Reported speech ‘The words that people say are called direct speech. re ) Reported speech Is often used to describe what Present simple 1. Past smple 7 someone said at an earlier point in time. eee J REPORTED SPEECH at ces cause ‘The main verb in reported “ spaseich i usally aid” . The reported verb is tl ial | feel sick. Se Uiaialhy ie diFiotone bones Foamiemet seeds | cukexae that he felt sick. | hope he's OK. ii “Thats usualy added afer 7 \ A epanadspaceh tena ‘said’ in raporied speech. simple for the reported verb, FURTHER EXAMPLES . —— Your house is really beautiful. ~ @ Ap > She said our house was really beautiful. th fin wes *\ Your suit looks great. fl He said that my suit looked great. 4 hHOW TO FORM _~ Can be leftout SUBECT yee cw 4 supsecr REST OF SENTENCE. Luke — said > that ~ he _ felt sick. = ie oe ene ofthe wi Present simple in direct ere ors deci speech °F Seah ose direct speech. becomes ‘he” simple in reported speech Ey "TELL" IN REPORTED SPEECH In reported speech, “tell” can also be used as ry the main verb. It must be followed by an | want to learn to drive. abject, which shows who someone is talking to. A; _ Shamed by ontee bf ft said He {ei vat that he wanted to learn to drive. te ie “Tall mustbe followed by an objectFURTHER EXAMPLES htt Tig. She told me that she was at the party, She told me that she had a very stressful job. F ti fiz He told us he arrived late to the meeting. They told us they bought a new house. "That" can aso be left out in reported “+ 4 speech with “told.” if I told her that I went abroad last year. We told them that we didn’t want it. ‘A A “Told” must have an object He said that he had a fast car. @ He told me that he hada fast car. @ He said me that he had afast car. €&§ He told that he had a fast car. € Xs canot have an objetIn reported speech, the reported verb usually “goes back” a tense, Time and place references and pronouns sometimes also change. REPORTED SPEECH IN DIFFERENT TENSES The tense used in reported speech is usually one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech I'm working in New York. + She said she was working in New York. I've been to China twice. ¥ He said that he'd been to China twice. Tenses in reported speech tinuous 4 Past continuous 10 imple 13 Medal verbs 56 ( PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS (i PRESENT PERFECT ¥ PAST PERFECT4 | will eall you soon. = He said he would call them soon. — (_MOBALvere-wourn”_) We can speak Japanese. (___ Movatvers‘cans ¥ —_— They said that they could speak Japanese. {___movatverecour” (___movatverecourn” REPORTED SPEECH AND THE PAST SIMPLE ‘The past simple in direct speech can either stay as the past simple or change to the past perfect in reported speach. The meaning is the same. | arrived in Delhi on Saturday. (nee ¥ ¥ He said he arrived in Delhi on Saturday. | pasrsimeceos pasrPenrect he'd arrivedEe REPORTED SPEECH WITHOUT CHANGE OF TENSE If the situation described is ongoing, the verb does not have to change tense in reported speech. at [like eating cake. Amelia said that she likes eating cake. S. L I c FURTHER EXAMPLES Your hat looks great. ° fl He said that my hat looks great. ih Hove your tie. {\ He said that he loves my tie. hh44.4 | TIME AND PLACE REFERENCES If speech is reported some time after it was said, words used to talk about times and places may need to change. The time reference is ‘Yes increctspeecs She said she'd been to | went to work yesterday. work the day before. Thetimereerancais A “the day before" in ra \ 263FURTHER EXAMPLES ft I'll call you tomorrow. The weather is nice here. wD vin Weill have a party this weekend. Tf Isaw you last week. A I'm starting a new job today. i He said he'd call me the following day. tt She told me the weather was nice there. if They said they'd have a party that weekend. it She said she'd seen me the week before. ft You told her you were starting a new job that day.mS OTHER CHANGES IN REPORTED SPEECH In reported speech, pronouns may also need to be changed to ensure they refer to the correct person or thing. P e@ | don't believe these ghost stories. 4 J\ He said that he didn't believe those ghost stories. Nsitaies replaced by - the more distant “these” 1 BH This house gives me the creeps. He said that that house gave him the creeps. “This is replaced by the more distant ‘that”FURTHER EXAMPLES ay I don't like my new haircut. He said that he didn't like his new haircut. tif | can’t wait to move into our new house. oh 4X i He said that he couldn't wait to move into their new house. if Are you going to come with us? we te é an He asked if | was going to go with them. im e== ea Theseare the best pastries I've ever tasted. oe She said they were the best pastries she'd ever tasted. t f,Reported speech with negatives Negatives in reported speech are formed in the same way as negatives in direct speech. “Not" is used with the auxiliary, or with the main verb if there is no auxiliary. imple negative 8 Types of verbs 49 REPORTING NEGATIVE AUXILIARIES When the direct speech is negative using “do not,’ “is not,” and “has not,” “do," “is” or “has” changes tense, rather than the main verb. | don't work on weekends. 2 Present simple negative. He said he didn’t work on weekends. K patsimpl negaFURTHER EXAMPLES | don't wantto drive. I'd rather walk. e Ginx 'h Sue said she didn't want to drive. She'd rather walk. f ¥ et The carisn't starting. t “They told miethe car wasn't starting. They haven't arrived on time because of the car. \ fear, A Fay said they hadn't arrived on time because of the car.6.2 | REPORTING OTHER VERBS WITH NEGATIVES "a reporting verb is followed by an object and an infinitive, ‘not” oes between the object and the infinitive to form the negative. An 4 You shouldn't sign the contract. Our lawyer advised me not to sign the contract. ¥ ? “Not” makes the reported speech negative. URTHER EXAMPLES @ Don't eat any more cake. It's bad for you. ni => a I think | persuaded Evan not to eat any more cake. =6- ft ® ! Don't go in the water. It's dangerous. 4 a The lifeguard warned me not to go in the water. =aé © I don'tthink you should stand so near the edge. My friend warned me not to stand near the edge. & h You must not lose your passport while you're away. f My dad reminded me not to lose my passport. Se ll A Dont draw on the walls! My dad told me not to draw on the walls. fReported questions Reported questions are used to describe questions that someone has asked. Direct questions and reported questions use different word orders. REPORTED OPEN QUESTIONS Direct opan questions are reported by swapping é Where are my keys? the order of the subject and the verb. N oY { ) f Adam asked me where his keys were. Have you seen them? The subject comes afr he _ tha ese in ported uations uly mores one Stace oni Bec aoc ieee FURTHER EXAMPLES 9, Why can’t you come to the party? RT 1 He asked me why | couldn't come to the party. an obec can be mced 0 sy who was std th orga queston; t When will they arrive? She asked when they would arrive. it ‘The object ofthe reporting verb can be left out. HOW TO FORM St \BERORTINGVERB., OBJECT uss, Adam asked ‘~ - focaadil Teper onpeed 27 Tedier ar: THe ulgec come bore he omc a tet cut Cao sgenaicles back from direct speech,REPORTING QUESTIONS WITH “DO” When a direct question uses the verb “do,’thisis left out of reported questions. Let's bake a cake. What do we need? m8 ¥ wi He asked me what we needed. Reported question leave out A Nth past form ofthe verb the aang verbo" ss usaly used a FURTHER EXAMPLES Why do you want to work for us? xt a). They asked me why I at Lf] wanted to work for them, s 2 What do you think? cr 4% He asked me what I thought. James asked me what a florist does. What does a florist do? a Ke He eres ecoarimeaerneasI & Paul asked me where Jay and Seb live. Where do Jay and Seb live? & Who do you know at work? a. i She asked who | knew at work. What do you usually knit? te ‘& ¥ He asked me what usually knit. Ti It is incorrect to swap the verb and object He asked me where the station is. @ in reported questions. He asked me where is the station. @473 | REPORTED CLOSED QUESTIONS lf the answer toa question in direct speech is "yes" or “no,” “i ether” is used to report the question. "Whether" is more formal than "i im ¢ iia | Are you meeting your sales targets? _- Direct question. My boss asked me if was meeting my sales targets. A a \\ Reported question uses “if” or “whether”FURTHER EXAMPLES . © Will you be at the meeting on Monday? q Kara asked whether | would be at the meeting on Monday. ay f A ~~ In reported questions with “i and ‘whether” the object afer ‘asked’ can be lft out Da you want to stay for dinner? . - ag lan asked me if we wanted to stay for dinner. at W _ Ropriad questions wif" and wher i invecut be aaa do HOW TO FORM SUBJECT 4 ASKED’ OBJECT. 4 7 REST OF SENTENCE if " Myboss _) asked ‘> me | | >) was ~) meeting my sales targets. whether —)> gz at / XS The object can be let out. — "if" and ‘whether" mean the same thing, but “whether” is more formal474 | REPORTING QUESTIONS WITH “OR” “if” or “whether” can also be used to report questions that use ‘or” in direct speech. @ =a A fh Does jo want tea or coffee? Jo, Tom asked me if you wanted tea or coffee. | ® The verb changes tense. — FURTHER EXAMPLES Do you want to go by car or by train? = N He asked whether we wanted to go by car or by train NlDo you prefer wine or champagne? 2 Jo asked me if | preferred wine or champagne. f4 = Did you choose to ski or snowboard? f t He asked whether | chose to ski or snowboard. ik i Did you decide to walk or run? as e 2 =) & j Harry asked if | decided to walk or run, ti & | \Reported speech overview CHANGING REFERENCES IN REPORTED SPEECH Certain words have variable reference, which —— means their meaning is context-dependent. e ‘I want to become | In order to retain the meaning of the direct a _ apolice officer. | officer. speech, reported speech usually revises ‘tenses, pronouns, and time references. The tense usually moves back. | She said she wanted to become a police officer.48.2 | REPORTING VERBS IN THE PRESENT TENSE The reporting verb can be in the present tense In this case, the tense of the sentence doesn't change. I don't like ice cream. @ o ig She says she doesn't like ice cream. 6 22 hl ht neponngyett isin Nth mnt dat “ir “Mh the potent tase, aoe Nl fl I've never tried ice cream. &® eo . . re She tells me she’s never tried ice cream. Py hi a Nl ccan be more emphatic than “sayWhen forming reported speech from direct speech, some words change in order to keep the meaning consistent. Other words stay the same. PRONOUNS eB : { Idid well in I'll apply for the ) \_ job tomorrow. ~ She said she did She said she'd apply for welli in her exams. | _meeet} the next a “My” changes to “Tamar” changes at ‘the naxt day" to keep the meaning the same, “her to refer back to the firstspeaker.ce REPORTING MODAL VERBS Most modal verbs, except for "will’ and ‘can,’ behave differently from other verbs No matter what the tense of the direct speech, they don't change in reported speech I might buy some ice cream. The modal verb is the same as in direct speech. tT | | could have bought one. nm f ° She said she might buy some ice cream. ‘ ay She said she could have bought one. ‘change from direct speech,