REPORTING VERBS + REPORTED SPEECH + REPORTING ORDERS / SUGGESTIONS / QUESTIONS

Reported speech

Word order

Direct speech
"I play football"
"I am playing football"
"I have played football"
"I played football"
"I was playing football"
"I had played football"
"I had been playing football"
"I will play football"
"I can play football"
"I must play footbal"
Reported speech
He said (that) he played football
He said (that) he was playing football
He said (that) he had played football
He said (that) he had played football
He said (that) he had been playing football
He said (that) he had played football
He said (that) he had been playing football
He said (that) he would play football
He said (that) he could play football
He said (that) he had to play football
1. In reported speech, we usually report what was said at a different time, and so we change the tense to reflect the time which we are reporting:
DIRECT SPEECH: "I'm not playing football."
REPORTED LATER: He said that he wasn't playing football.




2. Sometimes we need to change the pronoun.
DIRECT SPEECH: Jim: "I don't like living here." (Jim is referring to himself)
REPORTED SPEECH: Jim said (that) he didn't like living here. (The pronoun he refers to Jim)


3. We may also need to change other words about place and time.
DIRECT SPEECH: "I like this car."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said (that) he liked the car.

DIRECT SPEECH: "I went to Tokyo last week."
REPORTED SPEECH: She said (that) she'd been to Tokyo the week before.

CHANGES OF PLACE AND TIME:


DIRECT SPEECH:                                REPORTED SPEECH:


- Now, at the moment.                         - Then, at that moment.
- Today.                                             - That day.
- Tonight.                                           - That night.
- Last night.                                        - The previous night, the night before.
- Tomorrow.                                      - The next day, the following day.
- Yesterday.                                       - The previous day, the day before.
- This week.                                       - That week.
- Next week.                                       - The following week, the week after.
- Last year.                                         - The previous year, the year before.
- Here.                                                - (Usually) There.
- This /These.                                     - That / Those.

Functions and examples

We use reported speech to tell someone what another person said.
Jim says to you...
"I don't feel well."
"I can't drive."
"My parents have gone on holiday."
"I'm going out now so you will have to wait until I get back."

You tell your friend what Jim said...
Jim said to me / told me (that) he didn't feel well.
He said to me / told me (that) he couldn't drive.
He said to me / told me (that) his parents had gone on holiday.
He said to me / told me (that) he was going out then so I would have to wait until he got back.

Important points

1. If we report something which is still true, it is not necessary to change the verb.
DIRECT SPEECH: "My car is bigger than yours."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said his car is / was bigger than mine. (That is because my car is supposed to continue being bigger).

2. When we are reporting past tenses, and we see the events from the same viewpoint as the original speaker, it is not necessary to change the tense.
DIRECT SPEECH: "The earthquake happened at half past seven."
REPORTED SPEECH: The radio said that the earthquake happened at half past seven.

3. Modal verbs / expressions such as: could, might, would, should, ought, had better usually do not change in reported speech.
DIRECT SPEECH: "I should go to the dentist."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said that he should go to the dentist.

Reported questions

Form

When we are reporting questions, the subject comes before the verb.
DIRECT SPEECH: "Where are you going?"
REPORTED SPEECH: He asked me where I was going.

DIRECT SPEECH: "Why is he shouting?"
REPORTED SPEECH: He asked me why he was shouting.

DIRECT SPEECH: "What do you want?"
REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me what he wanted.

Negative questions

We do not use the auxiliary verb 'do', except in negative questions.
DIRECT SPEECH: "Who doesn't like cheese?"
REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me who didn't like cheese.

Yes/no questions

We report yes / no questions with 'if' or 'whether'.
DIRECT SPEECH: "Do you want me to come?"
REPORTED SPEECH: I asked him if he wanted me to come.

DIRECT SPEECH: "Have you fed the dog?"
REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me whether I had fed the dog.

Who, what, which

When we report questions with 'who, what or which' + to be + complement, the verb 'to be' can come before or after the complement.
DIRECT SPEECH: "Who is the champion?"
REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me who the champion was OR She asked me who was the champion.

DIRECT SPEECH: "What is your favourite colour?"
REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me what my favourite colour was OR She asked me what was my favourite colour.

Say and tell

Direct and indirect speech

We use 'say' and 'tell' in both direct and indirect speech.
DIRECT SPEECH: I said: "I'm hungry."  /  I told him: "I'm hungry."
INDIRECT SPEECH: I said that I was hungry  /  I told him that I was hungry.

We cannot use 'say' or 'tell' with indirect questions.
Jim asked (me) if I wanted to play football.
NOT: Jim told/said me if I wanted to play football.

Using objects

With 'tell', we say who is told.
He told me that he liked playing tennis.
NOT: He said me that he liked playing tennis.
NOT: He told that he liked playing tennis.

With 'say', if we want to use a personal object, we use to.
He said to them that he would be late.

With other objects, we don't usually use 'tell'.
He said a strange thing.
NOT: He told a strange thing.

Orders and instructions

We can use 'tell' + object + infinitive to give orders and instructions.
I told my son to stop shouting.
She told me to shut up.

Form, functions and examples

We use reporting verbs to report what someone said more accurately than using 'say' and 'tell'.

verb + infinitive
agree, decide, offer, promise, refuse, threaten
They agreed to meet on Friday.
He refused to take his coat off.

verb + object + infinitive
advise, encourage, invite, remind, warn
Tom advised me to go home early.
She reminded me to telephone my mother.

verb + gerund
deny, recommend, suggest
They recommended taking the bus.
She suggested meeting a little earlier.

verb + object + preposition (+ gerund)
accuse, blame, congratulate
He accused me of taking the money.
They congratulated me on passing all my exams.

verb + preposition + gerund
apologize, insist
They apologized for not coming.
He insisted on having dinner.

verb + (that)
admit, agree, decide, deny, explain, insist, promise, recommend, suggest
Sarah decided (that) the house needed cleaning.
They recommended (that) we take the bus.

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