Reportedspeech = 46 Reported statements: tense changes © Punctuation is important in direct speech. The comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark came hefore the clasing quotation mark: ‘I’m leaving,’ said Lottie. ‘I'm tired,’ she said, ‘and I’m going home. Are you coming?” © When we report someone's words, we can use a past tense reporting verb like said and told: ~ say (+ to someone) (+ that): She said (to me) (that) she had seen the film. ~ tell someone (+ that): | told them (that) | was pleased. © After a reporting verb in the past there are usually changes to: ~ pronouns and possessive adjectives: ‘I’m going out with my friends,’ said Bob. > Bob said (that) he was going out with his friends. ~ verb tenses: present simple > past simple, present continuous > past continuous, past simple > past perfect simple, present perfect simple > past perfect simple, present perfect continuous > past perfect continuous, am/is/are going to > was/were going to: ‘I haven't seen Yolanda,’ said Claude. > Claude said (that) he hadn’t seen Yolanda. — modal verbs: will > would, can > could, may > might, shall > should, must/ have to > had to: ‘’ll help you,’ she said. > She said (that) she'd help me. ~ some adverbs/adverbial phrases of time: now > then, today > that day, tonight > that night, this morning > that morning, yesterday > the day before/the previous day, tomorrow > the day after/the following day, last week > the week before/the previous week, next month > the month after/the following month, (three) days ago > (three) days before: ‘We did it yesterday,’ they said. > They said (that) they had done it the day before. ~ here > there: ‘We're staying here fora week.’ she told him, > She told him (that) they were staying there for a week. ~ this > that, this/that + noun > the + noun: ‘This bag is expensive,’ he said. > He said (that) the bag was expensive. »> For reporting verbs, sce Unit 49. PRACTICE 46a Circle the correct answer. A: Have you heard the weather forecast? : Yes, they said it (0) is /(@a3)going to rain. B: A: Have you had your meeting with Mr Lewis? B: I'm afraid not. His secretary told me he (1) couldn't / can’t see me because he (2) is / was too busy. ‘A: Excuse me. I'm here to collect the book | ordered last week. The sales assistant told me it (3) will / would be ready for collection today. : I'm sorry, but it hasn’t been ordered yet. Ill have to order it today. 2 107A: Can |help you? B: I'm here to collect a book | ordered two weeks agu. | caine Lu collect it last week and your assistant said it (4) hadn’t / hasn’t been ordered yet. He (5) said / told he was sorry and (6) said / told me he would order the book (7) that / this day. A: Have you been to the doctor yet? B: Yes. She told me | (8) have to / had to go on a diet. She also said | (9) must / had to get more exercise. ‘A: Have you seen Sandy today? B: No, and Louis told me he (10) hadn’t / hasn’t seen her either. 46b Re-write the direct speech as reported speech and the reported speech as direct speech. © ‘The taxi has arrived!” Dinah told us. inah told us that the taxi had arrived, 00 Katya told her husband that she might be late for dinner that evening. ‘Imay be late L told her husband. 4 “You can leave your things in this wardrobe if you like.’ Derek said. 2 Beth said that they were leaving the following day. 3 ‘Itisn’t far from here to my office, Ted,’ said Rea 4 Evan told the police officer that he'd seen the bank robbery that morning. 5 Hannah said, ‘We must be patient.’ 6 ‘I’ve been to this restaurant once before,’ said Nanette to lan. 7 Miguel told Gloria that he hadn't liked the film but he'd enjoyed the book. 8 ‘I may have left my bag on the bus this morning,’ Eva sai 9 Alan said that we aught to get same flowers for Penny's birthday. 20 ‘I won't be gone lang,’ lydia told her mother.47 Reported statements: no tense changes In reported speech, if the reporting verb is in a present tense, there is no tense change: “They left last night.’ > He tells me they left last night. ‘We're having dinner.’ > She says they're having dinner. The present Ifa present situation is still true when we are reporting it, we don’t need to change the tense after a past tense reporting verb: ‘Alison lives with her parents,” sald Nick. > Nick said that Alison lives/lived with her parents. ‘Yann has been working on the project for months,’ they told us. > They told us that Yann has been working/ had been working on the project for months. The past Ifa past situation is still true when we are reporting it, we don’t need to change the tense after a past tense reporting verb: ‘We didn’t stay in the hotel because it was too expensive.’ > She said that they hadn’t stayed in the hotel because it was too expensive. (The hotel is still expensive.) When the past simple is used in a time clause, we don’t usually change i as | got home. | went upstairs.’ > She said that as soon as she got home. she went/had gone upstairs. We don’t usually change the past continuous: ‘/ was working until midnight.’ > She said that she was working until midnight. Whi ‘As soon the past continuous refers to an activity that was completed before an ity in the past simple, we usually change it to the past perfect continuous: ‘We were planning to go out but then Thomas got ill.’ > She said that they had been planning to go out but then Thomas got/had got ill. We don’t change the past perfect: ‘/ hadn’t realised how angry he was,’ said Carol. > Carol said she hadn't realised how angry he was. The future @ fan eventis still in the future when we report it, we don’t need to change the future form: ‘We'll be at the station in thirty minutes.’ > She said that they'll be/'d be at the station in thirty minutes. (They aren't at the station yet.) She said that they'd be at the station in thirty minutes. (They are at the station.) ‘od es 5 47a Report the statements. Don’t change the tense unless it is necessary to do so. © ‘'m planning to set up my own business ; he’s planning to set up his own business Paul says that . 4 ‘When the project started, there was a lot of interest in it” Joan said that... 2. ‘Iwas living in France when | met Nora. Josh said that . 3. ‘It's pouring with rain here.” Ali tells me that 1054 ‘Iwas hoping to meet you for lunch but my car broke down.” Natalie said that... os 5. ‘The taxi had already arrived when | rang you.’ Maria told me that 47» Read the monologue. Then complete the article. "ve been with the circus since | was cighteen years old, 1do.a J trapeze act and every night | hang by my toes from a bar twelve metres above the ground. I've been hanging off the bar for two years and | spent six years in the circus before that. I trained in dance and performing arts when | was younger and then | went to circus school. | wanted to join the circus because it combined all the skills Pd learnt up till then. | also wanted to do something a little crazy. | went to my first circus wien | was fourteen and | loved it. | took up circus work as a hobby and now | do it professionally. l've done about 2,300 shows with the Cirque du Soleil. Next year the show moves to Brazil but | won’t be going with them. The trapeze is always, challenging but | want to do other things. | want ta have a hahy in two or three years. I'm also planning to learn how to sing, which wouldn't be as hard on my body. Every night trapeze artist Pauliina Rasanen hangs by her toes from a bar | twelve metres above the ground. She says she (0) .. off the bar for two years and she (1) circus before that. Paullina trained in dance and performing arts before she went to circus school. She told me that she (2) : to join the circus because it combined all the skills she (3) -up till then. She also wanted to do something a little crazy. She said she (4) to her first circus when she was fourteen. She | 6) It so much that she (6) wie | circus work as a hobby before working in the circus professionally. | Paulina says that so far she (7) . .. about 2,300 | shows with the Cirque du Soleil, She told me that when the show } 8). ... to Brazil next year, she (9) with them. Her reason? She said that she (10) .. learn how to sing and she (11)... or three years’ time. sixyearsinthe to have a baby in twa 048 Reported questions, commands and requests coer questions @ Reported questions have the same tense and word changes as reported statements. When we report a question, we use a reporting verb (e.g. ask, enquire, want to know, wonder). We don’t use a question mark (2). © To report a yes/no question, we use if/vhether after the reporting verb: ‘Have | seen you before” -> She asked (me) if/whether she had seen me before. @ Toreport a wh- question, we use the question word: ‘Where did you go?” > He wanted to know where | had gone. @ The word order in reported questions is the same as in statements and there is no do/does/did auxiliary: ‘Where are you going?’ > He asked (me) where I was going. ‘Do you like swimming?’ > She enquired if liked swimming. ‘© When we report questions with shall/should, we can use the fo-infinitive after the question word: ‘What should | buy for Peter?" > She asked what to buy for Peter. @ We can report indirect questions in the same way as direct questions. Compare: ‘Where is the bank?’ > She asked me where the bank was. ‘Could you tell me where the bank is?’ > She asked me where the bank was. Reported commands and requests © To report commands, we can use tell or order + to-infinitive: ‘Be quiet!’ > He told us tobe quiet. ‘Put your hands up!’ -> The police officer ordered them to put their hands up. © To report requests, we can use ask + to-infinitive: ‘Please help us.’ > They asked us tohelp them. ‘Would you shut the door, please” -> | asked him to shut the door. To report negative commands and requests, we use not before the to-infinitive: ‘Don't stay out too late.’ > She told me not to stay out too late. PRACTICE 48a Report the questions, commands and requests. © ‘Where did you buy your hat?” He wanted to know ..4M 1 ‘Would you see who is at the door, please?” ‘She asked her husband .. 2 ‘Please don’t make so much noise!’ He asked them 3. ‘E-mail me if you need any help.” She told me . 4 ‘Doyou iia ha many people are coming tonight?" Janet asked fret assistants Janet wanted to know hi 5. ‘Did you enjoy yourselves at the concert?’ Daryl asked them. Daryl asked them 6 ‘Have you been eating propery” the doctor asked me. The doctor enquired ....e-cr aa |7 ‘Why didn’t you go to the meeting?’ Logan asked them. Logan asked them . 8 ‘Check this information for me, would you?’ Brenda asked. Brenda asked me 9 ‘Will you be travelling far?” Hasan asked us. Hasan asked us... 10 ‘Don’t leave your bag on the floor,’ Martin said to Joanna. Martin told Joanna .. 48b Read the interview with a journalist. Then complete the article. A: What mistakes do people make when they write e-mails? B: Often they're too vague. Are there any other common mistakes? : Yes, they ask tor information they don’t need — this wastes everyone's time. A: So how can we make a good first impression in an e-mail? B: Be specific about the subject — and for goodness’ sake, don’t use words like ‘hello’ on the subject line! :. How formal should we be? Be as formal or casual as the person who sent you the e-mail. : Do people send too many e-mails? B: Yes. E-mails are for giving and confirming information. Don’t use them for negotiations. A: Could you tell me why companies monitor their employees’ e-mails? B: Many reasons. Sometimes they want to be sure that employees aren't giving secrets away to competitors. l asked Hamish Elphinstone (0) .What_ mistakes people made vie, ey wiute e-mails and he replied that people were often unclear about what they wanted. | asked him (1) ny other common mistakes and he said that people wasted time by asking for information they didn’t need. Next, | asked him (2) good first impression in an e-mail. Hamish told me (3) Specific about the subject and (4) .. words like ‘hello’ on the subject line. On the subject of style, | asked Hamish (5) in an e-mail. His suggestion was that we should be as tormal as the sender ot the original e-mail. Then we discussed how to use e-mail most effectively. | enquired 6) too many e-mails and not surprisingly, he said that, yes, they did. He wont on to say that e-mails were for giving and confirming information and he told me (7) . them for negotiations. Finally, | asked him (8) . their employees’ e-mails. Apparently, some businesses are concerned that employees might be selling secrets to competitors. a2 ce reenter49 Reporting verbs © We often use reporting verbs to summarise what someone said: ‘Would you like to come and stay for the weekend?’ > He invited us to stay for the weekend. ‘I'm sorry I'm late.’ > She apologised for being late. © We use the following structures with these reporting verbs. The verbs marked with an asterisk (*) can be followed by more than one structure: verb + to-infinitive agree*, decide*, offer, promise*, propose*, refuse, threaten* verb + object + to-infinitive advise, beg, encourage, invite, persuade*, remind*, warn* verb + -ing form/noun admit*, deny*, recommend’, suggest* verb (+ object) + preposition + -ing form/noun accuse someone of, advise* someone against, agree* (with someone) on/about, apologise (to someone) for, complain* (to someone) about, congratulate sameane on, insist* on, warn* (someone) against/about verb + that clause admit*, agree*, announce, boast, complain*, decide*, deny*, explain, promise*, suggest*, threaten* verb + object + that clause inform, persuade*, promise’, remind*, warn* verb + that clause with should insist*, propose*, recommend, suggest* ‘won't answer any questions.’ > He refused to answer any questions. “Don’t walk home alone. It’s dangerous.’ > She warned me not to walk home alone. ‘It’s a. good idea to walk home witha friend.’ > She advised me to walk home with a friend. “Yes, | broke the window.’ > He admitted breaking the window. ‘Let’s have a party.’ > | suggested having a party. ‘I'm sorry | was late.’ > He apologised (to us) for being late. ‘Tll pay for the meal” > She insisted on paying for the meal. "You passed your driving test! Well done” > We congratulated him on passing his driving test. ‘We'll be on time.’ > They promised (that) they would be on time. ‘Don't forget - we have a meeting this afternoon.’ > She reminded me (that) we had a meeting that afternoon. “Why don’t we ask Cindy to help us?” > I suggested that we should ask Cindy to help us. Ay Isis propose, recommend and suggest are followed by different structures, depending on the subject of the sentence in direct speech. Compare: ‘Why don’ t we stay longer?’ > | suggested staying longer. (I suggested; we (including myself) stay) ‘Why don’t they stay longer?’ > I suggested that they should stay longer. (I suggested; they stay) 13114 PRACTICE 49a Report the statements. Laura wants to quit university and look for a job. Read what she said and how other people responded. © ‘I want to leave university and find a job,’ said Laura. Laura announced .that she wanted to leave university and find a job 1 ‘You should finish your degree first,’ said her tutor. Her tutor advised . 2. ‘Please think carefully before you take such a big step,’ said her mother. Her mother begged .. 3 ‘You'll never find a good job if you drop out,’ her father said. Her father warned 4 ‘Ill stop paying your rent if you leave univer: He threatened 5 ‘I'll let you stay at my flat until you find a place to live,’ said her best friend. Her best friend offered 6 ‘Ithink you should ask your tutor for advice, Her sister suggested 7 ‘ll buy you a car when you graduate,’ said her grandmother. Her grandmother promised 49b Report the statements. Use the verbs in the box. accused advised apologised complained offered refused reminded warned © ‘ican see you're busy. |’Il help you prepare that report if you like,’ she said. She offered to help me prepare the report. 1 ‘I'm not going to discuss the problem with you. It’s a waste of time,’ he said. 2 ‘Iwant you to know I'm upset that | wasn't invited to the meeting,’ she said. 3 ‘You mustn’t do it again or we'll fine you,’ said the police officer. ‘| know someone's been reading my e-mails. It was you, wasn’t i 5 ‘You've got to apply for a new passport. Yours is out of date,’ he said. 6 ‘I'm sorry about the trouble | caused. | didn’t mean to do anything wrong,’ she said. 7 “You've been very ill. You should stay home for a few days,’ said the doctor.