REPORTED SPEECH

1. Direct / reported speech

Direct Speech gives the exact words someone said. We use quotation marks in Direct Speech. e.g. "It's a nice day," he said. Reported Speech gives the exact meaning of what someone said, but not the exact words. We do not use quotation marks in Reported Speech. E.g. He said it was a nice day.

2. Say - Tell - Speak – Talk

Say is used in Direct Speech. It is also used in Reported Speech when it is not followed by the person the words were spoken to. e.g. "I won't do it," he said. -> He said (that) he wouldn't do it.Tell is used in Reported Speech when it is followed by the person the words were spoken to. e.g. "I won't do it," he said to me. He told me (that) he wouldn't do it.

Ask is used in reported questions and commands or in direct questions. e.g. He said to me, "Please help me." He asked me to help him.

We use say + to infinitive but never "say about". We use tell somebody, speak/talk about instead. e.g. Paul said to be there at 10:00. He told us/spoke about/talked about his Misfortunes.

Expressions with say, tell and ask Expressions

Say	Tell	Ask
say good morning/evening etc, say something, say one's prayers, say a few words, say so, say no more, say for certain, say for sure etc	tell the truth, tell a lie, tell (sb) the time, tell sb one's name, tell a story, tell sb a secret, tell sb the way, tell one from another, tell sb's fortune, tell sb so, tell the difference etc	ask a favour, ask the time, ask a question, ask the price etc

3. Reported Statements

Reported statements are usually introduced with say (that), or tell (that). E.g. He works late every day," she said. She said (that) he worked late every day.

Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to context. e.g. "I appreciate your help," she said to me. She told me (that) she appreciated my help.

Tenses change in reported speech as follows:

Tense	Changes to	Direct	Reported
Simple present	Simple past	“She plays the piano,” he said.	He said (that) she played the piano.
Present continuous	Past continuous	“It is raining,” he said.	He said (that) it was raining
Past simple	Past simple / past perfect	“I did it,” she said.	She said she had done it. / She said she did it.
Present perfect	Past perfect	“I have been there,” mark told me.	Mark told me he had been there.
Past continuous	Past perfect continuous	“I was sleeping,” he said.	He said he had been sleeping.
Present perfect continuous	past perfect continuous	“I have been waiting for you,” she replied.	She replied she had been waiting for me.
Future simple	Would	“I will finish it,” Alan promised.	Allan promised he would finish it
Future continuous	Would + be + ing form.	“I’ll be working home,” she said.	She said she would be working home.

Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous do not change in Reported Speech.

Past Simple changes to Past Perfect or remains the same.

When the reported sentence contains a time clause, the tenses of the time clause do not change. e.g. "I left when it was getting dark," he said. - He said (that) he left/had left when it was getting dark.

Tenses do not change in Reported Speech when:

the reporting verb (said, told etc) is in the Present, Future or Present Perfect. e.g. "I've always enjoyed going for long walks on the beach," she says. / She says that she's always enjoyed going for long walks on the beach.

The speaker expresses general truths, permanent states or conditions e.g.” February the 14th is Valentine's Day," he said. - He said that February the 14th is Valentine's Day.

The reported sentence deals with type 2/type 3 conditionals, wishes or unreal past e.g. "OK boys, it's time you went to bed," Mother said to us. / Mother told us that it was time we went to bed.

The speaker is reporting something immediately after it was said (up to date). e.g. "The water is very cold," he said. / He said that the water is very cold.

Note: If the speaker expresses something believed to be true, the tenses may change or remain the same. e.g. "Cycling is good exercise," he said. / He said cycling is good exercise. However, if the speaker expresses something which is believed untrue, the tenses change. e.g. "Traveling by airplane is dangerous," he said. / He said that traveling by airplane was dangerous.

Time words can change or remain the same depending on the time reference:

Direct speech	Reported speech
tonight, today, this week/month/year now yesterday, last night/ week/month/year tomorrow, next week/ month/year week/ two days/months/ years etc ago	that night, that day, that week/month/year then, at the time, at once, immediately the day before, the previous night/week/month/year / the following day/the day after the following/next month/year / two days/months/years etc before

e.g. "He is leaving next week," she said. / She said (that) he was leaving the following week. (out-of-date reporting) "I visited Pam last week," she said. / She said (that) she visited Pam last week. (up-to-date reporting)

4. Reported Questions

Reported Questions are introduced with ask, wonder, inquire, want to know etc. We use affirmative word order and the question mark becomes a full stop. Quotation marksare omitted.

To report a question we use: a) ask + question word (who, where, which, when, how, etc) when the direct question begins with a question word. e.g. "How can I ever thank you?" she asked. She asked how she could ever thank me. and b) ask + if/whether when the direct question begins with an auxiliary verb (can, do, have, etc). e.g. "Could you tell me how to open the cupboard?" he asked. He asked if I could tell him how to open the cup-board.

Tenses, personal pronouns, possessive adjectives, time words, etc change as in statements. e.g. "When are you having your party?" / She wondered when I was having my party. "Can you go to the supermarket for me?" / She asked me if I could go to the supermarket for her.

5. Reported Commands/Requests/Suggestions

Reported commands/requests/suggestions are introduced with a special introductory verb (advise, ask, beg, suggest, etc) followed by a to - infinitive, an -ing form or a -clause depending on the introductory verb. e.g. "Bring me the newspaper!" James shouted. (command) / James told me to bring him the newspaper. "Will you pour me a cup of coffee?" Elaine asked. (request) / Elaine asked me to pour her a cup of coffee. "I suggest that you stay home and rest," the doctor said. (suggestion) / The doctor suggested that I (should) stay home and rest.

6. Modal Verbs in Reported Speech.

The following verbs change in Reported Speech when the reported sentence is out of date: will/shall / would, can / could (present reference)/ would be able to (future reference), may / might/could, shall -i should (asking for advice)/would (asking for information)/offer (expressing offers), must / must/had to (obligation) (must remains the same when it expresses possibility or deduction), needn't -# didn't need to/didn't have to (present reference)/wouldn't have to (future reference). Would, could, used to, mustn't, should, might, ought to and had better remain unchanged in Reported Speech. e.g. "You must see a doctor," he said to me. / He told me that I had to see a doctor.

7. Special Introductory Verbs

When we report someone's words, we interpret what we hear, so we use appropriate reporting verbs like the following:

Advise sb + to infinitive e.g. "I think you should see a dentist." / I advised her to visit a dentist.

Accuse sb of + -ing form e.g. "You destroyed the computer." / He accused me of destroying the computer.

Admit (to) + -ing form e.g. "Yes, I was the one who stole the car." / He admitted (to) stealing the car.

Apologize for + -ing form e.g. "I am sorry I didn't call." / He apologized for not calling.

Boast + that -clause e.g. "I'm the most successful businessman in the country." / He boasted that he was the most successful businessman in the country.

Claim + that -clause e.g. "I know his address." / She claimed that she knew his address.

Complain + that -clause e.g. "The room is in a mess." / She complained that the room was in a mess.

Demand + that -clause e.g. "Open the safe immediately!" - He demanded that I should open the safe immediately.

Deny + -ing form e.g. "I didn't use the fax machine." / He denied using/having used the fax machine.

Encourage sb + to -infinitive e.g. "You ought to enter the competition. You'll certainly win." / He encouraged me to enter the competition as he was sure I would win.

Inform sb + that -clause e.g. "The examination will be held on Tuesday." / He informed me that the examination would be held on Tuesday.

Insist + that -clause e.g. "You have to visit your grandma." / He insisted that I should visit my grandma.

Promise + to -infinitive e.g. "I'll definitely be at the airport to meet you. / She promised to be at the airport to meet me.

Refuse + to infinitive e.g. "No, I won't lend you my bicycle." / She refused to lend me her bicycle.

Remind sb + to -infinitive e.g. "Remember to book the tickets for the theatre." / She reminded him to book the tickets for the theatre.

Threaten + to -infinitive e.g. "If you inform the police, we'll kill the hostage." / They threatened to kill the hostage if we informed the police.

Suggest + -ing form e.g. "Why don't you hire a professional to help out with the decorating?" -/ He suggested my hiring a professional to help out with the decorating.

Warn sb + to -infinitive e.g. "Don't open the door!" / She warned me not to open the door.

Useful hints

Everyday conversations and dialogues are a mixture of statements, commands and questions. To report these we use: and, and he/she added that, adding that, because, but, and then he/she went on to say, while, then, etc or the introductory verb in the present participle form. e.g. "I can't walk any further," he said. "Can we stop for a while?" / He said he couldn't walk any further and asked if they could stop for a while.

8. Punctuation in Direct Speech

We capitalize the first word of the quoted sentence. The full stop, the question mark, the exclamation mark and the comma come outside the quotation marksonly when 'he said/asked" precedes the quoted sentence. e.g. "She hasn't called yet," he said. He said, "She hasn't called yet." "She," he said, "hasn't called yet."

We do not use a comma after a question mark. e.g. "Can I help you?" She asked. but She asked, "Can I help you?"

When the subject is a pronoun, it comes before the reporting verb (said, asked etc) but when the subject is a noun. it often comes after "said", "asked", etc at the end or in the middle of the quoted sentence. e.g. "He hasn't come yet," she said. "He hasn't come yet," said Mary. "He", said Mary, "hasn't come yet." but: She/Mary said, "He hasn't come yet." (not: Said Mary, "He hasn't come yet.')

Each time the speaker changes, we normally start a new paragraph.

9. General punctuation rules

Full stops are used:

• To indicate the end of a statement or period. E.g. As I was walking down the road, I ran into an old friend of mine.
• In certain abbreviations, like e.g., i.e., etc., though not in all books. E.g. Junk food, i.e. hamburgers and French fries, are not good for your health.

Commas are used:

To separate items in a list of nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc.

e.g. Last year we visited Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Before and after a non-defining relative clause. e.g. Paul, who is my eldest brother, is studying Physics.

To separate tag questions from the sentence. e.g. He never tells lies, does he?

After Yes, No or other introductory words or discourse markers at the beginning of sentences. e.g. "No, I wasn't at home at that time," the defendant insisted. To tell you the truth, I don't like this suit at all.

Question Marks are used:

• At the end of direct questions. e.g. "What size shoes do you take?" the shop-assistant asked.
• At the end of tail questions. E.g. He used to live in Venice, didn't he?

Exclamation marks are used:

At the end of exclamation sentences. E.g. What fantastic weather!