Reported Speech Project 4m3j6r

Reported Speech

Definition • Reported Speech (also called Indirect Speech) is generally used to communicate what someone else has said, but without using their exact words. A few changes are necessary; often a pronoun has to be changed and the verb is usually moved back a tense, where possible. We will explain these changes in more detail later. He said that he was going to come. (The person's exact words were "I'm going to come.")

Changes in Verb tenses Present Simple  Past Simple “I love him”, said the girl.  The girl said that she loved him.

Present Continuous  Past Continuous “I am feeling hungry”, he said.  He said that he was feeling hungry.

Present Perfect Simple  Past Perfect Simple “I have eaten”, she said.  She said that she had eaten.

Changes in Verb tenses Past Continuous  Past Perf. Cont. “She was crying”, he said.  He said that she had been crying.

Past Perfect  Past Perfect (No Change) “I had seen enough”, she said.  She said that she had seen enough.

Past Perf. Cont.  Past Perf. Cont. (No Change) “I had been cleaning”, I said.  I said that I had been cleaning.

Other Verb Forms Will  Would “I will come along”, she said.  She said that she would come along.

Can  Could “I can read!”, said the girl.  The girl said that she could read.

Must  Had to “I must do my chores”, he said.  He said that he had to do his chores.

Other Verb Forms Shall  Should “Shall I go to work?”, he asked.  He asked if he should go to work.

May  Might “We may go out”, they said.  They said that they might go out

Time And Place References Time and place references often have to change:

Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

Now Today Here This This week Tomorrow

Then That Day There That That Week The Following Day The Next Day The Day After

Time And Place References Direct Speech Indirect Speech Next Week

Yesterday Last Week Ago

The Following Week The Next Week The Week After The Previous Day The Day Before The Previous Week The Week Before Previously

Time And Place References Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

Tonight Last Saturday

That Night The Previous Saturday The Saturday Before The Following Saturday The Saturday After The Next Saturday That Saturday

Next Saturday

Personal Pronoun Changes(I):

 They need to be altered according to the context.  Pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change from first or second person to third person except when the speaker is reporting his own words. - He said, ’I’ve forgotten my keys at home.’ He said that he had forgotten his keys at home. - ‘You’ve overcooked the steak again, Mary,’ he said. He told Mary that she had overcooked the steak again. - I said, ’I like my new house’. I said that I liked my new house.

Personal Pronoun Changes (II) However, confusions can arise when we change from direct to indirect Speech. “I am going to buy a new car”, said María. María said that she was going to buy a new car. In this case, the subject in the direct speech and the pronoun refer to the same person. In order to avoid ambiguity, a noun could be inserted: ‘He entered the room by breaking the window’, Tom told me. Tom told me he/the burglar had entered the room by breaking the window.

Uses of “That”  In reported speech, the word “that” is often used, but it is optional.

He told me that he lived in Valencia. He told me he lived in Valencia.

Questions If you put a question into Reported speech there are some steps you should follow; changing of the person, backshift of tenses and changing of expressions of time. In Reported speech there is no question anymore, the sentence becomes a statement. That's why the word order is: subject -verbobjects(direct and indirect)  “That” is never used in questions, instead we use “if”. He asked me if I would come to the party.

Questions  Yes/No Questions: use of “if” Peter: "Do you play the piano?" Peter asked me whether (if) I played the piano.  Wh- Questions: repetition of wh- word in reported speech

Peter: "When do you play the piano?" Peter asked me when I played the piano.

Verbs We can use a wide variety of different verbs to introduce reported speech:

Verb clause

Example

Advise + to + inf

She advised us to go home.

Agree + that(optional)/ to + inf

-He agreed (that) we should go home. -He agreed to go home.

Ask + if/whether+ to+infinitive

-We asked if we could go home. - We asked to go home.

Verb clause Complain +that Offer + to + infinitive Promise + (that) / to + infinitive

Regret+(that)/-ing

Say + (that)

Example she complained that her soup was cold. They offered to do the shopping. -He promised (that) he would love me eternally. - He promised to love me eternally. -Laura regrets (that) she dyed her hair. -Laura regrets having dyed her hair. -The personal trainer said that I should do more exercise.

Other verbs  Deny + (that)/ -ing  Insist + (that)/ on + -ing  Invite + to + infinitive  Recommend+ (that) / -ing  Suggest+ (that) / -ing  Tell+ (that)/ to + infinitive  Threaten + (that) /to +infinitive  Warn + (that) /to + infinitive/about+-ing

Exceptions to the Verb Change rule When something is reported that is a general truth, or if the situation hasn’t changed yet, there is often no tense change. Anna said that the sun is hot. Anna said that she is studying at the University.

Exercises • 1.) James said, “I am watching TV.” Answer: James said that he was watching TV. • 2.) Professor Jones said, “I worked all day!” Answer: Professor Jones said he had worked all day. • 3.) The president said, “I will be visiting Italy in December.” Answer: The president said that he would be visiting Italy in December.

Exercises • 4.) The weatherman announced, “It may rain today.” Answer: The weatherman announced that it might rain that day. • 5.) My father screamed, “I have to go to the airport, now!” Answer: My father screamed that he had to go to the airport then.

Group : Anna Andújar Forner Annabel Kay Ruiz Ernesto Maravilla Frías Laura Pons Fernández María Ruiz Peris Rut Villar Sánchez If you have any queries, please ask our dearest teacher, Beatriu Cardona.