Reported Speech

Reported Speech

1. Reported Statements

   • We use a reporting verb like 'say' or 'tell'. If this verb is in the present tense
     • Example:
       • (We just put 'she says' and then the sentence.) She says she likes ice cream.
         • Inportant:
           • We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the ‘person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.
             • Examples:
               • She said (that) she liked ice cream. She said she was living in London.” She said she had bought a car OR She said she bought a car.

2. Reported Questions

   • The tense changes are the same, and we keep the question word. The very important thing though is that
     • Example:
       • ( The direct question is in the present simple tense. We make a present simple question with 'do' or 'does' ) She asked me where Julie was.
         • Important:
           • The direct question is the present simple of 'be'. We make the question form of the present simple of be by inverting (changing the position of)the subject and verb. So, we need to change them back before putting the verb into the past simple.
             • Examples:
               • She asked me where the Post Office was. She asked me what I was doing. She asked me who that fantastic man had been.

3. Reported Requests

   • All of these requests mean the same thing, so we don't need to report every word when we tell another person about it. We simply use 'ask me + to + infinitive':
     • Example:
       • (What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)) She asked me to close the window
         • Important:
           • To report a negative request, use 'not':
             • Examples:
               • “Please don't smoke” “Could you bring my book tonight?” “Could you pass the milk, please?” She asked me to come early the next day.She asked us not to be late.

4. Reported Orders

   • how about if someone doesn't ask so politely? We can call this an 'order' in English, when someone tells you very directly to do something.
     • Example:
       • ( we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use 'tell' instead of 'ask') She told me to sit down.
         • Important:
           • Sometimes when we change direct speech into reported speech we have to change time expressions too.
             • Example:
               • If I tell someone on Monday, I say "Julie said she was leaving today". If I tell someone on Tuesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving yesterday". If I tell someone on Wednesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving on Monday". If I tell someone a month later, I say "Julie said she was leaving that day".