He said (that) the sun was shining. past simple past perfect “There was.a terrible storm’ He said (that) there had been a terrible storm. present perfect past perfect ‘Thaven’t (have not) seen another boat’ _| He said (that) he hadn’t (had not) seen another boat. past perfect past perfect ‘hadn't (had not) expected the storm’ _| He said (that) he hadn't (had not) expected the storm. am/is/are going to was/were going to ‘Ym (am) going to win’ He said (that) he was going to win, will future would ‘VII (will) spend two hours in a bath’ He said (that) he'd (would) spend two hours in a bath. can | could | ‘Lean see sharks and dolphins! | He said (that) he could see sharks and dolphins. Fay | might | | ‘Umay win’ He said (that) he might win. | might might | ‘I might win! He said (that) he mighe win. | must had to | “Imust get my hair cut! He said (that) he had to get his hair ‘A The following verbs do not change when they are reported at a later time: ‘could, would, should, might, ought to, used to and verbs in the past perfect You ought to buy a new coat in the sale. —> My mum said | ought to buy a new coat in the sale. They used to live in California, > He said they used to live in California, When we report must, we can use either must or had to in the reported speech but had to is more common: Kate: I must buy some fruit’ Kate said she had to / must buy some fruit. A We use must, not had to, when we report: © anegative: Paul: You mustn't tell Sally our secret! —* Paul said we mustn't tel Sally our secret. « adeduction Sarah: Jim must be tired after the flight’ > Sarah said Jim must be tired after the flight. 108Reported speech 1 5 " [EAI Reporting in the same tense lf the reporting verb is in the present tense (eg. says), we use the same tenses as the original speaker: ‘Amy: 've missed the bus so Ill be a bit late’ —* Amy says she’s missed the bus so shell be a bit late. Ifthe reporting verb isin the past (eg. said), we sometimes use the same tenses as the original speaker if the situation is still true: Robert: t have three sisters > Robert said he has three sisters. or Robert said he had three sisters. Carlo: tm getting married in June: lf we report what Carlo said before June we can say: > Carlo said he is getting married in June. or Carlo said he was getting married in June. ‘A. But if we report after June, we must change the tense: Carlo said he was getting married in June. Ell verbs for reporting We often use say and tell to report what somebody said: With say, we must use to if we mention the person spoken to: He said to me (that) he was going to win. (not He-saic-me) Tell is always used without to, and it must be followed by the person spoken to: He told them (that) he was going to win. (not He toid-to-them | He-told-that) A With say and tell, we usually omit that, especially in spoken English. We can use other reporting verbs instead of say and tell. Some verbs are lke tel: He reminded me (that) it was his birthday. She persuaded me (that) | should buy a different car. He informed me (that) he had a new job. ‘They warned us (that) the bridge was in a dangerous condition. Some verbs are nearly always followed by that and we use to if mentioning the person spoken to: | mentioned (to my uncle) that Nicholas had found a new job. The attendant pointed out that the pool would be closed on Saturday. She complained (to the waiter) that the food was cold, He explained (to us) that volcanic activity often caused earthquakes. After agree we use with for the person spoken to: Jack agreed (with me) that the film was brilliant. Jack agreed, with me that the flm was brilliant. Some verbs are nearly always followed by that but do not mention the person spoken to: He answered that he had already read the report. She replied that she didn't know my cousin. 1091 5 Reported speech IB Verbs for reporting with to infinitive We usually report orders and requests by using tell or ask + object + to infinitive: ‘Be quiet!’ The teacher told us to be quiet. (= an order) ‘Don't stay out late’ + Dad told me not to stay out late, (= an order) Please help me! —* He asked us to help him. (= a request) ‘Could you carry my bag, please?’ — She asked me to carry her bag. (a request) ‘Some other reporting verbs are also used with the to infinitive (> see also Unit 18): "You should vote for me! —+ He advised us to vote for him. "We could help you’ —* They offered to help me. ‘Ill be a good leader’ > He promised to be a good leader. i ‘OK. It help you do the shopping’ > He agreed to help me do the shopping. Reporting questions Questions are reported using the word order of a statement rather than a question. Questions with question words (who, what, et.) keep these words in the reported speech: ‘vow do you feel?’ —* Rachel asked James how he felt. (not how-dictthe feel) ‘What's the weather like?” —+ She asked (him) what the weather was like. (not what was the weathertike) Yes/no questions are reported with if or whether. ‘Can you hear me?’ —* Rachel asked James if/whether he could hear her. Is the sea calm?’ —* Rachel wanted to know iffwhether the sea was calm. ‘A. We use the same structure when we ask politely for information: Can you tell me what time the next train leaves? (like to know if there's a flight to Australia next Thursday. KEG References to time, place, etc. Depending on how close in time we are to the original situation, we often have to change references to time when we report what someone said: the day before / the previous day that day / the same day the next/following day the next/following week (right) then / right away, immediately et. ‘We didn’ do any work yesterday’ —* They admitted that they hadn't done any work the day before. “Will the library be open tomorrow? — She enquired whether the library would be open the following day. ‘Ihave to go now or Il miss my bus! —* He explained that he had to go right then or hed miss his bus. ‘Other changes may include: here > there 4 this —* — that/the ‘| saw him here yesterday’ —* She explained that she had seen him there the day before. ‘What's this red box —> He wanted to know what the red box was.1. ‘ve given up my job! ‘Ican easily find another one’ ‘Ym going to travel round Africa’ ‘Vlived there as.a child’ “‘Imight get a part-time job there! ‘Ym packing my bag! “Vm really excited? ‘Til be away fora year! “Imay stay longer! “You could come too! complete the sentences below. He said he had. given up his _job it He said he ass He said he Pee ee He said he He said he He said he. He said he He said he __ He said he He said | \s it possible to report what Luke said without changing the verbs? Why? Match the beginnings and endings of these sentences. 1. Shetold ‘A I could help my neighbour mend his car. My sister asked whether my sister could give me a lift. I said me she couldn't afford to come to the theatre. My parents said to phone home regularly My teacher advised to me, ‘You shouldn't watch so much TV! Iwanted to know Itold if wanted to go on holiday with her. the dentist that Thursday was the only day I was free. mo™nv0w ‘My brother promised me to revise my work more thoroughly. ‘After your conversation with Luke, you tell another friend what he said. Change the verbs above to Reported speech 1 5 Grammar exercises Reported speec4 uur1 5 Reported speech a HEB Last year you worked at a children’s holiday camp. During your interview for the job the organiser asked you the following questions. ‘Are you married? ee How old ae you? Work abroad Which university are you studying at? ‘We are looking for enthusiastic and lively young. ‘Where do you come from? people to work in a children’s holiday camp over S ye summer. =" Have you worked with children before? ok 4 ce ‘What sports do you play? i Will you work for at least two months? 3 Can you start immediately? | we eVvauevne Do you need accommodation? 10 Would you like any more information? A friend of yours called Miguel is going to apply for a job at the same camp. Complete the email telling him what questions you were asked. . Hi Miguel : ‘ Good luck with the job application! These are the things the organiser asked me about ~ P he'll probably ask you the same sorts of questions, E He asked me (1) # | was married. He wanted to know (2) — —, which university (3) ________—_ at and where (4) —______.. Then he asked . (5) __________ with children before and what sports (6) —_—__——.. E He wanted to know (7) —______—— for at least two months and (8) immediately. He asked (9) —_______— accommodation and wondered (10) ______—____ any more information. Let me know how you get on. ; HI © correct the mistake in each of the following sentences by Cambridge First candidates. | didn't know she had said you about the problem with my university. ‘asked him how he did feel about it, but he hasn‘ replied to my email. ETE eoe 2 {told her not to worry about the damage, but she replied me that it was her father's car. 1 2 3 4. Juan asked me if you did wanted to come. 5. She asked me did | want to go to the cinema. 6 7 8 He asked me for giving information about an interesting place to visit in London. eee a I reminded he told me that there was a ghost in the castle. He asked me if! will go to the dance with him.Reported speech 1 5 A teacher is talking to Andy, a student. Later, Andy tells a friend what the teacher said. Complete his sentences. — ~ 2 Pia a. a You need to work D) ( Youcould (( 0 you study every ‘What time do you A harder. do well. A evening? go to bed? enero Des eee 3———_ 6— i——~ ee C Youwonl get good») Youspend too much time with your atime NO ends, (( Have you decided ona career yet? She said | needed. to wi She told She wanted to know Rene She wondered 5 She warned 6 She complained 7 She asked HGH Read what happened to Suzie the other day. Then write the conversation that she. actually had. [travel to college on the same bus every day. The other day when I got on the bus I realised that I had left my purse at home and didn’t have the money for the bus fare. But the woman | sitting behind me told me not to worry because she would lend me some money. She said | _ the same thing had happened to her the day before. I asked her what she had done. She said someone had lent her the fare and she was going to give it back that afternoon on the bus, so she was happy to do the same for me. She told me I could give the money back to her the following day. I thanked her very much and told her I was very glad she was there. Woman: Suzie:Reading and Use of English Part 4 For questions 1-6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. Here is an example (0). ‘The tourist guide said to us: ‘Take a map if you go walking in the hills.” ADVISED The tourist guide ____advised us to take ____amap if we went walking in the hills. ‘The weatherman forecast that it would be sunny all day. SHINE ‘The weatherman said: ‘The ‘I haven't heard from Helen for a long time, Paul said to me. TOLD Paul — not heard from Helen for a long time. ‘Did you book a room with a balcony?" | asked my mother. i F | asked my mother ‘a room with a balcony. Jack wanted to know what time they would leave the next day to catch the train. WE Jack asked: ‘What time to catch the train?” The litle boy sald he could dress himself without any help. 1 The little boy said:¢_ without any hp.” ‘Are we meeting David in the morning or the afternoon?" Karen asked. WHETHER Karen wondered in the morning or the afternoon. Grammar focus task In three of the sentences above, the reporting verbs can be replaced with complain, insist and predict. Write the reported sentences again using these verbs.