Reported Speech

 Outline:
1. Definition
2. Rules
3. Tense changes
4. Time and place changes
5. Pronouns
6. Reporting Verbs
7. Indirect Questions
8. Commands, Requests, Advice in Indirect Speech
9. Offers and Suggestions in Indirect Speech
10. Exclamations in Indirect Speech
11. Indirect Speech: MIXED TYPES
12. Exercises
 1. Definition

 Reported speech (also

known as indirect speech)
refers to a sentence
reporting what someone has
said.
 2. Rules
 In all sentences, the quotation marks and
the comma immediately before the first
quotation mark are removed. Next, the
word "that" is usually inserted after the
reporting verb. Then, there are certain
changes to be considered.
• If the reporting verb is in the present tense we don't
need to change the tense, though probably we do
need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she’
• She says, ““ I like ice cream”.”
• She says that she likes ice cream.

• But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then

usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:
• She said, ““I like ice cream”.”
• She said that she liked ice cream.
 3. Tense Changes
Direct speech Indirect speech
Present simple Past simple
She said, "It's cold." She said that it was cold.

Present continuous Past continuous

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

Present perfect simple Past perfect simple

She said, "I've been on the She said that she had been on the
web since 1999." web since 1999.
 Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching She said that she had been teaching
English for seven years." English for seven years.
Past simple Past perfect
She said, "I taught online She said that she had taught online
yesterday." yesterday.

Past continuous Past perfect continuous

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

Past perfect Past perfect

She said, "The lesson had NO CHANGE - She said that the lesson
already started when he arrived." had already started when he arrived.

Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I'd already been NO CHANGE - She said that she'd
teaching for five minutes." already been teaching for five minutes.
 Other tense changes
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
Will Would
She said, "I'll teach English online She said that she would teach English
tomorrow." online the next day.

Can Could
She said, "I can teach English online." She said that she could teach English
online.

Must Had to
She said, "I must have a computer to teach She said that she had to have a computer
English online." to teach English online.

Shall Should
She said, "What shall we learn today?" She asked what we should learn that day.

May Might
She said, "May I open a new browser?" She asked if she might open a new
browser.
 4. Time and place
changes
Now › Then

Today › That day

Here › There

This › That

This week › That week

Tomorrow › The following day

The next day
The day after
 the following week
Next week ›
the week after
the previous day
Yesterday › the day before
the previous week
Last week › the week before
previously
Ago › before
2 weeks previously
2 weeks ago › 2 weeks before
Tonight › that night
the previous Saturday
Last Saturday › the Saturday before
the following Saturday
the coming Saturday
Next Saturday › the Saturday after
that Saturday
 Examples:

 I went to the theatre last night.

He said that he had gone to the theatre
the night before.
 I'm staying here until next week.
He said that he was staying there until
the following week.
 5. Pronouns
• Personal pronouns need to be changed
according to the situation.

 “I run 5 km every day”, said she.

 She said that she ran 5 km every day.

 Besides, some demontratives must be
changed:
THIS changes to THAT and THESE to
THOSE:
 She said ‘I like this shirt’
 She said that she liked that shirt.
 6. Reporting Verbs
Said, told and asked are the most common
verbs used in indirect speech.

We use “asked” to report questions:

I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.

We use “told” with an object.

Lynne told me she felt tired.
We usually use “said” without an object.

Lynne said she was going to teach online.

If “said” is used with an object we must

include “to”

Lynne said to me that she'd never been to

China.
-There are many other verbs we can use
apart from said, told and asked. These
include:

accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed,

apologised, begged, boasted, complained,
denied, explained, implied, invited, offered,
ordered, promised, replied, suggested and
thought.
 7. Indirect Questions
• Direct question: He said, “Where is she going?”
• Indirect question: He asked where she was going.
A. Changes;
a. Tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and
adverbs of time and place change as in statements.
b. The interrogative form of the verb changes to the
affirmative form.
c. The question mark is omitted in indirect questions.
B. Say must be changed to a verb of inquiry;
• He said, “Where is the station?” He asked
where the station was.
C. Ask can be followed by the person addressed :
• He asked, “What have you got in your bag?” He
asked (me) what I had got in my bag.
• Wonder/want to know cannot take an indirect
object; we must use ask where the person addressed
is mentioned.
• He said, ”Mary, when is the next train?” He
asked Mary when the next train was.
D. WH- Questions:
• He said, “Why didn’t you put on the brake?”

1. Subject + asked
2. WH- word + inversion of subject order;
3. Change pronouns, time and place expressions and
tenses;
• He asked (her) why she hadn’t put on the brake.
• She said, “What do you want?” She asked
(them) what they/he/ she/I wanted.
E. YES/NO Questions:
o “Can you pass me the salt?” she asked.
1. Subject + asked if / whether….
2. Inversion of the subject order
3. Change pronouns, time and place expressions and
tenses:
She asked if I could pass her the salt.
o “Is anyone there?” he asked He asked if/whether
anyone was there.
• He said, “Can you swim?” and I said “No”
He asked (me) if I could swim and I said 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 said that
I would.
 8. Commands, Requests, Advice and Order in Indirect
Speech
 Verb of command/request/advice + object + infinitive.
– Direct command: He said, “Lie down, Tom”.
– Indirect command: He told Tom to lie down.
a. Verbs used: advise, ask, beg, command, order,
remind, tell, warn etc.
o He said, “Get your coat, Tom!” He told Tom to get
his coat.
o ‘Stir it with your spoon,’ his sister said. His sister
advised him to stir it with a spoon.
b. Negative commands, requests, advice and order are usually
reported by not + infinitive:
“Don’t swim out too far, boys”, I said I warned/told the
boys not to swim out too far.
• Positive imperative
 Close the door!
o Tell + (Object) + to infinitive
He told me to close the door.
• Negative imperative
 Don't speak!
o Tell + (Object) + not to infinitive
He told me not to speak.
 9. Offers, Suggestions, Promise
and others in Indirect Speech

A. OFFERS:
• “Shall I bring you some tea?” He offered to
bring me some tea.
B. SUGGESTIONS:
• “Shall we meet at the theatre? He suggested
meeting at the theatre.
• The son said to his mother, ‘I shall never be rude
to you.’ The son promised his mother that
he would never be rude to her.
• ‘Why has the clock stopped?’ thought Peter.
Peter wondered why the clock had stopped.
• I said, ‘They have gone out.’ I informed that
they had gone out.
 10. Exclamations in Indirect Speech
A. Exclamations beginning What (a) ... or How ... can
be reported by:
- exclaim/say that:
o He said, “What a dreadful idea!” or “How dreadful!”
He exclaimed that it was a dreadful idea/was dreadful.
- give an exclamation of delight/disgust/horror/relief/
surprise etc.
- if the exclamation is followed by an action: “with an
exclamation of delight/disgust” etc. + he/she etc. + verb;
B. Other types of exclamation:
• Good! Marvellous! Splendid! Heavens! Oh! Ugh! Etc;
o “Good!” he exclaimed.

He gave an exclamation of pleasure/satisfaction.

o “Ugh!” she exclaimed, and turned the programme off.
With an exclamation of disgust she turned
the programme off.
C. Note also:
• He said, “Thank you!” He thanked me.
• He said, “Good luck!” He wished me luck.
• 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!” etc. He swore.
• The notice said: WELCOME TO WALES! The
notice welcomed visitors to Wales.
 11. Indirect Speech: MIXED TYPES

 “I don’t know the way. Do you?” he asked.

He said he didn’t know the way and asked her if she did/if she
knew it.
 He said, “Someone is coming. Get behind the screen.”

He said that someone was coming and told me to get behind

the screen.
 ‘Hello!’ my friend said to me. ‘How are you?’

My friend greeted me and asked how I was.

EXERCISES
I. Change the following sentences from direct to indirect speech.
1. ‘Congratulations! You have come first in the exams,’ the principal said
to me.
2. ‘What an expensive car he drives! said Steve’s neighbour.
3. “Yes, the economy is getting better” the journalist said
4. “You are the responsible of revealing hanna’s secrets” she said
5. The correspondent said :“the president will be here to inspect the
damage”
6. ‘Hurry up!’ said Viru’s mother. ‘The bus will be here in a minute.’
7. He said to one of them: “Let me see the streets once more before I die.
I’ll be back in five minutes.”
8. My grandfather said, ‘May you have a long life!’
9. ‘How well you speak German,’ his teammate said.
10. Mr Jain said to his colleague, ‘Will you please drop me at the airport?’
11. “Would you mind telling me how to get to the art gallery, please?”
12. ‘Light travels in a straight line,’ the teacher said.
1. Michael said: “Why do I do this every day?”
2. ‘Ouch! The bee stung me!’ the child said.
3. “Please, don’t say anything to him”, he said.
4. She said: “Don’t smoke if you want to save money.”
5. “Don’t forget to thank Mrs Jones when you’re saying good bye to her.”
my mother said
6. “Don’t try to be funny.” my elder sister said
7. The saleswoman says to us: “be sure, you chose the best painting in our
galery”
8. “Be a good girl and sit quietly for five minutes.”Adam said
9. She said to him, "Be careful".
10. He always says to them "You must pay more attention”
11. ‘May I know who is on the line?’ her father said.
12. "How many photos have you got?" he said
13. She said: “why don’t we go for a journey, it will be awesome.”
14. They asked her mother: “Does he often come home late from school?”
15. "Has Jasmine ever been to Siena?" he asked.
 Read the following dialogues and fill in the blanks.

Aria : Why do you look so worried?

Hanna : I have not prepared well for the exams. I have
read only general articles.
Aria : Don’t worry. There will be no questions from
MCB. Reading general articles from magazines or
newspapers will help you develop reading skills.
Hanna: Thank you, I am very relieved. Thank you indeed.
-Aria asked Hanna _____________. Hanna ___________
______ ___________ and that she had read only
general articles. Aria ________ her not to worry as
_____________. Hanna looked __________ at
_________ and ____________for her consoling words.
 These are the exact words Frank said to you
yesterday.
"I've just got engaged! We're getting married next year.
We're going to Paris for our honeymoon. It's all going to
be very expensive. Luckily, my friend is a photographer
so he he'll take the photos for us. We'll be having the
reception in my parents' back garden. My mum is
baking the cake for us and my sister's band is playing
free for us. I hope you'll come to the wedding.
“Now you're telling your friend what Frank told you.
Mrs kent asked Jim where the memos she had left on his
desk the previous morning were.
Jim answered that he was sorry but he had thrown them
away by mistake.
Mrs kent told him that that was a silly thing to do. She also
asked if he had taken any photocopies of them at least.
Jim replied that he had and that he had put them in a file.
Mrs kent asked Jim where the sales invoices were. She also
said that she had been looking for them everywhere.
Paul answered that he had got no idea himself and suggested
asking the secretary.
Rewrite this paragraph in a dialogue form;
• Mrs Kent: where are...
• Jim: I am sorry but....