THE

REPORTED
SPEECH
GRAMMAR
 introduction
FIRST, WE HAVE TO DIFFERENTIATE DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH (REPORTED
SPEECH)

DIRECT SPEECH: INDIRECT SPEECH:

What someone says. Telling another person what
someone said.
“I like football” David said
David said he likes football
 REPORTED SPEECH
• Reported speech is used to tell someone what
somebody said without quoting him.
• It is also called indirect speech
• It conveys the same meaning, but not the exact words
Direct speech: ‘I work in a bank’ Daniel said
Indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank
Click on the
video to see
some
examples:

https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=E
Hzsmf2vgws
 POSSIBLE CHANGES
In order to use it correctly we must have a few things
into account:
TENSE CHANGES
PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND POSSESIVE
ADJECTIVES
TIME EXPRESSIONS
OMISSION OF WORDS
SELECTING THE APPROPIATE VERB
PERSONAL PRONOUNS & Possessive
• The most frequent mistakes with the reported speech is the
use of personal pronouns and he possessive adjectives.
• You always have to change them according to the meaning
of the sentence:
Direct: John said, “I still haven’t done my homework”
Reported: Tim said (that) he still hadn’t done his
homework.
 Click on the
video to see
some examples:

https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=o6h_BFeC
A04&t=2s
 VERBAL TENSES

PRESENT SIMPLE PAST SIMPLE

PRESENT PAST
CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS
PRESENT
PAST PERFECT
PERFECT
PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT
PAST PAST PERFECT
CONTINOUS CONTINOUS
CONDITONAL
FUTURE (WILL)
(WOULD)
 VERBAL TENSES
“My train arrives at 3
o’clock”
I am playing chess this
afternoon
He made roast beef
I paid five pounds for the
books
I was walking to the bus
stop
I will return the videos
tomorrow
He said that his train
arrived at 3 o’clock
He said that he was playing
chess that afternoon
He said that he had
made roast beef
He said that he had paid five
pounds for the book
He said that he was
walking to the bus stop
He said that he would return
the videos the next day
 TIP!
Los tiempos en presente pasan a ser el mismo tiempo
pero en pasado.
Por ejemplo, el presente continuo pasa a ser pasado
continuo.

Los tiempos en pasado pasan a ser el mismo tiempo

pero en modo perfecto.
Por ejemplo, el pasado continuo pasa a ser pasado
 TENSE CHANGES
The tense can remain if it reports a general truth:
“I am from Ohio” Jen said
Jen said that she is from Ohio

The teacher said “Malta is an island”

The teacher said that Malta is an island
Click on the
video to see
some
examples:

https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=Z
BLdduB_qa0
 TIME EXPRESSIONS

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

NOW THEN, INMEDIATELY
TODAY THAT DAY
YESTERDAY THE DAY BEFORE, /THE
PREVIOUS DAY
TOMORROW THE NEXT DAY / THE
FOLLOWING DAY
THIS WEEK THAT WEEK
LAST WEEK THE WEEK BEFORE / THE
PREVIOUS WEEK
NEXT WEEK THE WEEK AFTER / THE
FOLLOWING WEEK
AGO BEFORE
HERE THERE
COME GO
Click on the
video to see
some
examples:

https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=P
4GgZosNQl0
 SAY vs. tell
SAY TELL
We use it when there is no It is used to indicate who
indirect object: received the message.
He said he was tired Therefore, we use it when
there is a direct object in
We can use it with and
the phrase:
indirect object if we use
‘to’:
He said to us that he was He told us he was very
 Omission of words
• ‘that’ CAN BE omitted:
John said (that) he was having his bike repaired

• In reported questions, interjections and polite

expressions ARE be omitted:
Direct: Can you tell me when the next bus to Leeds is,
please?
Reported: She asked when the next bus to Leeds was.
Reported
Questions
 ask
They are usually inquire
introduced with
the verbs: wonder
want to
know
 YES / NO QUESTIONS:

When the direct question begins with an auxiliary verb (be,

do, have) or a modal verb (can, may…) then the reported
questions is introduced with ‘if’ or ‘whether’:

Direct: Are there any oranges left?

Reported: He asked me whether/if there were any
oranges left
 WH- QUESTIONS
When the direct question begins with a question word (who,
where, when…) the reported question is introduced by the
same word.

Direct: What time is it, please?

Reported: He asked me what time it
was
Click on the
video to see
some
examples:

https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=g
2C7-nLkZ8I
Reported commands
 REPORTED
To report commands
and requests we
COMMAND
usually use order or S
tell and:
to-infinitive
not + to -infinitive
 Reported COMMANDS
Examples:
• Direct speech: “Open the door!”
• Reported speech: He ordered me to open the door.

• Direct speech: “Don’t be back late”

• Reported speech: He told me not to be back late
Click on the
video to see
some
examples:

https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v
=vpkuDSzd-vY&
t=6s
 REPORTING
VERBS
There are a wide variety of verbs
to use in reporting sentences
different from “say” and “tell”.
Some are followed by an infinitive,
others by –ing, and some are
followed by “that”
To + infinitive
• *Agree • *Promise
• *Claim
• Refuse
• *Demand
• Offer • *Threaten
To + infinitive
• He agreed to lend me the CD
• He promised to call me as
soon as he got home
• He claimed to be working on a
secret project.
• He refused to do what his
• He demanded to be served
immediately boss wanted
• He threatened to give us extra
• He offered to buy tickets for
homework if we weren’t quiet
the concerts
Somebody + To + infinitive
• advise • forbid
• allow • invite
• ask • order
• beg • *remind
• command • *warn
• encourage
Somebody + To + infinitive
• He advised me to try to get more
exercise.
• He allowed me to watch the film
on TV.
• He asked me where I live.
• He begged me to do something.
• He commanded her to put the
gun down.
• He encouraged me to go to the
party.
• He forbade me to listen to music at
night.
• He invited me to go to his wedding
reception.
• He ordered me to do 20 press ups.
• He reminded me to lock the door.
• He warned me not to believe
everything she says.
-ing form
• complain (to sb)
• Accuse sb of…
of/about
• Admit (to) • Deny
• Insist on
• Apologise for
• suggest
-ing form
• He complained (to me)
• He accused her of
of feeling very hungry.
telling his secret to • He denied stealing /
Mary. having stolen the money.
• He insisted on giving me
• He admitted to a lift home.
dropping/having • He suggested playing
badminton the next day.
dropped the glass.
+ that clause
• Explain: He explained
that it was quicker to * The verbs marked with
take the train than the an asterisk can also be
bus. followed by a that-clause
in reported speech.
• Inform sb: He informed
us that the flight had
been cancelled due to
bad weather.