Reported statements

Reported statements

1. Structure

   • A phrase in reported speech will generally be introduced by a verb in the past tense. The most common are say and tell.
     • Positive
       • A phrase in reported speech will generally be introduced by a verb in the past tense. The most common are say and tell.
     • Interrogative
       • When we use reported speech to express a request, the verb of the phrase in reported speech will be in the infinitive preceded by the particle to, and will be introduced by the verb ask. For orders, the verb tell is used. If the sentence is negative, we will place the particle not in front of the to.
     • Negative
       • When we use reported speech to express a question, we also move the verb tense of the original sentence backwards as with the statements, but the sentence loses the structure of the question and becomes the structure of a statement. The phrase in reported speech will be introduced by the verb ask. A question may or may not be preceded by a question word (who, when ...)

2. Example

   • She told me that she didn't do sport.
   • He said that he was correcting exams.
   • She said that she would call on me on her way home.
   • They said they were going to restore the tower.
   • He said that he had been sleeping.
   • They said that they had given a great performance.

3. Usage

   • If we do not mean the phrase literally as it was said, we will use the indirect style, with which the phrase will undergo certain changes.
   • In direct style we will say the phrase word by word as they have told us. If we write it, the phrase will be enclosed in quotes.

4. Is a structure that is used when we want to tell a person what another has told us before.