Reported Speech: Requests and orders

REPORTED SPEECH

Requests and orders

Reported Requests

Requests can be questions or sentences

Could you bring my book tomorrow? Could you pass the milk, please? Please don’t smoke. Close the window, please.

In the last two examples, the word “please” is used.

Direct speech: "Close the window, please", she asked me. or "Could you close the window please?", she asked me.

Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.

More examples:

Reported Speech:

Direct Speech:

She asked me to help her. She asked me not to smoke. She asked me to bring her book that night. She asked me to pass the milk.

Help me, please. Please don't smoke. Could you bring my book tonight? Could you pass the milk, please?

Reported Orders

Commands or orders are sentences in which we do not use a subject. They start directly with the verb.

Study harder! Be quiet! Sit down! Don’t stop! Don’t smoke!

Direct speech: "Sit down!", the teacher told me.

Reported speech: The teacher told me to sit down.

Some verbs used in reported orders:

tell order beg advise warn remind urge

told ordered begged advised warned reminded urged

More examples:

Reported Speech:

Direct Speech:

She warned me not to touch the wire. He ordered the children to go to bed. The teacher reminded us to be on time. He advised us not to smoke.

Don't touch the wire! Go to bed! Be on time! Don't smoke!

To report a negative request or a negative order, use “not”:

DS: Please don't be late. RS: She asked us not to be late.

DS: Don’t close your books. RS: The teacher told us not to close our books.

THANKS!