Reported Speech

Reported Speech

to report (verb): to tell somebody what you have heard or seen

direct speech	reported speech
He said: "I love you."	He said that he loved me.

If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options:

1.     We can use the person's exact words in quotation marks "..." (direct speech)

2.     We can change the person's words into our own words (reported speech)

Reported speech is not really difficult. It is more a matter of logic and common sense. You probably have the same concept in your own language, where you use your own words to say what somebody has said or written.

In this lesson we learn about reported speech, the structure that we use when we report what another person has said.

So now we will look at:

• Reported Statements
• Backshift
• Time and Place
• Reported Questions
• Reported Requests
• Reported Orders
  
  And after that you can check your understanding of reported speech with our...
• Reported Speech Quiz

Reported speech is called "indirect speech" by some people. Other people regard reported speech simply as one form of indirect speech. Other forms are, for example:

·        questions-within-questions: Can you tell me if they are expensive?

·        mental processes: He believes that politics is a dirty game.

Reported Statements

direct statement	reported statement
He said: "I am sick."	He said that he was sick.

Reported statements are one form of reported speech.

We usually introduce reported statements with "reporting verbs" such as "say" or "tell":

• He said (that)...
• He told me (that)...

When we report a statement, we can say "He said that..." or simply "He said...". Both are possible. "He said that..." is more formal.

When we use our own words to report speech, there are one or two things that we sometimes change:

• pronouns may need to change to reflect a different perspective
• tense sometimes has to go back one tense (eg, present becomes past) - this is called backshift

		pronoun	backshift
direct statement	He said,	"I	am	sick."
reported statement	He said (that)	he	was	sick.

There are sometimes other things too that we may need to change, such as time or place. Look at these examples:

		pronoun	backshift		time
direct statement	Jane said,	"I	was	sick	yesterday."
reported statement	Jane said(that)	she	had been	sick	the day before.

			backshift		place
direct statement	She said,	"It	is	hot in	here."
reported statement	She said (that)	it	was	hot in	there.

We also sometimes need to think about the third person singular "s":

		pronoun	3rd person singular
direct statement	Mary said,	"I	work	in London."
reported statement	Mary said (that)	she	workS	in London.

Notice that in the above example, we do not change the tense. Usually, with the present simple, if something is still true now - she still works in London - we don't need to change it.

Typical reporting verbs for statements: say, tell, mention, inform

·        He said that... OR He said...

·        He told me that... OR He told me...

·        He mentioned that...

He informed me that...

Backshift

direct	reported
He said: "I feel sad."	He said that he felt sad.

In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is:

reporting clause + conjuntion + reported clause

reporting clause	conjunction	reported clause
John said	(that)	he was hungry.
		original words: "I am hungry."

We sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving itback one tense. For example, present simple goes back one tense topast simple. We call this change "backshift".

When do we use backshift?

We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. So, for example, if John said "I am hungry" two minutes ago and I am now telling his sister, I might NOT use backshift (because John is still hungry):

• John just said that he is hungry.

But if John said "I am hungry" yesterday, I would likely use backshift:

• Yesterday, John said that he was hungry.
  
  [We hope that John has eaten since yesterday ;

So we use backshift SOMETIMES but not always. And WHEN we use backshift, here's how it works with these common tenses and modals:

backshift
present simple	→	past simple
present continuous	→	past continuous
past simple	→	past perfect
present perfect
past continuous	→	past perfect continuous
can	→	could
may		might
will		would
shall		should

We NEVER use backshift when the original words are:

NO backshift

past perfect

could

might

would

should

Remember:

• If a situation is still true, backshift is optional.
• For a general truth there is no need for backshift.

Look at the following examples. See if you can understand when and why they use backshift:

tenses & modals	direct	reported
present simple*	He said, "I like coffee."	He said (that) he likes coffee.
		He said (that) he liked coffee.
present continuous*	She said, "Moo is living here with us."	She said Moo is living there with them.
		She said Moo was living there with them.
past simple	John said, "We bought a house last week."	John said they had bought a house the week before.
present perfect	Ram said, "I haven't seenAvatar."	Ram said he hadn't seenAvatar.
past continuous	Wayne said, "Were you watching TV when I called."	Wayne asked if I had been watching TV when he called.
past perfect**	Ati said, "I had never lived in Thailand before."	Ati told us that he had never lived in Thailand before.
can	She said, "Tara can't swim."	She said Tara couldn't swim.
		She said Tara can't swim.
could**	He said, "Could you swim when you were three?"	He asked me if I could swim when I was three.
may	She said: "I may be late."	She said she might be late.(and she was late)
		She said she may be late.(the time to be late has not yet arrived)
might**	She said, "I might come early."	She said she might come early.
will	She said, "I'll call you tomorrow."	She said she would call me the next day.
		She said she will call me tomorrow. (tomorrow has not come)
would**	She said, "I wouldn't like to go."	She said she would not like to go.
shall	He said: "Shall I open the door?"	He asked if he should open the door.
should**	John said, "You should come here."	John said I should go there.
must	The kidnapper phoned me and said: "You must come here now."	The kidnapper phoned me and said I had to go there then.
	Ati said, "I must find a job next year."	Ati said he must find a job next year. (next year hasn't come yet)
have to	Tara said: "I have to do my homework."	Tara said she had to do her homework.
		Tara says she has to do her homework.

* if still true, change is optional (sometimes a matter of emphasis)
** never changes

Time and Place

direct	reported
She said, "I saw Mary yesterday."	She said she had seen Mary the day before.
He said: "My mother is here."	He said that his mother was there.

When we report something, we may need to make changes to:

• time (now, tomorrow)
• place (here, this room)

Don't confuse time with tense. "Tense" is the grammatical form of the verb that in the reported clause we sometimes shift back (backshift). "Time" refers to the actual time that something happens, such as "today" or "now" or "5 weeks ago".

Time words

If we report something around the same time, then we probably do not need to make any changes to time words. But if we report something at a different time, we need to change time words. Look at these example sentences:

• He said: "It was hot yesterday." → He said that it had been hot the day before.
• He said: "We are going to swim tomorrow." → He said they were going to swim the next day.

Here is a list of common time words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech	reported speech
now	then / at that time
today	that day, on Sunday, yesterday
tonight	that night, last night, on Sunday night
tomorrow	the next/following day, on Sunday, today
yesterday	the day before/the previous day, on Sunday
last night	the night before/the previous night, on Sunday night
this week	that week, last week
last month	the month before/the previous month, in May
next year	the following year, in 2014
two minutes ago	two minutes before
in one hour	one hour later

Place words

If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any changes to place words. But if we are in a different place when we report something, then we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences:

• He said: "It is cold in here." → He said that it was cold in there.
• He said: "How much is this book?" → He asked how much the bookwas.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech	indirect speech
here	there, in Starbucks
this	that
this book	the book, that book, War and Peace
in this room	in the room, in that room, in the kitchen

Time and Place

direct	reported
She said, "I saw Mary yesterday."	She said she had seen Mary the day before.
He said: "My mother is here."	He said that his mother was there.

When we report something, we may need to make changes to:

• time (now, tomorrow)
• place (here, this room)

Don't confuse time with tense. "Tense" is the grammatical form of the verb that in the reported clause we sometimes shift back (backshift). "Time" refers to the actual time that something happens, such as "today" or "now" or "5 weeks ago".

Time words

If we report something around the same time, then we probably do not need to make any changes to time words. But if we report something at a different time, we need to change time words. Look at these example sentences:

• He said: "It was hot yesterday." → He said that it had been hot the day before.
• He said: "We are going to swim tomorrow." → He said they were going to swim the next day.

Here is a list of common time words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech	reported speech
now	then / at that time
today	that day, on Sunday, yesterday
tonight	that night, last night, on Sunday night
tomorrow	the next/following day, on Sunday, today
yesterday	the day before/the previous day, on Sunday
last night	the night before/the previous night, on Sunday night
this week	that week, last week
last month	the month before/the previous month, in May
next year	the following year, in 2014
two minutes ago	two minutes before
in one hour	one hour later

Place words

If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any changes to place words. But if we are in a different place when we report something, then we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences:

• He said: "It is cold in here." → He said that it was cold in there.
• He said: "How much is this book?" → He asked how much the bookwas.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech	indirect speech
here	there, in Starbucks
this	that
this book	the book, that book, War and Peace
in this room	in the room, in that room, in the kitchen

Reported Questions

direct question	reported question
She said: "Are you cold?"	She asked me if I was cold.
He said: "Where's my pen?"	He asked where his pen was.

Reported questions are one form of reported speech.

We usually introduce reported questions with the verb "ask":

• He asked (me) if/whether... (YES/NO questions)
• He asked (me) why/when/where/what/how... (Question Word questions)

As with reported statements, we may need to change pronouns andtense (backshift) as well as time and place in reported questions.

But we also need to change the word order. After we report a question, it is no longer a question (and in writing there is no question mark). The word order is like that of a normal statement (subject-verb-object).

YES/NO questions
We introduce reported YES/NO questions with ask + if:

direct	She said: "	Do you like coffee	?"	In reported question: No auxiliary "do". Pronoun change and backshift.
reported	She asked if	I liked coffee	.

Note that we sometimes use "whether" instead of "if". The meaning is the same. "Whether" is a little more formal and more usual in writing:

• They asked us if we wanted lunch.
• They asked us whether we wanted lunch.

Question Word questions
We introduce reported Question Word questions with ask + question word:

direct	He said: "Where	do you live	?"	In reported question: No auxiliary "do". Pronoun change and backshift.
reported	He asked mewhere	I lived	.

Remember that there are basically three types of question: 1) YES/NO questions: Do you want tea? 2) Question Word questions: Where did you drink tea? 3) Choice questions: Do you prefer tea or coffee? Reported Choice questions have the same structure as Reported YES/NO questions. Questions with the verb BE always have a different structure:Was the tea cold? Where is my tea? You can see all these differences in the examples below.

Look at these example sentences:

	direct question	reported question
YES/NO question	I said: "Can I help you?"	I asked if I could help her.
	She said to us: "Did you feel cold?"	She asked if we had felt cold.
	He said: "Are your hands cold?"	He asked whether my hands were cold.
Question Word question	He said: "Where are you going?"	He asked me where I was going.
	He said: "Why didn't you say something?"	He asked me why I hadn't said anything.
	He said: "When will they come?"	He asked when they would come.
	He said: "Who has seenAvatar?"	He asked me who had seenAvatar.
	He said: "How much might it cost?"	He asked me how much it might cost.
	She said to me: "Where is the station?"	She asked me where the station was.
Choice question	"Do you want tea or coffee?"	He asked whether I wanted tea or coffee.
	"Is the car new or second-hand?"	He asked whether the car was new or second-hand.

Reported Requests

direct request	reported request
She said: "Could you open the window, please?"	She asked me to open the window.
He said: "Please don't smoke."	He asked them not to smoke.

A request is when somebody asks you to do something – usually politely. Reported requests are one form of reported speech.

We usually introduce reported requests with the verb "ask". The structure is very simple:

ask + (pro)noun + to + infinitive

• They asked us to wait.
• We asked the man to help us.

Because we use the infinitive there is no need to worry about tense. But as with reported statements and reported questions, we may need to change pronouns as well as time and place in reported requests.

Here are some examples:

direct request	reported request
I said politely, "Please make less noise."	I asked them politely to make less noise.
She has often said to me, "Could you stay the night?"	She has often asked me to stay the night.
They said to the architect: "We'd like you to meet us here tomorrow."	They asked the architect to meet them there the next day.
She will certainly say to John, "Please stay for lunch."	She will certainly ask John to stay for lunch.
She always says, "Please don't forget me."	She always asks me not to forget her.

Notice above that we report a negative request by using not.

Reported Orders

direct order	reported order
She said: "Stop!"	She told him to stop.

An order is when somebody tells you to do something and you have no choice. It is not usually polite. It is a "command". Reported orders are one form of reported speech.

We usually introduce reported orders with the verb "tell". The structure is very simple:

tell + (pro)noun + to + infinitive

• The policeman told us to follow him.
• We told the man not to smoke.

Because we use the infinitive there is no need to worry about tense. But as with reported statements and reported requests, we may need to change pronouns as well as time and place in reported orders.

Here are some examples:

direct order	reported order
She said, "Eat your food now!"	She told the boy to eat his food right then.
The policeman said: "Get out of your car!"	The policeman instructed us to get out of our car.
She said, "You must make the bed before you go to work!"	She told her husband to make the bed before he went to work.
The doctor said: "Don't smoke in here!"	The doctor told them not to smoke in there.

Notice above that we report a negative order by using not.

The most common verb for reporting an order is "tell", but we can also use other verbs such as: order, command, instruct
For example: The sergeant shouted at his men, "Stand straight!" → The sergeant ordered his men to stand straight.