There are two ways of reproducing what other people said: I play tennis

Transcription

1 REPORTED SPEECH There are two ways of reproducing what other people said: I play tennis DIRECT STYLE He said: I play tennis INDIRECT STYLE= REPORTED SPEECH He said that he played tennis We can report: 1. Statements 2. Questions 3. Orders, commands 1.STATEMENTS Reported speech is usually used to talk about the past, about what was said in the past, so we normally change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like 'say', 'tell', 'ask', we use the word 'that' to introduce the reported words and some parts of speech change (verb tenses, pronounus, time place references). Inverted commas are not used. She said, "I saw him." She said that she had seen him. 'That' may be omitted: She told him that she was happy = She told him she was happy 'Say' and 'tell': TELL requires the person addressed. ( Tell me ) SAY does not. SAY TO + object is possible at the end of the sentence but much less usual than TELL + object. Some other reporting verbs: ADMIT, ADVISE, AGREE, ANNOUNCE, ANSWER, ASK, CLAIM, COMMENT, COMPLAIN, CONFIRM, CONSIDER, DENY, EXPLAIN, INSIST, MENTION, PROPOSE, REMEMBER, REPEAT, REPORT, SAY, SUGGEST, SUPPOSE, TELL, THINK, UNDERSTAND, WARN... Tense changes: Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech: DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Simple Present. Simple Past. I never eat meat, he explained. He explained that he never ate meat. Present Continuous. Past Continuous. I m waiting for Ann, he said. He said (that) he was waiting for Ann. Present Perfect. Past Perfect. I have found a flat, he said. He said he had found a flat.

2 Simple Past. Past Perfect. I took it home with me, she said. She said she had taken it home with her. Past Perfect Past Perfect I had just turned out the light," he explained. He explained that he had just turned out the light. Future WILL Conditional WOULD He said I will be in Paris on Monday. He said he would be in Paris on Monday. Conditional WOULD/SHOULD Conditional WOULD/SHOULD I said I would/should like to see it. I said I would/should like to see it. NOTE: You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement was about something that is still true, He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one. We explained that it is very difficult to find our house. Conditional sentences type 2 and 3, hypothetical past tenses and some modal verbs (might, could, would, should, ought to) do not change in reported speech: He said that if he had seen the burglar he would have reported it to the police We explained that it could be difficult to find our house. She said that she might bring a friend to the party. Changes in pronouns and adjectives: In general, personal pronouns change to the third person singular or plural, except when the speaker reports his own words: I/me/my/mine, you/your/yours him/his/her/hers we/us/our/ours, you/your/yours they/their/theirs He said: "I like your new car." He told her that he liked her new car. I said: "I'm going to my friend's house." I said that I was going to my friend's house. This/these That/those They said She is coming this week. They said that she was coming that week. Changes in expressions of time and place: DIRECT INDIRECT Today That day Yesterday The day before The day before yesterday Two days before Tomorrow The next day / the following day The day after tomorrow In two days time Next week / year The following week / year Last week / year The previous week / year A year ago A year before / the previous year

3 Here There I saw her the day before yesterday, he said. He said he d seen her two days before. He said, "I live here". He told me he lived there. 2.QUESTIONS Reporting verb of inquiry: ASK, INQUIRE, WONDER, WANT TO KNOW, etc Normal word order is used in reported questions, that is, the subject comes before the verb, and it is not necessary to use 'do' or did': Same changes (verb tenses, pronouns, time place reference) "Where does Peter live?" She asked him where Peter lived. a) Yes / no questions: This type of question is reported by using 'ask' + if / whether + clause. Normal word order and with the necessary tense changes. b) Question words: "Do you speak English? He asked me if I spoke English "Can you type?" She asked if I could type. "Did you come by train? He enquired whether I had come by train. This type of question is reported by using 'ask' (or another verb like 'ask') + question word + clause. The clause contains the question, in normal word order and with the necessary tense changes. "What is your name?" he asked me. He asked me what my name was. "How old is your mother?", he asked. He asked how old her mother was. "What time does the train arrive?" she asked. She asked what time the train arrived. 3.ORDERS, COMMANDS When we want to report an order or request, we use a verb like TELL and a TO INFINITIVE verb + indirect object + to clause He told me: Go away. He told me to go away. Close the door He ordered me to close the door. Negative: not to The man with the gun said to us, "Don't move! The man with the gun warned us not to move. Other verbs used to report orders and requests in this way are: ADVISE, ASK, BEG, COMMAND, ENCOURAGE, ENTREAT, FORBID, IMPLORE, INVITE, ORDER, RECOMMEND, REMIND, REQUEST, TELL, URGE, WARN. Advice can also be expressed by SAY / TELL with a SHOULD construction.

4 He said If your brakes are bad don t drive so fast. He told me that if my brakes were bad I shouldn t drive so fast. LET S usually expresses a suggestion and is reported by SUGGEST in indirect speech. He said Let s leave the case at the station. He suggested leaving the case at the station. 4.OTHER REPORTING VERBS There are a number of other reporting verbs which can more accurately describe what someone has said. These verbs take a variety of structures. The following list gives you reporting verbs in various categories verb + object + infinitive verb + infinitive verb + gerund verb + (object )+ preposition + gerund Verb + (that) Advise Allow beg encourage forbid invite remind urge warn agree decide offer promise refuse threaten deny recommend suggest Accuse s/b(of) Admit (to) blame s/b (for) apologize (for) insist (on) boast (about) compain (to) s/b(about) admit agree decide deny explain insist promise recommend suggest *based on sentence structure. Notice that a number of verbs can take more than one form. verb + object + infinitive Jack encouraged me to look for a new job. They invited all their friends to attend the presentation verb + infinitive She offered to give him a lift to work. My brother refused to take no for an answer. verb + (that) Tom admitted (that) he had tried to leave early. She agreed (that) we needed to reconsider our plans. verb + gerund

5 He denied having anything to do with her. Ken suggested studying early in the morning. verb + object + preposition + gerund They accused the boys of cheating on the exam. She blamed her husband for missing the train. verb +preposition + gerund He apologized for being late. She insisted on doing the washing up. EXERCISES Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question. He said, "I like this song." He said "Where is your sister?" she asked me. She asked me "I don't speak Italian," she said. She said "Say hello to Jim," they said. They asked me "The film began at seven o'clock," he said. He said "Don't play on the grass, boys," she said. She told the boys "Where have you spent your money?" she asked him. She asked him "I never make mistakes," he said. He said "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know. He wanted to know "Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience. The stuntman advised the audience Use the following reporting verbs to rephrase the sentences bellow: EXPLAIN ANNOUNCE OFFER ENCOURAGE SUGGEST WARN CLAIM ADMIT ASSURE CONFIRM INSIST ADVISE Why don t we have a party? If I were you, I'd invest your money in gold. Guess what! I ve passed my driving test. The flight is late because of the bad weather. It was me! I stole they handbag. You really must come to the party! Yes, I will definitely be at the meeting. Go on apply for the job! You might get it. Go for it! Don't worry. The plane will leave at nine.

6 For heaven s sake don t drink the water! It s straight from the river. I ll give you a hand with that if you like. I can learn any language in just three weeks. Ask my sister if you don t believe me.