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REPORTED SPEECH

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Direct Speech

It is one way of expressing what a person has said.In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact words

‘I am going to Oxford with my parents tomorrow,’ Ben said.

The remark is placed between inverted commas and a comma appears immediately before the remark.

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Reported SpeechWe give the exact meaning of a remark or a speech, but without necessarily using the speaker’s exact words.

Ben said (that) he was going to Oxford with his parents the following day.Quotation marks disappear. There is no comma after the introductory verb (say/ask/tell…).

When we turn direct speech into indirect, some changes are usually necessary.

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CHANGESWhen we report a statement, a question or any

other type of sentence, the following changes take

Place:1. VERB TENSES2. TIME EXPRESSIONS3. PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE

ADJECTIVES4. OTHER CHANGES

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Present Simple

Present ContinuousPresent Perfect SimplePresent Perfect

ContinuousPast SimplePast ContinuousPast Perfect SimplePast Perfect ContinuousFuture Simple

1. VERB TENSESWhen the introductory verb is in the past, the verb in direct speech changes into the corresponding past tense in reported speech. DIREC T SPEECH

REPORTED SPEECHPast SimplePast ContinuousPast Perfect SimplePast Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect SimplePast Perfect Cont. /No

changeNo changeNo changeConditional Simple

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2. TIME EXPRESSIONS

DIRECT SPEECHREPORTED SPEECH

NOWTODAY, TONIGHTTHIS

WEEK/MONTH/YEARYESTERDAYLAST NIGHT/WEEK…TOMORROWNEXT WEEK/MONTH…TWO DAYS/MONTHS …

AGO

THENTHAT DAY, THAT NIGHTTHAT WEEK/MONTH/..THE DAY BEFORETHE PREVIOUS

NIGHT/WEEKTHE FOLLOWING DAYTHE FOLLOWING WEEK/…TWO DAYS/MONTHS..

BEFORE

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3. PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

They change according to the context‘I will lend you our car,’ Bill said.Bill said (that) he would lend me their car.‘He has just arrived, ‘ I said.I told them he had just arrived.

4. OTHER CHANGESTHIS/THESE THAT /THOSEHERE THERECOME GO

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A. STATEMENTSINTRODUCTORY VERBS

SAY TELLSAY + THAT

‘I have been working since this morning,’ she said.She said (that) she had been working since that morning

SAY + TO + OBJECTShe said to me that she had been working since that morning

TELL + OBJECT‘I have been working since this morning,’ she said.She told me that she had been working since that morning.

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STRUCTURE

SUBJECT + SAID + (TO+OBJ) + (THAT) + SUBJ. + VERB…

SUBJECT + TOLD + OBJECT + (THAT) + SUBJ+ VERB…

‘I know her,’ Richard said.Richard said (that) he knew her.‘They will never speak to you again,’ Rachel

said to her husband.Rachel said to her husband that they would

never speak to him again.

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B. QUESTIONS

1)INTRODUCTORY VERBSASK, WANT TO KNOW, WONDER, INQUIRE2) The question mark is omitted3) The word order is the same as the one in a

statement‘Where do you live? ‘ she said.She asked me where I lived.‘Did she buy a coat at the sales? ‘ Bruce

said.Bruce asked them if she had bought a

coat at the sales.

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B.1. WH- QUESTIONS

STRUCTURE:SUBJECT + ASKED + OBJECT + WH – WORD

+ SUBJ + VERB +…‘How old is he?’ he asked me.He asked me how old he was.‘Where did he go last night?’ Milly said.Milly asked them where he had gone the

previous night/ the night before.

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B. 2. YES/NO QUESTIONSSTRUCTURE:SUBJECT+ ASKED + OBJECT+ IF/WHETHER +

SUBJECT + VERB …‘Do you know what time it is?’ his mother said.His mother wanted to know if he knew what time it was‘Do you want to go by air or sea?’ the travel agent asked.The travel agent asked me whether I wanted to go by air or sea

Note: We use WHETHER when a choice has to be made or when there is a conditional sentence in the question.

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C. ORDERS AND COMMANDS

INTRODUCTORY VERBS:TELL, ORDER, WARN

STRUCTURE:(+) SUBJECT + TOLD/ORDERED + OBJECT + TO

INFINITIVE + ….‘Be quiet!’ the teacher said.The teacher ordered the students to be

quiet.(-) SUBJECT + TOLD/ORDERED + OBJECT + NOT

TO + INFINITIVE‘Don’t open the door,’ his mother said.His mother told him not to open the door.

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D. SUGGESTIONSDIRECT SPEECHA) ‘Let’s have lunch together tomorrow,’ she

said.B) ‘Why don’t we have lunch together

tomorrow,?’ she said.C) ‘How/What about having lunch together

tomorrow?’ she said.D) ‘Shall we have lunch together tomorrow?’

she said.

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REPORTED SPEECH

STRUCTURE:SUBJECT + SUGGESTED + VERB-ING

She suggested having lunch together the following day.

SUBJECT + SUGGESTED + SUBJECT 2 + SHOULD + BARE INFINITIVE

She suggested that they should have lunch together the following day.

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E. ADVICE

DIRECT SPEECH‘If I were you, I would give up smoking, ‘ she said to them.‘You had better give up smoking,’ she said to them.‘Why don’t you give up smoking?’ she said to them.‘You should /ought to give up smoking,’ she said to them.

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REPORTED SPEECH

STRUCTURE:SUBJECT + ADVISED + OBJECT + TO

INFINITIVE + …She advised them to give up smoking.

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MODALS IN REPORTED SPEECH

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

WILL SHALLMAYMUSTCAN

WOULDSHOULDMIGHTMUST/HAD TOCOULD

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NOTE:COULD, MIGHT, WOULD, SHOULD remain

unchanged in reported speechMUST remains the same when it expresses

possibility or deduction. When it expresses obligation, we can change it into MUST or HAD TO.

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F. OFFERS AND REQUESTSDIRECT SPEECH‘Will /Can/Could/Would you help me carry these

bags, please?’ she said.‘Shall I help you carry these bags?’ he said.‘Would you like to go to the cinema?’ they said.REPORTED SPEECHSTRUCTURE:SUBJ+ OFFERED/ASKED+ OBJECT + TO-

INFINITIVEShe asked me to help her carry the bags.She offered to carry the bags for me.They invited me to go to the cinema.

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REPORTING A DIALOGUE OR A CONVERSATION

In conversations we use a mixture of sentences(statements, questions, orders, suggestions….).

When weturn into reported speech, we use AND, AS,

ADDINGTHAT, AND HE /SHE ADDED THAT,

EXPLAININGTHAT, BECAUSE, BUT, SINCE, AND THEN

HE/SHEWENT ON TO SAY, WHILE, THEN…Words or expressions such as Oh, Oh dear, Well

, etc areomitted in reported speech.We can also use the corresponding

introductory verb inthe present participle (-ing)

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EXAMPLE

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

‘Oh, this is a very nice dress,’ she

said. ‘How much does it cost?’

‘I can’t buy it,’ she said. ‘I can’t

afford it.’‘Shall I help you?’ he said.

‘We can work on it together.’

She remarked/exclaimed that

that was a very nice dress and

she asked how much it cost.

she said she couldn’t buy it,

explaining that she couldn’t

afford it.He offered to help me,suggesting that we could

workon it together.