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Ukraine
October 25, 2008
In spoken discourse there are certain rule to follow. First of all, to make sentences in reported speech you need verbs like say or tell.
On the other hand the tense used to express and idea is also an important factor. Take into consideration the following chart:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
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Look at the following examples:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
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REPORTED COMMANDS
If you put a command into Reported speech there are some steps which are the same like in statements: (changing of the person, backshift of tenses, changing of expressions of time).
The form is mostly: form of to tell + to + infinitive.
| Affirmative commands | Negative commands |
|---|---|
| Father: "Do your homework." | Teacher. "Don't talk to your neighbour." |
| Father told me to do my homework. | The teacher told me not to talk to my neighbour. |
REPORTED QUESTIONS
If you put a question into Reported speech there are some steps which are the same like in statements: (changing of the person, backshift of tenses, changing of expressions of time).
In Reported speech there is no question anymore, the sentence becomes a statement.
That's why the word order is: subject - verb
Question without question words (yes/no questions):
Peter: "Do you play football?" - Peter asked me whether (if) I played football.
Question with question words:
Peter: "When do you play football?" - Peter asked me when I played football.
If the sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it as well.
Peter: "I worked in the garden yesterday."
Peter said that he had worked in the garden the day before.
SHIFTING OF EXPRESSIONS OF TIME
| this (evening) | that (evening) |
| today/this day | that day |
| these (days) | those (days) |
| now | then |
| (a week) ago | (a week) before |
| last weekend | the weekend before / the previous weekend |
| here | there |
| next (week) | the following (week) |
| tomorrow | the next/following day |
IMPORTANT POINTS
If we report something which is still true, it is not necessary to change the verb.
DIRECT SPEECH: "My car is bigger than yours."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said his car is / was bigger than mine.
When we are reporting past tenses, and we see the events from the same viewpoint as the original speaker, it is not necessary to change the tense.
DIRECT SPEECH: "The earthquake happened at half past seven."
REPORTED SPEECH: The radio said that the earthquake happened at half past seven.
Modal verbs could, might, would, should, ought, had better usually do not change in reported speech.
DIRECT SPEECH: "I should go to the dentist."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said that he should go to the dentist
More entries: Basic English Punctuation Rules, REPORTED SPEECH (6), Who? What? Where?, 101 different ways of saying 'I love you', Fastest way to learn to speak fluent English, It is interesting to know about the English language (2), My blog! (5)
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- 6 Comments
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11:54 AM Oct 26 2008 |
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RainboW
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10:22 AM Oct 26 2008 |
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dignified
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08:49 AM Oct 26 2008 |
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RainboW
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08:35 AM Oct 26 2008 |
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Passionate
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great job ..keep going  |
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07:41 AM Oct 25 2008 |
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RainboW
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07:27 AM Oct 25 2008 |
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my_high_IQ
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thank you for this laconic and easy understandable grammer lesson :) you seem to be workaholic and I find your posts very useful,good luck to you ....
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