1. REPORTED SPEECH
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2. What is it used for? AKA Indirect Speech:
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What is it used for?
AKA Indirect Speech:
report what someone else said. Colloquially, to “report, say, confirm, gossip what you were told, you heard or eavesdrop.”
follow some rules to properly report what someone else said.
First thing to know?, verbal tense changes occur in reported speech.
For reported speech, it is necessary and/or mandatory to manage most all verbal tenses in English.
So, first thing first! New term and it’s…

3. SENTENCE BACKSHIFTING.
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SENTENCE BACKSHIFTING.
You may wonder what “backshifting” is, right?
Backshifting is to change a verbal tense to its immediate “back tense”, in other words, if a sentence is in the simple present its back tense is the simple past.
Example:
“I drive to my grandparents house once a month.” (simple present)
“I drove to my grandparents house once a month last year.” (simple past)
Got it?
Now, let’s practice some backshifting before…

4. SENTENCE BACKSHIFTING PRACTICE.
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SENTENCE BACKSHIFTING PRACTICE.
Change the following sentences to its immediate back tense.
Lana and David are speaking with the principal now.
My dad went to the beach with my mother and my sisters.
The students and the board of parents have made a decision.
I won’t travel to USA this summer.
Does Maria practice every afternoon for the Chicago Marathon?
She had already broken the window.
What verbal tenses are the sentences above presented?
What verbal tense did you use to backshift the sentences above?
Did you change all of them or was one that is not changed?
Answers in the next slide.
But do it on your own before checking

5. SENTENCE BACKSHIFTING PRACTICE (answers).
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Change the following sentences to its immediate back tense.
a) Lana and David are speaking with the principal now.
(Lana and David were speaking with the principal then.)
b) My dad went to the beach with my mother and my sisters.
(My dad had gone to the beach with my mother and my sisters.)
c) The students and the board of parents have made a decision.
(The students and the board of parents had made a decision.)
d) I won’t travel to USA this summer.
(I wouldn’t travel to USA this summer.)
e) Does Maria practice every afternoon for the Chicago Marathon?
(Did Maria practice every afternoon for the Chicago Marathon?)
f) She had already broken the window.
(She had already broken the window.)
What verbal tenses are the sentences above presented?
a) present progressive b) simple past c) present perfect d) future (will)
e) Simple present f) past perfect*
What verbal tense did you use to backshift the sentences above?
a) past progressive b) past perfect c) past perfect d) auxiliary verb WOULD
e) simple past f) past perfect*
Did you change all of them or was one that is not changed? Only one cannot be changed: F

6. Now, did you get the backshifting process?
Questions and imperatives* can use backshifting. Look:
Do you like Peter? Did you like Peter?
How often have you used this? How often had you used this?
*Imperatives are instructions. Their “backshift” is the infinitive form.
Open the window To open the window.
Don’t smoke here. Not to smoke
We’ll take a deeper look into this ahead.
In conclusion, for using the REPORTED SPEECH properly, you must know and use the verbal tenses to make the changes correctly.
Now let’s get deeper into the topic: REPORTED/INDIRECT SPEECH.
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7. Look at these sentences:
Direct Speech: “Sandra is having an exam just now.” (Leo – Mary: tell)
Direct Speech: “I know him!” (Jenna: say)
Direct Speech: “James hasn’t been in this room.” (Tony: reply)
Direct Speech: “We will have a party tonight.” (The girls - Lucy: remind).
Direct Speech: “I had gone to London before Nancy.” (Peter – me: tell)
Reported Speech: Leo told Mary (that) Sandra was having an exam then.
Reported Speech: Jenna said she knew him.
Reported Speech: Tony replied that James hadn’t been in that room.
Reported Speech: The girls reminded Lucy that they would have a party that night.
Reported Speech: Peter told me he had gone to London before Nancy.
PAST PERFECT does not change in reported speech; it stays the same.
Did you see the changes to be made when reporting? You must follow the steps in the chart on the next slides
IMPORTANT: When talking about DIRECT SPEECH, we talk about the original message, which is always in quotation marks (“ ”), and reported is what someone else is saying about what (s)he heard.
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8. REPORTED/ INDIRECT SPEECH.
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REPORTED/ INDIRECT SPEECH.
 aplica
no aplica
How do you report a sentence, a question or an imperative? Follow the steps on the chart given:
STEPS
Oraciones (afirmativas y/o negativas)
Preguntas
(Yes/No Wh Q.)
Instrucciones (Commands)
1) Identifica el tiempo verbal del “discurso directo” (D.S.)     *
2) Escribe el informante (reporter con su reporting verb R.V.)        
3) Elimina las comillas (“ ”) al reportar.
4) Realiza el cambio de tiempo verbal y otras frases correctamente.        
5) Usa IF / WETHER antes de la pregunta reportada.
6) Conserva la palabra interrogativa (wh_, how) antes de la pregunta reportada.    
7) El orden “sujeto+verbo” es el mismo que en una oración. (Se conjuga el verbo de una vez.)        
8) Se elimina el signo de interrogación al reportar.
* Las instrucciones se reportan en infinitivo TO cuando es afirmativo y cuando es negativo NOT TO

9. VERBAL TENSE CHANGES IN REPORTED/ INDIRECT SPEECH.
“Direct Speech” (D.S.) Reported Speech (R.S.)
“simple present”
simple past
“present progressive”
past progressive
“simple past”
“present perfect”
Past perfect
“past perfect”
(S + HAD + PPV + C)
“will (future)”
would
“can”
could
“must / have to”
had to
“may”
might
Take a look at these websites to review the verb tenses:
(do not mind the passive voice structure, just the verb tenses)
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10. WORD/PHRASES CHANGES IN REPORTED/ INDIRECT SPEECH.
“Direct Speech” (D.S.) Reported Speech (R.S.)
“I”
he/she
“we”
they
“my”
his/her
“our”
their
“me”
him/her
“this”
that
“these”
those
“now”
then/at that time
“today”
that day / yesterday
“yesterday”
the day before (yesterday)
“last night (week)”
the night (week) before
“tomorrow”
the next/following day, today
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11. REPORTING VERBS (RV). 4th YEAR.
B) VERB
OBJECT (HEARER)
INFINITIVE
1. advise(d) me
you
her
to go...
to study...
to stay...
2. ask(ed)*
3. invite(d)
4. promise(d)
5. remind(ed)
6. tell (told)
6. want(ed)
7. warn(ed)* (not)
A) VERB
INFINITIVE
1. agree(d)
to let...
to send...
to stay...
2. ask(ed)*
3. hope
4. offer(ed)
5. promise(d)
6. refuse(d)
7. want(ed)
C) VERB
THAT CLAUSE
agree(d) / promise(d)
that...
2. explain(ed) / reply(ied)
3. complain(ed) / say (said)
4. hope(d) / suggest(ed)
5. point(ed) out / warn(ed)
D) VERB
OBJECT (HEARER)
THAT CLAUSE
1. convince(d) me
you
her
that...
2. promise(d)
3. remind(ed)
4. tell (told)
5. warn(ed)
E) VERB
GERUND (_ING)
propose(d)
coming
going
staying
2. suggest(ed)
*Después del verbo de reporte ASK, también se usa IF/WETHER para reportar una pregunta.
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12. Need more? Watch these videos that explain the reported speech.
Exercises:
Visit these links for exercises.
Sentences:
Questions:
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