Косвенная речь

Чужое высказывание может быть либо передано так, как оно было произнесено (прямая речь), либо описано с помощью сложносочинённого предложения (косвенная речь). Сравните:

Прямая речь: – (What does he say?) – He says: "We'll have to take a taxi".

– (Что он говорит?) – Он говорит: "Нам придется взять такси".

Косвенная речь: – He said (that) we'd (= would) have to take a taxi.

– Он сказал, что нам придётся взять такси.

При изменении прямой речи в косвенную соблюдаются следующие правила:

1) запятая и кавычки опускаются;

2) все личные и притяжательные местоимения изменяются в зависимости от лица, от которого ведется речь;

3) возможен союз that;

4) а) в утвердительном предложении глагол в повелительном наклонении заменяется инфинитивом;

б) в отрицательном предложении 1-я форма глагола изменяется на not + инфинитив;

5) в вопросах соблюдается прямой порядок слов;

6) общие вопросы вводятся словами if, whether;

7) специальные вопросы вводятся специальными вопросительными словами;

8) если есть дополнение, то say – tell, says to Olga – tells Olga, said to Boris – told Boris. В табл. 8 представлены примеры.

Таблица 8

Примеры трансформации прямой речи в косвенную

Speaker’s words	Reporting verb	Reported statements
Present Simple “My name’s Pete.” “I don’t like the idea.” “I haven’t got any money.”	He told (me) He told (me) She said	Past Simple his name was Pete. he didn’t like the idea. she didn’t have any money.
Present Continuous “I’m waiting for Kate.”	She said	Past Continuous she was waiting for Kate.
Present Perfect “I haven’t done my homework.”	He told (me)	Past Perfect he hadn’t done his homework.
Past Simple “I stayed in a hotel for a few weeks.”	She said	Past Simple or Past Perfect (Past Perfect is often optional) she stayed / had stayed in a hotel for a few weeks.
Past Continuous “They were seeing Pam off on her plane.”	She said / He told (me)	Past Perfect Continuous they had been seeing Pam off on her plane.
Past Perfect “I had eaten earlier.”	She said	Past Perfect she had eaten earlier.
Will / Shall “I will phone the office from the air port.” “I shall speak to him.” “We’ll have driven two hundred kilometres by that time.” “John and Tom will probably be staying at an expensive hotel somewhere.”	He told (me) She said to me She said / He told (me) She said / He told (me)	Would / Shoild he would phone the office from the airport. she would speak to him. we would have driven two hundred kilometres by that time. John and Tom would probably be staying at an expensive hotel somewhere.

Если в прямой речи глагол главного предложения стоит в прошедшем времени, то при преобразовании прямой речи в косвенную время глагола придаточного предложения меняется в соответствии с правилами последовательности употребления времён. Именно в этом основное различие между русским и английским языками в употреблении косвенной речи.

При трансформации прямой речи в косвенную возможно употребление и других глаголов: admit, advise, agree, announce, apologize, beg, boast, complain, confess, demand, deny, doubt, explain, inform, inquire, invite, insist, note, offer, promise, reassure, refuse, remark, remind, repeat, reply, suggest etc.

Exercise 1. Перепишите предложения в косвенной речи.

Example: "The car isn't at my house," he said. –

He said that the car wasn't at his house.

1. "I can't speak any French," he said.

2. "I'm trying to do my homework," she said.

3. "I haven't been waiting long," she said.

4. "I'll have done it by then," he said.

5. "I'll be working all day," he said.

6. "I must go home to make the dinner," she said.

7. "I see Liz quite often," he said.

8. "I've been with the company for most of my life," she said.

Exercise 2. Составьте косвенный вопрос.

Example: Where is Richard? (I want to know …) – I want to know where

Richard is.

1. Where can I buy some clothes? (I want to know …) 2. "Would you like to see my holiday photographs?" she asked. 3. What time is it? (I would like to know …) 4. How much sugar do you put in your tea? (Nelly asks Mary …) 5. "Would you like another piece of cake?" my mother asked Mrs Black. 6. Where did I put my scarf yesterday? (I do not remember …) 7. What does that mean? (I would like to know …) 8. "Would you like to stay with us?" Mrs Steadman asked me. 9. "Will you come to my party on Saturday?" James was interested.

Exercise 3. Перестройте предложения в косвенную речь. Начинайте каждое предложение со слов, данных в скобках (работа в группах по два/три).

Example: – “I am going to the theatre with my boyfriend”. (She says)

– What does she say?

– She says she is going to the theatre with her boyfriend.

1. “We are going to the cinema with our group-mates.” (They say)

2. “I will be ready in a few minutes.” (Ann says)

3. “My friend has not finished her homework yet.” (Bobby tells me)

4. “I have written letters to several of my cousins.” (She tells me)

5. “I have seen this film.” (Mary says)

6. "Finish the job tonight, please." (The boss told me)

7. "Don't use the telephone after eleven o'clock." (The landlord told us)

8. "Don't spend too much money on your holiday." (Jack told his wife)

9. "Run!" (The general ordered the soldiers)

10. "Don't touch that switch." (The electrician warned us)

Exercise 4. Перепишите предложения в косвенной речи.

Example: We may travel abroad. – What did they say? – They said … –

They said (that) they might travel abroad.

1. I may not retire. – What did he say? – He said …

2. It will rain tomorrow. – What did she tell you? – She told me …

3. The children can come with us. – What did he say? – He said …

4. Mary may be right. – What does she tell you? – She tells me …

5. We will come late tomorrow. – What did they tell you? – They told me...

Exercise 5. Составьте косвенные вопросы согласно примеру:

Example: “Shall I invite your girlfriend to the party?” my sister asked. –

My sister asked if / whether she should invite my girlfriend to the party.

My sister wanted to know whether to invite my girlfriend to the party.

1. “Shall I heat the food for you?” my mother asked.

2. “Shall I leave a message for him?” the secretary was interested.

3. “Shall I make you some coffee?” he asked.

4. “Shall I drive you home?” Sally's husband wanted to know.

5. “Shall we help you with the exam?” my group-mates wondered.

6. “Shall he apologize for his being late?” inquired our monitor.

Exercise 6. Переведите предложения из прямой речи в косвенную.

1. “Don’t close the window!” says Jack.

2. Mary said to the waiter: “Please, give me the bill”.

3. “Eat more vegetables,” said the doctor.

4. “Can you open your mouth,” said the doctor.

5. “Leave the territory,” ordered the officer.

Exercise 7. Употребите глагол to say или to tell в нужном времени. Сделайте перевод.

1. Peter … that he understood my explanation.

2. Nick … Sam that he had seen Mary.

3. Pam … her mother that she had torn her new dress.

4. She … that she had to visit her old school-friend.

5. Please … me about the book which you borrowed yesterday.

Exercise 8. Перестройте разделительные вопросы в косвенную речь.

1. "They’re on holiday, aren’t they?" He didn't know ___.

2. "You’ll manage, won’t you?" He asked ___.

3. "I’ve lost a lot of weight, haven’t I?" Kelly was interested ___.

4. "We can’t go tomorrow, can we?" They wanted to know ___.

5. "Someone broke that vase, didn't they?" Mrs Smith asked ___.

6. "Ron had already opened the letter, hadn’t he?" Jim wondered ___.

Exercise 9. Трансформируйте предложения в косвенную речь.

1. “I really will phone in the evening”, he said.

2. “Where have I left my money?” he wondered.

3. “Do you like the film?” she asked.

4. “I went to the seaside”, the boy tells me.

5. “The Sun is bigger than the Earth”, the teacher says.

6. “What is your favourite book?” my friend interested.

7. “They will do it”, he promised me.

8. “Do you like green tea?” she asked.

Exercise 10. Переcтройте предложения в прямую речь.

1. Her parents asked her why she did not go out. 2. I told the waiter to bring caviar. 3. The owner inquired whether he might seat two men at their table. 4. Nina asked if I’d watch her two children all day while she went off to shop in the city. 5. His mother told him that Ann had seen him at the party and had fallen in love with him. 6. Our professor said that in Britain the most important for everyday business were the clearing banks, often called High Street banks. 7. He added that the biggest were the National Westminster, Barclay, Lloyd’s and the Midland.

UNIT 15