Reported Speech 2

Reported Speech 2

1. Reported Requests There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example: Direct speech: Close the window, please Or: Could you close the window please? Or: Would you mind closing the window please? 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': Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.

2. And finally, 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. For example: Direct speech: Sit down! In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use 'tell' instead of 'ask': Reported speech: She told me to sit down. Direct Order Reported Order Go to bed! He told the child to go to bed. Don't worry! He told her not to worry. Be on time! He told me to be on time.

   • we talked about how to change direct speech ("I love coffee") into reported speech (Seonaid said that she loved coffee), using the verbs 'say', 'tell' and 'ask'. However, we can also use many other verbs to report what someone said, like 'promise', 'warn', 'advise' and 'recommend'. Some of these verbs look a bit more complicated to use than 'say' and 'tell', but it's just a question of getting to know the verb patterns (or verb structures). (As I'm sure you know, we can often choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. The meaning is exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)
     • 1: SAY Let's look first at the verbs we've already talked about. The basic verb pattern for using 'say' for reported speech is: say + (that) + clause She said (that) she had already eaten. (The direct speech for this is "I've already eaten".)
     • 2: TELL On the other hand, with 'tell' we need to use an object, a person who we tell the information to. See also my page about the difference between 'say' and 'tell' here. tell + someone + (that) + clause I told John (that) I had seen the new film. (The direct speech for this is "I've seen the new film".) When we are reporting orders, we can also use another pattern with 'tell': tell + someone + to + infinitive She told the children to go to bed.
       • 3: ASK We use 'ask' to report questions or requests. For questions we use the pattern: ask + someone + if / question word + clause I asked my boss if I could leave early. She asked them where the station was. For requests we use the pattern: ask + someone + to + infinitive I asked Lucy to pass me the salt.
         • 4: ADVISE* (= Give someone advice. Notice the different spelling for the verb and the noun.) Advise + someone + to + infinitive She advised him to see a doctor. Advise + (that) + clause The staff advise that you carry water at all times. Advise + against + verb-ing I'd advise against leaving early.
           • 5: AGREE Agree + to + infinitive We agreed to meet the following day. Agree + (that) + clause I agreed that the children could do their homework later.
             • 6: APOLOGISE Apologise + (to + someone) + for + verb-ing They apologised to us for being late. She apologised for forgetting the book. Apologise (+ to + someone) + for + noun She apologised for the delay.
               • 7: DECIDE Decide + to + infinitive They decided to go to the cinema. Decide + (that) + clause They decided that they would go to the cinema.
                 • 8: ENCOURAGE Encourage + someone + to + infinitive She encouraged him to take the exam again. The teacher encouraged the students to ask questions.
                   • 9: EXPLAIN Explain + (that) + clause The teacher explained that the course was finished. Explain + noun + to + someone She explained the grammar to the students.
                     • 10: INSIST* Insist + on + verb-ing He insisted on paying. Insist + (that) + clause He insisted that we sit down.