Времена английского глагола в сравнении = English Tenses Compared. Пособие
.pdfMany verbs are more descriptive than say and tell, they indicate the underlying intention of the speaker.
eg Original statement |
Speech intention |
Reported speech |
‘I’m sorry I’m late.’ |
an apology |
He apologized for |
|
|
being late. |
‘I won’t go.’ |
a refusal |
She refused to go. |
Here are some reporting verbs often used to report statements: say, tell (conveying information); promise (promise); explain (explanation); agree (agreement); disagree (disagreement); refuse (refusal); remark (casual remark); add (additional remark); warn (warning); remind (reminder); answer, reply (answer); assure (assurance); announce (announcement), deny (denial), recommend (recommendation), complain (complaint), admit (admission), insist (insistence), offer (offer), boast (boast), threaten (threat) and others.
Reporting verbs can take various different constructions. They can be followed by:
—a clause introduced by that:
say, tell (+pronoun), explain, agree, remind (+ noun/pronoun), complain, reply, admit, boast, etc.
He said/told me/explained that they had left.
—the infinitive with to:
agree, offer, promise, refuse, threaten
The child refused to eat any food. He offered to lend me some money.
—a verb in the -ing form:
apologize (+ for), admit, insist (+ on) , accuse (+ somebody + of) She apologized for telling a lie.
He admitted using my car.
—a noun or pronoun:
accept, explain, greet, introduce, refuse, thank
She explained the problem to him.
He introduced her to the other students.
—two objects:
offer, refuse, promise
He offered me a lift.
He promised me a pay rise.
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7.Pronouns (eg I, me) and possessive adjectives (eg my, your) often change in reported speech. Compare:
Sue: ‘I’m on holiday with my friend.’
Reported speech: Sue said (that) she was on holiday with her friend.
8.People use the words like here, now, today to talk about the place where they are speaking and the time they are speaking. If we report these words in a different place or at a different time, they often change. For example:
Speaker’s words |
Reported speech |
here |
there |
this |
that / the |
now |
then |
today |
that day |
tonight |
that night |
tomorrow |
the next day / the following day |
yesterday |
the day before / the previous day |
next Monday |
the following Monday |
last Monday |
the previous Monday |
The way these words change depends on the situation. For example, if someone was speaking a week ago and said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’, we shall report ‘He said he would see me the next/the following day.’ But if someone was speaking yesterday, we shall say ‘He said he would see me today.’ If someone was speaking a week ago and said ‘I’ll see you tonight’, we shall report ‘He said he would see me that night.’ But if someone said it today, we shall say ‘He said he would see me tonight.’
Reported questions
1. We report yes / no questions with if or whether.
‘Is your husband in?’ He asked if you were in.
‘Has he gone to London?’ He wanted to know whether you’d gone to London.
2. Reporting wh-questions we use question words (which, why, where, etc.).
‘Which train did he take?’ He asked me which train you’d taken. ‘When does he usually get home?’ He asked when you usually got home.
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3.The word order in a reported question is the same as in statements (eg you were in, you’d gone to London, you ‘d taken, you usually got home) and we do not use a question mark (?).
4.Reported questions can be introduced by the following verbs: ask, know, want to know, wonder, not know.
asked me
wanted to know
He where the key was. wondered
didn’t know
Sometimes questions are reported by a simple sentence.
‘What’s the time?’ He asked me the time.
5. Tenses, adjectives, pronouns, etc. in reported questions change in the same way as in reported statements.
Reported commands
1. We often report orders, requests, warnings, advice and invitations using the structure verb + object + to-infinitive.
Speaker’s words
‘ Get out of my room.’ ‘Could you carry some bags, Mike?
‘Stay away from me.’ ‘You should phone the police.’
‘Would you like to have dinner with us?’
Reported speech
She told the man to get out of her room. I asked Mike to carry some bags.
He warned them to stay away from him. She advised him to phone the police.
They invited me to have dinner with them.
2. Notice the negative command. Use not before to.
He told me not to tell anyone.
The police warned people not to go out.
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3. We can also report orders with a form of must or be to.
Doctor: |
Take the pills before meals. |
|
The doctor told me to take the pills before meals. |
or |
The doctor said I must / had to take / was to take the |
|
pills before meals. |
Doctor: |
You mustn’t smoke. |
|
The doctor said I mustn’t / was not to smoke. |
or |
The doctor told me not to smoke. The doctor forbade |
|
me to smoke. |
4. We can also report orders with gerunds.
‘Let’s go out.’ Tony suggested going out.
‘We simply must take a taxi.’ Mrs Lee insisted on taking a taxi.
5. The reporting verb can be in the passive.
I was told to take the pills before meals.
You were asked not to leave the car there.
Exclamations – Yes / No Short answers – Question Tags
•We use the verbs exclaim / say that to report exclamations which begin with ‘What a / an ...’ or ‘How...’ in direct speech.
‘What an unusual design!’ he said.
He exclaimed / said that it was an unusual design. He exclaimed / said that the design was unusual.
But with exclamations such as ‘Splendid!’, Great!’, ‘Good!’, ‘Excellent!’, ‘Oh!’, ‘Oh dear!’ etc. we use the expression give an exclamation of delight / disgust / relief / surprise, etc.
Wow!’ he said as he unwrapped his gift.
He gave an exclamation of surprise as he unwrapped his gift.
•Note the way conversational formulas are reported.
a)They said, ‘Thank you.’ 
They thanked us.
b)‘You fool!’ she said. 
She called him a fool.
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c) ‘Happy Birthday!’ we said to Tom. 
We wished Tom a happy birthday. d) ‘Congratulations!’ they said to us. 
They congratulated us.
•Yes / No short answers are expressed in reported speech with subject + appropriate auxiliary verb/ introductory verb.
‘Will you help me decorate the cake?’ she asked him. ‘Yes,’ he said.
She asked him to help her decorate the cake and he said he would / he agreed.
• Question tags are omitted in reported speech. We use an appropriate introductory verb to convey the same meaning.
‘You won’t tell anyone, will you?’ she said to him. She asked him not to tell anyone.
Reporting a Dialogue
In dialogues we use a mixture of statements, questions, commands, requests, etc. In reported speech, we use: and, as, adding that, and (he / she) added that, because, but, since, and then (he / she) went on to say (that), while, then, etc. to link the sentences in a dialogue. We can also use introductory verbs in the present participle form (offering, begging, explaining, etc.).
a)‘I’m exhausted,’ she said to him. ‘Can you make me a cup of tea?’ She exclaimed that she was exhausted and asked him to make her a cup of tea.
b)‘I’ll take a taxi home. It’s getting late,’ he said.
He said that he would take a taxi home as / because / since it was getting late.
с) Mr Adams: |
Can I talk to Mr Stephens? |
Secretary: |
I’m sorry, but he’s not here. Would you like me to |
|
take a message? |
Mr Adams: |
No, thank you. I need to see him in person. |
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Mr Adams asked to talk to Mr Stephens. His secretary said that he wasn’t there and offered to take a message. Mr Adams declined, explaining that he needed to see him in person.
Introductory verbs
When we report a speaker’s words we don’t just apply rules mechanically, we interpret what we hear or read, so we use appropriate reporting verbs (introductory verbs) like the following:
Introductory verb |
Direct Speech |
Reported Speech |
agree + to-inf |
‘Yes, I’ll do it again.’ |
Не agreed to do it again. |
demand |
‘Tell me the truth!’ |
He demanded to be told the |
|
|
truth. |
offer |
‘Would you like me |
He offered to drive me |
|
to drive you home?’ |
home. |
promise |
‘I will pay you on |
He promised to pay me on |
|
Friday.’ |
Friday. |
refuse |
‘No, I won’t tell you |
He refused to tell me her |
|
her secret.’ |
secret. |
threaten |
‘Keep quiet or I’ll |
He threatened to punish me |
|
punish you.’ |
if I didn’t keep quiet. |
claim |
‘I witnessed the |
He claimed to have wit- |
|
crime.’ |
nessed the crime. |
advise + sb + to-inf |
‘You should talk |
He advised me to talk about |
|
about your problem.’ |
my problem. |
allow |
‘You can use my |
He allowed me to use his |
|
phone.’ |
phone. |
ask |
‘Please, close the |
He asked me to close the |
|
door.’ |
door. |
beg |
‘Please, please don’t |
He begged me not to hit the |
|
hit the dog.’ |
dog. |
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command |
‘Move to your right.’ |
He commanded me to move |
|
|
to my right. |
encourage |
‘Go ahead, say what |
He encouraged me to say |
|
you think.’ |
what I thought. |
forbid |
‘You mustn’t come |
He forbade us to come |
|
home after eleven.’ |
home after eleven. |
instruct |
‘Mix the eggs with |
He instructed me to mix the |
|
the flour.’ |
eggs with the flour. |
invite sb |
‘I’d like you to come |
He invited me (to go) to his |
|
to my party.’ |
party. |
order |
‘Don’t leave your |
He ordered me not to leave |
|
room again.’ |
my room again. |
permit |
‘You may speak to |
He permitted / allowed me |
|
the judge.’ |
to speak to the judge. |
remind |
‘Don’t forget to turn |
He reminded me to turn the |
|
the lights off.’ |
lights off. |
urge |
‘Try to have sympa- |
He urged me to try to have |
|
thy for the family.’ |
sympathy for the family. |
warn |
‘Don’t touch the |
He warned me not to touch |
|
wire with wet hands.’ |
the wire with wet hands. |
want |
‘I’d like you to be |
He wanted me to be kind. |
|
kind.’ |
|
accuse sb of + ing |
‘You acted as if you |
He accused me of acting as |
form |
were guilty.’ |
if I were guilty. |
apologise for |
‘I’m sorry I hurt you.’ |
He apologised for hurting me. |
admit (to) |
‘Yes, I was wrong.’ |
He admitted (to) being |
|
|
wrong. |
boast about |
‘I’m the fastest run- |
He boasted about being the |
|
ner of all.’ |
fastest runner of all. |
complain to sb |
‘You always argue.’ |
He complained to me about |
about |
|
my arguing. |
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deny |
‘No, I didn’t eat |
He denied eating / having |
|
your cake.’ |
eaten my cake. |
insist on |
‘You must wear that |
He insisted on mе / my |
|
blouse.’ |
wearing that blouse. |
suggest |
‘Let’s order a pizza.’ |
He suggested ordering a |
|
|
pizza. |
agree + that-clause ‘Yes, she’s very |
He agreed that she was very |
|
|
kind.’ |
kind. |
claim |
‘I saw the accident.’ |
He claimed that he had |
|
|
seen the accident. |
complain |
‘You never ask my |
He complained that I never |
|
opinion.’ |
asked his opinion. |
deny |
‘I have never met |
He denied that he had ever |
|
her!’ |
met her. |
exclaim |
‘It’s a tragedy!’ |
He exclaimed that it was a |
|
|
tragedy. |
explain |
‘It’s a complicated |
He explained that it was a |
|
problem.’ |
complicated problem. |
inform sb |
‘Your request is be- |
He informed me that my |
|
ing reviewed.’ |
request was being reviewed. |
promise |
‘I won’t be late.’ |
He promised that he |
|
|
wouldn’t be late. |
suggest |
‘You ought to give |
He suggested that I give her |
|
her a call.’ |
a call. |
explain to sb + |
‘That’s how I suc- |
He explained to me how he |
how |
ceeded.’ |
had succeeded. |
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wonder where / what / why / how + clause
(when the subject of the introductory verb is not the same as the subject in the indirect question)
wonder + whether + to-inf or clause
wonder where / what / how + to-inf (when the subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the verb)
He asked himself, ‘How old is she?’ He asked himself, ‘Where are my keys?’
He asked himself, ‘Why is she so cold?’
He asked himself, ‘What is the right answer?’
He asked himself, ‘Shall I invite them?’
He asked himself, ‘Where shall I go?’ He asked himself, ‘What shall I read first?’
He asked himself, ‘How shall I tell her?’
PRACTICE
He wondered how old she was.
He wondered where his keys were.
He wondered why she was so cold.
He wondered what the right answer was.
He wondered whether to invite them.
He wondered whether he should invite them.
He wondered where to go.
He wondered what to read first.
He wondered how to tell her.
Reported statements
1. Report these words and thoughts using the verb suggested. Use the formal sequence of tenses.
1. ‘I’m going to Paris soon.’ She said... 2. It’s time to start revising for the exam.’ The teacher told the students... 3. ‘The film will be interesting.’ I thought... 4. ‘I can’t help you because I have too much to do.’ She said... 5. ‘Ann has bought the tickets.’ I was told... 6. ‘It took me three hours to get here because the roads are flooded.’ He told me...
7. ‘I think it’s a crazy idea. It won’t work.’ She said... 8. ‘Breakfast is served between 7.00 and 9.00.’ The receptionist explained... 9. ‘ I need to go to the market before it closes.’ Janet suddenly remembered... 10. ‘I’m
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going to postpone the examination.’ Professor Williams announced...
11. I will come to the party.’ Jane promised... 12. ‘I’m going to move to Ohio.’ Dick informed me... 13. ‘ You’re right.’ He admitted... 14. ‘You’ll get into trouble if you are not careful.’ She warned me... 15. ‘The film is exciting, I agree.’ He agreed... 16. ‘I’m sure you’ll win a scholarship.’ He assured me...
2. Report the following statements. Use the pattern: said that... and that or said that... but that.
1.‘My father is a businessman. My mother is an engineer.’ He said that his father was a businessman and that his mother was an engineer.
2.‘I’m excited about my new job. I’ve found a nice apartment.’ I got a letter from my sister yesterday. She said...
3.‘Your Uncle Harry is in hospital. Your Aunt Sally is very worried about him.’ The last time my mother wrote to me, she said...
4.‘I expect you to be in class every day. Unexcused absences may affect your grades.’ Our sociology professor said...
5.‘Highway 66 will be closed for two months. Commuters should seek alternate routes.’ The newspaper said...
6.‘I’m getting good grades, but I have difficulty understanding lectures.’ My brother is a junior at the state university. In his letter he wrote...
7.‘I’ll come to the meeting, but I can’t stay for more than an hour.’ Julia told me...
8.‘Every obstacle is a stepping stone to success. You should view problems in your life as opportunities to prove yourself.’ My father often told me...
9.‘I’m going out now, but I’ll be in by nine.’ He said...
10.‘I’m working in a restaurant, and I don’t much care for it.’
11.‘I can’t live on my basic salary. I’ll have to offer to do overtime.’ Peter said...
12.‘We’re waiting for the school bus. It’s late again.’ The children said...
13.‘I’m living with my parents at present, but I hope to have a flat of my own soon.’ She said...
14.‘There’s been an accident. The road is blocked.’ The policeman said...
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