DIRECT AND REPORTED SPEECH

1.1 Direct and reported speech: quoting and reporting

We often report what people think or what they have said. Reporting in writing may actually
use their actual words in a quotation properly signalled:
‘I suppose you’ve heard the latest news,’ she said.
‘Of course,’ Carter replied, ‘you’ll have to pay him to do the job’.
She asked, ‘What shall I do now’?
Such instances impart a dramatic sense of veridical writing: what we read is what the person (or
maybe fictional character) actually said, and the stylistic register itself may contribute to this
general sense of ‘truth’ when it creates the local colour which otherwise could be lost in reporting.
In such cases of quoting somebody’s words, the reporting clause (‘she said’, ‘Carter replied’,
etc.) can come before, within, or at the end of the quotation. Stories and novels often place the
reporting verb (e.g. say, reply, ask) before the subject when the reporting clause comes after the
quotation:
‘When will you be back?’ asked Arnold. (or: ‘...,’ Arnold asked.)
However, this order is impossible when the subject is a pronoun; normal subject-verb order is used
instead:
‘And after that I moved to Italy,’ she continued. (not ... *continued she)

1.1.1 Reporting statements

More commonly, however, especially in speech, we report in our own words what people
think or what they have said. When we do this we can use sentences that have a reporting clause
(the main clause) and a reported clause (the direct object clause), often introduced by THAT:

REPORTING CLAUSE REPORTED CLAUSE

(italicised reporting verb)
She explained
He complained
He admitted
My husband mentioned
The members of the Security
Council warned
I notified the bank
They promised (me)
A recent survey has shown (us)
She admitted (to me)
We agreed (with Susan)
They begged (of him)
(that) she couldn’t take the job until January.
(that) he was hungry.
(that) he wasn’t enjoying his work much.
(that) he’d seen you the other day.
that further action may be taken.
that I had changed my address.
that they would come to the party.
that Spain is the favourite destination for British holiday
makers.
that she was seriously ill.
that the information should go no further.
that he should reconsider his decision. (Very formal; less
formal would be ‘They begged him to reconsider his decision.’)

In the reported clause, that may be left out, particularly in informal speech, after the more
common reporting verbs such as agree, mention, notice, promise, say, think. However, it is less
likely to be left out after less common reporting verbs such as complain, confide, deny, grumble,
2 | CPE 2 Direct and reported speech – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

speculate, warn, after the verbs answer, argue, reply, and also in formal writing. If the that-
clause doesn’t immediately follow the verb, that is more likely included. Compare:
She agreed (that) it would be safer to buy a car than a motorbike.
and
She agreed with her parents and brothers that it would be safer to buy a car than a
motorbike. (rather than: ... and brothers it would be safer ...)
After admit, agree and beg, the that-clause may or not be preceded an object (‘me’, ‘Susan’,
‘him’); however, if we do include an object, this should be preceded by a preposition (‘to’, ‘with’,
‘of’), and it is sometimes called a prepositional object.

VERBS Preposition
admit, announce, complain, confess, explain, indicate, mention, point out, TO
propose, recommend, report, say, suggest
agree, argue, check, confirm, disagree, plead WITH
ask, beg, demand, require OF

1.1.2 Negatives in reporting

To report what somebody didn’t say or think, we make the reporting verb negative:
He didn’t tell me how he would get to London.
A negative sentence is normally reported in the reported clause:
‘You’re right, it isn’t a good idea.’  He agreed that it wasn’t a good idea.
With some verbs (believe, expect, feel, intend, plan, propose, suppose, want), negative sentences
are reported by making the reporting verb negative:
‘I’m sure it’s not dangerous.’  She didn’t think it was dangerous. (rather than: She thought
it wasn’t dangerous.)

1.1.3 Reporting questions

To report wh-questions we use a reporting clause followed by a clause beginning with a wh-
word. For yes/no questions we use a reporting clause followed by a clause beginning with either if
or whether:
‘What’s the problem?’  She asked me what the problem was.
‘Have you seen Tony?’, Liz asked  Liz wanted to know if/whether I’d seen Tony.
In the wh-, if- or whether-clause the subject usually precedes the verb:
‘Have you seen Paul recently?’  She wanted to know if I had seen Paul recently.
However, if the original question begins what, which or who followed by be + complement, we can
put the complement before or after be in the report:
‘Who was the winner?’  I asked who the winner was. (or ... who was the winner)
Reporting questions transforms them into statements (or rather parts of non-interrogative
sentences) and therefore the typical interrogative structure (often using a form of do) is no longer
retained in the wh-, if-, or whether-clause:
‘Where did you find it?’  She asked me where I (had) found it. (not ...where did I find it. /
...where I did find it.)
Of course, reporting a negative question won’t eliminate the negative form of do:
‘Why don’t you want anything to eat?’  He asked (me) why I didn’t want anything to eat.
3 | CPE 2 Direct and reported speech – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

1.1.4 Reporting offers, orders, intentions, promises, requests, etc.

When we report offers, orders, intentions, promises, requests, etc., we can use a to-infinitive
clause after the reporting clause. Some verbs (advise, ask, command, compel, encourage, expect,
instruct, invite, order, persuade, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge, warn) are followed by an
object + to-infinitive clause. The object usually refers to the person who the offer, etc., is made to:
‘You should take the job, Ann.’  She encouraged Ann to take the job.
‘It must be a peaceful demonstration.’  The leaders called on the crowds to demonstrate
peacefully.
Some verbs (agree, demand, guarantee, hope, offer, promise, swear, threaten, volunteer, vow)
cannot be followed by an object before a to-infinitive clause:
‘I’ll take you to town.’  She offered to take me to town (not She offered me to take ...)
‘The theatre will be built next to the town hall.’ They propose to build the theatre next to
the town hall. (not They propose them to build ...)

Reporting verb + to-infinitive clause + that-clause

agree, claim, demand, expect,
guarantee, hope, promise,
propose, request, vow
ask (to ask someone’s permission
to allow us to do something)
intend, long, offer, plan, refuse,
volunteer, want
advise, insist, order, say, suggest
advise, order
He claimed to be innocent. He claimed that he was
innocent.
I asked to see his -
identification before I let
him into the house.
Carolyn intends to return -
to Dublin after a year in (not ... intends that ...)
Canada.
The children wanted to (not ... wanted that ...)
come with us to the
cinema.
- The team captain said that I
(not ... said to play ...) had to play in goal.
(not ... suggested to go ...) There were cheers when he
suggested that we went
home early.
Object + to-infinitive
clause
I advised them to read the
novel before watching the
film.

When we report what someone has suggested doing, either what they should do themselves,
or what someone else should do, we use a reporting clause with advise, propose, recommend, or
suggest followed by an -ing clause:
The government proposed closing a number of primary schools.
The lecturer recommended reading a number of books before the exam.

In the following table you can see possible correlations between the tense of the reporting
verb and the tense of the verb in the reported clause.
4 | CPE 2 Direct and reported speech – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

Reporting Situation Examples

verb
what is described in the that-
clause is a PERMANENT
SITUATION, or still exists or
is relevant at the time we are
reporting it
PRESENT - to report current news,
tense opinions, etc.
- to report information that
we have heard, but don’t
know whether it is true or not
- to report a general
statement about what people
say or think, or what is said
by some authority:
what is described in the that-
clause still exists or is
relevant at the time we are
reporting it  a present
tense or present perfect in
PAST the that-clause
tense the situation described in the
that-clause is in the past
when we are reporting it 
backshifting: the verb tense
is altered to be ‘further back
in the past’, and deictics (e.g.
this; here; now; you) are
altered to suggest distance in
space/time
Dr Weir thinks that he spends about 5 minutes
on a typical consultation with a patient.
(not spent)
Australian scientists claim that they have
developed a way of producing more accurate
weather forecasts. (not developed)
The teacher says/said that about 10 children
need special help with reading.
Ben tells me that you’re moving back to Greece.
Everyone says that it’s quite safe to drink the
water here.
Business people in the UK are telling the
government that interest rates must be cut.
She argued that Carl is/was the best person for
the job.
He said that he is/was living in Oslo.
They noted that the rate of inflation has/had
slowed down.
‘I’m leaving!’  Bob announced that he was
leaving.
‘The problem is being dealt with by the
manager.’  She told me that the problem was
being dealt with by the manager.
‘I learnt how to eat with chopsticks when I was
in Hong Kong.’  Mary remembered that she
had learnt/learnt how to eat with chopsticks
when she was in Hong Kong.
‘I posted the card yesterday.’  She reassured
me that she had posted/posted the card.
‘I’ve seen the film before.’  She told me that
she had seen the film before.

1.1.5 Guided practice

Let’s study together several cases of reporting. Here we need to choose a pair of verbs to
complete the reports of what was said (I’ve introduced the direct speech sentences in a table for
convenience). We’ll make the verb negative in the reporting clause or the reported clause,
whichever is more likely. Here are the verbs (the ones I’ve shown in the examples are in italics):
predict/would expect/lend believe/could
explain/be want/wait complain/could
5 | CPE 2 Direct and reported speech – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

The first step is to find the suitable reporting verb; afterwards, think of the alterations triggered by
the past tense of the reporting verb. I have showed you the first three sentences by way of example;
the other three are your task.

DIRECT SPEECH Reporting REPORTED SENTENCES

SENTENCES verb
‘I bet Peter won’t be on predict She ... that Peter ... be on time.
time.’ She predicted that Peter wouldn’t be on time.
‘You can’t jump across the believe She ... that I ... jump across the river.
river.’ She didn’t believe that I could jump across the
river.
‘I can’t see the stage complain She ... that she ... see the stage clearly.
clearly.’ She complained that she couldn’t see the stage
clearly.
‘I’d rather you didn’t wait He said he ........................ me ....................... for
for me.’ him.
‘It’s not possible to see Mr He ................... that it ..................... possible to see
Smith today.’ Mr Smith that day.
‘Alan probably won’t lend They ........................ Alan .......................... them his
us his car.’ car.

In the following situation, we need to report what was said last week. What changes should we
consider? (Apart from verb tenses, deictics too should be altered.)

1. ‘John left here an hour ago.’  She told me that John had left there an hour before. (or: had left
... previously)
2. ‘Jim is arriving at our house tomorrow.’  She announced me that Jim was arriving at our/her
house the following day.
3. ‘Pam visited us yesterday.’  She told me that Pam had visited them the day before (or: the
previous day).
4. ‘I was late for work this morning.’  She told me .................................
5. ‘I like your coat. I’m looking for one like that myself.’  She told me
........................................................

Report these questions using a wh-, if- or whether-clause, as appropriate. Make any necessary
changes to verb tense, pronouns, etc.
1. ‘How much will they pay you?’ He enquired how much they would pay me.
2. ‘Will you be coming back later?’ Tom asked me .........
3. ‘When do you expect to finish the book?’ The editor enquired ............ .................
4. ‘When are you leaving?’ She asked me ............
5. ‘Are meals included in the price, or not?’ The hotel guest enquired ........
6. .......................

Choose the most appropriate verb front the list, using each verb once only, and choose an
appropriate tense for the verb in the that-clause. If more than one answer is possible, give them
both.
6 | CPE 2 Direct and reported speech – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

alleged; announced; boasted; confessed; confirmed; moaned; protested

1. ‘I knew nothing about the weapons.’  She protested that she knew/had known nothing about
the weapons.
2. ‘Oh, I’m too hot!’  She ..............
3. ‘I’ve found my keys!’  She .................
4. ‘I easily beat everyone else in the race.’  She .................................... ............
5. ‘The police forced me to confess.’  She ..................
6. ‘It’s true, we’re losing.’  She ..................
7. ‘I must say that at first I was confused by the question.’  She ............. ....................
1.2 Identifying instances of disguised reporting: reporting using nouns

We sometimes report people’s words and thoughts using a noun in the reporting clause
followed by a reported that-, to-infinitive- or wh-clause:
The claim is often made that smoking causes heart disease.
The company yesterday carried out its threat to dismiss workers on strike.
John raised the question of how the money would be collected.
Nouns followed by a that-clause (e.g. acknowledgement, advice, announcement, answer, claim,
comment, conclusion, decision, explanation, forecast, guarantee, observation, promise, reply,
statement, warning) usually lose that in reporting.
Some of the nouns followed by a to-infinitive clause (advice, claim, decision, encouragement,
instruction, invitation, order, promise, recommendation, threat, warning) can also be followed
by a that-clause.
Nouns followed by a wh-clause (issue, problem, question) will take of immediately them in
reporting. after

Further Practice

Report these questions using a wh-, if- or whether-clause, as appropriate. Make any necessary
changes to verb tense, pronouns, etc.
1. ‘What do you want?’ He asked me ...
2. ‘Are you happy in your new job?’ The CEO kindly enquired ...
3. ‘What did you think of the performance yesterday?’ She asked her sister ...
4. ‘Have you ever eaten snails?’ The hostess enquired ...
5. ‘How do you get to Northfield?’ The lost tourist seemed to wonder ...

Underline the correct verb. If both are possible, underline them both.
1. She reassured/promised that she would pick me up at 5.00.
2. Sue reminded/warned me that it was Tim’s birthday in two days’ time.
3. My doctor advised/told that I should cut down on cakes and biscuits.
4. My neighbour informed/told me that there was a crack in the wall of my house.
5. Amy warned/told that I should be more careful.
6. The experience convinced/taught me that I needed to practise the violin more.
7. Bob convinced/advised that I should take a holiday.
7 | CPE 2 Direct and reported speech – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

Complete the following sentences with suitable verbs which make sense in the particular context
and also require one of the prepositions of, to or with, which you will include in the correct
position. In most cases more than one verb is possible.
1. Liz ...................... us that we should come after lunch.  suggested to
2. I ................................ Ann that we were free on Thursday evening.
3. The college ......................... its students that they attend for five days a week.
4. She .............................. me that she would be home late.
5. Tim ................... me that we should spend the money on books for the school.
6. The general ......................... us that he had made serious mistakes in the battle.
7. It is ....................................... all staff that they should be at work by 8.30.
8. Miss Walsh .................................... them that her decision was final.

If necessary, correct or make improvements to these sentences. If no changes are needed, tick (v)
them.
1. He complained to the police his neighbours were noisy.

2. I thought I’d bought some biscuits, but I can’t find them in the cupboard.

3. When the telephone rang, it reminded that I had promised to contact Sam today.

4. The teacher explained us that the exam would be different this year.

5. The shop assured me that the freezer would be delivered tomorrow.

6. I was able to persuade that we should go on holiday to Italy rather than Scotland.

7. The authorities warned the building was unsafe.

8. The old man got up and pleaded the soldiers that the village should be left in peace.

9. She reassured to her parents that she had no plans to leave university.

Underline the correct verb. If either is possible, underline them both.

1. She promised/volunteered that she would collect the children from school today.
2. We offered/suggested that we could meet them at the airport.
3. He promised/volunteered to cook dinner tonight.
4. He demanded/ordered to have his own key to the building.
5. I agreed/offered that I would deliver the parcel for her.
6. The teachers said/agreed to meet the student representatives.
7. He advised/proposed that the subject of holiday pay should be raised at the next meeting.
8. We expected/insisted to receive the machine parts today.
9. The Foreign Minister refused/requested that the peace talks should be re-opened.
10. The company suggested/promised to create 300 new jobs in the next six months.