Reported speech

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Reported speech

When we want to report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech.

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

pronouns

present tense verbs (3rd person singular)

place and time expressions

tenses (backshift)

Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

pronouns

present tense verbs (3rd person singular)

place and time expressions

tenses (backshift)

Requests

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

pronouns

place and time expressions

Additional Information and Exeptions

Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:

main clauses connected with and / but

tense of the introductory clause

reported speech for difficult tenses

exeptions for backshift

requests with must, should, ought to and let’s

Examples:

"Where is my umbrella?" she asked.

→ She asked where her umbrella was.

"How are you?" Martin asked us.

→ Martin asked us how we were.

"Go to your room," her father said to her.

→ Her father told her to go to her room.

"Hurry up," she said to us.

→ She told us to hurry up.

"The film began at seven o'clock," he said.

→ He said that the film had begun at seven o'clock.

"Don't play on the grass, boys," she said.

→ She told the boys not to play on the grass.