REPORTED SPEECH Developed by Ivan Seneviratne

Reporting Speech When we want to tell someone else what we or someone else has said we can use either direct or reported speech. There are two ways of reporting what somebody says; Direct speech Indirect or reported speech.

Direct Speech Direct Speech purports to preserve the exact words. Example: He said, "I live in Paris."

Using Punctuations The first word of the speech must begin with a capital letter. Example: He said, "I live in Paris." Exact words spoken must be enclosed in speech marks or quotation marks. The words in the speech marks must be separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. "I live in Paris," said Hendry.

Indirect Speech Example: He says he lives in Paris. Indirect Speech, also referred to as 'reported speech,’ refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said. It is almost always used in spoken English. You can leave out “that” in reported speech: Example: He says he lives in Paris. He said he lived in Paris.

Change in Verbs In Reported Speech, verbs in the Present usually change to a form of the Past Verbs in the Simple Past usually change to the Past Perfect. However, if the reporting verb is in the present tense, it isn't changed in reported speech. Example: Michal says "I want to make pudding." He says he wants to make pudding.

Examples Direct Statement Reported Statement Mandy says, “I want to go home.” Mandy says that she wants to go home. Randy said, “I’m thirty-five.” Randy said that he was thirty-five. “I’m working this afternoon,” said Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown said that he was working this afternoon. “I’ve been here before,” exclaimed Sally. Sally exclaimed that she had been there before. “I met him a year ago.” She said that she had met him a year ago.

Changing Pronouns When changing from direct speech to indirect speech, it is often necessary to change the Pronouns to match the subject of the sentence. Example: Hendry said, “I’m thirty-five.” Hendry said that he was thirty-five.

Changing Time Signifiers It is also important to change time words when referring to present, past or future time to match the moment of speaking. Example: “Did the bus stop here yesterday?” asked Sara. Sara asked if the bus stopped there the day before. today --- the following day tomorrow --- the next day here --- there

Use Reported Speech to Complete 1. John: "Mandy is at home." John said that...    2. Max: "I often read a book." Max told me that...     3. Susan: "I'm watching TV." Susan said that... 5. Stephen and Claire: "We have cleaned the windows." Stephen and Claire told me that... 6. Charles: "I didn't have time to do my homework." Charles remarked that...

Reported Affirmative Sentences Example: Peter: "Clean the black shoes.” _________________________ Answer: Peter told me to clean the black shoes.

Use Reported Speech to Complete Teacher: "Do your homework." The teacher told me...    Andrew: "Clean the blue bike." Andrew told me...    Jessica: "Write a letter." Jessica told me... Nelly: "Help Peter's sister." Nelly told me... Anna: "Open the window." Anna told me... Ben: "Come home at 8." Ben told me...

Reported Speech - Questions When reporting questions, it is especially important to pay attention to sentence order. When reporting yes/ no questions connect the reported question using “if or whether.” When reporting questions using why, where, when, etc. use the same question word.

Your Turn Write these sentences as reported questions. Begin your answer as suggested: When does the train leave? (I asked...) Who did you see at the meeting? (My mother asked...) Why did you take my wallet? (He asked...) How did you get to school? (He asked...) Where do you live? (The boy asked...) Do you like Marlon Brandon? (She asked...) Are you enjoying yourself? (He asked...)

This presentation is developed by Ivan Seneviratne © 2007 purely for personal use. ivanthexplorer@yahoo.co.uk