REPORTED

SPEECH

B1
WHY DO WE USE IT ?

•To tell people what other people have said.

•To repeat information that somebody didn’t
hear or didn’t quite understand.

•2
3
HOW DO WE USE IT ?

• When we report something which is always true

or what someone is saying or thinking now, we
use indirect speech after says, thinks, hopes, etc.,
without changing the verb tense.

•4
CHANGES

• When we want to report what someone said to us in

the past, then we need to introduce some changes
involving…

–Verb tenses
–Pronouns
–Time expressions
–Demonstratives
–Adverbs of place

•8
CHANGES IN VERB TENSES

 Statements are usually reported with a past

tense verb (said, told…)

 The form of the verb that follows

“moves back” in time.

9
CHANGES IN VERB TENSES
The verb moves
back in time, so…

The verb moves

back in time, so…

He said he
was the king
of the world

11
 Direct speech Indirect speech
Present Simple Past Simple
Present Continuous Past Continuous
•
Present Perfect
Past Simple
be going to

“I like travelling.”  She said (that) she liked

travelling.
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”  He told her (that) he
was leaving the next day.
 Direct speech Indirect speech
Present Simple Past Simple
Present Continuous Past Continuous
•
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Past Simple
be going to

“I’ve forgotten my keys”  He said (that) he had

forgotten his keys.
 Direct speech Indirect speech
Present Simple Past Simple
Present Continuous Past Continuous
•
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Past Simple Past perfect or Past Simple

be going to

“I passed the exam”  She told me (that) she had

passed the exam.
 Direct speech Indirect speech
Present Simple Past Simple
Present Continuous Past Continuous
•
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Past Simple Past perfect or Past Simple

be going to Was / were going to

“I’m going on the trip of my life!”  She said (that)

she was going on the trip of her life.
CHANGES IN VERB TENSES

What about modal verbs?

Some modal verbs also change when used in
reported speech. These are:

can could
must had to
will would
may might
18
CHANGES IN VERB TENSES

What about modal verbs?

However other modal verbs don’t need to
change, like:

should
could
might
would
19
OTHER CHANGES

“I’ll always love you.” He said (that) he would

always love me.
“I’ve broken my leg” She said (that) she had
broken her leg.
“I met my girlfriend’s He told us that he had
family.” met his girlfriend’s
family.”

20
 Personal and possessive
OTHER CHANGES… pronouns and adjectives
I I / he / she
we they
me me / him / her
us them
you him / her / us / them
my my/ / his / her
our their
your his / her / our / their
mine mine / his / hers
ours theirs
yours his / hers / ours / theirs
OTHER CHANGES… Time expressions

now then
today / tonight that day / that night
yesterday the day before
tomorrow the following day
last year the year before
next the following

•22
 Demonstratives
OTHER CHANGES… and adverbs of
place

this that
here there

•23
He said…

I’ll see you next

month

He said (that)
he would see
her the
following month

24
 He said…

I’ve lost my keys!

He said (that) he
had lost his keys
25
REPORTING QUESTIONS

• When we report a question everything changes

as in reported statements.

Reported questions are not

“real” questions with question
marks, so we don’t use do /
did.
The order of the subject and
the verb is like in affirmative
sentences.
49
REPORTING QUESTIONS

 We can report questions with verbs like ask, wonder,

and want to know.

He asked me…
She wanted to know…
We were wondering…
REPORTING QUESTIONS

Yes/no questions vs Wh- questions

In WH-questions we keep the question word.

They asked me how old I was.

 In Yes/No questions we add if or whether.

They also wanted to know if I was married or
whether I had a boyfriend.
They asked…

Where is
the zoo?

They wanted to
know where the
zoo was.

52
He asked…
She asked if /
whether the
London train
stopped there.

Does the
London train
stop here?

53
 Reported Orders, Requests &
Suggestions
Commands

• "Go to bed!“ [Affirmative]

• REPORTED SPEECH: He told me to go to
bed.
• "Don't go to bed!“ [Negative]
• REPORTED SPEECH: He told me not to go
to bed.
 Reported speech.
Commands-1
1. Teacher: "Do your homework."
The teacher told me to do my homework.
2. Andrew: "Clean the blue bike."
Andrew told me to clean the blue bike.
3. Jessica: "Write a letter."
Jessica told me to write a letter
4. Nelly: "Help Peter's sister."
Nelly told me to help Peter's sister
5. Anna: "Open the window.“
Anna told me to open the window.
6. Ben: "Come home at 8."
Ben told me to come home at 8.
7. Tom: "Dance with me.“
Tom told me to dance with him.
8. Sabine: "Meet Sandy at the station."
Sabine told me to meet Sandy at the station.
 Reported speech.
Commands-2
1. Karen: "Don't play football in the garden."
Karen told me not to play football in the garden.
2. Teacher: "Don't forget your homework."
The teacher told me not to forget my homework.
3. Mike: "Don't shout at Peter."
Mike told me not to shout at Peter.
4. Yvonne: "Don't talk to your neighbour."
Yvonne told me not to talk to my neighbour.
5. Denise: "Don't open this door.“
Denise told me not to open this door.
6. Marcel: "Don't sing that song.“
Marcel told me not to sing that song.
7. Jana: "Don't go to the cinema."
Jana told me not to go to the cinema.
8. Dominique: "Don't ring Romy on Sunday.“
Dominique told me not to ring Romy on Sunday.
 Reported Orders, Requests &
Suggestions
Requests-1

"Could you buy some eggs?” [Affirmative]

REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me to buy some

eggs.

"Don't buy any eggs, please”. [Negative]

REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me not to buy any

eggs.
 Reported Orders, Requests &
Suggestions
Requests -2

Requests for objects are reported using the pattern

ask + for + object:
Examples:
a. "Can I have an apple?", she asked. She asked for an apple.
b. "Can I have the newspaper, please?" He asked for the newspaper.
c. "May I have a glass of water?”, he said. He asked for a glass of
water.
d. "Sugar, please." She asked for the sugar.
e. "Could I have three kilos of onions?" He asked for three kilos of
onions.