REPORTED SPEECH

• the exact meaning of what someone said

but not the exact words.
• No quotation marks
 REPORTED STATEMENTS
(information)
• say, tell, advise, explain, promise
+ that-clause.

• Pronouns and possessive adjectives

change according to the context / reference

Direct Speech: He explained ‘I can’t fix it myself.’

Reported Sp.: He said he couldn’t fix it himself.
 BACKSHIFTING
• Verb tenses
• Adverbs of time and place
• Pronouns
• possessive adjectives

change according to the context

 BACKSHIFTING- TENSES
DIRECT REPORTED
TENSE TENSE
SPEECH SPEECH
She said that they ate
PRESENT SIMPLE We eat healthy food PAST SIMPLE
healthy food
PRESENT We are eating healthy She said that they were
PAST CONTINUOUS
CONTINUOUS food eating healthy food
PRESENT PERFECT We have eaten healthy She said that they had PAST PERFECT
SIMPLE food eaten healthy food SIMPLE
PRESENT PERFECT We have been eating She said that they had PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS healthy food been eating healthy food CONTINUOUS
She said that they had PAST PERFECT
PAST SIMPLE We ate healthy food
eaten healthy food SIMPLE
We were eating *She said that they had *PAST PERFECT
PAST CONTINUOUS
healthy food been eating healthy food CONTINUOUS
PAST PERFECT We had eaten healthy She said that they had PAST PERFECT
SIMPLE food eaten healthy food SIMPLE
PAST PERFECT We had been eating She said that they had PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS healthy food been eating healthy food CONTINUOUS
We will eat healthy She said that they would
FUTURE SIMPLE FUTURE SIMPLE
food eat healthy food
Direct Speech Reported Speech
Am Was
Is Was
Has Had
Have Had
There is There was
There are There were
Doesn’t Didn’t
Don’t Didn’t
Was Had been
Were Had been
Had Had had
Spoke Had spoken
Didn’t speak Hadn’t spoken
Hadn’t spoken Hadn’t spoken
“Go/Don’t go!” He told me to go/ not to go.
 MODAL VERBS
Direct Speech Reported Speech
Can Could
May Might
Might Might
Could Could
Would Would
Should Should
Ought to Ought to
Must Had to
Needn’t Needn’t/ didn’t have to
Direct Sp. Reported Sp.
Here There
This That
These Those
Now Then
Today That day
Tonight That night
Tomorrow The next day/ the following
day

Yesterday The day before

Next week The following week
Last week The week before
Ago Before
• There is NO BACKSHIFTING (tenses, adverbs):

when the reporting verb is in the Present

when the sentence expresses something which
is always true.

She says, ‘I can’t do it’.

She says (that) she can’t do it.

‘The earth is round’, said the teacher.

The teacher said (that) the earth is round.
• The Past Continuous does not usually
change.

D. S.: ‘I was travelling to Brighton

while she was flying to the USA’, he said.

R. S.: He said he was travelling to

Brighton while she was flying to the
USA.
 Exercises:
• Julia:"I live in my own • She said that she lived in
apartment". her own apartment
• He said he was going to
• Nick:"I am going to visit my
parents next weekend". visit his parents next
weekend.
• Tom:"I have studied Italian for • Tom said he had studied
a year". Italian for a year.
• Linda and John: "We can't • They said they couldn't
come to the party next week". come to the party next
week.
• Terry: "I'll write as soon as I
get there". • She said that she would
• Andrew:"I'm learning to cook write as soon as he got
Chinese food". there.
• He said he was learning
to cook Chinese food.
 Reporting verbs
– SAY: He said (to me) (that) he was leaving the next day
– TELL + object: He told me (that) he was leaving the
next day.
– COMPLAIN: He complained (that) it was too cold in there.
– DENY*
He denied (that) he had killed the cat
He denied killing the cat
– REPLY : He replied (that) it was too late for that.
– WARN + object: * He warned me that it was a really
dangerous sport.
 REPORTING VERBS
• agree, refuse, offer, promise, threaten +
infinitive
– Ann: ‘Would you wait half an hour?’
– Tom: ‘All right’

Tom agreed to wait half an hour.

– Chris: ‘Would you lend me another €50?’

– David: ‘No, I won´t lend you any more money’

David refused to lend Chris any more money.

 REPORTING VERBS
Sj+ verb + (THAT) + sj+ verb / SJ + VERB+ TO INFINTIVE

CLAIM (afirmar)
He claimed to be the owner of the car
He claimed that he was the owner of the car

PROMISE (prometer)
She promised to give it back soon
She promised that she would give it back soon

THREATEN (amenazar)
He threatened to kill the boy if he didn’t get 200,000$
He threatened that he would kill the boy if he didn’t get
200,000$
• ACCUSE OF, ADMIT, APOLOGIZE FOR,
DENY, INSIST ON + GERUND

– You took me the money!

– Yes, I stole it
He admitted stealing the money
– I didn´t steal it!
He denied stealing the money.
– I am sorry I’m late
He apologised for being late
– Let me pay, please, let me
He insisted on paying.
 REPORTED QUESTIONS
• WORD ORDER: affirmative word order
• question mark, omitted.
• Backshifting

He asked, “What time is it?”

He asked what time it was.
He asked me, “Do you know her?”
He asked me if/whether I knew her.
 QUESTIONS: YES / NO
• if / whether + subject + verb

• He asked me, “Do you know her?”

He asked me if/whether I knew her.
 REPORTING VERBS
• IF / WHETHER + SJ + VERB:

– ASK
– WANT TO KNOW
– WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
– WONDER
– KNOW
– (NOT) REMEMBER
 EXERCISES
• ‘Are you working these days?’ he said.
• He wanted to know if/whether I was
working those days

• ‘Did you speak to John last night?’ she

asked
• She wanted to know if I had spoken to
John the night before.
 QUESTIONS: WH-
Sj+ ask + WH- + sj + verb

• She asked ‘What are you doing tomorrow?’

She asked what I was doing the next day
• ‘Who told you this story?’
He asked me who had told that story
• ‘What happens?’
He wanted to know what happened.
• ‘Where did you go last summer?’
He asked me where I had gone the previous summer.
 Exercises
• ‘Where is my umbrella?’ • She asked where her
she asked. umbrella was
• ‘How are you?’ Martin • Martin asked us how we
asked us. were.
• He asked ‘Do I have to do • He asked if he had to do
it?’ it
• ‘Where have you been?’ • The mother asked her
the mother asked her daughter where she had
daughter been
• ‘Which dress do you like • She asked her boyfriend
best?’ she asked her which dress he liked best.
boyfriend.
 Reported Commands/ Requests/
Suggestions
• Order
• Ask
+ to-infinitive
• Tell
+ not to- infinitive.
• Advise
• Offer
• Warn
• beg
 COMMANDS, REQUESTS…
Affirmative commands Negative commands

Father: ‘Do your homework!’ Teacher. "Don't talk to your mate!"

Father told me to do my homework. The teacher told me not to talk to my
mate.

He said to me, ‘Stop talking!’ He said to me, ‘Don’t touch it!’

He told me to stop talking. He told me not to touch it.
 TELL + somebody + infinitive
The doctor said to me, "Stop smoking!".
The doctor told me to stop smoking.

ORDER "Get out of the car!" said the policeman.

The policeman ordered him to get out of the car.

ASK "Could you please be quiet," she said.

She asked me to be quiet.

WARN
The man with the gun said to us, "Don't move!"
The man with the gun warned us not to move.

You can also use:

INVITE He invited me (to go) to the party
BEG She begged them to stay
FORBID He forbade us to get out.
 sj+ verb+ object + to infinitive

– ASK: He asked me to come

– ADVISE: He advised me to sell it
– BEG: He begged her to go with him
– INVITE: He invited them to go
– ORDER: She ordered them to be quiet
– WARN: He warned them not to eat raw fish
If you want an OBJECT,

ask + for + object:

a. "Can I have an apple?", she asked.
She asked for an apple.

b. "Can I have the newspaper, please?"

He asked for the newspaper.
 EXERCISES
• He said to us: ‘Stay • He told us to stay
here’ here

• He said: ‘Be quiet’ • He told me to be quiet

• ‘Say that again, • He asked me to say

please’, he said to me that again
 EXERCISES
• ‘John, don’t open the window, please’, I said
• I asked /requested/begged John not to open
the window.
• ‘Can you let me use your phone, please?’ I
asked my neighbour
• I asked my neighbour to let me use her phone
• I asked my neighbour if I could use her phone.
 SUGGESTIONS
• We normally use suggest + gerund to report them
• Also suggest that + subordinate sentence

• Let’s, why don’t we, shall we, why not…are omitted

• “Let’s go to the theatre” she said.

• “Why don’t we go to the theatre?”
• “Shall we go to the theatre?”
• She suggested going to the theatre
• She suggested that we should go to the theatre

• “Let’s not argue again,” he said.

• He suggested not arguing again
• He suggested that they should not argue again.
She said: "Why don't you get a mechanic to
look at the car?"
She suggested that I should get a mechanic to
look at the car.
She suggested I get a mechanic to look at the
car.