REPORTED SPEECH

Reported Speech

A.K.A. telling someone what another person said

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CONTENTS

Reported statements

What is reported speech?

Reporting verbs

Reported questions

Reported orders, requests, offers & suggestions

Verb changes for reported speech: direct vs. indirect speech

Time expressions: changes from direct to indirect speech

Other considerations

Pronouns and other changes from direct to indirect speech

useful links

What is reported speech?

Definition

Direct speech repeats the exact words the person used, or how we remember their words:Barbara said, “I didn’t realise it was midnight.” In indirect speech, the original speaker’s words are changed.Barbara said she hadn’t realised it was midnight.

Reported speech is how we represent the speech of other people or what we ourselves say. There are two main types of reported speech: direct speech and indirect speech.

Reporting verbs

Statements: say, tell, add, admit, agree, announce, answer, claim, comment, complain, confess, confirm, continue, cry (= shout), explain, inform, insist, interrupt, note, observe, promise, protest, reply, state, threaten

Suggestions advise, offer, suggest, warn, recommend,

Orders & requests ask, demand, enquire, order, request,

Questions ask, wonder, request, demand, enquire

Verb changes for reported speech: direct vs. indirect speech

Time expressions: changes from direct to indirect speech

Pronouns and other changes from direct to indirect speech

Reported statements

Say & tell (& others)

Example: ‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told them. Not: ‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told. He said he was moving to New Zealand. Not: He said me he was moving to New Zealand. He told me he was moving to New Zealand. Not: He told he was moving to New Zealand.

We can use say and tell to report statements in direct speech, but say is more common. We don’t always mention the person being spoken to with say, but if we do mention them, we use a prepositional phrase with to.

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Reported questions

Reported questions

Yes / no questions

Questions with a question word

In yes/no questions, we use if or whether to report the question. If is more common. 'Are you going to the Helsinki conference?' He asked me if I was going to the Helsinki conference. 'Have you finished the project yet?' She asked us whether we'd finished the project yet.

In what, where, why, who, when or how questions, we use the question word to report the question. 'What time does the train leave?' He asked me what time the train left. 'Where did he go?' She asked where he went.

sOURCE

Reported orders, requests, offers & suggestions

Sources

Orders

Requests

Offers

Suggestions

Offers for actions: offer + to infinitive + (object) ‘Can I help you with that?’ She offered to help him with that. Offers for objects: offer + (I.O.) + object 'Do you want a snack?' He offered me a snack.

Requests for actions: ask + object + to infinitive ‘Please don’t leave your things on the floor.’ She asked us not to leave our things on the floor. Requests for objects: ask for + object ‘Can I have the salt, please?’ He asked for the salt.

tell + object + to infinitive ‘Stop calling me names!’ She told him to stop calling her names.

suggest + that + subject + infinitive `Why don't you sleep overnight at my house?' She suggested that I sleep overnight at her house. suggest + verb -ing 'Let's go to the cinema today.' Ann suggested going to the cinema.

Other considerations

Sentence structure in reported questions

Negative infinitives

Reported structures which require infinitives with 'to' in the negative form follow the structure reporting verb + (object) + 'not + to infinitive', as with the verbs advise, invite, promise, refuse or warn: ‘I wouldn’t buy that one, if I were you.’ She advised me not to buy that one. 'I won't go the concert with them' Josh refused to go to the concert with them.

Note that indirect structures which report questions follow the 'regular' structure for sentence building i.e. (question word + subject + verb), so the subject/verb inversion is NOT NECESSARY. 'Where are you going?' - Mum asked me. say:Mum asked me where I was going. don't say:Mum asked me where was I going.

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