Indirect Speech

A notion of Indirect Speech Indirect or reported speech (от лат. ōratiō oblīqua) is a way of reporting a statement or question. Unlike direct speech, indirect speech does not phrase the statement or question the way the original speaker. In addition, indirect speech is not enclosed in quotation marks.

Grammatical forms may change when the reference point is changed Grammatical forms may change when the reference point is changed. There are two reference points: the point in time and the person currently speaking. A change of time causes a change in tense, and a change in speaker may cause a change in person.

Direct speech Indirect Speech 1."It is raining hard." He said that it was raining hard. 2."I have painted the ceiling blue.” He said that he had painted the ceiling blue. 3."I will come to your party." He says that he will come to my party. In the second and third sentence, the reference point changes from one person to another. In the third example, the reference point moves from the person who intends to come to the party to the one throwing the party. In the first sentence, the reference point changes from present to past: the original speaker sees the rain pouring down, but the narrator is referring to a past event.

When reporting speech the tense usually changes When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past. The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too. For example: Direct speech Indirect speech "I'm going to the cinema", he said. He said he was going to the cinema.

Modal Verbs in Indirect Speech

Indirect Speech in different Tenses

Reported Questions A reported question is called an indirect question. Indirect general and tail – questions are introduced by the conjunctions if or whether. The order of words in indirect general and tail-questions is not inverted.

Indirect special questions are introduced by the same word as the direct question. The word order is not inverted.

Exclamations. There is also exclamation in the indirect speech. When exclamations are converted into direct speech, it is not so much the verb as the adverbial modifier which shows the character of the exclamation – whether. A expresses joy, sorrow, surprise, etc: She said, “How pleasant! Jane is going to spend a week with us!” - She cried joyfully (with joy, delightedly) that was going to spend a week with them. An exclamation has a falling tone in speaking and an exclamation mark in writing. What a funny story she told us!

Indirect commands and requests An order or a request in indirect speech is expressed by an infinitive; the verb to tell is most commonly used to introduce indirect order. It corresponds to the Russian сказать, чтобы…, велеть. The monitor always tells me to come in time. The verb to ask is used to introduce unemotional request: Ann asks me not to put the glass on the chair.

Indirect offers, suggestions are introduced by the verbs to offer and to suggest. Both are rendered in Russian by предложить, but there is a difference between these two verbs. The verb to suggest is followed by a subordinate clause the predicate of which is expressed by the auxiliary verb should (for all the persons) + the infinitive. In the Indirect Speech the Exclamation Mark is changed to a full stop, just like in the statement sentences.

Indirect statements Indirect statements are generally introduced by the conjunction that (but it is often omitted in spoken English); the order of words in an indirect statement is the same as that in a direct statement; the personal And the possessive pronouns are changed as the sense requires it; the verb to say introduces a statement when the person addressed is not indicated. The verb to say + to or the verb to tell are used when the person addressed in indicated. The verb to tell always followed by an indirect speech without any prepositions.

Change the following sentences into indirect speech. Exercises Change the following sentences into indirect speech.  1. He said to me, ‘You are very ambitious.’   2. He said to me, ‘Your father has sent you a gift.’ 3. James said, ‘I am working against heavy odds.’

4. He said to me, ‘I have often told you not to play with fire.’   5. ‘You have done very badly,’ remarked the teacher. 6. They wrote, ‘It is time we settled the matter.’ 7. The mother said, ‘I am longing for my son’s return.’

10. I said to her, ‘I have not seen him in years.’ 8. He wrote, ‘I am unable to come just now because I am ill.’   9. She said, ‘I left school long ago.’ 10. I said to her, ‘I have not seen him in years.’

Answers 1. He told me that I was very ambitious.   1. He told me that I was very ambitious. OR: He remarked that I was very ambitious. 2. He told me that my father had sent me a gift. 3. James said that he was working against heavy odds.

4. He reminded me that he had often told me not to play with fire.   5. The teacher remarked that we had done very badly. 6. They wrote that it was time we settled the matter. 7. The mother said that she was longing for her son’s return.

8. He wrote that he was unable to come just then because he was ill.   9. She said that she had left school long ago. 10. I told her that I had not seen him in years.

Литература: 1) http://en. wikipedia Литература: 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indirect_speech 2) http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/reportedspeech.htm 3) В.Л. Каушанская “A grammar of the English language”