a cura della prof.ssa Domitilla Gerini

REPORTED SPEECH

(HE SAID THAT)

LOOK AT THIS SITUATION:

“I’m feeling ill.”

IF YOU WANT TO TELL SOMEBODY WHAT SARAH SAID THERE ARE TWO WAYS OF

DOING THIS:

you can repeat Sarah’s words (direct speech)

Sarah said, “I’m feeling ill”

you can use reported speech:

Sarah said that she was feeling ill.

IMPORTANT RULESCOMPARE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES: Sarah said, “ I am feeling ill ” (direct)

Sarah said that she was feeling ill (reported)

when we report what someone else said:

1. the personal pronoun changes2. we are usually reporting at a later time so

we use the reporting verb (say, tell …) in the past tense

3. and we normally change the tense used by the original speaker, it moves one tense back (see table on the following slide)

TENSE CHANGES IN REPORTED SPEECH - 1

Original statement Reported statement

present simple“I want to buy a new car”

past simpleHe said (that) he wanted to buy a new car

present continuous “The sun is shining”

past continuousHe said (that) the sun was shining

past simple“There was a terrible storm”

past perfectHe said (that) there had been a terrible storm

present perfect“I haven’t seen her for a long time”

past perfectHe said (that) he hadn’t seen her for a long time

imperative“Don’t go away!”

infinitiveHe told me not to go away

TENSE CHANGES IN REPORTED SPEECH - 2

Original statement Reported statement

be going to“I’m going to win”

was going toHe said (that) he was going to win

will“I will spend two hours in a bath”

wouldHe said (that) he’d (he would) spend two hours in a bath

can“I can’t find my keys”

couldHe said (that) he couldn’t find his keys

may“I may win”

mightHe said (that) he might win

must“I must get my hair cut”

must/had to (see slide 9) He said (that) he had to get his hair cut

… BUT…

These verbs do not change when they are reported at a later time:

Could Would Might Ought to Used to and verbs in the past perfect

See the following table for examples

EXAMPLES – VERBS THAT DO NOT CHANGE

Original statement Reported statement

could“I could ran faster once”

couldHe said (that) he could run faster once

would “I would phone her if I had her number”

would He said (that) he would phone her if he had her number

might“I might look for another job”

mightHe said (that) he might look for another job

ought to “You ought to smoke less”

ought to He said (that) you ought to smoke less

used to“She used to be a good guitarist once”

used toHe said (that) she used to be a good guitarist once

past perfectI hadn’t expected the storm

past perfectHe said (that) he hadn’t expected the storm

MUST OR HAD TO?When we report must, we can use either must or had to

in the reported speech, but had to is more commonExample:

Kate: I must buy some fruit” Kate said she must/had to buy some fruit

BUT BE CAREFUL!

We use must, not had to, when we report : a negative sentence Ex.: Paul “You mustn’t tell Sally our secret” Paul said we

mustn’t tell Sally our secret or a deduction Sarah: “Jim must be tired after the flight” Sarah said

Jim must be tired after the flight

REFERENCES TO TIME - 1BE CAREFUL:

expressions of time also change…

Original statement Reported statement

now “I’ll do it now”

at that moment/ at that time/ thenShe said (that) she would do it at that moment

today“I’m not working today”

that dayShe said (that) she wasn’t working that day

tonight“There’s a party tonight”

that nightShe said (that) there was a party that night

tomorrow“I’ll call him tomorrow”

the next day/ the following dayShe said (that) she would call him the following day

REFERENCES TO TIME - 1BE CAREFUL:

expressions of time also change…

Original statement Reported statement

yesterday“I saw Alex yesterday”

the day before/ the previous dayShe said (that) she had seen Alex the day before

last week “I had an exam last week”

the week before/ the previous weekShe said she had had an exam the previous week

ago“They arrived two hours ago”

before/ earlier/ previouslyShe said (that) they had arrived two hours earlier

REFERENCES TO TIME - 2

… as well as REFERENCES TO PLACE:

Original statement Reported statement

here“I saw him here yesterday”

ThereShe said (that) she had seen him there the day before

REPORTING QUESTIONS - 1 For yes/ no question we use IF or WHETHER

Examples Direct speech: “Is the weather good?” Reported speech : Rachel asked whether the weather was good

as you can see

questions are reported USING THE WORD ORDER OF A STATEMENT – WITH THE VERB AFTER THE SUBJECT -

rather than that of a question

We don’t say: Rachel asked whether was the weather goodbut:

Rachel asked whether the weather was good

SUBJECT VERB

REPORTING QUESTIONS - 2

Questions with question words (who, what, etc.) keep these words when they are reported and use the word order of a statement (with the verb after the subject)

Examples Direct speech:“How do you feel?” Reported speech: Rachel asked James

how he felt (not Rachel asked James how did he feel)

VERBS USED FOR REPORTING (TO SAY)

We often use say to report what somebody said

He said (that) he was going to win

…but... pay attention:

If there is an object (a noun or a pronoun)say must be followed by to:

He said to me (that) he was going to win (not he said me)

VERBS USED FOR REPORTING (TO TELL)

When we use tell to report what someone said, it is always followed by an object without to:

He told them (that) he was going to win (not he told to them …, he told that …)

REPORTING IN THE SAME TENSE

If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g

says), we use the same tenses as the original

speakerExample:

Tom “I’ve missed the bus so I’ll be a bit late

Tom says he’s missed the bus so he’ll be a bit late

EXCEPTIONS TO THE GENERAL RULE - 1

If the reporting verb is in the past (e.g. said), we sometimes use the same tenses as the original speaker if the situation is still true:

Example 1:

Robert “I have three sister” There are two possibilities when reporting this

sentence: Robert said he has three sisters

or Robert said he had three sisters

EXCEPTIONS TO THE GENERAL RULE - 2

Example 2:Carlo: “I’m getting married in June”

If we report what Carlo said before June we can say:Carlo said he is getting married in June

orCarlo said he was getting married in June

OTHER REPORTING VERBSORDERS and REQUESTS are reported using reportingverbs such as: ask order inviteOFFERS, ADVICE and PROMISES are reported using the following verbs: offer advise promiseSUGGESTIONS are reported using: suggest recommend propose

AND NOW…GIVE IT A TRY!

Try to turn the following sentences into reported speech and then check your answers!

1. Jane : “ There was an interesting documentary about

climate change yesterday” 1. Jane said there had been an interesting

documentary about climate change the previous day.2. Susan : “Jim, where will you be tonight?”2. Susan asked Jim where he would be that night.3. Pete “ Mary, are you going to meet your friends here

next Saturday?”3. Pete asked Mary if/ whether she was going to

meet her friends there the following Saturday.