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REPORTED SPEECH
Direct Speech is the exact words Reported Speech is the exact
someone said. We use quotation meaning of what someone said but not
marks in Direct Speech. the exact words. We do not use
“I won’t be back before 7:00” he said. quotation marks in Reported Speech
He said he wouldn’t be back before
7:00

Say - Tell - Ask

 We can use the verbs say and tell in direct and reported speech.
Say is used with or without a personal object. When used with a personal
object, it is always followed by the preposition to (said to me).
(Direct Speech) He said to me, "I can fix it." (Reported Speech) He said (that)
he could fix it.
 Tell is always followed by a personal object (told me),
(Direct Speech) "I can do it," he said to me → (Reported Speech) He told me he
could do it
 Ask is used in reported questions and commands. Ask is also used in direct
questions when it Is followed by the person the words were spoken to.
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.
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
" I work hard," he said. He said (that) he worked hard.
"I am working hard," he said. He said (that) he was working hard.
" I have worked hard," he said. He said (that) he had worked hard.
“I worked hard," he said. He said (that) he had worked hard.
“I will work hard," he said. He said (that) he would work hard.
"I have been working hard," he said. He said (that) he had been working
hard.
“I am going to work harder," he said. He said (that) he was going to work
harder.
“I can work harder," he said. He said (that) he could work harder.
“I may work harder," he said. He said (that) he might work harder.
"I must work harder," he said. He said (that) he had to/must work
harder.
“I should work harder," he said. He said (that) he should work harder.
"I ought to work harder," he said. He said (that he ought to work harder.
"Do you work hard enough?" she said She asked him if he worked hard
to him. enough.
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“Work harder," she said to him. She told him to work harder.

Changing from Direct into Reported Speech (Statements)

 Inverted commas are omitted in Reported Speech. That is optional in
reported sentences.
"I’m going out," he said. → He said (that) he was going out.
 When the reporting verb (said, told, etc.) is in the past, all the following
verbs usually change into a past form too.
I enjoy dancing," she said. → She said she enjoyed dancing.
However, the tenses do not change in Reported Speech when:
a) the reporting verb (said, told, etc.) is in the Present, Future or Present
Perfect tense.
"The station is far from here," he says. → He says the station is far from
here.
b) the speaker expresses general truths or laws of nature.
"Water turns into ice, "he said. → He said water turns into ice. (law of
nature)

 If the speaker expresses something which is believed to be true, the tenses

may change or remain unchanged. If something untrue is expressed, then
the tenses definitely change.
"She likes strawberries very much," he said. (true) → He said she
likes/liked strawberries very much.
"Canada is a poor country, " he said. (untrue) → He said Canada was a
poor country.

 The Past Simple changes into the Past Perfect or can remain the same.
When the reported sentence contains a time clause, the tenses do not
change.
“I was early for the meeting," she said. → She said she was/had been early
for the meeting While / was staying in Madrid,
“I met Pedro twice, " she said. → She said she had met/met Pedro twice
while she was staying in Madrid.

 The Past Perfect and the Past Continuous usually remain the same in
Reported Speech.
“I was watching TV while Ann was reading a book." He said he was
watching TV while Ann was reading a book.
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 If the reported sentence deals with the unreal past, type 2 or 3 conditionals
or wishes, the tenses remain the same.
"It's time we went," he said. → He said it was time they went.
“If I/were you, I would apologise," he said. → He said that if he were me,
he would apologise.

 Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to the

context.
“I will show you my new dress," she said. → She said she would show me
her new dress.

 Certain words change as follows depending on the context.

Direct Speech: this/these/ here/ come "Put that box down over here," she said
Reported Speech: that/those/ there/ go She told him to put that box down over
there.
 Time words and tenses can change or remain the same depending on the
time reference. If the reported sentence is out of date, the tenses change. If
the reported sentence is up to date, the tenses can remain the same.
"I'm going to Madrid next week," she said. → She said she is going /was going
to Madrid next week. (up-to-date reporting - immediately reported after said
I'm going to Madrid in March," she said. — She said she was going to Madrid in
March. (Now it's April. She was in Madrid in March, out-of-date reporting.)
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
Tonight, today, this week/ month/ year That night/day, That week/month year
Now Then, at that time, at once,
Now that immediately
Yesterday, last night/ week/ month/ Since
year The day before, the previous night/
week/ month/ year
Tomorrow, next week/ month/ year The following day/ the next day, the
following or next week/ month/ year
Two days/ months/ years ago Two days/ months/ years before

Reported Questions / Indirect Questions

 In reported questions the verbs are usually in the affirmative 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
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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.
He said, "What are you doing?" → He asked what I was doing.
He said, "Did you enjoy the party?" → He asked if/whether I enjoyed had
enjoyed the party.
 We use indirect questions to ask for information/advice and reported
questions to report someone else's questions, suggestions, offers or
requests. Indirect questions are introduced with: Could you tell me ...? Do
you know ...? I wonder..., I want to know .... / doubt ..., etc. and their verb is
in the affirmative.
If the indirect question starts with / wonder ..., / want to know... or I
doubt...then the question mark is omitted.
Question words (what, who, where, etc.) or whether can be followed by an
Infinitive in the reported sentence.
DIRECT QUESTIONS He asked me, “Shall I phone her?”
He asked me, “What time is it?”
He asked me, “Where can I put it?”
REPORTED QUESTIONS He asked me whether he should
phone her
He asked me what time it was
He asked me where he could put it or
He asked me where to put it
INDIRECT QUESTIONS I wonder whether to phone her/
whether I should phone her
Do you know what time it is?
Do you know where I can put it? Or
Do you know where to put it?

Reporting Commands/Requests/Suggestions
To report commands, requests, suggestions or instructions, we use an
introductory verb (advise, ask, beg, instruct, urge, offer, order, suggest, tell, etc.)
followed by a to-infinitive, an -ING form or 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, lend me some money," he said to her. - He asked her to lend him some
money. (request)
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"Please, please, forgive me!" she said. - She begged me to forgive her. (beg)
"Let's play football," he said. - He suggested playing football. (suggestion)
"Put all the ingredients in the bowl," she told him. → She told him to put all the
ingredients in the bowl. (instructions)

Modals in Reported Speech

The forms of some modal verbs change in Reported Speech when the reported
sentence is out of date.
 Will/Shall → would,
 Can-could/would/be able to,
 May → might/could,
 Shall → should (asking for advice) or would (asking for information) /
(expressing offers),
 Must → must had to (obligation) (must remain the same when it expresses
possibility or deduction),
 Needn't → didn't need to didn't have to/wouldn't have to.
 Would, could, used to, mustn't, should, might, ought to and had better
remain the same.
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
He said, "I'll see you later." He said (that) he would see me later.
He said, "I can lift heavy weights." He said (that) he could lift heavy
weights.
He said, "I can do it tomorrow." He said (that) he would be able to do it
the next day.
He said, I may see John. He said (that) he might see John.
He said, "How shall I repair the tap?" He asked how he should repair the tap.
(advice)
He said, "When shall we arrive?" He asked when they would arrive.
(information)
He said, "Shall I clean it?" He offered to clean it. (expressing
offers)
He said, "You must return it soon." He said (that) / must/had to return it
soon. (obligation)
He said, "She must be clever." He said (that) she must be clever.
(deduction)
He said, "You should work more." He said (that) / should work more.
He said, "You had better help me." He said (that) I had better help him.
He said, "You needn't do it now. He said (that) I didn't need to/didn't
have to do it then.
He said, "You needn't come tomorrow. He said (that) / wouldn't have to go the
next day.
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Reporting a dialogue or a conversation

In conversations or dialogues we use a mixture of statements, commands and
questions. When we report dialogues or conversations, we use: and, as, adding
that, and he/ she added that, explaining that, because, but since, so, and then he/
she went on to say, while, then, etc. or the introductory verb in the present
participle form. Exclamations such as: Oh, Oh dear!, Well! Are omitted in reported
speech
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
“Oh that is a very nice sweater!” she She remarked/ exclaimed that it was a
said very nice sweater and she asked
Where did you buy it? where I had bought it (Oh is omitted)
“It is too difficult for you” she said. She said it was too difficult for me,
“Shall I help you?” offering to help
“Why don’t you come over for dinner She invited me to dinner on Friday,
on Friday? She said. “We could suggesting that we could discuss it
discuss it then” then

Exclamations - Yes/No short answers - Question tags

 Exclamations are introduced in reported speech with exclaim, thank, wish,
say, cry out in pain, give an exclamation of surprise/horror/disgust/delight,
etc. The exclamation mark becomes a full stop. Exclamatory words such as
Oh! Eeel, Wow! etc. are omitted in the reported sentence.
"Ow!" she said as she hit her head on the door. → She cried out in pain as she hit
her head on the door.
 Yes/No short answers are expressed in reported speech with a subject +
appropriate auxiliary verb or subject + appropriate introductory verb.
"Can you help me?" he said. "No," she said. --- He asked her if she could help him
and she said she couldn't or He asked her if she could help him, but she refused
 Question tags are omitted in reported speech. We can use an appropriate
introductory verb to convey the same meaning.
"He isn't lying, is he?" she said. - She wondered if he was lying.

Punctuation in Direct Speech

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 We capitalise the first word of the quoted sentence. The full stop, the
question mark, the exclamation mark and the comma come inside the
inverted commas. The comma comes outside the inverted commas only
when "he said/asked" precedes the quoted sentence.
"She is on holiday, " he said --- He said, "She is on holiday." "She," he said, "is on
holiday." We do not use a comma after the question mark.
"Shall we go out?" he asked. BUT He asked, "Shall we go out?"
 The subject pronoun comes before the reporting verb (said, asked, etc)
whereas the noun subject often comes after 'said", 'asked', etc. at the end or
in the middle of the quoted sentence.
"She failed the test," he said. "She failed the test," said Tom. "She," said
Tom, "tailed the test."
BUT He/Tom said, "She failed the test." (NOT: Said Tom, "She failed the
test.")
 Each time the speaker changes we normally start a new paragraph.

Subjunctive
The bare infinitive form of the subjunctive is used after certain verbs and
expressions to give emphasis. These are: advise, ask, demand, insist, propose,
recommend, request, suggest, it is essential, it is imperative, it is important, it is
necessary, it is vital followed by (that) + subject.
We use should + simple form instead of the bare infinitive form of the
subjunctive.
He insists (that) we be here on time. (less usual He insists (that) we should be
here on time. (more usual)