Reported Speech

Basics When we turn direct speech into indirect / reported speech, some changes are usually necessary: Sam: ̒I’m leaving today.̕ Sam said he was leaving that day. DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

Tense changes If we have a past tense reporting verb, tenses move back in time! Sam: ̒I’m leaving.̕ Sam said he was leaving. Peter: ̒I was at home.̕ Peter said that he had been at home.

Tense changes II The past perfect and the past perfect continuous stay the same! Jack: ̒I hadn’t forgotten̕ . → Jack said that he hadn‘t forgotten. John: ̒I had already been living in London̕. → John said he had already been living in London.

Changes of adverbs / reference words Sam: ̒I’m leaving today.̕ Sam said he was leaving that day. Tina: ̒I’m going to London tomorrow.̕ Tina said she was going to London the next day. Joe: ̒I’ll see you here tomorrow, Mary.̕ Joe told Mary he would see her there the next day.

Orders / requests Orders are reported with tell and the infinitive: ̒Go away! ̕ → He told me to go away! Requests are reported with ask and the infinitive: ̒Please help me.̕ → He asked me to help him.

Reporting questions Yes / No questions are reported using if: ̒Do you like hamburgers? ̕ → She asked me if I liked hamburgers. Wh- questions are reported with the question word followed by the verb in the form of a normal statement: ̒Where are we going? ̕ → She asked me where we were going.

Exercise: Report these sentences! Ex.: Jim: ̒I am working today ̕ . Jim said he was working that day. Melinda: ‘I was in Barcelona two weeks ago̕ . Brad: ̒Will you marry me, Angelina? ̕ Tony: ̒I’ve been working very hard ̕. Roger: ̒How are the twins, Mirka? ̕ Linda: ̒I had been working as an actress in Hollywood̕ . Tom: ‘Give me my wallet, Mary!’

1. Melinda: ̒I was in Barcelona two weeks ago̕ . Melinda said she had been in B. two weeks before. 2. Brad: ̒Will you marry me, Angelina? ̕. Brad asked Angelina if she would marry him. 3. Tony: ̒I’ve been working very hard ̕. Tony said he’d been working very hard. 4. Roger: ̒How are the twins, Mirka? ̕ Roger asked Mirka how the twins were. 5. Linda: ̒I had been working as an actress in Hollywood̕ . Linda said she had been working as an actress in Hollywood. 6. Tom: ̒Give me my wallet, Mary ̕̕ ! Tom told / asked Mary to give him his wallet.

Reported Speech (Part II)

Reported speech without tense changes Present tense reports: If the reporting verb is in the present tense, there is no change: → Brenda says she’s arriving at about 6 o’clock.

Reported speech without tense changes Past tense reports: If the reporting words are ̒always true̕ , there is no change: → Harry said that Berlin is the capital of Germany. If the message is being repeated immediately, there is no change: → Mary said she’s too busy to come.

Reported speech in complex sentences In complex sentences, only the first verb is changed: James: ̒I was walking home when I saw the accident’. → James said he had been walking home when he saw the accident.

Exercises Tom: ̒I was driving home when all of a sudden a car crashed into the side of my Honda’. → Tom said he had been driving home when all of a sudden a car crashed into the side of his Honda. Jane: ̒I bought a new car when I was in Italy half a year ago ̕ . → Jane said she had bought a car when she was in Italy half a year earlier.