INDIRECT SPEECH

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

Present Simple Past Simple

Present Continuous Past Continuous
Present Perfect Simple / Continuous Past Perfect Simple /
Continuous
Past Tense Simple / Continuous Past Perfect Simple /
Continuous
Future Simple / Continuous Future in the Past Simple /
Continuous
Future Perfect Future Perfect in the Past
 EXAMPLES
• 33. a “I have a lot of things to do today.”
• 33. b She said she had a lot of things to do that
day.
• 34. a “The children are still sleeping.”
• 34. b The baby-sitter told me that the children
were still sleeping.
• 35. a “I have lost all the money.”
• 35. b He complained that he had lost all the
money.
• 36. a “I have been working on this project for
three months.”
• 36. b He argued that he had been working on
that project for three months
 EXAMPLES
• 37. a “We visited The British Museum last year.”
• 37. b They said they had visited The British Museum the
year before.
• 38. a “I was busy. I was studying for my exam.”
• 38 b. Susan told me that she had been studying for her
exam.
• 39.a “My friends will help me organize the reunion.”
• 39. b Eliza said that her friends would help her organize
the reunion.
• 40. a “I’ll be watching TV at that time.”
• 40. b He said he would be watching TV at that time.
• 41. a “By 5 I’ll have typed all the letters.”
• 41. b The secretary confirmed that by 5 she would have
typed all the letters.
 INDIRECT QUESTIONS
• DIRECT QUESTION
• Auxiliary + Subject + Verb →

• INDIRECT QUESTION
• Reporting clause + if /whether + Subject
+ Verb
a. “Are you leaving tomorrow?”
b. Mary asked him if/whether he was
leaving the following day.
 a. “Did you see that film last night?”
b. My friend asked me if I had seen that film the
night before.

• The conjunction whether is used when the

speaker has suggested one possibility but has
left open the question of other possibilities.

• 46. I was asked whether I wanted to stay at a

hotel or at his home.
• 47. I asked the professor whether he agreed (or
not).
 Other examples

• 48. a. “Will they play in the movie?”

• b. Let’s ask if they will play in this movie.
• 49. a. “Is the Director pleased with the script or
not?”
• b. He wondered whether the Director was
pleased with the script.
• 50. a. “Did she live here?”
• b. Can you tell me if/whether she lived here?
 Wh-questions are used when someone asks for
information about an event or a situation. They are
introduced by a wh-word such as: who, whom,
which, what, when, where, whose, why or how.
The structure of wh-questions is illustrated below:

• DIRECT QUESTION

• Question word + Auxiliary + Subject + Verb

• INDIRECT QUESTION
• Reporting clause + question word + Subject + verb
 EXAMPLES

• 51. a. “Whom did you speak on the phone to?”

• b. Her husband wanted to know whom she
had spoken on the phone to.
• 52. a. “What is your name?”
• b. The policeman asked me what my name
was.
• 53. a. “Where are you going?”
• b. My mother asked me where I was going.
 PAY ATTENTION

• It must be noted that when the question

word is the subject of the interrogative
clause, the word order does not change as
in the examples:
• 54. a. “Who took the money from the
table?”
• b. My sister inquired who had taken the
money from the table.
Imperatives in Indirect Speech

In indirect speech, imperatives become infinitives

preceded by reporting verbs like ask, tell, advise,
order, warn, beg, request, etc.
• 57. a “Go to bed!”
• b. My mother asked me to go to bed.
• 58. a. “Don’t tell my parents about my grades.”
• b. The boy asked the teacher not to tell his
parents about his grades.
• 59. a. “Take long walks in the park.”
• b. The doctor advised me to take long walks
in the park.
60. a “Don’t speak to me like that!”
b. The woman warned her son not to speak to
her like that.
• The imperative with let is usually introduced by
the verb suggest when turned into indirect
speech so the subjunctive must be used in a
that-clause or an –ing.

• 61. a. “Let’s go to a restaurant tonight.”

• b. John suggested that we should go to a
restaurant that night.
• / going to a restaurant that
night.
 Modal Verbs in Indirect Speech

• According to grammars, when we report

statements, suggestions, etc. using modal
verbs, these may change when the
reporting clause is in past tense.
• 69. a. “Can you cook?”
• b. My colleague asked me if I could cook.
• 70. a. Careful! You may fall on the ice!”
• b. The instructor warned me that I might fall
on the ice.
• 71. a. “I’ll be in New York next month.”
• b. Jane says she’ll be in New York next
month.
• 76. a. “The documents must be signed
immediately.”
• b. The secretary explained that the
documents must / had to be signed immediately.