REPORTED SPEECH

REPORTED SPEECH
Sarah, ''I will meet Peter tomorrow after they have finished their classes.'' → Sarah says (that) she will
meet Peter the next day after they have finished their classes.
You have to think about a few things when changing a sentence from direct to indirect speech:
• possessive and personal pronouns
• other changes: this → that; these → those
• times and place references:
now
today
here
this
this week
tomorrow
next week
yesterday
last week
ago
2 weeks ago
tonight
last Saturday
next Saturday
then
that day
there
that
that week
the following day
the next day
the day after
the following week
the next week
the week after
the previous day
the day before
the previous week
the week before
previously
before
2 weeks previously
2 weeks before
that night
the previous Saturday
the Saturday before
the following Saturday
the next Saturday
the Saturday after
that Saturday
The greatest change takes place, when the tenses in the reported speech changes because of the tense of
the Introductory Clause. This is called backshift in reported speech:
No Backshift
if introductory clause is in…
• Simple Present (He says…)
• Present Perfect (He has said…)
• Future I will (He will say…)
• Future I going to (He is going to say…)
Backshift
if introductory clause is in…
• Simple Past (He said…)
• Past Perfect (He had said…)
• Future II ( He will have said…)
• Conditional I (He would say…)
• Conditional II (He would have
said…)
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Basic tense chart
The tenses generally move backwards in this way (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):
present simple
I'm a teacher.
present continuous
I'm having lunch with my parents.
present perfect simple
I've been to France three times.
present perfect continuous
I've been working very hard.
past simple
I bought a new car.
past continuous
It was raining earlier.
past perfect
The play had started when I arrived.
past perfect continuous
I'd already been living in London for five years.
past simple
He said he was a teacher
past continuous.
He said he was having lunch with his parents.
past perfect simple
He said he had been to France three times.
past perfect continuous
He said he had been working very hard.
past perfect
He said he had bought a new car.
past perfect continuous
He said it had been raining earlier.
past perfect
NO CHANGE POSSIBLE
past perfect continuous
NO CHANGE POSSIBLE
Other verb forms
Other verb forms also sometimes change:
will
I'll come and see you soon.
can
I can swim under water for two minutes.
must
All tickets must be bought in advance.
shall
What shall we do about it?
may
May I smoke?
would
He said he would come and see me soon.
could
He said he could swim under water for two minutes.
had to
He said that all tickets had to be bought in advance.
should
He asked what we should do about it.
might
He asked if he might smoke.
Things are slightly more complicated with imperatives.
positive imperative
Shut up!
negative imperative
Don't do that again!
imperatives as requests
Please give me some money.
tell + infinitive
He told me to shut up.
tell + not + infinitive
He told me not to do it again.
ask + infinitive
He asked me to give him some money
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Questions
Note that instead of ‚that‘ you use the interrogative. If there is no interrogative, use ‚whether‘ / ‚if‘.
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
statement He said: “She lives in London.“ He said that she lived in London
question with
interrogative
He asked:“Where does she live?“ He asked where she lived.
He asked whether she lived in
question without He asked: “Does she live in
London.
interrogative
London?“
He asked if she lived in London
• The verbs you use in the introductory clause are basic ones like say, tell, reply, and ask.
• But you can also use other reporting verbs
Some basic reporting verbs
to accuse
"It was you who ate my chocolate, Elvira, wasn't it?" → He accused Elvira of eating his chocolate.
admit
"OK, it was me. I ate your chocolate" → Elvira admitted eating the chocolate. / Elvira admitted that she
had eaten the chocolate.
advise
"Well, if I were you I'd start saving for my retirement." → He advised me to start saving for my
retirement
agree
"Yes, you're right, it's a terrible problem." → She agreed that it was a terrible problem.
announce
"I'm afraid I've got some bad news. The company's closing." → The manager announced that the
company was closing.
apologise
"I'm sorry I didn't get to the meeting." → He apologised for not going to the meeting.
ask
"It's very hot in here. Would you mind opening the window?" → She asked him to open the window.
blame
"We lost the match because you didn't save that penalty." → He blamed the goalkeeper for losing the
match.
complain
"The electrician said he was coming at ten o'clock so I took time off work and waited in all morning...."
→ She complained about the electrician.
congratulate
"Well done! I knew you'd pass your driving test this time." → She congratulated him on passing his
driving test.
deny
"It most certainly wasn't me that left the front door open." → He denied leaving the front door open./ He
denied that he had left the front door open.
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explain
"Sorry I'm late. The traffic was bad and then I couldn't find a parking space." → He explained why he
was late./
He explained that the traffic was bad.
forget
"Oh no, I haven't got any money. I didn't go to the bank." → He forgot to go to the bank.
invite
"Would you like to come to our house for dinner on Friday? → He invited them to come to dinner on
Friday.
offer
"Those bags must be heavy, John. Shall I take one?" → She offered to carry a bag for him.
promise
"Yes, honest, I'll be there on time. I won't be late." → He promised not to be late.
refuse
"Well I'm not washing up. I did it last time." → He refused to do the washing-up.
remind
"Remember you have to go to the bank. You forgot yesterday." → She reminded me to go to the bank.
suggest
"Why don't you go to the dentist if your tooth hurts?" → She suggested that he should go to the
dentist./She suggested that he went to the dentist.
threaten
"If you're late again we'll start without you." → They threatened to start without him.
warn
"Don't drive too quickly. The streets are very icy." → He warned him about the ice./ He warned him not
to drive too quickly.
Exercise 1: Put the sentences into reported speech.
1) ''I ride my bike every day.'' => John says ...
2) ''My husband and I have never been to Paris.'' => Mrs Petersen stressed ...
3) ''Can you drive a van“ => I was asked ...
4) ''When will she arrive?'' => He wants to know ...
5) ''Give me this book!'' => She tells him ...
6) ''We have enough to eat.'' => They pointed out ...
7) ''We were in London last year.“ => They said ...
8) ''We are redecorating our flat this week.'' => Sarah explains ...
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9) ''Will you help me with these boxes?“ => I'm asking you ...
10) ''Timmy, buy some rolls!'' => His mother told Timmy...
Exercise 2: Translate the sentences into English.
I. Er sagte, er sei sehr krank.
II. Sie fragte, ob sie ihm helfen könne.
III. Mary fügte hinzu, dass sie heißen Tee machen werde.
IV. Die Browns erklärten, sie seien schon oft in London gewesen.
V. Er forderte sie auf, mehr zu arbeiten.
VI. Er wollte wissen, wann wir essen.
Exercise 3:
Exercise 4: Change the sentences to direct speech.
a) She asked me to bring the book that night.
b) Peter told me that they had gone out the night before.
c) Andrew said to me that he couldn't help me the next day.
d) He told me he would visit his parents that weekend.
e) She asked me if I had studied reported speech before.
f) His mother told him to do the washing-up.
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