Grammar unit 2

Grammar unit 2

1. Questions

   • Grammar explanation
     • A reported question is when we tell someone what another person asked. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.
       • direct speech: 'Do you like working in sales?' he asked. indirect speech: He asked me if I liked working in sales.
     • Offers, requests and suggestions
       • 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. 'Can you hold this for me, please?' She asked me to hold it.
   • Yes/no questions
     • In yes/no questions, we use if or whether to report the question. If is more common.
       • 'Are you going to the Helsinki conference?' He asked me if I was going to the Helsinki conference. 'Have you finished the project yet?' She asked us whether we'd finished the project yet.
   • Questions with a question word
     • In what, where, why, who, when or how questions, we use the question word to report the question.
       • 'What time does the train leave?' He asked me what time the train left. 'Where did he go?' She asked where he went.
   • Reporting verbs
     • The most common reporting verb for questions is ask, but we can also use verbs like enquire, want to know or wonder.
       • 'Did you bring your passports?' She wanted to know if they'd brought their passports. 'When could you get this done by?' He wondered when we could get it done by.

2. Statements

   • Grammar explanation
     • Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.
       • direct speech: 'I work in a bank,' said Daniel. indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank.
   • Present simple, present continuous and present perfect
     • 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.
   • Past simple and past continuous
     • 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.

3. Past perfect

   • The past perfect doesn't change.
     • 'I'd tried everything without success, but this new medicine is great.' He said he'd tried everything without success, but the new medicine was great.

4. Pronouns, demonstratives and adverbs of time and place

   • Pronouns also usually change in indirect speech.
     • 'I enjoy working in my garden,' said Bob. Bob said that he enjoyed working in his garden. 'We played tennis for our school,' said Alina. Alina told me they'd played tennis for their school.