reported statements

Direct speech is the actual words people say. We use speech marks.
Napoleon said: 'I have fought sixty battles and I have learned nothing. '
Reported or indirect speech tells us what people have said. We do not use speech marks.
Napoleon said that he had fought sixty battles and had learned nothing.

tense changes
In reported speech we usually begin with a past tense reporting verb (eg said) 50 we change ali the
verbs that follow, and put them back further in the past.
'I know the answer', she said. 5he said (that) she knew the answer.
'/'ve done it, ' she said. 5he said (that) she had done it.
'1'11see you later', he said. He said he wouJd see us later.

people: persona I pronouns

We also change the word we use to refer to the person who spoke.
Jack said: 'I have finished.' Jack said that he had finished.

words referring to time and place

In direct speech time words like naw, taday, tamarrow, change because there is no longer a 'here and
now' reference. The point of view has changed.
'1'11see you tomorrow.' He said he would see me the following day.
Reference words like here and this also change.
'1like this painting. ' 5he said that she liked the painting.
'I don 't understand this.' He said that he didn't understand it.

tamarrow ~ the following day, the next day

yesterday ~ the day before
here ~ there
this (pronoun) ~ it
this (determiner) ~ the

say and tell

We always put an object after tell.
He said that he feh iii. He toJd them that he felt iiI.
We use tell in the phrases tell a lie and tell the truth.
5he toJd her teacher a lie. He toJd me the truth, I'm sure.
We don't say Ue sald the truth or Ue sald a He.

no changes
• When we report immediately what someone says, or talk as if it was very recent, we use a present
tense reporting verb and we do not make tense changes.
Helen says she'lI be back later.
• When we report a state meaning (eg like, live, believe etc) it is possible to make no changes if we
want to show that the state continues.
'I still don 't believe you.' He said that he still doesn't believe me.
We can also make the tense change, but it can suggest that the state belongs to the past.
He said that he didn't believe me at that time.

• When we report a narrative we need not change past simple to past perfect.
'I was standing at the bus-stop, and I saw everything that happened, ' he said.
He said he was standing at the bus stop and saw everything that happened.
• We do not make tense changes when we report quotations.
Napoleon said that you must never in terrup t your enemy when he is making a mistake.

CD
1 5 Reported speech

Grammar
n Tense changes in reported speech
When we report what someone else said, we are usually reporting at a later time so we
change the tenses used by the original speaker.

Direct speech Reported speech

present simple past simple

'I'm (am) about 100 km from Australia: He said (that) he was about 100 km from Australia.

present continuous past continuous

'The sun's (is) shining: He said (that) the sun was shining

past simple past perfect

'There was a terrible storm: He said (that) there had been a terrible storm.

present perfect past perfect

'I haven't (have not) seen another boat: He said (that) he hadn't (had not) seen another boat.

past perfect past perfect

'I hadn't (had not) expected the storm! He said (that) he hadn't (had not) expected the storm.

am/Is/are going to was/were going to

'I'm (am) going to win.' He said (that) he was going to win.

will future would

'I'll (will) spend two hours in a bath: He said (that) he'd (would) spend two hours in a bath.

can could
'I can see sharks and dolphins: He said (that) he could see sharks and dolphins.

may might
'I may win: He said (that) he might win.

might might
'I might win: He said (that) he might win.

must had to
'I must get my hair cut: He said (that) he had to get his hair cut.

A The following verbs do not change when they are reported at a later time
could, would, should, might, ought to, used wand verbs in the past perfect
You ought to buy a new coat in the sale. My mum said I ought to buy a new coat in the sale.
They used to live in California. —0 He said they used to five in California.
When we report must, we can use either must or had to in the reported speech but had to is more common:
Kate must buy some fruit' '"4 Kate said she had to / must buy some fruit
A We use must, not had to, when we report:
a negative:
Paul: 'You mustn't tell Sally our secret' —o Paul said we mustn't tell Sally our secret
a deduction:
Sarah: must be tired after the flight' —0 Sarah said Jim must be tired after the flight

1a3
 3 Read the information about Heinrich Schliemann.
Then complete the text by writing said or told in each space.

Heinrich Schliemann -
an interview in the 1860s
Heinrich Schliemann was a German archaeologist who excavated a city in
Turkey in 1871 and decided that it was ancient Troy. He found evidence
of destruction by war, and aIso discovered some gold objects. Nowadays
archaeologists believe that hismethods of excavation were unscientific, and
they aIs o believe that some of his discoveries were faIse.

Recently many experts have a.. ..$g.id .....that Schliemann had a habit of not telling the truth, and this
has raised doubts about his work For example, he b everyone he was a US citizen, but in
fact this wasn't true. He aIso c he had a degree from the University of Rostock, but in fact
the university rejected his thesis. He d he had found gold jewelIery at Hissarlik, but some
people believe these were modern pieces. In fact, his servant later e people that no jewelIery
had been found in the places that Schliemann claimed to have found it. He aIso f the
authorities in Turkey that he was an archaeologist, but he didn't have any qualifications. When he talked about
his work, he always g people that he had dreamed of finding Troy when he was a smalI
boy, but many people feel that he invented this story later. However, although many archaeologists at the time
h that his work was inaccurate, we have to remember that archaeology was not a science in
Schliemann's time. He may not have always i the truth, but he brought a lot of energy to the
discovery of the ancient world, and devoted his life and his wealth to his excavations.

4 Rewrite each sentence about Schliemann as reported speech.

a 'I have always been interested in the story of Troy,' he told journalists .
.He.-..loldjouOI.aJisls ..(lhal) ..he.-..had.alwa'1s ..be.-e.-f't
..if'tle.-msle.-d ..if't..lhe.- ..slor'1 ..o.f.TrQ'1.
biMy father read the stories to me when I was a child,' he said.

c II have aIways believed that Troy was a real place,' he said.

d lAt an early age I decided to discover the site of the city,' he said.

e 'Por many years I worked as a merchant in the USA and Russia,' he said.

f 'I am a wealthy man and I have retired from business,' he said.

g 'I first went to the site at Hissarlik in 1868,' he said.

hiSince then I have spent a lot of my own money on the excavation,' he said.

II am working with a British archaeologist,' he said.

IWe are hoping to prove that Hissarlik is the site of ancient Troy,' he said.

CD
 reported questions, commands,
and reporting verbs
reported questions
• yes / no questions
We report these questions using if or whether. We follow the tense-ehange rules (see Unit 16). We
ehange the question form of the verb to the statement form. We do not use a question marko
'00 you understand the question?' she asked us,
She asked us if / whether we understood the question.
• reported questions with a question word
We report these questions using the question word and the following tense-ehange rules.
We ehange the question form of the verb to the statement form.
'What temperature is the water7' she asked.
She asked what temperature the water was,

reported requests and commands

Use ask to report requests: ask + objeet + to-infinitive.
'Please tum on your computers, ' He asked us to tum on our computers,
Use tell to report eommands: tell + objeet + to-infinitive.
Tum on your computers!' He told us to tum on our computers,
'Don't tum it on!' He told us not to tum it on.

report verbs
Some verbs explain what people say, or summarize their words. Using a report verb often means you
ean summarize the aetual words people say, without repeating them.
'1'11bring my homework tomorrow, honestly, I will, really!'
He promised to bring his homework the next day
• verb + that-c1ause
suggest 'Why don't you use a calculator?' He suggested (that) l used a calcu lator.
promise '1'11do it'. He promised (him) (that) he would do it.

• verb + -ing
suggest 'Why don 't you use a calculator?' He suggested using a calculator.
deny 'I didn't break the jar.' He denied breaking the jar.

• verb + to-infinitive
offer '1'11help you, ' He offered to help her.
promise '1'11bring it tomorrow ' She promised to bring it the next day
refuse '{ won 't sit down!' He refused to sit down,
agree to 'Ok, 1'/1pay (you) €300, ' He agreed to pay (him) €300

• verb + objeet + to-infinitive

advise '{ would (wouldn't) stop, if {were you,' She advised me (not) to stop,
remind 'Oon't forget to lock the door.' She reminded him to loek the door.
wam 'Oon't touch that wire!' She wamed me not to touch the wire,

• verb + objeet
invite 'Would you like to come to dinner?' He invited me to dinner.
offer 'Would you like some ice cream?' He offered her some ice cream.

• other patterns
explain This is how you do it. ' She explained how to do it,
agree with 'Yes, { think the same, ' She agreed with him,
congratulate 'Well done, you've won,' He congratulated her on winning,

CD
 3A Complete the reported questions.

a IDo you live here?' I asked.

I asked him.. j±/wn.&ln.&cn.&liy&dlh&[~,
b 'What's your name?'
He asked me
c 'What time is it?'
I asked her
d 'Are you sitting here?'
She asked me
e 'Do you want some coffee?'
I asked her

38 Rewrite the sentence as direct speech. Include necessary punctuation.

f He asked me when the next train left.

g I asked him where the bus station was.

h She asked me whether I had any change.

I asked her what she was staring at.

They asked me if I was waiting for them.

4 Complete the reported requests or commands.

a 'FilI the jar with water, John.'

The teacher . ...loldclohYllo.fiJllhe.jacwilhwaler'H
b 'Please help hi m, Angela.'
The teacher
c 'Michael, don't spilI the water!'
The teacher
d 'Please pom alittle water into here, Alison.'
The teacher
e 'Light the gas, Steve.'
The teacher ..
f 'Don't touch it with yom finger, Alan.'
The teacher
g 'Sarah, he at the water gently until it boils.'
The teacher
h IAll of you, please watch the water carefully.'
The teacher

CD
 GRAMMAR 6 I N D I R E C T SPEECH

7 Put the correct f o r m of either say, tell or ask in each space.

a) I told you that you had to be on time. Why are you late?
b) When you her if she'd work late, what did she
?
c) I think that Alan us a lie abut his qualifications.
d) When I him what he was doing there, he
me it was none of my business.
e) I I would help you, so here I am.
f) Did you hear what Sheila about her new job?
g) What did Carol you about her holiday?
h) There, you see! I you the bus would be on time.

8 Put the correct form of one of the verbs in the box into each space.

a) 'No, it's not true, I didn't steal the money!'

Jean denied stealing the money/that she had stolen the money.
b) 'Why don't we go to the cinema this evening?'
Peter going to the cinema/that they went to the cinema.
c) 'I've broken your pen. I'm awfully sorry, Jack.'
David for breaking Jack's pen.
d) 'Don't forget to post my letter, will you, Sue?'
Diana Sue to post her letter.
e) 'Let me carry your suitcase, John.'
Harry to carry John's suitcase.
f) 'All right, it's true, I was nervous.'
The leading actor to being nervous/that he had been
nervous.
g) 'I don't think Liverpool will win.'
Vanessa whether Liverpool would win.
h) 'If I were you, Bill, I'd buy a mountain bike.'
Stephen Bill to buy a mountain bike.
i) 'You murdered Lord Digby, didn't you, Colin!'
The inspector Colin of murdering Lord Digby.
j) 'It was me who stole the money,' said Jim.
Jim to stealing the money.
k) 'Right. I'll take the brown pair.'
Andrew to take the brown pair.
II
Exam practice
Reading and Use of English Part 4
For questions 1-6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words,
including the word given. Here is an example (0).

0 The tourist guide said to us: 'Take a map if you go walking in the hills.'
ADVISED
The tourist guide advised 145 to take a map if we went
walking in the hills.
1 The weatherman forecast that it would be sunny all day.
SHINE
The weatherman said: 'The all day.'

2 'I haven't heard from Helen for a long time,' Paul said to me.
TOLD
Paul not heard from Helen for a long time.

3 'Did you book a room with a balcony?' I asked my mother.

IF
I asked my mother a room with a balcony.

4 Jack wanted to know what time they would leave the next day to catch the train.
WE
Jack asked: 'What time to catch the train?'

5 The little boy said he could dress himself without any help.

The little boy said. ' without any help.'

6 'Are we meeting David in the morning or the afternoon?' Karen asked.

WHETHER
Karen wondered in the morning or the
afternoon.

Grammar focus task

In three of the sentences above, the reporting verbs can be replaced with complain, insist and predict.
Write the reported sentences again using these verbs.