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António Assane
Basilisa Dyeja
Inês Salazar
João Omar

Reported speech

(Licenciatura em ensino de português com Habilitações em ensino de Inglês)

Universidade Pedagógica
Montepuez
2017
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António Assane
Basilisa Dyeja
Inês Salazar
João Omar

Reported speech

(Licenciatura em ensino de português com Habilitações em ensino de Inglês)

Evaluative nature of work of the subject of

English Language, guided by the teacher:

dr. Saide Daniel Aligora

Universidade Pedagógica
Montepuez
2017
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Conten

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
Reported speech..........................................................................................................................................5
Concept.......................................................................................................................................................5
Basic tense chart..........................................................................................................................................5
Reported Questions.....................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction

When written, reported speech is not normally enclosed in quotation marks or any similar
typographical devices for indicating that a direct quotation is being made. However such devices
are sometimes used to indicate that the indirect speech is a faithful quotation of someone's words
(with additional devices such as square brackets and ellipses to indicate deviations or omissions
from those words), as in He informed us that "after dinner [he] would like to make an
announcement".
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Reported speech

Concept

Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, indirect discourse, or indirect style, is a means of
expressing the content of statements, questions or other utterances, without quoting them
explicitly as is done in direct speech.

For example:

He said "I'm coming" is direct speech, whereas He said (that) he was coming is indirect speech.
Indirect speech should not be confused with indirect speech acts.

Reported speech is often also called indirect speech. When we use reported speech, we are
usually talking about the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the
past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too. GRAMMAR NOTES (s/d:s/p).

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a
reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in
direct speech.

For example:

 "I'm going to the cinema".

 He said he was going to the cinema.

Basic tense chart

The tenses generally move backwards in this way (the tense on the left changes to the tense on
the right):

Present simple Past simple

I'm a teacher. He said he was a teacher
Present continuous Past continuous
I'm having lunch with my parents. He said he was having lunch with his parents.
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Present perfect simple Past perfect simple

I've been to France three times. He said he had been to France three times.
present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
I've been working very hard. He said he had been working very hard.
Past simple Past perfect
I bought a new car. He said he had bought a new car.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
It was raining earlier. He said it had been raining earlier.
Past perfect Past perfect
The play had started when I arrived. NO CHANGE POSSIBLE
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
I'd already been living in London for five NO CHANGE POSSIBLE
years.

Reported Statements

According to Caroline Brown & Pearson Brown (2010:56) “We use reported speech when we
are saying what other people say, think or believe”.

 He says he wants it.

 We think you are right.
 I believe he loves her.
 Yesterday you said you didn't like it but now you do!
 She told me he had asked her to marry him.
 I told you she was ill.
 We thought he was in Australia.

When we are reporting things in the present, future or present perfect we don't change the tense.

 He thinks he loves her.

 I'll tell her you are coming.
 He has said he'll do it.

When we tell people what someone has said in the past, we generally make the tense 'more in the
past'.
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 You look very nice. = I told him he looked very nice.

 He's working in Siberia now. = She told me he was working in Siberia now.
 Polly has bought a new car. = She said Polly had bought a new car.
 Jo can't come for the weekend. = She said Jo couldn't come for the weekend.
 Paul called and left a message. = He told me Paul had called and had left me a message.
 I'll give you a hand. = He said he would give me a hand.

However, when we are reporting something that was said in the past but is still true, it is not
obligatory to make the tense 'more in the past'. The choice is up to the speaker. Caroline Brown
& Pearson Brown (2010:57)

For example:

"The train doesn't stop here."

 He said the train doesn't stop here.

 He said the train didn't stop here.

"I like Sarah."

 She said she likes Sarah.
 She said she liked Sarah.

When we are reporting what was said, we sometimes have to change other words in the sentence.

We have to change the pronoun if we are reporting what someone else said. Compare these two
sentences. In each case the person actually said "I don't want to go."

 I said I didn't want to go.

 Bill said he didn't want to go.

We have to change words referring to 'here and now' if we are reporting what was said in a
different place or time.

Compare these two sentences. In each case the person actually said "I'll be there at ten
tomorrow."
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 (If it is later the same day) He said he would be there at ten tomorrow.
 (If it is the next day) He said he would be there at ten today.

Reported Questions

We also use reported speech when we are saying what other people asked or wanted to know.
We do not use do or question marks in indirect questions. Caroline Brown & Pearson Brown
(2010:59)

 "What time is it?" = He asked me what time it was.

 "Why hasn't he come? = She wondered why he hadn't come.
 "When will you be arriving?" = He wanted to know when we would be arriving.
 "What were you doing?" = They questioned him about what he had been doing.

We use the same structure when we report answers.

 "147 Oak Street." = I told him what my address was.

 "I didn't have time to do it." = She explained why she hadn't done it.
 "Look at this dress and bag." = She showed me what she had bought.
 "Put the paper here and press this button." = He demonstrated how the scanner worked.

Yes/no questions are reported with if or whether.

 Do you want a ride? = Mike asked me if I wanted a ride.

 Are you coming? = They wanted to know if I was coming.
 Will you be here later? = She asked me whether I would be here later.
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Conclusion

In grammar, reported speech often makes use of certain syntactic structures such as content
clauses ("that" clauses, such as (that) he was coming), and sometimes infinitive phrases.
References to questions in indirect speech frequently take the form of interrogative content
clauses, also called indirect questions (such as whether he was coming).

In reported speech certain grammatical categories are changed relative to the words of the
original sentence. For example, person may change as a result of a change of speaker or listener
(as I changes to he in the example above). In some languages, including English, the tense of
verbs is often changed – this is often called sequence of tenses. Some languages have a change of
mood: Latin switches from indicative to the infinitive (for statements) or the subjunctive (for
questions).
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References

Brown, Caroline. Brown, Pearson. English Grammar Secrets. 2010 In http://grammar-

teacher.com/englishgrammarsecrets.pdf. consulted in 27/08/2017 - 8hrs:25mins.

GRAMMAR NOTES: reported speech. Consulted in 27/08/17 – 9hrs:01mins.

https://valenciaenglish.netfirms.com/pdffiles/reported.pdf.

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/sites/teens/files/gs_reported_speech_1.pdf