ANOTHER VIEW OF REPORTED SPEECH

REPORTED SPEECH HANDBOOK

Reported Speech (also called Indirect Speech) is used to communicate what someone else said, but without using the exact words. A few changes are necessary; often a pronoun has to be changed and the verb is usually moved back a tense, where possible.

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

§  pronouns

§  present tense verbs (3rd person singular)

§  place and time expressions

§  tenses (backshift)

Type	Example
direct speech	“I speak English.”
reported speech (no backshift)	He says that he speaks English.
reported speech (backshift)	He said that he spoke English.

→ more on statements in reported speech

Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

§  pronouns

§  present tense verbs (3rd person singular)

§  place and time expressions

§  tenses (backshift)

Also note that you have to:

§  transform the question into an indirect question

§  use the interrogative or if / whether

Type		Example
with interrogative	direct speech	“Why don’t you speak English?”
	reported speech	He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
without interrogative	direct speech	“Do you speak English?”
	reported speech	He asked me whether / if I spoke English.

→ more on questions in reported speech

Requests

When transforming requests, check whether you have to change:

§  pronouns

§  place and time expressions

Type	Example
direct speech	“Carol, speak English.“
reported speech	He told Carol to speak English.

Additional Information and Exceptions.

Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:

§  main clauses connected with and / but

§  tense of the introductory clause

§  reported speech for difficult tenses

§  exeptions for backshift

§  requests with must, should, ought to and let’s

We use reported speech when we are saying what other people say, think or believe.

·         He says he wants it.

·         We think you are right.

·         I believe he loves her.

·         Yesterday you said you didn't like it but now you do!

·         She told me he had asked her to marry him.

·         I told you she was ill.

·         We thought he was in Australia.

When we are reporting things in the present, future or present perfect we don't change the tense.

·         He thinks he loves her.

·         I'll tell her you are coming.

·         He has said he'll do it.

When we tell people what someone has said in the past, we generally make the tense 'more in the past'.

·         You look very nice. = I told him he looked very nice.

·         He's working in Siberia now. = She told me he was working in Siberia now.

·         Polly has bought a new car. = She said Polly had bought a new car.

·         Jo can't come for the weekend. = She said Jo couldn't come for the weekend.

·         Paul called and left a message. = He told me Paul had called and had left me a message.

·         I'll give you a hand. = He said he would give me a hand.

However, when we are reporting something that was said in the past but is still true, it is not obligatory to make the tense 'more in the past'. The choice is up to the speaker. For example:

"The train doesn't stop here."

·         He said the train doesn't stop here.

·         He said the train didn't stop here.

"I like Sarah."

·         She said she likes Sarah.

·         She said she liked Sarah.

When we are reporting what was said, we sometimes have to change other words in the sentence.

We have to change the pronoun if we are reporting what someone else said. Compare these two sentences. In each case the person actually said "I don't want to go."

·         I said I didn't want to go.

·         Bill said he didn't want to go.

We have to change words referring to 'here and now' if we are reporting what was said in a different place or time.
Compare these two sentences. In each case the person actually said "I'll be there at ten tomorrow."

·         (If it is later the same day) He said he would be there at ten tomorrow.

·         (If it is the next day) He said he would be there at ten today.

Now compare these two sentences.

·         (If we are in a different place) He said he would be there tomorrow at ten.

·         (If we are in the place he is coming to) He said he would be here at ten tomorrow.

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