REPORTED SPEECH – INDIRECT SPEECH

Indirect or Reported Speech refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said.

✭ If the reporting verb is in the past [e.g. said], the reported clause will be in a past form (usually one step back into the past from the original).
Examples:
• He said the test was difficult.
• She said she watched TV every day.
• Jack said he came to school every day.

✭ If the reporting verb is in the simple present [e.g. says], present perfect or the future is used.
Examples:
• He says the test is difficult.
• She has said that she watches TV every day.
• Jack will say that he comes to school every day.

✭ If reporting a general truth the present tense will be retained.
Example:
• The teacher said that phrasal verbs are very important.

CHANGING PRONOUNS AND TIME SIGNIFIERS
When changing from Direct speech to Indirect speech, it is often necessary to change the pronouns to match the subject of the sentence.

Examples:
• She said, “I want to bring my children.”
BECOMES: She said she wanted to bring her children.

• Jack said, “My wife went with me to the show.”
BECOMES: Jack said his wife had gone with him to the show.

✭ It is also important to change time words (signifiers) when referring to present, past or future time to match the moment of speaking.
Examples:
• She said, “I want to bring my children tomorrow.”
BECOMES: She said she wanted to bring her children the next day.

• Jack said, “My wife went with me to the show yesterday.”
BECOMES: Jack said his wife had gone with him to the show the day before.

INDIRECT QUESTIONS
✭ When reporting questions, it is important to pay attention to sentence order.
✭ When reporting Yes/ No questions, connect the reported question using ‘if’.
✭ When reporting questions using question words [e.g. why, where, etc.), use the question word.
Examples:
• She asked, “Do you want to come with me?”
BECOMES: She asked me if I wanted to come with her.

• Dave asked, “Where did you go last weekend?”
BECOMES Dave asked me where I had gone the previous weekend.

• He asked, “Why are you studying English?”
BECOMES She asked me why I was studying English.

The following shows sentences changed from quoted speech to reported speech
using a past form.
• He said, “I live in Paris.”
- He said he lived in Paris.

• He said, “I am cooking dinner.”
- He said he was cooking dinner.

• He said, “I have visited London twice.”
- He said he had visited London twice.

• He said, “I went to New York last week.”
- He said he had gone to New York the week before.

• He said, “I had already eaten.”
- He said he had already eaten.

• He said, “I am going to find a new job.”
- He said he was going to find a new job.

• He said, “I will give Jack a call.”
- He said he would give Jack a call.

✭ Simple past, present perfect, and past perfect ALL change to past perfect in the reported form.

PREPOSITIONS NOUNS
When using reported speech, most students learn to use "say" and "tell":

Examples:
• John told me he was going to stay late at work.
• Peter said he wanted to visit his parents that weekend.

There are a number of other reporting verbs, which can more accurately describe what someone has said. These verbs take a variety of structures. The following is a list of reporting verbs in various categories based on sentence structure. Notice that a number of verbs can take more than one form.

✭ Verb object infinitive – advise; encourage; invite; remind; warn
Examples:
• Jack encouraged me to look for a new job.
• They invited all their friends to attend the presentation.

✭ Verb infinitive – agree; decide; offer; promise; refuse; threaten
Examples:
• She offered to give him a lift to work.
• My brother refused to take no for an answer.

✭ Verb (that) – admit; agree; decide; deny; explain; insist; promise; recommend; suggest
Examples:
• Tom admitted (that) he had tried to leave early.
• She agreed (that) we needed to reconsider our plans.

✭ Verb gerund – deny; recommend; suggest
Examples:
• He denied having anything to do with her.
• Ken suggested studying early in the morning.

✭ Verb object preposition gerund – accuse; blame; congratulate
Examples:
• They accused the boys of cheating on the exam.
• She blamed her husband for missing the train.

✭ Verb preposition gerund – apologize; insist
Examples:
• He apologized for being late.
• She insisted on doing the washing up.

[Ref: Kenneth Beare: http://esl.about.com/blgrammar.htm]