Sentence Syntax an III curs nr.

9, 10

Curs nr 9-10
CONVERSION OF DIRECT SPEECH INTO INDIRECT SPEECH

Definitions
A. Direct Speech refers to reproducing speeches and thoughts of other people or one’s own previous
statements by direct quotation, that is by repeating the original speaker’s exact words. The remarks are
placed between inverted commas and a comma is placed immediately before the remark.
e.g. He said, “I’ve lost my book.”
She said, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
B. Indirect Speech or Reported Speech refers to reproducing speeches and thoughts of other people
or one’s own previous statements by using special constructions, mainly subordinate clauses, i.e. direct
object clauses, which reproduce the quoted words, without necessarily using the speaker’s exact
words.
e.g. He said he had lost his book,
She said (that) she would see me the next day.

The conversion of direct speech into indirect speech triggers important structural
modifications which concern the deictic1 categories and the syntax of the sentence.

1. Changes in the deictic categories

The deictic categories (the orientational features of language) relate an utterance to the given
participants as well as to the time and place of the utterance. Deictic categories include personal,
reflexive, possessive, demonstrative pronouns, tenses, place and time adverbials. One or more of these
deictic categories may be different in Indirect Speech sentences, as the latter may be produced by
different participants at a different time and in a different place. There are also constraints regarding
the tenses of the verb which are subordinated to the rules of the sequence of tenses in different object
clauses.

a. Changes in the pronouns and adverbs

 the personal, possessive, reflexive and emphatic pronouns are shifted according to sense:
e.g. 1st and 2nd person personal pronouns may shift to 3 rd person (except when the speaker is
reporting his own words)
Tom said to Mary, “You should have asked me first.” – Tom told Mary she should have asked
him first.

1
deictic – derives from the Latinized form of the Greek deiktikos = “able to show,” < deiktos = “shown,” <
deiknynai = “to show”
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 the demonstrative pronouns denoting proximity (this, these) are replaced by the
demonstratives denoting remoteness (that, those).
e.g. He said, “She is coming this week” – He said that she was coming that week.
 this, that used as adjectives usually change to the:
e.g. He said, “I bought this book / these books for my sister.” – He said that he had bought the
book(s) for his sister.
Time and place adverbs and adverbial phrases denoting proximity are replaced by adverbs / adverbial
phrases denoting a distancing effect. Exception. When the speech is made and reported on the
same day, these time changes are not necessary.
DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
now then
today that day
yesterday the day before/ the previous day
the day before yesterday two days before
last night the previous night
last week the previous week / the week before
a year ago a year before
tomorrow the next day / the following day
the day after tomorrow in two days’ time
next year / week the next / the following week
here there

e.g. He said, “I saw Mary yesterday.” – He said he had seen Mary the day before.
He said, “Smith will be back tomorrow.” – He said that Smith would be back the following
day.
The teacher said, “Tom, bring your paintings the day after tomorrow.” – The teacher told
Tom to bring his paintings in two days’ time.
At breakfast this morning he said, “I’ll be very busy today.” – At breakfast this morning he
said that he would be very busy today.
7:00 a.m. Radio-news report: “Steel workers are planning a trade-union meeting tomorrow.”
– They said on the radio this morning that steel workers are planning a trade-union meeting
tomorrow. (sentence reported on the same day); They said on the radio yesterday that steel workers
are planning a trade-unuion meeting today. (sentence reported on the next day).

b. Changes in the verb phrase

Changes affecting the verb refer to the tense of the verb and occasionally the mood.
 when the verb in the main (reporting) clause is in the present tense, present perfect or future
tense, statements may be reported without any change of tense. In this case, demonstrative
adjectives, pronouns and adverbs remain unchanged in the reported clause.
e.g. He says, “The train will be late.” – He says that the train will be late.
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Alice has said to Tom, “I’ll help you if I can.” – Alice has told Tom that she will help him if
she can.
Alice has said, “I’ll come here tomorrow.” – Alice has promised to come here tomorrow.
 when the verb in the main (reporting) clause is in the past tense, it is usual for the verb in the
reported clause to be back shifted. (‘Backshift’ means that the time of the original speech
which is now for direct speech becomes then for indirect speech and all times referred to in the
speech, accordingly, become shifted with respect to that point of orientation.)

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT EXCEPTIONS

SPEECH
A. present tense past tense - when the reported clause expresses a repeated action
- when there is a statement of universal truth
B. past tense past perfect - in spoken English, past tense is often left unchanged
present perfect - when a definite moment is indicated
past perfect - when a statement is retold in indirect speech
immediately after it has been made (on the same day)
- repeated actions in the past
- subordinate clauses of time
- type II conditional clauses
- clauses after wish, would rather, it’s time
C. future tense future in the past - when the action is also future for the time of the
report
D. Modal verbs
can could - when there is no change in time reference
may might
will would
would would
should should
might might
ought to ought to
used to used to
must (logical must (logical
necessity) necessity)
must (obligation) would have to
had to
need need
didn’t have to
wouldn’t have to
could could
had been able to
wasn’t allowed to
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e.g. A. He said, “My father does not agree.” – He said that his father did not agree.
He said to them, “How tired I am!” – He exclaimed that he was very tired.
He said to them, “Will you help me to solve this matter?” – He asked them if they would help
him to solve that matter.
George said, “I go to the seaside every summer.” - George said that he goes/went to the
seaside every summer.”
The teacher said, “Water boils at 100°C.”- The teacher said that water boils at 100°C.
“Nothing can harm a good man.”, said Socrates. – Socrates said that nothing can / could
harm a good man.
B. Mother said, “Tom hurt himself.” – Mother said that Tom had hurt himself.
“I’ve already seen him”, he said. – He said that he had already seen him.
He said, “We were thinking of moving house but we have changed our minds.” – He said
that they had been thinking of moving house but they had changed their minds.
He said, “Ann arrived on Monday” – He said that Ann arrived / had arrived on Monday.
He said, “I was born in 1928.” – He said that he was born in 1928.
“I talked to him this morning.” – She said she talked to him this morning.
Tom said, “I invited all my friends to my birthday parties when I was young.” – Tom said that
he invited all his friends to his birthday parties when he was young.
He said, “When we were living / lived in London we often saw Paul. – He said that when they
were living / lived in London they often saw Paul / they had often seen Paul.
Harry said, “I would go to the museum if it was / were open.” - Harry said he would go to the
museum if it was / were open.”
He said, “I wish I knew.” – He said that he wished he knew.
“It’s time you finished your papers”, the teacher said. – The teacher said it was time they
finished their papers.
C. He said, “Ann will be in London on Monday.” – He said that Ann would be in London on
Monday.
Peter said, “I’m going to buy a new car next year.” – Peter said he was going to buy a new
car next year.
Peter said, “I’ll take up engineering after graduation.” – Peter said he’ll take up engineering
after graduation.
D. He said, “You can come with me if you like.” – He said I could come with him if I liked.
She thought, “He may be right.” – She thought he might be right.
Tom said, “The mechanic can fix the brakes on my car, but he won’t.” – Tom complained that
the mechanic could fix the brakes on his car, but he wouldn’t.
I said, “He ought to know.” – I said he ought to know.
He said, “I would help her if I could.” – He said that he would help her if he could.
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She said, “I’m always running into him; he must live quite near. – She said she was always
running into him and that he must live quite near. (must – logical necessity)
Mary said, “I must go to school now.” – Mary said that she had to go to school immediately.
(must – obligation)
Peter said, “I must go to a conference tomorrow.” – Peter said he would have to go to a
conference the next day.
He said, “I needn’t be in the office till ten tomorrow morning. – He said that he needn’t /
didn’t have to be in the office till ten the next morning.
She said, “I could read when I was five.” – She said that she could / had been able to read
when she was five.
He said, “When I was a child I couldn’t interrupt my parents.” – He said that when he was a
child he couldn’t / wasn’t allowed to interrupt his parents.

Changes in the mood of the verb occur mainly when the imperative in an independent
sentence is reproduced into an infinitive or a subjunctive in indirect speech.

2. Syntactic changes

The syntactic changes refer to two levels:

a. changing independent sentences into subordinate clauses
b. changes inside the new clause in the arrangement of words in keeping with the rules for the
declarative sentences.
The conversion of direct speech into indirect speech triggers the change of independent
sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory) into subordinate direct object clauses.
1. Declarative sentences (statements) in direct speech become subordinate object clauses in
indirect speech.
 At large, the verbs that serve to introduce direct speech can also introduce indirect speech, as is the
case of a large number of ‘communication’ verbs: advise, ask, claim, confess, declare, explain,
insist, promise, protest, remark, say state, suggest, tell.
 The verb say – remains with reported speech if it is not followed by an Indirect Object
- is changed into some similar verbs as tell, when followed by an Indirect
Object
e.g. She said, “The roof is leaking.” – She said that the roof was leaking.
She told me that the roof was leaking.
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 Verbs such as gasp, snap, sneer introduce only direct speech. In reported speech, they are
expressed by the verb say + an adverbial of manner, e.g. sneer = say derisively, snap = say
suddenly.
e.g. “You’re some kid”, he sneered. - *He sneered that I was some kid. (* = incorrect
sentence); He said derisively that I was some kid.
 Verbs such as deny, forget introduce only indirect speech.
e.g. He denied that he was sick. - *He denied, “I’m sick.”
 Yes and No are expressed in indirect speech by means of:
o subject + auxiliary verb
o verbs of assertion (accept, agree, assent, answer in the affirmative)
o verbs of negation (deny, refuse, reject, answer in the negative)
e.g. “Is this device safe?” “Yes.” - The man asked if the device was safe and the
mechanic replied that it was.
“Can you swim?” “No.” – He asked (me) if I could swim and I said that I couldn’t.
They said, “Yes, we are coming.” – They agreed to come.
He said, “No, I haven’t been there.” – He denied having been there.

2. Interrogative sentences (questions) in direct speech become subordinate object clauses in

indirect speech. When they are turned into indirect speech, interrogative sentences become declarative
sentences triggering the following changes:
o the interrogative form of the verb becomes declarative (affirmative or negative)
o the subject precedes the predicate
o the auxiliary verb do is omitted
e.g. He asked, “Where does he live?” – He asked where he lived.
He said, “Where is the station?” – He asked where the station was.
 The object clause is introduced by a verb of inquiry: ask, inquire, wonder, want to know.
 The special questions preserve the introductory element (who, which, what, why, where, when,
how)
e.g. He said, “When will they return?” – He asked when they would return.
“Why is Tom angry?”, Helen asked me. – Helen asked me / wondered why Tom was
angry.
“How do you spell the word?” the teacher has asked. – The teacher has asked how
they spell the word.
 the general questions are introduced by if or whether.
e.g. Peter is saying, “Isn’t Tom coming?” – Peter wants to know if Tom is not coming.
He asked, “Is that true?” – He asked if / whether it was true.
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 alternative questions are introduced by whether

e.g. “Are you going to the theatre or to the cinema?” Tom said to his sister. – Tom asked
his sister whether she was going to the theatre or to the cinema.
“Are you accompanied by Peter or by your sister?”, Mr. Adams said to me. – Mr.
Adams asked me whether I was accompanied by Peter or by my sister.
 general questions introduced by will, would, shall, could are changed into indirect speech
according to the general meaning.
A. Shall I / we
MEANING E.G. DIRECT SPEECH E.G. INDIRECT SPEECH
a question about a “Shall I see you tomorrow?” Bob Bob wanted to know if he would see
future event, action said. me the next day.
request for “Shall I buy the red dress, mother?” Ann asked her mother if she should
instruction or advice Ann said. buy the red dress.
offer “Shall I bring you your coat?” Mary offered to bring me my coat.
Mary said.
suggestion “Shall we have a snack?” Tom said. Tom suggested having / that they
should have a snack.

B. Will / would / could you

MEANING E.G. DIRECT SPEECH E.G. INDIRECT SPEECH
a question about a “Will you be there tomorrow?” he He asked if she would be there the
future action said. next day.
request “Could you help me?” Tom said. Tom asked if she could help him. / Tom
asked her to help him.
invitation “Would you attend the meeting?” The children asked / invited their
the children said to their teacher. teacher to their meeting.
He said, “Will you have a drink?” He asked me if I would like a drink. /
He offered me a drink.

3. Imperative sentences in direct speech become infinitival constructions in indirect speech.

 affirmative
e.g. “Let me alone!” the child cried. – The child asked to be left alone.
She said, “Sit down, Peter!” – She told Peter to sit down.
 negative
e.g. “Don’t interrupt the speaker, please.” – He asked them not to interrupt the speaker.
 The infinitival construction is governed by verbs expressing order (command, forbid, order, tell,
etc.), request (ask, beg, entreat, implore, request, urge, etc.), advice (advise, recommend, warn,
etc.) according to circumstances.
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e.g. He said, “Please, give me another chance.” – He begged them to gove him another
chance.
“You’d better stay in bed for a few days, Peter!” the doctor said. – The doctor
advised Peter to stay in bed for a few days.
Imperatives expressing a general order may be transformed into a that-clause (with should)
when the command is introduced by advise, command, order, recommend, urge, suggest.
e.g. Officer to soldiers, “Clean the barracks!” – The officer ordered the soldiers to clean
the barracks. / The officer ordered that the soldiers should clean the barracks.
Nick said, “Let’s watch TV!” – Nick suggested watching TV. / Nick suggested that they
should watch TV.
Jane said suddenly, “Let’s have a party!” – Jane suggested having a party. / Jane suggested
that they should have a party.
A possible altenrative to the infinitive construction is a that-clause with the verb be to. The be
to construction is particuarly useful in the following cases:
- when the command is introduced by a verb in the present tense,
- when the command is preceded by a clause (usually of time or condition).
e.g. The teacher says, “Do the next exercise.” – The teacher says that we are to do the
next exercise.
He says, “Meet me at the station.” – He says that we are to meet him at the station.
She said, “If he comes, ring me up.” – She said that if he came we were to ring her
up.

4. Exclamatory sentences (exclamations) in direct speech become declarative sentences in

indirect speech. They turn into clauses governed by the verbs complain, cry, exclaim, observe, shout,
say + an adverb of manner, e.g. say admiringly, say scornfully, etc. The following transformations are
possible depending on the nature of the exclamation:
 exclamations introduced by what, how are transformed into direct object clauses introduced by
that.
e.g. “What a funny joke!” he said. – He exclaimed that the joke was funny.
“How tired I am!” the woman said. – The woman complained that she was tired.
“What a delicious cake!” the guest said. - The guest said admiringly that the cake
was delicious.
 exclamations such as oh!, ugh!, alas!, ah! are rendered by periphrastic constructions such as He
exclaimed with disgust / surprise; He gave an exclamation of disgust / surprise, etc.
e.g. She said, “Alas! I’ll never be happy again.” – She exclaimed in despair that she
would never be happy again.
 greetings and wishes are rendered by semantically related verbs.
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e.g. They said, “Good morning!” – They greeted me / They wished me good morning.
He said, “Well done!” - He congratulated me.
He said, “Thank you!” - He thanked me.
She said, “Happy to see you at my place!” – She welcomed me.

Free Indirect Speech

Free Indirect Speech is a half-way stage between direct and indirect speech and is used
extensively in modern narrative writing. It consists in reporting an utterance indirectly by back shifting
the verb, while omitting the reporting verb (He said, He asked, etc.)
e.g. Direct Speech: Ann said, “Why do you always have to pick on me?”
Indirect Speech: Ann asked why they always had to pick on her.
Free Indirect Speech: Why did they always have to pick on her?
Free Indirect Speech is a more flexible medium for reporting than normal indirect speech; it
also aids concision by allowing a writer to retell someone’s words without having to keep inserting
expressions like He said or He exclaimed.
e.g. David moved slowly and thoughtfully. He would not be deterred. (implied: He said / thought,
‘I won’t be deterred.’)
Unlike ordinary indirect speech, free indirect speech retains the potentialities of direct speech
structure (direct question form, tag questions, exclamations, etc.)
e.g. Here was Tom at last! (thought John)
Could he be imagining things? (wondered Mary)
She had known. Only why, as he sat there, had he still this strange dominance over her? …
Why, even now, if he looked at her and commanded her, would she have to obey? … But once he was
obeyed, then she had him in her power, she knew, to lead him where she would. She was sure of
herself… Ah, he was not a man! (D.H. Lawrence)
It is therefore only the backshift of the verb, together with equivalent shifts in pronouns,
determiners and adverbs, that signals the fact that the words are being reported, rather than being in
direct speech. The use of free indirect speech for describing “interior monologue” has become a very
widespread practice in the fiction of the twentieth century.

EXERCISES
Exercise 1. Write the appropriate form of the verbs in brackets:
1. John asked me if I (be) going to the party.
2. William says he (want) to be a teacher when he grows up.
3. At lunch time my wife called to ask me where I (be) all morning.
4. He asked if I (ever visit) London before.
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5. He wanted to know if I (can lend) him the CD player.

6. Jane called me on my mobile and asked me where I (be).

Exercise 2. Change the following into indirect speech:

1. “I suggest you spent a few days there”, I said.
2. He asked, “What are you going to do?”
3. “What a stupid thing”, I said.
4. “Join us if you like”, Pete said.
5. “Bring the book here immediately”, she ordered.
6. “We met in Venice last March”, he replied.
7. “Don’t lie”, she said.
8. “I intended to make these changes yesterday”, Ann said.

Exercise 3. Turn the following sentences from indirect speech into direct speech:
1. That woman wanted to know what my name was and where I lived.
2. Mike decided that he would go to London the next day.
3. Tom said that his parents were coming that afternoon.
4. The teacher told us to open our notebooks and to do that exercise.
5. Mrs. Smith wondered whether her husband managed to catch the plane.
6. She gave an exclamation of surprise and kissed me.
7. Mother advised me not to leave so late.
8. He promised he would call on us in a day or two.
9. Emma told Pete that she was very grateful to him for everything he had done for her.
10. I asked the boy if he was not homesick sometimes.

Exercise 4. Change the following from direct into indirect speech:

1. We say, “We are learning English”.
2. The boy is saying, “I can’t speak Spanish”.
3. I asked him, “Have you been there before?”
4. Tom said to me, “I bought the book yesterday”.
5. The pupils always say, “We are never late”.
6. They said, “We have never seen that film before”.
7. I heard your answer, “That monastery wasn’t built by him; his father built it.”
8. You seldom say to him, “You are a diligent boy”.
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9. I repeated, “I live in Bucharest”.

10. He said, “Nobody came to see me at the hospital”.
11. The teacher asked them, “Why didn’t you take your dictionaries?”
12. Mother asked me, “Where did you put my gloves?”
13. The old man shouted angrily, “I have been waiting too long”.
14. Mark answered, “I have never visited them”.

Exercise 5. Complete each sentence using indirect speech in such a way that it is as
similar as possible in meaning to the sentence above it:
1. “I will buy the flowers myself.” / Mr. Smith said…
2. An announcement was made that the strike was over. / There was …
3. “Did you have your Identity Card on the table?” / She asked …
4. “I shall return tomorrow”. / His only comment …
5. They said, “You can stay with us”. / They invited …
6. I remember one time when my aunt said to me, “Don’t talk with your mouth full”. / I
remember one time when my aunt told ….
7. It amazed me that he said, “I won’t do it”. / His statement that …

Exercise 6. Turn the following sentences into indirect speech:

1. “Read the instructions first”, the clerk advised me.
2. “What will you say to her now?”, Mary asked me.
3. “Don’t make so much noise!”, the old man told the children.
4. “Let’s try again!”, said the girls.
5. “How old is your friend?”, John asked me.
6. I thought, “My brother will reach home before me”.
7. I was answered, “The new theatre will have been completely finished by next autumn”.
8. We heard the boy saying to his friend, “I shall bring you the book tomorrow”.
9. The doctor said, “I would take the medicine if I were you”.
10. My colleague said to me, “That young man was walking nervously up and down as if he
were waiting for somebody”.
11. The patient said, “I wish I were younger and I had better health”.
12. “What terrible weather!”, she exclaimed.
13. The doctor said, “Everything should be perfectly clean by tomorrow”.
14. The little boy said to me, “I crouched behind the armchair so that I should not be seen.”
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15. “Ugh! How I hate going there!”

16. He said, “If Liz had studied more, she might have passed the exam”.