Download REPORTED SPEECH

REPORTED SPEECH
1. Introduction
2. Statements in indirect speech: Changes
2.1. Changes in the tense of the reported verb. (exceptions)
2.2. Changes in pronouns
2.3. Changes in adverbs and adverbial phrases.
2.4. Some other changes
3. Questions in indirect speech
3.1. Yes/No questions
3.2. Information questions
4. Commands in indirect speech.
5. Suggestions, requests in indirect speech.
6. Exclamations in indirect speech.
7. “Yes” and “No” in indirect speech.
8. The modal auxiliaries in indirect speech.
9. Introductory verbs.
10. Mixed exercises on indirect speech.
En el estilo indirecto, a diferencia del estilo directo, damos la idea del hablante, sin repetir sus
mismas palabras. Se prescinde de los dos puntos (:) y de las comillas y las palabras se
incorporan a la oración principal.
Este estilo es el que se emplea en la conversación o en la narración de unos hechos en los que
no se quiere reproducir el diálogo sostenido al pie de la letra.
Estilo directo: Peter said: « I want a new suit. »
Estilo indirecto: Peter said that he wanted a new suit.
La diferencia se nota, como ya hemos indicado, en la ausencia de (:) y de las comillas, pero
además en el cambio de los pronombres personales, adjetivos y pronombres posesivos y
demostrativos y en los tiempos de los verbos. También, si existen, se producen cambios en los
adverbios de lugar y tiempo.
Cuando el verbo de la oración principal que introduce el estilo indirecto está en presente,
futuro o pretérito perfecto, se puede prescindir de los cambios, y también cuando se habla de
verdades universales:
Peter says: «It's going to rain.»
Peter says that it's going to rain.
Your father will say: « You can't go.»
Your father will say that you can’t go.
Los cambios siempre se producen cuando el verbo principal está en pasado.
The teacher told me: «You are very clever.»
The teacher told me that I was very clever.
Excepciones:
a. Verdades universales: No debe haber cambios en los tiempos verbales cuando
una frase expresa un hecho supuestamente universal y no aplicable solamente al
tiempo en la que se dijo.
Socrates said, “Virtue is knowledge” Socrates said that virtue is knowledge
b. Acciones habituales: Una acción habitual es algo que normalmente no cambia
He said,”I get up at seven everyday” He said he gets up at seven everyday
c. Frases condicionales: Las frases condicionales que implican una condición
improbable (Tipo II) o imposibles (Tipo III) tampoco cambian en estilo indirecto.
He said, “ If he came I would be surprised”
He said that if he came he would be surprised
Backshift
You must change the tense if the introductory clause is in Simple Past (e. g. He said). This is called
backshift.
Example
He said, “I am happy.” – He said that he was happy.
Direct Speech
Simple Present
Present Progressive
Simple Past
Present Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Simple
Past Progressive
Present Perfect Progressive
Past Perfect Progressive
Future I (going to)
Future I (will)
Conditional I (would)
Reported Speech
Simple Past
Past Progressive
Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Progressive
was / were going to
Conditional I (would)
The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to do not normally change.
Example:
He said, “She might be right.” – He said that she might be right.
Cambios en los pronombres
Los pronombres personales y los adjetivos y pronombres posesivos cambian de
primera o segunda persona a tercera.
They said, “ We’ve brought our books; the books on the desk are ours”
They said that they had brought their books and they said that the book on the desk
were theirs.
Además, observa como cambian también this y these que cambian a that y
those respectivamente
He said, “These are my books” He said that those were his book
Cambios en los adverbios y frases adverbiales:
Place and Time expressions
For place and time expressions you have to check whether place and time are the same in direct and
reported speech or not. Check out the following example:
It is Friday and you meet James at a restaurant. James tells you that he saw Caroline in this
restaurant today. (“I saw Caroline here today.”) A few minutes later, Helen joins you and you want
to report what James has told you. Place (here) and time (today) are the same and you can say:
→ James said that he had seen Caroline here today.
One day later, you meet Mary at the same restaurant. Again, you want to report to her what James
has told you. The place is the same, but not the time (it happened yesterday). So you would say:
→ James said that he had seen Caroline here yesterday.
Still a few days later, Tom rings you at home. Again, you want to report to him what James has told
you. However, now you are not at the restaurant (but at home) and a few days have passed since
then. So you would say:
→ James said that he had seen Caroline at the restaurant on Friday.
Estilo Directo
Today
Estilo indirecto
that day
Yesterday
the day before/the previous day
Tomorrow
the day after/the next day/the following day
Next week/year
the following week/year
Last week/year
the previous week/year
Here
there
Now
Then
here
this
these
there
that
those
He said, “I’ll see you tomorrow”
He said he would see him the following day
Otros cambios
Estilo Directo
Estilo indirecto
Ago
before
Come
go
Bring
take
He said, ”I saw him four days ago”
He said he had seen him four days before
Questions
For pronouns, tenses and place / time expressions see statements in reported speech.
Besides, note that instead of ‚that‘ you use the interrogative. If there is no interrogative, use
‚whether‘ / ‚if‘.
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
He said: “She lives in London.“ He said that she lived in London
statement
question with interrogative He asked:“Where does she live?“ He asked where she lived.
He asked whether she lived in
He asked: “Does she live in
question without
London.
London?“
interrogative
He asked if she lived in London.
It is also important that you use an indirect question in reported speech, i.e. after the interrogative or
‚whether‘ / ‚if‘ you continue the sentence as if it were a statement (subject-verb etc.). The auxiliary
verb ‚do‘ is not used in indirect questions.
Example:
He asked: “Where does she live?“ – He asked where she lived.
Commands
¿Cómo pasamos órdenes a estilo indirecto?
Para pasar órdenes (commands) a Estilo Indirecto usaremos los verbos TELL o ORDER, nunca el
verbo SAY. Pero lo más importante es recordar que una orden tiene como objetivo, conseguir que
alguien haga algo, que lleve a cabo una acción. Así pues nosotros pondremos una orden en estilo
indirecto , reflejando la acción que se ordena de la forma más simple: to + infinitivo
Estilo directo: My father told me : Work hard for your exam!
Estilo indirecto: My father told me to work hard for my exam.
En caso de que la orden sea negativa , al infinitivo se le antepone not .
Estilo directo : My father told me : Don't get back home late!
Estilo indirecto: My father told me not to get back home late.
Suggestions, requests in indirect speech.
Suggestions
El verbo “suggest” se utiliza para hacer sugerencias en estilo indirecto. Se puede emplear de dos
maneras:
 Sujeto + forma correcta del verbo + proposición encabezada por “that”
“Why don’t we go out?” He suggested.
He suggested that they go out
 Sujeto + forma correcta del verbo en –ing
“Why don’t we go out?” He suggested.
He suggested going out
Requests
For pronouns and place / time expressions see statements in reported speech. Tenses are not
relevant for requests – simply use ‚to‘ + infinite verb.
Example:
She said, “Say hello to your mum.“ – She asked me to say hello to my mum.
For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb.
Example:
He said, “Don’t give up, Bob.“ – He advised Bob not to give up.
Example:
“Can I have a sandwich?”, .- He asked for a sandwich
Exclamaciones
Las exclamaciones tienen el mismo tratamiento que las aseveraciones
E.g. “What a dreadful thing!” o “How dreadful!” He said that it was a dreadful
thing/that it was dreadful
“Yes” y “No” en Estilo indirecto
Yes y No se expresan en estilo indirecto mediante la fórmula Sujeto + verbo auxiliar
apropiado: He said, “Can you swim?” and I said, “No”
He asked (me) if I could swim and I answered that I couldn’t
He said, “Will you have time to do it?” and I said, “yes”
He asked if I would have time to do it and I answered that I would
The introductory verbs in Reported Speech:
A. Say and tell:
Say and Tell with Direct Speech:
1. Say can introduce a statement or follow it:
Tom said, “I’ve just heard the news”, or
“I’ve just heard the news”, Tom said
Inversion of say and noun subject is possible when say follows the
statement:
“I’ve just heard the news”, said Tom
say + to + person addressed is possible, but this phrase must follow
the direct statement; it cannot introduce it:
“I’m leaving at once”, Tom said to me
- Inversion is not possible here
–
2. tell requires the person adressed: tell me he told us I’ll tell Tom
except with tell lies/stories/the truth, when the person adressed need
not be mentioned: He told (me) lies
tell used with direct speech must be placed after the direct statement:
“I’m leaving at once”, Tom told me - Inversion is not possible with tell –
Say and Tell with Indirect Speech
Indirect statements are normally introduced by say or tell + object.
Say + to + object is possible but much less usual than tell + object
He said he’d just heard the news.
He told me he’d just heard the news
B.
Other useful verbs which can be used either with direct or indirect
speech are: add*, admit*, assure + object, answer*, argue*, boast*,
complain*, deny*, explain*, grumble*, observe*, point out, promise,
remark*, remind + object, reply.
With direct speech they follow direct statements
“It won’t cost more”, Tom assured us.
Starred verbs (*) can be inverted, provided the subject is a noun:
“But it will take longer”, Bill objected/objected Bill
They can all introduce indirect statements, that should be placed after the
verb:
Tom assured us that it wouldn’t cost more. But Bill objected/pointed out
that it would take longer.
C. murmur, mutter, shout, stammer, whisper can precede or follow direct
statements or questions. Noun subjects can also be inverted and when
introducing indirect statements that is usually necessary.
“You are late”, whispered Tom/Tom whispered.
Tom whispered that we were late
There are, of course, a lot of other verbs describing the voice or the tone of
voice, e.g. bark, growl, snarl, sneer, roar, scream, shriek, yell. But these are
more common with direct than indirect speech.
D. Infinitive and gerund constructions in Indirect Speech
Agree, refuse, offer, promise, threaten + infinitive can sometimes be used
instead of say (that).
E.g. ANN: “Would you wait half an hour?”
TOM: “All right”
Tom agreed to wait or Tom said he would wait.
Accuse + object + of, admit, deny, apologize for, insist on + gerund can
sometimes be used instead of say that.
E.g. TOM: “I’ll pay for both of us.
BILL: “Let’s each pay our own share”
TOM: “No, I’ll pay”.
“No, I’ll pay” could be reported as Tom insisted on paying
E. Introductory verbs in questions:
In questions, the introductory verb say must be changed to a verb of inquiry,
e.g. ask, inquire, wonder, want to know
He said: “Where’s the station?” He asked where the station was.
Ask, inquire, wonder, can also be used in direct speech (placed at the end
of the sentence)
“Where’s the station?”, He inquired.
Ask can be followed by the person adressed (Indirect object), but inquire,
wonder, want to know cannot take an indirect object, so if we wish to report
a question where the person adressed is mentioned, we must use ask.
F. Other introductory verbs
1. For commands: tell, command, order, encourage, entreat, forbid,
remind, urge, etc...
He said, “Go away”
He told/ordered/commanded... me to go away
2. For requests: ask, request, implore, beg, etc...
“Could I see her again?”
He asked/implored/begged...to see her again
3. For offers and invitations: offer, invite
“Shall I bring you some tea?”
He offered to bring me some tea
4. For speculations: wonder
“Shall I ever see them again?” he wondered
He wondered if he would
ever see them again
5. For advice: tell, advise, warn, recommend...
“Don’t swim too far, boys,” I said I told/warned the boys not to swim too far.
6. For suggestions: suggest
“Let’s stop now”
He suggested stopping then
He suggested that they should stop
7. For exclamatory sentences:
He said, “Thank you”
He thanked me
He said, “Curse the wind”
He cursed the wind
He said, “Welcome”
He welcomed me
He said, “Happy Christmas”
He wished me a happy Christmas
He said, “Congratulations”
He congratulated me
He said, “Liar”
He called me a liar.
He said, “Damn it”
He swore.
Exercises on Reported Speech
The following exercises have been taken (mostly) from the following web page. There you can
find many more at different levels and on-line answers.
http://www.agendaweb.org/verbs/reported_speech.html (100 free exercises on R.S.)
1. Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a
statement or a question.
1. "Next week he will visit his aunt in Oslo."
Mary knew that he.........................aunt in Oslo the following week.
2. "We should tell her the truth."
He was sure that we …………………the truth.
3. "Who broke the windows?"
The principle wanted to know ……………………the windows.
4. "Jill wants to sing at the concert next week."
He realized that Jill ................................at the concert the following week.
5. "Please, explain that to me again."
Helen begged the teacher politely …………………….that …………………again. (infinitive
construction)
6. "I lived in St. Paul some years ago."
Suzanne told us that …………………..in St. Paul……………………..
7. "This dress suits you very well."
Everybody maintained (that) that dress ……………………very well.
8. "Did you copy your homework?"
Mr. Clever asked the lazy boy if …………………….homework.
9. "Don't copy your homework."
Mother told us ……………………..homework. (infinitive construction)
10. "I didn't tell anybody about that."
The little boy maintained that …........................anybody about that
2. Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a
statement or a question.
1.
He said, "I like this song."
→ He said ............................................................
2.
"Where is your sister?" she asked me.
→ She asked me ..............................................................
3.
"I don't speak Italian," she said.
→ She said ..........................................................
4.
"Say hello to Jim," they said.
→ They asked me ............................................................
5.
"The film began at seven o'clock," he said.
→ He said .........................................................................
6.
"Don't play on the grass, boys," she said.
→ She told the boys .........................................................................
7.
"Where have you spent your money?" she asked him.
→ She asked him .............................................................................
8.
"I never make mistakes," he said.
→ He said .......................................................................
9.
"Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know.
→ He wanted to know .............................................................................
10.
"Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience.
→ The stuntman advised the audience .....................................................................
3. Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a
statement or a question.
(1) "I'm going to France next week."
He said that .....................................to France .............................week.
(2) "They haven't spoken to their parents for six years."
She said that they ................................to their parents for six years.
(3) "Sue doesn't want to go out with me."
He said that Sue ....................................to go out with……………………………………...
(4) "You'll have to be here at 3 o'clock this afternoon."
She told me that I ...............................at 3 o'clock……………………………………………….
(5) "I moved into my flat three years ago."
I said that I ...................................into my flat three years…………………………………..
(6) "If I hear anything I'll phone you."
He told me that if he ....................................anything
he………………………………………….
(7) "You can move into the flat as soon as you want."
She told ........................that they ......................into the flat as soon as……………………….
(8) "You must bring me the money tomorrow."
He told us that ...............................the money…………………………………..
(9) "I often go to the cinema."
She told us that she often ............................to the cinema.
(10) "I'm going to do it now if you'll let me."
She told him that she .................................if he………………………………………………...
Exercise 4. Last week you met a friend of yours called Charlie; you hadn't seen him for a
long time. Here are some of the things Charlie said to you:
(1) I haven't seen Diane recently
(2) I don't know why Fred was sacked from his company
(3) I'm living in London with my parents
(4) You look much older than me
(5) You can come and stay with me if you are ever in London
(6) I'll tell Anne I've seen you here
(7) I want to go on holiday but I can't afford it
Exercise 5: Match what somebody says to you (on the left - which is the opposite of what
they said before) with your answers (on the right).
1-“That restaurant is very expensive”
2-“Ann is coming to your party”
3-“I know lots of people”
a. Is she? I thought you said that she
wasn't coming to my party
b. Is it? But you said it was cheap
4-“I have seen this film before”
c. Do you? But you told me that you didn't
know anyone!
5-“I'll tell your girlfriend your little dirty
secret”
d. Will you? But you promised you
wouldn't tell it!
e. Have you? I thought you said that you
hadn't seen this film
Exercise 6: The following ideas are direct speech. Change these commands into reported
speech.
Don't tell anyone what happened yesterday!
Stay in bed till you feel a bit better!
Don't wait for me if I'm late!
Don't forget me even if you marry Joe!
Don't make me any personal question!
Speak a bit louder or I won't understand you!
Exercise 7: The following ideas are direct speech. Change these REQUESTS into reported
speech.
Can you open your bag, please?
Could you repeat what do you say?
Do you think you could give me a hand, Tom?
Would you mind not making so much noise?
Will you marry me, John?
Please slow down !
Exercise 8 : Here are some things that Joe said to you. Match them to your related answers.
1. Jane has a very well- paid job
2. You shouldn't complain about your job to your boss
3. Have you told your wife that you have problems?
4. Why don't you tell Ann that you love her?
5. Don't ask me any other favour
6. What do you think about my job?
7. Could you lend me some money I need?
a. But you told me not to ask me any other favour!
b. But you asked me to tell Ann that I love her!
c. But you said Jane had a very-well paid job!
d. Again? Yesterday you also asked me what I thought about your job!
e. However you told me not to complain about my job to my boss!
f. Again? Yesterday you also asked if I told my wife that I had problems!
g. Have you? But yesterday you asked me to lend you some money you needed!