Reported speech 2009

REPORTED SPEECH BOUGUELIMINA Brahim

CONTENTS I. DEFINITION II. BASIC RULES 1. Tense changes a. Basic tense changes b. Other tense changes 2. Time and place changes 3. Pronoun changes 4. Reporting Verbs 5. Use of 'That' in reported speech 6. Indirect Questions III. PRACTICE

I. DEFINITION Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said. It is almost always used in spoken English. Reported speech doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word. When we use reported speech, we are usually talking about the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too. "I'm going to the cinema". He said he was going to the cinema.

II. BASIC RULES When changing from quoted speech to reported speech, several changes occur. In all sentences, the quotation marks and the comma immediately before the first quotation mark are removed. Next, the word "that" is usually inserted after the reporting verb (say, ask, told, etc.) Then, the subject pronoun is changed so that the meaning of the quote is not changed. Lastly, the tense of the verb is changed, or shifted. She said, "I'm teaching English online." She said she was teaching English online.

1. Tense changes a.Basic tense changes As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right): Direct speech Indirect speech Present simple She said, "It's cold." › Past simple She said it was cold. Present continuous She said, "I'm teaching English online." › Past continuous She said she was teaching English online. Present perfect simple She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." › Past perfect simple She said she had been on the web since 1999.

Present perfect continuous She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years." › Past perfect continuous She said she had been teaching English for seven years. Past simple She said, "I taught online yesterday." › Past perfect She said she had taught online yesterday. Past continuous She said, "I was teaching earlier." › Past perfect continuous She said she had been teaching earlier. Past perfect She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived." › Past perfect NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived. Past perfect continuous She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes." › Past perfect continuous NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes.

b. Other tense changes Modal verb forms also sometimes change: !Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to. Direct speech Indirect speech will She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." › would She said she would teach English online tomorrow. can She said, "I can teach English online." › could She said she could teach English online. must She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online." › had to She said she had to have a computer to teach English online. shall She said, "What shall we learn today?" › should She asked what we should learn today. may She said, "May I open a new browser?" › might She asked if she might open a new browser.

Things are slightly more complicated with imperatives. positive imperative Shut up! tell + infinitive He told me to shut up. negative imperative Don't do that again! tell + not + infinitive He told me not to do it again. imperatives as requests Please give me some money. ask + infinitive He asked me to give him some money.

You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still true i.e. my name has always been and will always be Lynne You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event. Direct speech Indirect speech "My name is Lynne" , she said. She said her name was Lynne. or She said her name is Lynne. Direct speech (exact quote) Indirect speech (not exact) "Next week's lesson is on reported speech " , she said. She said next week's lesson is on reported speech.

2. Time and place changes Time and place references often have to change: If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting. now › then today › that day here › there this › that this week › that week tomorrow › the following day the next day the day after

next week › the following week the next week the week after Yesterday › the previous day the day before last week › the previous week the week before Ago › previously before 2 weeks ago › 2 weeks previously 2 weeks before Tonight › that night last Saturday › the previous Saturday the Saturday before next Saturday › the following Saturday the next Saturday the Saturday after that Saturday

In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it, you must change the place (here) to the place (there). Example: Examples: I went to the theatre last night. He said he had gone to the theatre the night before. I'm staying here until next week. He said he was staying there until the following week. At work At home "How long have you worked here?" She asked me how long I'd worked there.

3. Pronoun changes In reported speech, the pronoun often changes. For example: You also need to be careful with personal pronouns. They need to be changed according to the situation. You need to know the context. For example, there is possible confusion when you try to change reported speech to direct speech: She said she'd been waiting for hours. (Is she one person or two different people?) I told them they would have to ask permission. (Are we talking about two groups of people or only one?) Me You " I teach English online." She said she teaches English online.

4. Reporting Verbs Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech. We use “ asked” to report questions: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started. We use “ told” with an object. Lynne told me she felt tired. We usually use “ said” without an object. Lynne said she was going to teach online. If “said” is used with an object we must include “ to” Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China.

There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked . These include: Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative. For example: He asked me to come to the party: accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised, begged, boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and thought. He invited me to the party. He begged me to come to the party. He ordered me to come to the party. He advised me to come to the party. He suggested I should come to the party.

5. Use of 'That' in reported speech In reported speech, the word “ that” is often used. He told me that he lived in Greenwich. However, “ that ” is optional. He told me he lived in Greenwich. !Note – “That ” is never used in questions, instead we often use “ if”. He asked me if I would come to the party.

6. Indirect Questions Use verbs of speech for questions (asked, wondered, enquired, wanted to know, tried to find out, etc.) Use question words (where, when, who, why, how, etc) instead of “that” Change verb tenses, pronouns, and time expressions (just like reported statements) Use question word + subject + verb word order (unlike a direct question) question word + subject + verb He asked when they would arrive. My friend asked if I was coming

QUESTION FORM INDIRECT FORM My friend said "Are you coming?" My friend asked if I was coming TRANSFORMATION PROCESS: 1) Put the subject before the verb. 2) Change the pronoun: you to I 3) Join the clauses using if 4) Adjust the 2nd verb to the time frame of the 1st verb. My friend said "Are you coming?" My friend asked IF I was coming.

III. PRACTICE Now you will hear a conversation between a man and a woman. Listen and report what you have heard, using reported speech. Examples: Frank said, “I live in a small house.” Frank said that he lived in a small house. Alice said, “New York is very exciting.” Alice said that New York was very exciting. Frank asked, “Are you married?” Frank asked if Alice was married

THE END KOOL!!! THANKS FOR LISTENING

Reported speech 2009

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Reported speech 2009