Reported speech

Reported speech

1. We often use “reported speech” when talking about a conversation that happened in the past.

   • STATEMENTS
     • In indirect speech, we often use a tense which is 'further back' (backshift) in the past (worked) than the tense originally used (work)
       • We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'.
         • When we backshift, present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous and present perfect changes to past perfect.
           • I travel a lot in my job.' Jamila said that she travelled a lot in her job.
             • 'The baby's sleeping!' He told me the baby was sleeping.
               • 'I've hurt my leg.' She said she'd hurt her leg.
                 • When we backshift, past simple usually changes to past perfect simple, and past continuous usually changes to past perfect continuous.
                   • 'We lived in China for five years.' She told me they'd lived in China for five years.
                     • 'It was raining all day.' He told me it had been raining all day.
                       • If what the speaker has said is still true or relevant, it's not always necessary to change the tense. Also, The past perfect doesn't change.
                         • 'I've broken my arm!' She said she's broken her arm, so she won't be at work this week.
                           • In the same way, these changes to those, now changes to then, yesterday changes to the day before, tomorrow changes to the next/following day and ago changes to before.
                             • • https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/intermediate-to-upper-intermediate/reported-speech-2-questions
                                 • https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/intermediate-to-upper-intermediate/reported-speech-1-statements
   • QUESTIONS
     • A reported question is when we tell someone what another person asked.
       • In indirect speech, we change the question structure (Do you like) to a statement structure (I like).
         • We also often make changes to the tenses and other words in the same way as for reported statements
           • In yes/no questions, we use if or whether to report the question. If is more common.
             • 'Have you finished the project yet?' She asked us whether we'd finished the project yet.
               • 'Are you going to the park?' He asked me if I was going to the park.
                 • In what, where, why, who, when or how questions, we use the question word to report the question.
                   • 'Where did he go?' She asked where he went.
                     • The most common reporting verb for questions is ask, but we can also use verbs like enquire, want to know or wonder.
                       • If the question is making an offer, request or suggestion, we can use a specific verb pattern instead, for example offer + infinitive, ask + infinitive or suggest + ing.
                         • 'Would you like me to help you?' He offered to help me.
                           • 'Why don't we check with Joel?' She suggested checking with Joel.