1.6.

-How to Teach Reported Speech Review Practice & Lesson plan

Teaching students reported or indirect speech can be complicated by the all the changes that are required when moving from direct speech into reported speech. First off, students should understand that reported speech is quite useful in conversational English as relating what someone has said using "quote" and "unquote" is awkward at best. A further aspect of reported speech is encouraging students to use other reporting verbs beyond "say" and "tell".

Introducing Reported Speech

Start with Tenses find it best to start off with simple e!amples in which changes are only made in tense. For e!ample" Write on the Board: Direct Speech Tom said, "I enjoy watching action movies." becomes Indirect Speech Tom said he enjoyed watching action movies. Direct Speech Anna told me, "I went to the shopping mall." becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me she had gone to the shopping mall.

Move on to Pronouns and Time Expressions

#nce students have understood the basic concept of stepping one step back into the past when reporting in the past, they can easily begin to make the minor changes in pronoun and time e!pression usage. For e!ample" Write on the Board: Direct Speech The teacher said, "We're working on the present continuous today." becomes Indirect Speech The teacher said we were working on the present continuous that day. Direct Speech Anna told me, "My rother Tom has een to !aris twice this year." becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me her rother Tom had een to !aris twice that year. #nce students have become comfortable with direct to indirect speech transformations, practice reporting through the use of interviews as in this reported speech

lesson plan:

The use o" reported speech is especially important at higher #nglish levels. $tudents, at this point, are "ine tuning their communication skills to include e%pressing the ideas o" others, as well as their own opinions. $tudents usually need to "ocus not only on the grammar involved, ut also on production skills. &eported speech includes some rather tricky trans"ormations that need to e practiced a num er o" times e"ore students "eel com"orta le using them in every day conversations.

Aim: $eveloping reported speech grammar and productions skills Activity: ntroduction and written reporting activity, followed by spoken practice in the form of a questionnaire evel: %pper&intermediate !utline:

ntroduce'review reported speech by making simple statements and asking students to report what you have said. (ake sure to emphasi)e reporting in the past *i.e., "the teacher said", +#T "the teacher says", -rovide review sheet of principle reported speech transitions *included in lesson printout pages, .ave students get into pairs and convert the reported speech paragraph into the direct speech form. /orrect worksheet as a class. Ask students to divide up into new pairs and ask each other questions from the questionnaire. 0emind them to take notes on what their partners say. .ave students divide into new pairs and ask them to report what they have learned about the other students to their new partner *i.e., 1ohn said he had lived in 2reubach for two years,. Follow&up with class conversation focusing on problematic tense transformations.

Reported Speech Study the "ollo#ing chart care"ully$ %otice ho# reported speech is one step &ac' into the past "rom direct speech$ Exercise (: Put the "ollo#ing paragraph in the reported speech into conversational "orm using direct speech$ -eter introduced me to 1ack who said he was pleased to meet me. replied that it was my pleasure, and that hoped 1ack was en3oying his stay in 4eattle. .e said he thought 4eattle was a beautiful city, but that it rained too much. .e said that he had been staying at the 2ayview .otel for three weeks, and that it hadn5t stopped raining since he had arrived. #f course, he said, this wouldn5t have surprised him if it hadn5t been 1uly6 -eter replied that he should have brought warmer clothes. .e then continued by saying that he was going to fly to .awaii the following week, and he that he couldn5t wait to en3oy some sunny weather. 2oth 1ack and commented that -eter was a lucky person indeed. Exercise ): As' you partner the "ollo#ing *uestions ma'ing sure to ta'e good notes$ A"ter you have "inished the *uestions+ "ind a ne# partner and report #hat you have learnt a&out your "irst partner using reported speech$

7hat is your favorite sport and how long have you been playing'doing it8 7hat are your plans for your ne!t vacation8 .ow long have you known your best friend8 /an you give me a description of him'her8 7hat kind of music do you like8 .ave you always listened to that kind of music8 7hat did you use to do when you were younger that you don5t do anymore8 $o you have any predictions about the future8 /an you tell me what you do on a typical 4aturday afternoon8 7hat were you doing yesterday at this time8 7hich two promises will you make concerning learning English8

As students become familiar with the reported speech, introduce a wider range of help students move past "say" and "tell".

reporting verbs to

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 based on sentence structure. +otice that a number of verbs can take more than one form.

ver& o&,ect in"initive advise encourage invite remind warn

ver& in"initive agree decide offer promise refuse threaten

ver& -that.

ver& gerund

admit deny agree recommend decide suggest deny e!plain insist promise recommend suggest Examples: 'ack Examples: Examples: Examples: *e Examples: Examples: *e encouraged me $he o""ered to Tom admitted denied having They accused apologi,ed "or to look "or a new give him a li"t (that) he had anything to do the oys o" eing late. jo . to work. tried to leave with her. cheating on the early. e%am. $he insisted on They invited all My rother +en suggested doing the their "riends to re"used to $he agreed studying early $he lamed her washing up. attend the take no "or an (that) we in the morning. hus and "or presentation. answer. needed to missing the reconsider our train. plans.

ver& o&,ect preposition gerund accuse blame congratulate

ver& preposition gerund apologi)e insist

Advanced Issues #ith Reported Speech

#nce the basics have been understood, there are a few more advanced issues to discuss. .ere is a quick outline of some of the more problematic aspects of the reported speech that students might find confusing.

&eporting Tense- $ays instead o" $aid & 4ometimes, in the moment of speaking a speaker may use the present tense to report what has been said. n this case, there is no change in the tense. .owever, changes in pronouns apply. For e!ample" Teacher: 7e5re going to work on the reported speech. -lease turn to page 9:9 in your book. Student (: can5t understand. 7hat are we supposed to do8 Student ): The teacher says we are going to work on the reported speech on page 9:9. Tom: think this is a great idea6 Peter: Andy, didn5t understand. Andy: Tom tells us he thinks it5s a good idea.

.ther &eporting /er s- Advise 0 Instruct 0 #tc. 1 In"initive o" !urpose & A number of reporting verbs use the infinitive of purpose to e!press the idea, rather than using a transition of the tense. For e!ample" Teacher: 7e5re going to work on the reported speech. -lease turn to page 9:9 in your book. Student (: can5t understand. 7hat are we supposed to do8 Student ): The teacher instructed us to work on reported speech and turn to page 9:9.

Teacher: think you should hurry up and finish the activity. Student (: didn5t understand. Student ): The teacher advised us to hurry up and finish the activity. -racticing 0eported 4peech -rovide students with a chart of the principal changes in reported speech *i.e. will &; would, present perfect &; past perfect, etc.,. Ask students to practice the reported speech by beginning with a simple reported speech qui), a reported change sentences from direct to reported speech.

speech worksheet, or by asking them to

This qui) is for in&class use and does not have the answers provided.
/hoose the correct reported speech version of each statement. Each question has only one correct answer. <isit http"''esl.about.com for more practice qui))es, as well as study sheets and information on grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading and writing. Tom said, 5 want to visit my friends this weekend.5 Tom said he wants to visit his friends that weekend. Tom said he wanted to visit his friends that weekend. Tom said he wanted to visit his friends this weekend. 1erry said, 5 5m studying English a lot at the moment.5 1erry said he was studying English a lot at that moment. 1erry said he was studying English a lot at the moment. 1erry said was studying English a lot at that moment. They said, 57e5ve lived here for a long time.5 They said they have lived there for a long time. They said they lived here for a long time. They said they had lived there for a long time. .e asked me, 5.ave you finished reading the newspaper85 .e asked me if had finished reading the newspaper. .e asked me if had finished reading the newspaper. .e asked me if finished reading the newspaper. 5 get up every morning at seven o5clock.5, -eter said. -eter said he got up every morning at seven o5clock. -eter said got up every morning at seven o5clock. -eter said he had got up every morning at seven o5clock. 4usan reassured me, 5 can come tonight.5 4usan told me could come that night. 4usan told me she could come that night. 4usan told me she could come tomorrow evening. 4he said, 5 really wish had bought that new car.5

 4he told me she really wished she bought that new car. 4he told me she really had wished she had bought that new car. 4he told me she really wished she had bought that new car. 1ack said, 5.e must be guilty65 1ack said he must have been guilty. 1ack said he must have be guilty. 1ack said he must has been guilty. /heryl asked her, 5.ow long have you lived here85 /heryl asked her how long she has lived there. /heryl asked her how long she lived there. /heryl asked her how long she had lived there. .e said, 5 must get going. #therwise, 5m going to be late.5 .e told me he had to get going. #therwise, he was going to be late. .e told me he had to get going. #therwise, was going to be late. .e told me he has to get going. #therwise, he was going to be late. 4he said, 5 5ve worked here since left my last 3ob.5

4he told me that she worked there since she had left her last 3ob. 4he told me that she had worked there since she had left her last 3ob. 4he told me that she had worked there since she left her last 3ob. =ou said, 5 will help you65 =ou said you would help me6 =ou said would help you6 =ou said you would help her6 4he asked me, 57hen are we going to leave85 4he asked me when she was going to leave. 4he asked me when we were going to leave. 4he asked me when we are going to leave. -eter said, 5 may bring someone with me to the party.5 -eter said he might bring someone with him to the party. -eter said he might have brought someone with him to the party. -eter said he might bring someone with her to the party. (y friend said, 5 will have finished my homework by the time you arrive.5 (y friend told me he would have finished his homework by the time arrived. (y friend told me he would have finished his homework by the time he arrived. (y friend told me he would had finished his homework by the time arrived. (ark asked me, 57hy do you want to study 0ussian85 (ark asked her why wanted to study 0ussian.

 (ark asked me why did want to study 0ussian. (ark asked me why wanted to study 0ussian. (arcia said, 5 have been waiting for you for over an hour.5 (arcia said she had been waiting for me for over an hour. (arcia said she was waiting for me for over an hour. (arcia said she had waited for me for over an hour. Alison said, 5 had eaten before you arrived.5 Alison told me she had eaten before had arrived. Alison told me had eaten before had arrived. Alison told me she had eaten before she had arrived. >enny sang, 5 want to get away, want to fly away.5

>enny sang he wanted to get away, he wanted to fly away. >enny sings he wanted to get away, he wanted to fly away. >enny sang he wanted to get away, he wants to fly away. 1ason asked me, 5Are you coming with me85 1ason asked me if 1ason asked me if 1ason asked me if came with him. was coming with him. was coming with you.

.ere is a chart of the most common verb changes for reported speech.
present simple /0 past simple .riginal $tatement- #or' hard. &eported $tatement- .e said he #or'ed hard. present continuous /0 past continuous .riginal $tatement- 4he is playing the piano. &eported $tatement- .e said she #as playing the piano. "uture #ith 1#ill1 /0 "uture in the past #ith 1#ould1 .riginal $tatement- Tom #ill have a good time. &eported $tatement- .e said Tom #ould have a good time. "uture #ith 1going to1 /0 "uture in the past #ith 1#as 2 #ere going to1 .riginal $tatement- Anna is going to attend the conference. &eported $tatement- -eter said Anna #as going to attend the conference. present per"ect /0 past per"ect

.riginal $tatement- have visited 0ome three times. &eported $tatement- .e said he had visited 0ome three times. past simple /0 past per"ect .riginal $tatement- Frank &ought a new car. &eported $tatement- 4he said frank had &ought a new car. 3hanging Pronouns and Time Expressions 0emember to change pronouns and time e!pressions when using reported speech. For e!ample" .riginal $tatement- I5m going to visit Tom tomorro#$ &eported $tatement- ?en told me he was going to visit Tom the next day$ .riginal $tatement- We are working on our end of the year report right no#. &eported $tatement- 4he said they were working on their end of the year report at that moment.

Say / Present Tense

The use of reported speech is generally used in the past tense, but can be used at times in the present tense to report to someone else who perhaps has not heard the original statement. 7hen reporting with say in the present tense, keep the tense the same as the original statement, but make sure to change the appropriate pronouns and helping verbs. For e!ample" .riginal $tatement- am giving my opinion. &eported $tatement- .e says he is giving his opinion. .riginal $tatement- moved back into my parents@ house two years ago. &eported $tatement- Anna says she moved back into her parents@ house two years ago. Reported Speech Wor'sheet -ut the verb in brackets into the correct tense by moving the reported verb one step back into the past when necessary. 9. :. B. C. D. E. G. H. F. 9I. 99. 9:. 9B. 9C. 9D. 9E. 5m working in $allas today. ' .e said he AAAAA *work, in $allas that day. think he will win the election. ' 4he said she AAAAA *think, he AAAAA *win, the election. Anna lives in >ondon. ' -eter says Anna AAAAA *live, in >ondon. (y father is going to visit us ne!t week. ' Frank said his father AAAAAA *visit, them the following week. They bought a brand new (ercedes6 ' 4he said they AAAAA *buy, a brand new (ercedes. have worked at the company since 9FFG. ' 4he said she AAAAA *work, at the company since 9FFG. They are watching T< at the moment. ' 4he said they AAAAA *watch, T< at that moment. Francis drives to work every day. ' .e said Francis AAAAA *drive, to work every day. Alan thought about changing his 3ob last year. ' Alan said that he AAAAA *thought, about changing his 3ob the previous year. 4usan is flying to /hicago tomorrow. ' 4usan said she AAAAA *fly, to /hicago the ne!t day. Jeorge went to the hospital last night. ' -eter said that Jeorge AAAAA *go, to the hospital the preceding night. en3oy playing golf on 4aturdays. ' ?en says that he AAAAA *en3oy, playing golf on 4aturdays. will change 3obs soon. ' 1ennifer told me she AAAAA *change, 3obs soon. Frank is getting married in 1uly. ' Anna tells me that Frank AAAAAA *get married, in 1uly. #ctober is the best month of the year. ' The teacher says that #ctober AAAAA *be, the best month of the year. 4arah wants to buy a new house. ' 1ack told me that his sister AAAAAA *want, to buy a new house.

9G.

They are working hard on the new pro3ect. ' The boss told me that they AAAAA *work, hard on the new pro3ect. 9H. 7e5ve lived here for ten years. ' Frank told me that they AAAAA *live, there for ten years. 9F. take the subway to work every day. ' ?en tells me he AAAAA *take, the subway to work every day. :I. Angela prepared lamb for dinner yesterday. ' -eter told us that Angela AAAAAA *prepare, lamb for dinner the day before.

Ans#ers:
9. :. B. C. D. E. G. H. F. 9I. 99. 9:. 9B. 9C. 9D. 9E. 9G. 9H. 9F. :I. 5m working in $allas today. ' .e said he #as #or'ing in $allas that day. think he will win the election. ' 4he said she thought he #ould #in the election. Anna lives in >ondon. ' -eter says Anna lives in >ondon. (y father is going to visit us ne!t week. ' Frank said his father #as going to visit them the following week. They bought a brand new (ercedes6 ' 4he said they had &ought a brand new (ercedes. have worked at the company since 9FFG. ' 4he said she had #or'ed at the company since 9FFG. They are watching T< at the moment. ' 4he said they #ere #atching T< at that moment. Francis drives to work every day. ' .e said Francis drove to work every day. Alan thought about changing his 3ob last year. ' Alan said that he had thought about changing his 3ob the previous year. 4usan is flying to /hicago tomorrow. ' 4usan said she #as "lying to /hicago the ne!t day. Jeorge went to the hospital last night. ' -eter said that Jeorge had gone to the hospital the preceding night. en3oy playing golf on 4aturdays. ' ?en says that he en,oys playing golf on 4aturdays. will change 3obs soon. ' 1ennifer told me she #ould change 3obs soon. Frank is getting married in 1uly. ' Anna tells me that Frank is getting in 1uly. #ctober is the best month of the year. ' The teacher says that #ctober is the best month of the year. 4arah wants to buy a new house. ' 1ack told me that his sister #anted to buy a new house. They are working hard on the new pro3ect. ' The boss told me that they #ere #or'ing hard on the new pro3ect. 7e5ve lived here for ten years. ' Frank told me that they had lived there for ten years. take the subway to work every day. ' ?en tells me he ta'es the subway to work every day. Angela prepared lamb for dinner yesterday. ' -eter told us that Angela had prepared lamb for dinner the day before.