Hello
guys! This post is going to deal with reported speech! It is
something quite important when you are telling what a person says. It
is a way to speak in third person, telling what other people think,
suggest, requests etc. There are two types of reported speech. One
is direct
speech
and other is indirect
speech.
The main difference between these two is that direct speech has to
use quotation marks (") and reproduces all the exact words that
the speaker said when the hearer was receiving that message. For
example: "I am hungry" she said. In indirect speech this
would be: She said she was angry. Indirect speech gives more
naturality to our way of speaking. In order to use indirect speech,
something more complicated than reproducing the same words, it is
very important clearify the rules that the speaker should follow.
Some
things you should know first:
-The
conjugation of verbs is really important.
-Sometimes
we have to use "that", "if" or "whether"
-When
we talk about something that has not changed and it is still
applicable to present time the verbal tense is the same. For example:
Blood is
red. She said that blood is/was
red
The
main verbs we use, known like the "reporting verb" are say and tell.
They are the most common, but depending on each context we should use
these two or others. One does not use the same verbs when make a
suggestion, a request etc.
We
are going tense by tense explaining how direct and indirect work.
Tenses
in direct and indirect speech:
Present
simple tense:
Direct
speech: I
like apples.
Indirect
speech: She
said (that) she liked apples.
Present
continuous tense:
Direct
speech:
I am doing sport
Indirect
speech: He
said he was doing sport.
Past
simple tense:
Direct
speech:
I aet a hamburger
Indirect
speech: She
said she had aet a hamburger.
Past
continuous tense:
Direct
speech: I
was driving a car
Indirect
speech: He
said he had been driving a car
Present
perfect tense:
Direct
speech: I
have not done my exercises
Indirect
speech: She
said she had not done her exercises.
Past
perfect tense: NO CHANGE
Direct
speech:
I had taken French lessons before
Indirect
speech: He
said he had taken French lessons before
Will:
Direct
speech: I
will do it later
Indirect
speech: He
said he would do it later
Would:
NO CHANGE
Direct
speech: I
would sing, but ...
Indirect
speech: She
said she would sing, but ...
Can:
Direct
speech: I
can speak five languages.
Indirect
speech: He
said he could speak five languages.
Could:
NO CHANGE
Direct
speech:
I could dance when I was young
Indirect
speech: She
said she could dance when she was young.
Shall:
Direct
speech: I
shall come later.
Indirect
speech: He
said he would come later.
Should:
NO CHANGE
Direct
speech: I
should go home
Indirect
speech: She
said she should go home.
Might:
NO CHANGE
Direct
speech:
I might be late
Indirect
speech: He
said he might be late.
Must:
Direct
speech: I
must tell the truth.
Indirect
speech: She
said she must tell/had to tell the truth.
Reported
questions:
In
questions, when are passe to indirect speech, the interrogation marks
disappear. For example (DS) Where is he shop? (ID) She asked me where
the shop is.
The reported verb has changed into "ask" because is a
request. As we previously explained. This example is a fixed example,
I mean, the shop is stable and does not move. But if instead of a
shop, we replace it by a person, the verbs would change. For example
(DS) Where is Brian? (ID) She asked me where Brian was.
Direct/Indirect
reported questions:
There
are other questions which are more direct. For example:
-Do
you know where is the shop? -> He asked me if I knew where the
shop is.
-Do
you know where is Brian? -> He asked if I knew where Brian was.
Request
question:
ask
me/her/him + to
+ infinitive
some
examples are:
Could
you please do me a favor? -> She asked me to do her a favor.
Please,
help me -> He asked me to help him
That's
all. The theory is quite extense. The best way of learning is
practising. Think twice before tell other person's words. Verbs can
be tricky. Next time I will bring you some exercises and we will
check if something is clear.
If
you have any doubts, please ask! See you soon :)
