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Reported Sppech

Reported speech, or indirect speech, is used to convey what someone has said, typically requiring tense changes to reflect past context. Key rules include removing quotation marks, inserting 'that', and adjusting time, place, and demonstrative references. Common reporting verbs include 'say', 'tell', and 'ask', with various alternatives available for different contexts.

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Alba Rodriguez Martin
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15 views14 pages

Reported Sppech

Reported speech, or indirect speech, is used to convey what someone has said, typically requiring tense changes to reflect past context. Key rules include removing quotation marks, inserting 'that', and adjusting time, place, and demonstrative references. Common reporting verbs include 'say', 'tell', and 'ask', with various alternatives available for different contexts.

Uploaded by

Alba Rodriguez Martin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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REPORTED

SPEECH
DEFINITION
 Reported speech (also known as
indirect speech) refers to a sentence
reporting what someone has said.
 When we use reported speech, we are
usually talking about the past (because
obviously the person who spoke originally
spoke in the past). The verbs therefore
usually have to be in the past too.
"I'm going to the cinema".
He said he was going to the cinema.
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.
Direct speech: She said, “I work very hard."
Reported speech: She said that she worked
very hard.
1. Tense changes
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 › She said she was teaching
English online." English online.
Present perfect simple Past perfect simple
She said, "I've been on › She said she had been on
the web since 1999." the web since 1999.
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching › She said she had been teaching
English for seven years." English for seven years.

Past simple Past perfect


She said, "I taught online › She said she had taught online
yesterday." yesterday.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I was teaching › She said she had been teaching
earlier." earlier.

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

Past perfect continuous


Past perfect continuous
NO CHANGE - She said she'd
She said, "I'd already been ›
already been teaching for five
teaching for five minutes."
minutes.
2. Other tense changes
Modal verb forms also change:

Direct speech Indirect speech


will would
She said, "I'll teach English › She said she would teach
online tomorrow." English online tomorrow.
can could
She said, "I can teach › She said she could teach
English online." English online.
must had to
She said, "I must have a She said she had to have a
›
computer to teach English computer to teach English
online." online.
shall should
She said, "What shall we › She asked what we should
learn today?" learn today.
may might
She said, "May I open a › She asked if she might open
new browser?" a new browser.
3. Time and place
changes
Time and place references change:

now › then
today › that day
here › there
this › that
this week › that week
the following day
tomorrow › the next day
the day after
the following week
next week › the 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 next Saturday
next Saturday › the Saturday after
that Saturday
4. DEMONSTRATIVES

Some demontratives must be


changed:
THIS changes to THAT
and THESE to THOSE:
She said ‘I like this shirt’
She said she liked that shirt.
A. STATEMENTS

“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.
B. Questions
We normally use asked, but also wanted to know and wondered.

YES/NO Questions:
“Can you pass me the salt?”, she asked.
1- We write the subject + asked if: She asked (…) if...
2- We invert the subject order of the question and change
pronouns, time and place expressions and tenses:

She asked me if I could pass her the salt.

WH- Questions:
They asked me, “Where does your brother live?”

1- We write the subject + asked: They asked (…)


2- We write the WH- word, and we invert the subject order of the
question and change pronouns, time and place expressions
and tenses:

They asked me where my brother lived.


C. Commands, requests and
suggestions
positive imperative tell + (Object) + to infinitive
He told me to close the door.
e.g. Close the door!

negative imperative tell + (Object) + not to infinitive

e. g. Don't speak! He told me not to speak.

imperatives as requests ask + (Object) + to infinitive

e.G Please, pass me the salt. He asked me to pass him the salt.
Reporting Verbs
SAY, TELL, ASK are the most common verbs used in
indirect or reported speech sentences.

 We use “asked” to report questions:


I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.

 We use “told” with an object in statements.


Lynne told me she felt tired.

 We usually use “said” without an object in statements.


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 say,
tell and ask. These include:

accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed,


apologised, begged, boasted, complained,
denied, explained, implied, invited, offered,
ordered, promised, replied, suggested and
thought.

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