1.3. Reported speech.

Rule.

Direct speech is exact words someone said.

E.g. “I like football”, she said.

Reported speech is the exact meaning of what someone said but not the exact words.

E.g. She said (that) she liked football.

Say	Tell	Ask
Say is used in Direct Speech. It is also used in Reported Speech when say is not followed by the person the words were spoken to.	Tell is used in Reported Speech when It is followed by the person the words were spoken to.	Ask Is used in reported questions and commands. Ask is also used in direct questions
“I can fix it,” he said. He said he could fix it.	“I can do it” he said to me. He told me he could do it.	He said to me, “Please, don't go!” He asked me not to go. He asked, “Are you OK?” He asked me if I was OK.
Expressions
say good morning / evening etc, say something say one's prayers, say; few words, say so, say no more, say for certain etc.	tell the truth, tell a lie, tell (sb) the time, tell sb one's name, tell a story, tell a secret, tell sb the way, tell one from another, tell sb's fortune, tell sb so, tell the difference etc.	ask a favour, ask the time, ask a question, ask the price etc.

1. Fill in: say. tell or ask in the correct form.

First, the headmaster …said… good morning. Then he ………. us that the police had been ………. questions about hooliganism at school. The police ……….that some pupils had been seen breaking windows. Several boys were ………. if they knew anything, but of course they ………. Nothing. They probably ………. lies. The headmaster ………. us all for information. He ………. we must ……….

him the names of those involved. Well, I know who they were but I can't………. him the secret. ………. the truth is not always easy, is ii?

Changing from Direct into Reported Speech (Statements)

Rule.

Inverted commas are omitted in Reported Speech. That is optional in the reported sentence.

E.g. “I'm going out,” he said.

He said (that) he was going out.

Direct speech		Reported speech
Present Simple “I want to go to bed early”, he said.	→	Past simple He said (hat) he wanted to go to bed early.
Present Continuous “She is feeding a dog”, he said.	→	Past Continuous He said (that) she was feeding a dog.
Present Perfect “I’ve bought a new dress”, she said.	→	Past Perfect She said (that) she had bought a new dress.
The Past Simple “I finished work early”, Alex said.	→	Past simple or Past Perfect Alex said (that) he (had) finished work early.
Will “I’ll talk to you tomorrow”, he said.	→	Would She said (that) she would talk to me the next day.
Can “I can swim”, she said.	→	Could She said (that) she could swim.
Must “I must do my home task”, he said.	→	Might He said (that) he might do his home task.
this / these here come tonight, today, this week / /month / year now yesterday, last night / month / year tomorrow, next week / month / year two days / months / years ago	→ → → → → → →	that / those there go that night, that day, that week / month /year then the day before, the previous night / month / year the following day week / month / year two days / months / years before

1. Turn the following sentences into Reported Speech.

1. “A lot of English words are borrowed from other languages,” the teacher said to us. ...The teacher told us that a lot of English words were borrowed from other languages….

2. “China is a densely populated country,” she said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

3. “It’s time they moved to a new house,” Ann said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

4. “I was reading the children a story last night when the lights went out”, she said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

5. “I’ll help you to repair your car tomorrow,” he said to me.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

6. “I didn't understand the meaning of the film,” he said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

7. “You can come to me if you have any problems,” she said to him.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

8. “I saw the film you recommended last night,” he said to her.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

9. “She doesn't understand,” he said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

10. “I've applied for several jobs this week,” he said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

2. Fill in the gaps with the correct pronoun or possessive adjective.

1. James said. “My boss wants me to go to London tomorrow”.

James said … his… boss wanted ………. to go to London the lolloping day.

2. Mary said, “I’ m waiting for my son to come out of school”.

Mary said that ………. was wailing for ………. son to come out of school.

3. George said, “I’ve bought a new car for my mum.”

George said ………. had bought a new car for ………. mum.

4. Julie said to me, “I need you to help me with the shopping.

Julie told me that ………. needed ………. to help ………. with the shopping.

5. John said, “I’d like to take you out to dinner.”

John said ………. ‘I'd like to take ………. out to dinner.

6. Helen said to Jane, “I think your new haircut is lovely”.

Helen told Jane that ………. thought ………. New haircut was lovely.

3. Turn the following sentences into Reported Speech.

1. He said. “I'm going to the station”.

He said (that) he was going to the station.

2. They said, “We had booked the room before we left.”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

3. Tom said, “This meal is delicious”.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

4. “I’ve written you a letter,” she said to her friend.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

5. Jill said, “I’ll go to the bank tomorrow.”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

6. She said to him, “We've been invited to a wedding2.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

7. She told me, “You must leave early tomorrow”.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

8. She said, “I can meet you on Tuesday.”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

9. “We won't be visiting Tom this evening,” Sam told us.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

10. “I haven't spoken to Mary since last week,” Gloria said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

11. “They delivered the letters this morning,” she said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

12. “They aren't going on holiday this year,” he said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

13. “I'm going to bed early tonight,” Caroline said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

14. “We don't want to watch a film tonight,” the children said.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

15. She said, “You must do your homework now”.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

Reported Questions in Indirect Questions.

• In reported questions we use the affirmative word order and the question mark becomes a full stop.

• To report a question we use:

a) ask +wh-+word (who. where etc) when the direct question begins

with a wh- word

b) ask + If / whether when the direct question begins with an auxiliary

verb (do, have, can etc).

• Pronouns, possessive adjectives, tenses, time expressions etc change as in statements.

Direct questions	Reported questions
He asked me, “Shall I phone her?” He asked me, “What time is it?” He asked me, “Where can I put it?”	He asked me whether he should phone her. He asked me what time it was. He asked me where he could put it.

4. Fiona went for an interview last week. First read, then report Mr Roberts’ questions.

1. “Why do you want to work for our company?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

2. “How long were you employed at your previous job?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

3. “Can you speak French?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

4. “Why did you leave your last job?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

5. “Is this the first time you applied for the managerial post?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

6. “Will you move to Paris?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

7. “When did you graduate?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

8. “What salary would you hope to receive?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

5. Turn the following into Indirect questions.

1. “Where's the post office?”

…He asked me where the post office was…

2. “What have you told her?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

3. “Are we going out tonight?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

4. “Is this correct?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

5. “Whose car is this?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

6. Turn the following into Indirect questions.

1. “Where do you live?” I asked her. ...I asked her where she lived....

2. “How old will you be on your next birthday?” he asked me.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

3. “Where is your umbrella?” she asked her daughter.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

4. “Do you like playing football?” John asked us.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

5. The boss asked, “What time are you going home today?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

6. “Will you take the children to school today?” he asked.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

7. “Who called you today?” she asked.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

8. “When will you decorate the kitchen?” Martha asked.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

9. “Who broke my vase?” I asked.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

10. Father asked, “Will you help me lift these boxes, please?”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

11. “Can you speak a foreign language?" I asked her.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

12. “Where is the tourist information centre?” we asked.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

Reported Commands / Requests / Suggestions

Rule.

• To report commands, requests, suggestions etc, we use an introductory verb (advise, ask, beg, offer, order, suggest, tell etc) followed by a to-infinitive, an -ing form or a that-clause according to the introductory verb.

“Touch your toes,” he said to us.	He told us to touch our toes. (command)
“Don’t lie down,” he said to us.	He told us not to lie down. (command)
“Can I go out?” he said.	He asked to go out. (request)
“Please, stay with us tonight”, he said to her.	He asked her to stay with them that night. (request)
“Let's play football,” he said.	He suggested playing football. (suggestion)
“You'd better visit her,” he said.	He suggested that I visit her. (suggestion)

7. Fill in the gaps with the introductory verbs in the box in the correct form.

order tell ask beg suggest

1. “Please visit me in hospital.” Joan said to Colin Joan ...asked….. Colin to visit her in hospital.

2. “Let's eat out this evening,” Paul said to her Paul ………………… eating out that evening.

3. “Please, please be careful.” she said to him. She ………………… him to be careful.

4. “Don't go near the fire,” Dad said to us.

Dad ………………… us not to go near fire.

5. “Be quiet!” the commander said to the troops. The Commander ………………… the troops to be quiet.

8. Change the following from Direct into Indirect Speech.

1. “Where have you been?” he said to me.

He asked me where I had been.

2. “Close your eyes and open the parcel,” she said to me.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

3. “I’m writing my autobiography,” said Paul.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

4. They said to her, “We hope you will lend us your car.”

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

5. “Please sir, can I have some more food?” said Oliver.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

6. “Go to your room and stay there,” said his father.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

7. “Don't walk on the grass,” the park attendant said to us.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

8. “Did you pay the electricity bill?” he said to his wife.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

9. “I'll phone you at seven o'clock tonight,” she said to him.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

10. “What size shoes do you take?” the shop assistant said to him.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

11. “He's never written to me before,” said Maria.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

12. “Let's paint the walls blue,” said my little brother.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

13. “Will Lisa be safe on her own?” her friend wondered.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

14. My mother said lo me. “Don stay up reading too late”.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .

15. “I own two cars, a yacht and a private plane,” said Alex.

…………………………………………………………………………………. .