REPORTED SPEECH
- The reported speech is used to communicate what someone else said, thought or believed but without using the exact words.
- A few changes are necessary, often a pronoun or time expression has to be changed and the verb is usually moved back a tense.
| Present simple He asked, “Are you busy tonight?” | Past simple He asked me if I was busy tonight. |
| Past simple Greg said, “I didn’t go to work yesterday.” | Past perfect Greg said that he hadn’t gone to work yesterday. |
| Future simple(will) “Will you help me move?” she asked. | Would She asked me if I would help her move. |
| Present continuous “Dan is living in San Francisco,” she said. | Past continuous She said Dan was living in San Francisco. |
| Past continuous “I was working late last night,” Vicki said.
|
Past perfect continuous Vicki told me she’d been working last night. |
| Present perfect simple “Have you worked here before?” I asked. | Past perfect simple I asked her if she had worked there before. |
| Past perfect simple “I’d been to Chicago before for work,” he said. | Past perfect simple He said that he’d been to Chicago before for work. |
| Present perfect continuous “Have you been waiting long?” they asked. | Past perfect continuous They asked whether I’d been waiting long. |
| Past perfect continuous He said, “I’d been working as a policeman
|
Past perfect continuous
He said that he had been working as a policeman |
MODALS
| Can | Could |
| “Can you open the window, please?”, he asked. | He asked me if I could open the window. |
| Must | Hadto |
| She said, “You must work tomorrow.” | She said I had to work tomorrow. |
| May | Might/Could |
| “May I use the bathroom, please?” the boy asked. | The boy asked if he might use the bathroom. |
CHANGES IN OTHER WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
| DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH | |
| now (ahora) thismorning (esta mañana) today (hoy) yesterday (ayer) tomorrow (mañana) nextweek (la semana próxima) lastyear (el año pasado) here (aquí) come (venir) |
► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► |
at that time / then (en ese momento) thatmorning (esa mañana) thatday (ese día) thedaybefore (el día anterior) thedayafter (el día siguiente) thefollowingweek (la siguiente semana) theyearbefore (el año anterior) there (allí) go (ir) |
- REPORTED ORDERS
When reporting order we change the imperative for an infinitive (to + verb infinitive).
Ex.: “Go away!”
The teacher ordered the student to go away
NEGATIVE ORDERS
Ex.: “Please, don´t go!”
She begged Sam not to go
REPORTED SUGGESTIONS
When reporting suggestions we use the verb “suggest”.
There are two different ways to report suggestions:
- Someone suggested that someone + infinitive
Let´s watch the new TV show
Tom suggested that we watch the new TV show
- Someone suggested + gerund
Ex.: “Let´s phone the police immediately!”
She suggested phoning the police immediately.
Negative: “Let´s not do the exam!”
She suggested not doing the exam
