REPORTED SPEECH

ESTILO INDIRECTO
 INTRODUCTION
• USE: when we want to repeat what another
person has said we have two ways of doing it.:
1º We can repeat her/ his exact words, using the
direct speech. In this case we use quotation
marks: “I’m exhausted” she said.

2ºWe can use the reported speech, in this

second case we don’t repeat the exact words
but we keep
 INTRODUCTION II
• the same meaning. We don’t use quotation marks
and we can either use the word that after the
introductory verb (say, tell, etc) or we can omit it.
e.g.:She said she was exhausted
e.g.
I’m very happy

Direct speech: the baby said: “I’m very

happy.”
Reported speech: the baby said (that)
he was happy
 Reported Statements
 Say /tell: we can use the verbs tell and say
in direct and indirect speech.
Tell is always followed by a personal
pronoun (told me/ him)
Say is used with or without a personal
object. When used with a personal object it
is always followed by the preposition to
e.g. He said; “I’m Ted” He said he was Ted
 STATEMENTS II
Eg. He said to me: “I’m Ted” . He said to me
he was Ted.
He told me: “I’m Ted”. He told me he was
Ted.
Though say and tell are very much used in
reported speech there are more verbs that
can be used and that we’ll explain later
(complain, add, reply etc)
 STATEMENTS III
• But let’s see now the changes that take place in
statements in reported speech:
Let’s have a look to this sentence:
“I’m very tired today” He said (direct speech)
He said that he was very tired that day.
As we can see the personal pronoun has changed to
a third person, the verb has changed to its
 Statements
Correspondent past tense and the adverb of time has
also changed.
1º Personal pronouns, possessive adjectives or
possessive pronouns change from the 1st person
to the third one ( or from the second to the 1st
depending on the meaning)
“ You are very tired today”
He said that I was very tired/ He said that he was
very tired.
 More changes
2º verbs: verbal tenses normally change into
their correspondent past tense . That is:
Simple present.............. Simple past
Present continuous..........Past continuous.
Present Perfect.............. Past Perfect
Past simple...................... Past perfect
Past continuous................Past perfect
continuous
 Verb changes
• Future..................conditional (would + Inf)
Modal verbs:
Can................Could
May................Might
Shall.............. Should
Must................had to
The verb tenses remain the same in reported
 No change in verbs
speech when we report a general truth or law
of nature:
e.g. “The sun sets in the west” the teacher
said.
The teacher said that the sun sets in the
west.
• When the introductory verb is in the
present
 No change in verbs.
e.g.The singer says: “I enjoy skiing”
The singer says that he enjoys skiing

3º Time expressions and certain words

change according to the meaning of the
sentence:
 Expressions of time
• Now..............then, at that time.
• Today, tonight...........that day, that night
• Yesterday.........the day before/ previous
day
• Tomorrow.........the next day, the following
day.
• This week...........that week
 Changes in time expressions
• Last week.............the week before,
previous week.
• Next week.........the week after, the
following week
• Two days ago..........two days before
• Here.....................there
• Come....................go
 PRACTICE
• Now turn the following sentences into
reported speech:
1.Robin said: “ These biscuits taste
delicious”
2. “I can’t see you this afternoon because
I’ve got a lot to do” Ann told me.
3. “Those were good times for my family”
Jack said.
 More Practice
4. “You mustn’t do that again” Mum said to
Bob.
5.Jill said: “I’ll go to the bank tomorrow”
6. “I haven’t spoken to Mary since last
week” Gloria said.
7. “My mother is coming to visit us” I said.
8. “Sorry, I can’t meet you because I’m very
busy” She said.
 REPORTED QUESTIONS
1º Reported questions are usually introduced with
the verbs: ask, inquire, wonder or the expression
want to know.
2º When the direct question begins with a question
word (who, where, how old, how long etc) the
reported question is introduced with the same
question word. And then we put the subject and
the verb changed like in statements.
 Wh-questions
Eg. “What do you want to know?” she asked
me.
She asked me what I wanted to know.
“What are you studying?” Sam asked her.
Sam asked her what she was studying
3º When the direct question begins with an
auxiliary (is, do, have ) or modal verb (can,
may etc) then the reported question begins
 If- questions
with if or whether.
e.g. “Have you ever seen a wolf before?” he
asked me.
He asked me if / whether I had seen a wolf
before.
The question marks and words or expressions
such as please, well, oh etc are omitted.
 If-questions
e.g. “Can you hold the door for me, please?
The man asked me.
The man asked me if /whether I could hold
the door for him.
Practise now:
1. “Where are you from?” Marlon asked us
2. “Is your hotel near here? He asked.
 Practice
3. “When will you decorate the kitchen?”
Martha asked.
4. “Do you like London?” He asked me.
5.Father asked, “Will you help me lift these
boxes, please?
6. “Who broke my vase?” I asked.
7. “Have you visited Buckingham Palace this
week?” Marion wanted to know.
 Commands/ requests/
suggestions/ warns
• To report commands or instructions in
reported speech, we use the introductory
verb order or tell+ sb +(not)+ to- infinitive
E.g. “Put the gun down!”
He ordered him to put the gun down
“Don’t look down! He said to us
He told us not to look down
 Orders / suggestions
“Be careful, children the storm is very strong”. Her
mother said.
She warned her children to be
careful with the storm
To report request, we use the introductory verbs ask or
beg + sb + (not) to-infinitive.
“Help, me , please”John said to Tom
John asked Tom to help him.
“Please, don’t call the police!”He said to Colin.
He begged Colin not to call the police.
 SUGGESTIONS
• To report suggestions we can use:
1º The introductory verb suggest+ -ing form
2º The introductory verb suggest + that sb +
should + bare infinitive.
“Let’s go outside!” I said to them
I suggested going outside/ that we should go
outside.
 Other introductory verbs
• Other introductory verbs that are followed
by the to-infinitive construction are :

Agree offer promise refuse threaten advise

Invite
e.g.“Yes, I’ll give you a lift”. She said
She agreed to give me a lift.
e.g.“Shall I carry the boxes?” He said.
He offered to carry me the boxes.
 Introductory verbs
• Other examples:
“No, I won’t buy you a car”. He said.
She refused to buy me a car.
“Stop talking or I’ll send you out!” The
teacher said.
The teacher threatened to send me out.
Introductory verbs + that clause
• Other verbs are complain , deny, explain,
remark, promise. They are followed by a
that clause.:
• “You are always late” She said.
She complained that I was always late.
“It’s a difficult situation” he said
She explained that it was a difficult situation
 Verbs + ing
• Some verbs in reported speech are
followed by –ing form: apologise for,
admit, accuse someone of, insist on:
e.g.“You cheated in the exam” He said.
He accused me of cheating on the exam.
e.g.“You’re right. I have got late for work.”
I said
He admitted being late for work.
 More Practice Shut up,
ball of
hair!
Why do you
have those
ridiculous
antlers?

The chempanzee asked................... And the hare...