Reported Speech 4º ESO

Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. To do

this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.

Direct speech: 'I work in a bank,' said Daniel.

RS: Daniel said that he worked in a bank.

In RS, we often use a tense which is 'further back' in the past (worked) than
the tense originally used (work). This is called 'backshift'. We also may need
to change other words that were used, for example pronouns, adverbs, …

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Simple Present Simple Past
“I train every day” He said he trained every day
Present Continuous Past Continuous
“I’m having a shower” He said he was having a shower
Present Perfect Past Perfect
“We haven’t seen it yet” They said they hadn’t met her
Simple Past Past Perfect
“I met her at 3” He said he had met her at 3
Future Conditional
“I will study Bach” She said she would study Bach
Imperative Infinitive
“Be quiet!” He told us to be quiet
“Don’t shout!” She told us not to shout

Changes in Modal verbs:

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Can Could
I can’t swim He said he couldn’t swim.
Will Would
I’ll send you a postcard He said he would send us a postcard.
Must / have (got) Had to
You must study more He said we had to study more
May Might
It may be true He said it might be true

Introductory verbs in RS is usually TOLD and SAID in statements.

‘I’m hungry’, he said. ➔ He said he was hungry

‘I’m working tonight’, he told me ➔ He told me he was working that night.

But in questions, we use ASKED, WANTED TO KNOW, WONDERED

“Where are my keys?”, Tom said ➔ He wondered where his keys were.

Personal pronouns can change in RS

He said ‘You look tired’ ➔ He said I looked tired.
He said, ‘You look tired, Jane’. ➔ He told Jane she looked tired.

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 Direct Speech Reported Speech
THIS THAT

THESE THOSE

HERE THERE

TODAY THAT DAY

YESTERDAY THE DAY BEFORE

TOMORROW THE NEXT DAY/THE FOLLOWING DAY

TONIGHT THAT NIGHT

TOMORROW MORNING THE FOLLOWING MORNING

YESTERDAY AFTERNOON THE PREVIOUS AFTERNOON

THE FOLLOWING WEEK/MONTH/YEAR
NEXT WEEK/MONTH/YEAR

LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR THE PREVIOUS WEEK/MONTH/YEAR

A WEEK/MONTH/YEAR AGO A WEEK/MONTH/YEAR BEFORE

Reported Speech Questions

Yes/No Questions We use “if” or “whether” to introduce a “yes-no question”.

“Did you receive my e-mail?“ ➔The teacher asked me if I had received it.
“Is it John’s phone or Richard’s?” ➔I asked whether it was John’s phone or Richard’s.

Questions Words (Wh- Questions)

You introduce questions with who, why, what, how, when, where… by using
the word which begins the question in direct speech.
“Where did he stay?” ➔She asked me where he had stayed.
“When will you go back to London? ➔She asked when he would go back to L

**El orden de las palabras de la pregunta original cambia al orden de una oración declarativa. El sujeto va
inmediatamente detrás del pronombre interrogativo, y el verbo, detrás del sujeto.

“Why will you spend 500 pounds?” ➔She wondered why I would spend …
 Reported Speech 4º ESO

DIFFERENT INTRODUCTORY REPORTING VERBS

1 with the same structure as say: ➔ rep. verb + sentence

*agree *promise *suggest *complain *admit *explain *mention *claim

➔They complained it was a difficult exam.

2 with the same structure as tell: ➔ rep. verb + direct object + sentence

*advise *warn *tell *convince *assure *persuade *notify *inform *remind

➔She reminded me to syudy hard.

3 with the infinitive: ➔ rep. verb + infinitive

*threaten *demand *offer *propose *refuse *ask *agree *claim *promise

➔You promised to help me.

4 with the infinitive: ➔ rep. verb + direct object + infinitive

*invite *tell *beg *forbid *order *remind *advise

*ask *encourage *warn(not to)

➔She invited me to go to the cinema.

5 followed by a gerund: ➔ rep. verb + verb+ing

*mention * deny * suggest *recommend * admit *propose

➔They admitted stealing the money.

➔She suggested playing a match.

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 Let’s practice!

1.“Don’t forget to buy milk!” said Antonio to Lucia. (remind, using infinitive)

2. “You shouldn’t go into the water” said the coast guard. (advise against)

3. “I’ll go to France on holiday” said John. (decide, using infinitive)

4. “I think you should go to the dentist”Julie told Tom (advise, using infinitive)

5. “Watch out for the weak bridge” he said. (warn, using ‘about’)

6. “You should apply for the job” said Jack to Stella. (encourage)

7. “Okay, Keiko can go to the party” said Keiko’s mum. (agree)

8. “The class will start later on Tuesdays” said the teacher to us.

9. “It’s a great idea to go to the beach” said Maria. (recommend + ing)

10. “Don’t cross the road there” she said to the children. (warn)