REPORTED SPEECH

I. - Read the following conversation. Then answer the questions about it.

Luisa: Mariam, do you know Frank?

Mariam: Yes, He is a friend. He is a very nice
person.
Luisa: What did he say to you?
Mariam: He told me that he had decided to take
driving lessons and that wanted me to join
him.
Luisa: What did you say to him?
Mariam: I said that I wasn’t allowed to do
so. My parents said to me that I had to wait two more years.

1. - What does Mariam say about Frank? ___________________________________________

2. - What has Frank decided to do? ___________________________________________
3. - Did Mariam decide to take driving lessons? ___________________________________________

II. - Read the text and report the things that Michael said.

My name is Michael. I’m from the United States. I was born in New Jersey. My wife Lisa is
from Spain. She was born in Barcelona. I’m a doctor and Lisa is a dentist. I’ve found a job in
the central Hospital. My wife hasn’t got a job yet. We’re going to spend a few days in Spain.
We will visit Lisa’s family in the summer

a) What did he say his name was? ____________________________________

b) Where did he say he was born? ____________________________________
c) Where did he say his wife was from? ____________________________________
d) What city in Spain did he say his wife was from? ____________________________________
REPORTED SPEECH

It is also called “Indirect Speech” because we give the exact meaning of a remark or speech without necessarily
using the speaker’s exact words. Indirect speech is normally used in conversation though direct speech is
sometimes employed here to give a more emphatic effect. When we turn direct to indirect speech, some changes
are usually necessary.

1. - Statements in Indirect Speech

 When the introductory verb (say, tell, remark, etc.) is in Present, Present Perfect, or Future, direct
statements can be reported without changes of tense.
Example: He says “The train will be late”. (Direct Specch)
He says that the train will be late. (Reported Speech)

 When the introductory verb is in past tense, the following changes are necessary:

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Simple Present  Simple Past

Simple Past  Past Perfect
Present Progressive  Past Progressive
Simple Future  Simple Conditional
Present Perfect  Past Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous  Past Perfect Continuous

Examples: He said “ I like the ice-cream”.

He said that he liked the ice-cream.

They say “We drove the car yesterday”.

They said (that) they had driven the car yesterday.

She said “ I am playing the piano today”

She said, She was playing the piano that day.

They said “We will be in Paris on Monday”.

They said, they would be in Paris on Monday.

He said “ I have practiced ping-pong today”.

He said, He had practiced ping-pong that day.

They said “We have been watching TV this week”.

They said they had been watching TV that week.
2. - Questions in Indirect Speech
When we turn direct question into indirect speech the following changes are necessary:

 Tenses, pronouns, possessive, adjectives, adverbs of time and place change as in statements. The
interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative form. The question mark “?” is therefore omitted in
indirect questions.

Example: He said “Where does she live?”

He asked where she lived.

 If the introductory verb is “say” it must be changed to a verb of inquiry (ask, inquire, wonder, want to know,
etc.).

Example: He said “Where is the station?”

He asked where the station was.

 If the direct question begins with a question word. (when, where, who, how, why, etc.) the direct question
word is repeated in the indirect question.

Examples: He said “Why didn’t you put on the brake?”

He asked (me) why I hadn’t put on the brake.

They said “What do you want?”

They asked (me) what I wanted.

 If there is no question word “if” or “whether” is placed after the introductory verb.

Example: Is anyone here? He asked.

He asked if anyone was there.

NOTE: Ask, inquire, can also be used in direct speech. They are then usually placed at the end
of the sentence.

3. - Indirect Commands
 Direct Command  He said “Lie down, Tom”
Indirect Command  he told Tom to lie down.

Changes are necessary when we turn direct commands to indirect commands:

 The introductory verb “say” changes to a verb of command or request such as “tell, order, command, ask,
etc).

 The introductory verb of the indirect command must be followed by immediately by the person addressed
and the infinitive.

Example: He said “Get your coat, Tom”

He told Tom to get his coat.

 In direct commands the person addressed is often not included or mentioned; but in indirect commands the
person addressed must be included.

Example: He said “Go away”

He told (him /them) to go away.

 Negative commands are expressed by “not + infinitive”.

Example: He said “Don’t go out tonight”

He told me not to go out that night.

 “beg, urge, remind, warn, advise, recommend and invite”, are often useful in indirect command / request.

Examples: He said “Please give me another chance”

He begged them to give him another chance.

Don’t go near the water, children”, she said.

She warned the children not to go near the water.

EXERCISES

1. - Read this magazine article. Complete it with the correct words in parentheses.
“Lying during a job interview is risky business,” __________________ (said / told) Martha Toledo.,
director of a management consulting firm. “The truth always _____________ (has / had) a funny way
of coming out.” Toledo tells the story of one woman applying for a job as an office manager. The woman
_________ (said / told) the interviewer ________ (that / what) she ________ (has / had) a
B.A. degree . Actually, she was eight credits short. She also said ________ (I / she) ___________
(made / had made) $20,000 at her last job. The truth was 5,000 less. When the interviewer called
to check the information, the applicant’s former boss told her that the applicant ____________ (has
lied / had lied). Another applicant, Gloria, reported that she ____________________ (is quitting / was
quitting) her current job to advance her career. She got the new job. All went until the company
hired Pete, who had worked at Gloria’s old company. Pete eventually told his boss that his old company
_______________ (fired / had fired) Gloria. The new company fired her too, proving, once again, that it
doesn’t pay to lie.

2. - Statements

Yesterday you met a friend of yours, Charlie. Charlie told you a lot of things...

1. I’m thinking of going to live in Canada.

2. My father is in hospital.
3. Nora and Jim are getting married next month.
4. I’ll tell Jim I saw you.
5. I haven’t seen Bill for a while.
6. I’ve been playing tennis a lot recently.
7. I don’t know what Fred is doing.
8. I hardly ever go out these days.
9. Tom had an accident last week but he wasn’t injured.
10. I saw Jack at a party a few months ago and he seemed fine.
Later that day you tell another friend what Charlie said. Use reported speech.

1. Charlie said (that) ______________________________________________________________

2. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

3. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

4. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

5. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

6. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

7. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

8. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

9. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

10. He said (that) __________________________________________________________________

3. - In this exercise someone says something to you which is the opposite of what they said
before… You have to answer: I thought you said…
Example: “That restaurant is expensive.” – “I thought you said it wasn’t expensive.”

1. “Ann is coming to the party.” _ “I thought you said she ___________________________________

2. “Bill passed his examination.” _ “I thought you said _____________________________________

3. “Ann likes Bill.” _ “I thought you said __________________________________________________

4. “I’ll be here next week.” _ “I thought you said ___________________________________________

5. “I can afford a holiday this year.” _ “I thought you said ___________________________________

QUESTIONS – exercise:

1. “What caused the explosion?” _ The journalist asked_____________________________________

2. “Has Bill passed his examination?” _ Tom asked ________________________________________

3. “Where did you play last Sunday?” _ She asked us ______________________________________

4. “Will you be here next week?” _ Jim asked Ann _________________________________________

5. “What are you doing with your mobile?” _ The teacher asked me __________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

ORDERS , REQUESTS , ADVICE (conselhos) – exercise:

1. “Shut the door but don’t lock it”, she said to us. She told

________________________________________________________________________________________

2. “Will you please tell Sam I miss him?”, Susan asked me. Susan

______________________________________________________________________________________

3. “Can you please speak more slowly ? I can’t understand what you are saying ”, the foreign girl said to Jim. _

The foreign girl ________________________________________________,because

________________________________________________________________________________________

4. “Why don’t you make your presentation in power point instead?”, the teacher said to us. The teacher advised

________________________________________________________________________