REPORTED SPEECH

HOPES, INTENTIONS, PROMISES

When we report an intention, hope or promise, we use an
appropriate reporting verb followed by a that-clause or a toinfinitive:
"I'll pay you the money tomorrow."
He promised to pay me the money the next day.
He promised that he would pay me the money the next day.
Other verbs used in this pattern include:
hope, propose, threaten, guarantee, swear.
Examples:
a. "I'll be back by lunchtime."
He promised to be back by lunchtime.
He promised that he would be back by lunchtime.
b. "We should arrive in London before nightfall."
They hoped to arrive in London before nightfall.
They hoped they would arrive in London before
nightfall.
c. "Give me the keys to the safe or I'll shoot you!"
He threatened to shoot me if I didn't give him the
keys to the safe.
He threatened that he would shoot me if I didn't
give him the keys to the safe.

REPORTED SPEECH
HOPES, INTENTIONS, PROMISES
When we report an intention, hope or promise, we use an
appropriate reporting verb followed by a that-clause or a toinfinitive:
"I'll pay you the money tomorrow."
He promised to pay me the money the next day.
He promised that he would pay me the money the next day.
Other verbs used in this pattern include:
hope, propose, threaten, guarantee, swear.
Examples:

a. "I'll be back by lunchtime."

He promised to be back by lunchtime.
He promised that he would be back by lunchtime.
b. "We should arrive in London before nightfall."
They hoped to arrive in London before nightfall.
They hoped they would arrive in London before
nightfall.
c. "Give me the keys to the safe or I'll shoot you!"
He threatened to shoot me if I didn't give him the
keys to the safe.
He threatened that he would shoot me if I didn't
give him the keys to the safe.

REPORTED SPEECH
QUESTIONS
1. Normal word order is used in reported questions, that is, the
subject comes before the verb, and it is not necessary to use
'do' or 'did':
"Where does Peter live?"
where Peter lived.

She asked him

2. Yes / no questions: This type of question is reported by

using 'ask' + 'if / whether + clause:
a. "Do you speak English?"
spoke English.

He asked me if I

b. "Are you British or American?"

He asked me
whether I was British or American.
c. "Is it raining?"

She asked if it was raining.

d. "Have you got a computer?"

He wanted to
know whether I had a computer.
e. "Can you type?"

She asked if I could type.

f. "Did you come by train?"

He enquired
whether I had come by train.
g. "Have you been to Bristol before?"
She
asked if I had been to Bristol before.
3. Question words:
This type of question is reported by using 'ask' (or another

verb like 'ask') + question word + clause. The clause contains

the question, in normal word order and with the necessary
tense change.
Examples:
a. "What is your name?" he asked me.
asked me what my name was.

He

b. "How old is your mother?", he asked.

asked how old her mother was.

He

c. The mouse said to the elephant, "Where do you

live?"
The mouse asked the elephant where
she lived.
d. "What time does the train arrive?" she asked.
She asked what time the train arrived.
e. "When can we have dinner?" she asked.
asked when they could have dinner.

She

f. The elephant said to the mouse, "Why are you

so small?"
The elephant asked the mouse why
she was so small.

REPORTED SPEECH
SUMMARY OF REPORTING VERBS
Note that some reporting verbs may appear in more than one
of the following groups.
1. Verbs followed by 'if' or 'whether' + clause:
ask
know
remember

say
see

2. Verbs followed by a that-clause:

add
admit
agree
announce
answer
argue
boast

doubt
estimate
explain
fear
feel
insist
mention

reply
report
reveal
say
state
suggest
suppose

claim
comment
complain
confirm
consider
deny

observe
persuade
propose
remark
remember
repeat

tell
think
understand
warn

3. Verbs followed by either a that-clause or a to-infinitive:

decide
expect
guarantee
hope

promise
swear
threaten

4. Verbs followed by a that-clause containing should

(but note that it may be omitted, leaving a subject + zeroinfinitive):

advise
beg
demand

insist
prefer
propose

recommend
request
suggest

5. Verbs followed by a clause starting with a question

word:

decide
describe
discover
discuss
explain
forget
guess

imagine
know
learn
realise
remember
reveal
say

see
suggest
teach
tell
think
understand
wonder

6. Verbs followed by object + to-infinitive

advise
ask
beg
command

forbid
instruct
invite

teach
tell
warn

MOODS IN INDIRECT DISCOURSE

334. When words once uttered or thought are afterward quoted, the
quotation may be either direct or indirect. In a direct quotation the
original statement is repeated without incorporation into the structure of
the sentence in the midst of which it now stands. In an indirect quotation
the original sentence is incorporated into a new sentence as a subordinate
element dependent upon a verb of saying, thinking, or the like, and
suffers such modification as this incorporation requires. The following
example will illustrate:
Original sentence (direct discourse). I will come.
Direct quotation, He said, "I will come."
Indirect quotation, He said that he would come.
REM. The distinction between direct discourse and indirect is not one of
the exactness of the quotation. Direct quotation may be inexact. Indirect
quotation may be exact. Suppose, for example, that the original statement
was, There are good reasons why I should act thus. If one say, He said,
I have good reasons for acting thus, the quotation is direct but inexact.
If one say, He said that there were good reasons why he should act thus,
the quotation is exact though indirect.
335. Direct quotation manifestly requires no special discussion, since the
original statement is simply transferred to the new sentence without
incorporation into its structure.
336. Indirect quotation, on the other hand, involving a readjustment of
the original sentence to a new point of view, calls for a determination of
the principles on which this readjustment is made. Its problem is most
simply stated in the form of the question, What change does the original
form of a sentence undergo when incorporated into a new sentence as an
indirect quotation? All consideration of the principles of indirect
discourse must take as its starting point the original form of the words
quoted.
337. The term indirect discourse is commonly applied only to indirect
assertions and indirect questions. Commands, promises, and hopes
indirectly quoted might without impropriety be included under the term,
but are, in general, excluded because of the difficulty of drawing the line
between them and certain similar usages, in which, however, no direct
form can be thought of. Thus the Infinitive after a verb of commanding
might be considered the representative in indirect discourse of an
Imperative in the direct discourse; somewhat less probably the Infinitive
after a verb of wishing might be supposed to represent an Optative of the
direct; while for the Infinitive after verbs of striving, which in itself can
scarcely be regarded as of different force from those after verbs of
commanding and wishing, no direct form can be thought of.