Reported speech

Reported speech

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  By Mª MercedesSánchez 2012
• 2.
  There are twoways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect. In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact words. He said,” I have missed my bus” These thoughts, believes or remarks are written between the inverted commas, and a comma or colon is placed immediately before the remark. In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark, or a speech, without necessarily using the speaker’s exact words. We make somebody’s words or thoughts part of our own sentence. He said that he had missed his bus. When we turn direct speech into indirect, some changes are usually necessary. These are most easily studied by considering: statements, questions and commands separately.
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  DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECTSPEECH Simple Present I train every day Present Continuous I’m having a shower Simple Past I met her at 3 p.m. Present Perfect We haven’t seen it yet. Present Perfect Continuous I’ve been waiting for ages. Imperative Be quiet Simple Past He said (that) he trained every day. Past Continuous He said (that) he was having a shower. Past Perfect He said he had met her at 3 p.m. Past Perfect They said (that) they hadn’t seen it yet. Past Perfect Continuous He said (that) he had been waiting for ages. Infinitive He told us to be quiet. CHANGES When reporting a statement we may find many different changes: 1. Verb tense changes.
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  DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECTSPEECH Can Ex. I can’t swim. Will Ex. I’ll send you a postcard. Must/ have to Ex. You must study more May Ex.It may be true. Could Ex. He said (that) he couldn’t swim Would Ex. He said (that) he would send us a postcard. Had to Ex. .He said (that) we had to study more. Might Ex. He said (that) it might be true. The other modal verbs don’t change: would, should, ought to, had better, might, used to, could …
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  DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Personal pronouns subject IHe, she we They Personal pronouns object me Him, her us them Possessive adjectives my His, her our their Possessive pronouns mine His, hers ours theirs 2.      Pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change from first or second person to third person, except when  the speaker is reporting his own words.
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  DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECTSPEECH this That These those 3.      Demonstratives also change, based on the rule that words denoting “nearness” become the corresponding words denoting  “remoteness”.
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  DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECTSPEECH Now Then Today That day Yesterday The day before, the previous day Tomorrow The next day, the following day Next week, year … The following week, year … Last week, year… The week / year before or  the previous week, year Adverb of place here there 4.      Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time and the adverb here
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  A.     STATEMENTS The introductory verbis usually “said” (he said to me…), “tell” ( he told me…).See some examples: He said, “I saw the boy here in this room today” R.S.: He said (that) he had seen the boy there in that room that day. He said, “I’ll go to the office tomorrow” R.S.: He said (that) he would come to the office the next day. (in this case the speaker is in the office)
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  B.     QUESTIONS   When we turn direct questions into indirect speech, the following changes are necessary:   The changes in tense, pronouns, possessives and adverbial phrases of time and place, noted in  indirect statements, apply also to indirect questions.   The interrogative construction of the direct question is replaced by the statement construction  in the indirect questions. So, the interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative (or  negative). The question mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions.   The introductory verb in the main clause is “say”, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g.  “ask, inquire, wonder, and want to know…”   There are two types of interrogative sentences:             a)      Wh  questions: These are questions beginning with an interrogative word (when, where,  why, how, who….). These interrogative words are the connection in the indirect questions: e.g. He said, “how will you do it?” He asked how she would do it.   b)      Yes/ no questions: The connective words  to join the indirect questions to the main clause  are: “if” or “whether”. There is not much difference in meaning between whether and if . Usage  generally favours if. Whether usually expresses a doubt and an alternative possibility or choice  between two alternatives, and so is often followed by the correlative “or” e.g.      He said, “Did she go yesterday?” He asked if she had gone the day before.
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  C.     COMMANDS.   When a direct command is turned into an indirect one, the following  changes will be noticed:             1.      The introductory verb, “say” is changed to a verb of command or  request, such as “tell, order, command, ask, request…” 2.      Commands could be: a)      Affirmative: introductory verb + person addressed + to + infinitive. E.g. He said “Open the door, Mary” He told Mary to open the door. b)      Negative: introductory verb + person addressed + not + to +  infinitive. E.g. He said “Don’t go away, Mary”       He told Mary not to go away. 3.      Finally, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of place  and time change as in statements and questions.
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  D.     OTHER STRUCTURES. Suggest. We can reprt suggestions or  recommendations in three different ways: a)      subject + suggest + (not) + verb + -ing. E.g. “Let’s go to the cinema”       She suggested going to the cinema. b)      subject + suggest + that + subject + should +  infinitive without to. E.g.  “Why don’t you read this book?”       She suggested that I should read that book. c)      Subject + suggest + subjunctive. E.g. “How about reusing this plastic bag?”       She suggested that I reuse that plastic bag
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  E. REPORTING VERBS. When we  report  the  speaker’s  exact  words,  we  don’t  just  apply  the  rules  mechanically,  we  interpret  what  we  hear  or  read,  so  we  use  different  reporting verbs followed by the following structures:   1.      Subject + reporting verb + (not) + to + infinitive. Verbs like: agree, offer, promise, refuse, threaten, demand etc… E.g. “I won’t go with you!”             She refused to go with me.   2.      Subject + reporting verb + object + (not) + to + infinitive. Verbs like: advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, persuade, recommend,  remind, tell, warn etc… E.g. “You should go to the doctor” She advised me to go to the doctor.   3.      Subject + reporting verb + (not) + verb –ing. Verbs like: apologize for, accuse sb of, complain to, deny, recommend,  suggest, insist on, boast about … E.g. “I didn’t steal your purse”                         He denied stealing /having stolen my purse.  
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  4.      Subject + reportingverb + (that) + subject + verb. Verbs like: add, admit, agree, announce, claim, complain, declare, deny,  explain, insist, mention, predict, promise, reply, reveal, say, state, suggest… E.g. “You are always talking”.             She complained that we were always talking.   5.      subject + reporting verb + object + (that) + subject + verb. Verbs like: persuade, remind, tell, warn.             E.g. “I’m going out tonight”                         She reminded me that she was going out that night.   6.      subject + reporting verb + if/ whether/wh-word + subject + verb. Verbs like: ask, enquire, question, wonder, want to know…             E.g. She asked herself, “Will I win a prize tonight?”                         She wondered whether she would win a prize that night.   ©Mercedes Sánchez 2012