REPORTED

SPEECH
UNIT 1

GRAMMAR II
 WHAT IS REPORTED SPEECH?
Reported speech is the form we use to speak about what
others tell us.
Think about your day with other friends, co-workers and
family.
It's quite common to tell others what someone else has told
you.
 WHEN WE WRITE DIRECT SPEECH
In dialogue: remember
New Speaker – New Line
e.g:
“I’m late,” gasped John.
New line
“Don’t worry,” Evie
reassured him. “We’ll be
in plenty of time for the
bus.”
New line
“Are you sure?” John
muttered anxiously.
QUOTATION MARKS
MOST COMMON REPORTING VERBS
REPORTING VERB IN THE PRESENT?
EASY! REPORT IN THE PRESENT!!

Direct speech: “I like ice

cream”.

Reported speech:
She says (that)
she likes ice cream.
CHANGES IN MODAL VERBS
PLACE, TIME and PRONOUNS CHANGE TOO…
 SOME VERB FORMS DO NOT CHANGE

PAST PERFECT
AND
SOME
MODALS VERBS
could, would, should and mustn’t
 REASONS FOR NOT CHANGING THE TENSE
The reporting verb is in a present
tense;
(simultaneous reporting)
or
when the original words were spoken a
short time ago and are still relevant:
Joanna: I have just arrived in Hanoi.
Joanna says she has just arrived in Hanoi.
(reporting a recent telephone conversation; the reporting
verb say is in present simple)
The reported words are true at the time of
reporting:
George: I'm meeting Karen tomorrow.
George said he is meeting Karen tomorrow.

(reported on the same day, tomorrow still refers to

tomorrow)

Compare:
George said he was meeting Karen the following day.
(reported days later, the meeting has already
happened)
 The reported words express a general
truth:
Copernicus: The planets revolve around the sun.
Copernicus stated that the planets revolve around the
sun.
(it is a general truth)

Compare:
Once, people believed that the earth was flat.

(the reported words are no longer true; people

do not believe that the earth is flat)
 The reported words refer to an unreal
situation:
Mike: I wish I was a year older; then I could enter the
race.
Mike wished he was a year older, so he could enter
the race.
(he is not older)
 The past perfect and past
perfect continuous tenses do
not change.

In complex sentences, the past simple and past

continuous may remain unchanged if the temporal
relationship between the events in the clauses is
clear from the context:
John: When I got home, I went to bed straight away.
John told me that when he got home he went to bed straight
away.
 When the verb follows the
linking words AFTER or
BECAUSE.
Jenny: I'd like to see that Irish band, because Celtic music is
pretty cool.
She would like to see that Irish band because Celtic music is
pretty cool.

Louis: Tom came to see me after you left.

He told me Tom had gone to see him after you left.
Example: