Direct
Speech / Quoted Speech
Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use
quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word
for word.
When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because
when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past
(because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The
verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
or example:
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Direct speech
|
Indirect speech
|
|
"I'm going to the cinema", he said.
|
He said he was going to the cinema.
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Tense change
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a
tense (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):
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Direct speech
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Indirect speech
|
|
|
Present
simple
She said, "It's cold." |
›
|
Past
simple
She said it was cold. |
|
Present
continuous
She said, "I'm teaching English online." |
›
|
Past
continuous
She said she was teaching English online. |
|
Present
perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." |
›
|
Past
perfect simple
She said she had been on the web since 1999. |
|
Present
perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years." |
›
|
Past
perfect continuous
She said she had been teaching English for seven years. |
|
Past
simple
She said, "I taught online yesterday." |
›
|
Past
perfect
She said she had taught online yesterday. |
|
Past
continuous
She said, "I was teaching earlier." |
›
|
Past
perfect continuous
She said she had been teaching earlier. |
|
Past
perfect
She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived." |
›
|
Past
perfect
NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived. |
|
Past
perfect continuous
She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes." |
›
|
Past
perfect continuous
NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes. |
Modal verb forms also sometimes change:
|
Direct speech
|
Indirect speech
|
|
|
will
She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." |
›
|
would
She said she would teach English online tomorrow. |
|
can
She said, "I can teach English online." |
›
|
could
She said she could teach English online. |
|
must
She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online." |
›
|
had
to
She said she had to have a computer to teach English online. |
|
shall
She said, "What shall we learn today?" |
›
|
should
She asked what we should learn today. |
|
may
She said, "May I open a new browser?" |
›
|
might
She asked if she might open a new browser. |
Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and
ought to.
|
Direct speech
|
Indirect speech
|
|
"I
might go to the cinema", he said.
|
He
said he might go to the cinema.
|
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to
say that something is still true i.e. my name has always been and will always
be Lynne so:-
|
Direct speech
|
Indirect speech
|
|
"My
name is Lynne", she said.
|
She
said her name was Lynne.
or
She
said her name is Lynne.
|
You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a
future event.
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Direct speech (exact quote)
|
Indirect speech (not exact)
|
|
"Next
week's lesson is on reported speech ", she said.
|
She
said next week's lesson is on reported speech.
|
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must
change it to fit in with the time of reporting.
For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if
they have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.
|
Today
|
+ 24 hours - Indirect speech
|
|
"Today's
lesson is on presentations."
|
She
said yesterday's lesson was on presentations.
|
|
|
|
Expressions of time if reported on a
different day
|
||
|
this
(evening)
|
›
|
that
(evening)
|
|
today
|
›
|
yesterday
...
|
|
these
(days)
|
›
|
those
(days)
|
|
now
|
›
|
then
|
|
(a
week) ago
|
›
|
(a
week) before
|
|
last
weekend
|
›
|
the
weekend before last / the previous weekend
|
|
here
|
›
|
there
|
|
next
(week)
|
›
|
the
following (week)
|
|
tomorrow
|
›
|
the
next/following day
|
In addition if you report something that someone said in a
different place to where you heard it you must change the place (here) to the
place (there).
For example:-
|
At work
|
At home
|
|
"How
long have you worked here?"
|
She
asked me how long I'd worked there.
|
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.
For example:
|
Me
|
You
|
|
"I teach
English online."
|
She said she
teaches English online.
|
Reporting Verbs
Said, told and asked are
the most common verbs used in indirect speech.
We use asked to report questions:-
For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson
started.
We use told with an object.
For example: Lynne told me she felt tired.
!Note - Here me is the object.
We usually use said without an object.
For example: Lynne said she was going to teach
online.
If said is used with an object we must include to ;
For example: Lynne said to me that
she'd never been to China.
Note - We usually use told.
For example: Lynne told me that she'd never been
to China.
There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and
asked.
These include:-
|
accused, admitted, advised, alleged,
agreed, apologised, begged, boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied,
invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and thought.
|
Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting
and informative.
For example:
He asked me to come to the party:-
|
He
invited me to the party.
|
|
He
begged me to come to the party.
|
|
He
ordered me to come to the party.
|
|
He
advised me to come to the party.
|
|
He
suggested I should come to the party.
|
In reported speech, the word that is often
used.
For example: He told me that he lived in
Greenwich.
However, that is optional.
For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich.
Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.
For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.
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