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Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) |
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Introductory clause in the present
tense (e.g.he says): - No backshift of tenses - Personal pronouns must be
- Expressions of time and
Example: Peter says
that he wants to talk |
Introductory clause in the past tense
(e.g. he said): - Backshift of tenses - Personal pronouns must be
- Expressions of time and
Example: Peter said that he wanted to talk to Mary the next day. |
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1. Backshift |
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If the introductory clause is in the past tense (e.g. he said), the tenses must be shifted back: |
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- present tense |
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past tense |
Tom said, "I don't want to go out." |
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Tom said that he didn't want to go out. |
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- past tense |
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past perfect |
Brian said, "I lost my watch." |
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Brian said that he had lost his watch. |
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- present
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past perfect |
Angi said, "They have just left." |
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Angi said that they had just left. |
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- past perfect |
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past perfect |
He said, "I hadn't expected so much." |
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He said that he hadn't expected so much. |
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- will-future |
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conditional |
Peter said, "I will see you soon." |
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Peter said that he would see him soon." |
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Important:
will ®
would
But: would ®
would |
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The simple present can remain unchanged in reported speech to show that something is always the case e.g.: John said, "School
with us starts at 8.10." He told me that school with them
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2. Personal Pronouns / possessive determiners |
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I |
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he / she |
She said, "I will be back soon." She said to me that she would be back soon. |
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we |
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they |
My friends said, "We want to leave at once." My friends said to me that they wanted to leave at once. |
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my |
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his / her |
Peter said, "I don't like my new car." Peter said that he didn't like his new car. |
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3. Expressions of time and place |
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My father said, "I'm sure I saw you here last week." |
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My father said that he was sure that he had seen him there the week before. |
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Expressions of time and place are usually changed as follows: |
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today |
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that day |
two days ago |
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two daysbefore |
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tonight |
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that night |
tomorrow |
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the next day/ the following day |
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this week |
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that week |
next year |
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the next year/
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this year |
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that year |
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yesterday |
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the day before |
here |
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there |
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last Friday |
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the Friday before |
in this country |
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in that country |
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Expressions like today, this month, next year don't have to be changed, if the report is given before that day, month, year etc. is over. |
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4.Questions in reported speech |
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Steve said to me, "What do you think about my new girlfriend?" |
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Steve asked me what I thought about his new girlfriend. |
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Carol said, "Do you speak English at home?" |
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Carol asked me if/whether we spoke English at home. |
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If the question in direct speech is without an interrogative (Fragewort, e.g. what, who etc.), if or whether is used to introduce the clause in reported speech. |
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!! Mind the word order: - in direct questions auxiliary/subject/main verb Can I go out? - in reported questions
subject/(auxiliary)/main verb |
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5. Commands in reported speech |
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Danny said, "Leave the room immediately!" |
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Danny told him to leave the room immediately. |
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Mary said to her sister, "Don't run so fast!" |
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Mary told her sister not to run so fast. |
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For commands in reported speech use introductory verbs like 'tell' or 'advise' + infinitive with 'to'. To express negative commands use 'tell' or 'advise' + not + infinitive with 'to'. |
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