There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect.
In direct speech we repeat the original speaker's exact words: He said, 'I have lost my
umbrella.'
Remarks thus repeated are placed between inverted commas, and a comma or colon
is placed immediately before the remark.
Direct speech is found in conversations in books, in plays, and quotations.
In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark or speech, without
necessarily using the speaker's exact words:
He said that he had lost his umbrella.
Indirect speech is normally used in conversation, though direct speech is sometimes
employed here to give a more dramatic effect. When we turn direct speech into
indirect, some changes are usually necessary. These are most easily studied by
considering statements, questions, and commands separately.
He says, 'The train will be late.' = He says the train will be late.
But when the introductory verb is in the past tense, which it usually is, the following
tense changes are necessary:
a) The future, future continuous, simple present, present continuous, present perfect
and present perfect continuous tenses change as follows:
Direct speech Indirect speech
future to conditional
future continuous to conditional continuous
simple present to simple past
present continuous to past continuous
present perfect to past perfect
present perfect continuous to past perfect continuous
b) In theory the past tense changes to the past perfect, but in spoken English it is
often left unchanged, provided this can be done without causing confusion about the
relative times of the actions:
He said, ' I loved her' must become He said he had loved her as otherwise there
would be a change of meaning,
but
He said, 'Ann arrived on Monday' could be reported
He said Ann arrived (or had arrived) on Monday.
In written English past tenses usually do change to past perfect but there are the
following exceptions:
The main verb of such sentences can either remain unchanged or become the past
perfect:
2. A past tense used to describe a state of affairs which still exists when the speech is
reported remains unchanged:
She said, 'I decided not to buy the house because it was on a main road.'
= She said that she had decided not to buy the house because it was on a main road.
3. would, should, ought, had better, might, used to, could and must do not normally
change:
He said, 'I might be there.'
= He said that he might be there.
She said, 'I would help him if I could.'
= She said that she would help him if she could.
The past continuous tense in theory changes to the past perfect continuous but in
practice usually remains unchanged except when it refers to a completed action:
She said, 'We were thinking of selling the house but we have decided not to.'
= She said that they had been thinking of selling the house but had decided
not to.
but
Other changes necessary when turning direct speech into indirect speech
a) In indirect speech the conjunction that can be placed immediately after the
introductory verb, but it is not essential and is often omitted:
He said, 'I have seen a ghost.'
= He said (that) he had seen a ghost.
b) Pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change from first or second person to
third person except when the speaker is reporting his own words:
I said, 'I like my new house.'
= I said that I liked my new house (speaker reporting his own words).
He said, 'I've forgotten the combination of my safe.'
= He said that he had forgotten the combination of his safe.
'You've overcooked the steak again, Mary,' he said.
= He told Mary that she had overcooked the steak again.
This might give the impression that Tom himself had come in this way; but if we use
a noun there can be no confusion:
Tom said that the man/the burglar/the cat … had come in...
Pronoun changes may affect the verb when it is in the future or conditional :
He says, 'I shall be there.' = He says that he will be there.
He said, 'I shall be there.' = He said that he would be there.
He came back with two blood-stained knives and said, 'I found these beside the
king's bed.'
= He said that he had found them beside the king's bed.
He said, 'We will discuss this tomorrow.'
= He said that they would discuss it (the matter) the next day.
But if the speech is made and reported on the same day these time changes are not
necessary:
At breakfast this morning he said, 'I’ll be very busy today.'
= At breakfast this morning he said that he would be very busy today.
When we turn direct questions into indirect speech, the following changes are
necessary:
Tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time and place change as
in statements.
The interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative form. The question
mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions:
If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g. ask,
inquire, wonder, want to know...:
He said, 'Where is the station?'
=He asked where the station was.
ask, inquire, can also be used in direct speech. They are then usually placed at the
end of the sentence:
'Where is the station?' he inquired.
If the direct question begins with a question word (when, where, who, how, why …,
the question word is repeated in the indirect question:
These follow the ordinary rule about shall/will. Speculations are usually introduced
by wonder:
He wondered where he would be in a year's time/at that time in the following year.
She asked when she would know the result of her test.
These are expressed in indirect speech by ask, inquire …, with should or the be +
infinitive construction; requests for advice are normally reported by should:
"Shall we send it to your flat, sir?' he said.
= He asked the customer \if they should send it to his flat.
'What shall I say, mother?' she said.
= She asked her mother what she should say (request for advice).
3. offers:
'Shall I bring you some tea?' could be reported
He offered to bring me some tea.
4.suggestions:
'Shall we meet at the theatre?' could be reported
He suggested meeting at the theatre.
Questions beginning will you/would you/could you may be ordinary questions but
may also be requests, commands or invitations:
Indirect commands
In direct commands the person addressed is often not mentioned: He said, 'Go away.'
But in indirect commands the person addressed must be included, so that in cases
such as the above it is necessary to add a noun or pronoun:
He told me (him, her, the children…) to go away.
Similarly:
He said, ‘Please say nothing about this.'
He asked her (us/them) to say nothing about it.
d) beg, urge, remind, warn, advise, recommend and invite are often useful in
indirect commands/requests :
He said, 'Please, please give me another chance. '
= He begged them to give him another chance.
She said, 'Remember to thank Mrs. Pitt when you are saying good-bye.'
= She reminded them to thank Mrs. Pitt when they were saying good-bye.
'Don't go near the water, children', she said.
= She warned the children not to go near the water.
'Stop taking tranquillizers,' I said/advised.
= I advised him to stop taking tranquillizers.
'Go on, John, hit him,' she said.
= She urged John to hit the other boy.
Notice that advice can also be expressed by the conditional construction if I were
you I should + infinitive:
'If I were you I should leave the town at once,' he said.
Will you either at the beginning or end of a sentence can express a command. This is
more authoritative than polite and often indicates impatience. It is expressed in
indirect speech by tell:
'Shut the door, will you,' he shouted.
= He told us to shut the door.
'Will you stop talking,' he said.
= He told them to stop talking.
He said, 'If she leaves the house follow her' could be reported
He said that if she left the house I was to follow her. or
He told me to follow her if she left the house.
(If we use the tell + infinitive construction we must change the order of the sentence
so as to put the command first.)
Similarly:
He said, 'When you go out Jock lock doors!' could-be. reported
He said that when I went out I was to lock both doors. or
He told me to lock both doors when I went out.
b) say or tell with a should construction can be used similarly, but normally
indicates advice rather than command:
c) urge, order, command, advise and recommend can also be used with should, but
express command, not advice as in b above. So we can say:
a) let's
1) let's usually expresses a suggestion and becomes suggest in indirect speech, so
that:
He said, 'Let's leave the case at the station.' would be reported
He suggested leaving the case at the station. or
He suggested that they/we should leave the case at the station. and
He said, 'Let's stop now and finish it later' would be reported
He suggested stopping then and finishing it later. or
He suggested that they/we should stop then and finish it later.
But let's not used alone in answer to an affirmative suggestion is often reported by
some phrase such as: opposed the idea/was against it/objected:
'Let's sell the house', said Tom.
'Let's riot' said Ann could be reported
Tom suggested selling the house but Ann was against it.
b) let him/them
1) In theory let him/them expresses a command. But very often the speaker has no
authority over the person who is to obey the command:
'It's not my business,' said the postman. 'Let the government do something about it.'
Here, the speaker is not issuing a command but expressing an obligation. Sentences
of this type are therefore normally reported by ought/should:
He said that it wasn't his business and that the government should/ought to do
something about it.
Exclamations such as 'ugh!' 'oh!' 'heavens!' are usually expressed by 'He gave an
exclamation of disgust/surprise ….' or 'He exclaimed with disgust/surprise.
Note also:
He said, 'Thank you.' He thanked me.
He said, 'Curse this wind. ' He cursed the wind.
He said, 'Good morning!' He greeted me/wished me a good morning.
He said, 'Happy Christmas!' He wished me a happy Christmas.
He said, 'Congratulations!' He congratulated me.
He said, 'Liar! ' He called me a liar.
He said, 'Damn!' He swore.
Also yes and no are expressed in indirect speech by subject + appropriate auxiliary
verb:
He said, 'Can you swim?' and I said, 'No.'
= He asked (me) if I could swim and I said that I couldn't
He said, 'Will you have time to do it?' and I said, 'Yes.* =
= He asked if I would have timeto do it and said that /would.
Reported speech
• The most important rule is to use verb forms that are natural in the situation.
'I'm happy to help you' she,said.
She told me she is happy to help us.
In the above example, the verb has not been put one stage back in the past. In the
following example, the same is true.
'I wanted to go to the cinema, but John wasn't so keen' said Sue.
Sue said that she wanted to go to the cinema, but John wasn't so keen.
In reported hypothetical situations, verb form changes are not made if the event has
reference to a possible future.
'If you came back tomorrow, I'd be able to help you!
She said that if I came back the next day, she'd be able to help me.
If the event is clearly hypothetical and impossible, time changes are made.
'If I had a spanner, I could fix it!
He said that if he had had a spanner he could have fixed it.
Hypothetical past conditional sentences do not change.
• Don't think
Statements reported with verbs of thinking such as think, expect, suppose can transfer
the negative from the statement to the verb.
I suppose she won't come. (I don't suppose she'll come.)
Reporting verbs
There are numerous reporting verbs, which report the words of others, or our own
words and thoughts. Only a selection is given here. Other examples are included in
the activities. Only the most useful categories are given here. It is advisable to use a
dictionary to check on how reporting verbs are used.
More formally, the subjunctive can be used instead of should. This is formed from
the base of the verb (without third person s).
They suggested that she apply again.
Some other verbs of this type are:
advise (also: someone to do/against something)
agree (also: to do something, that + clause)
demand (also: to do something)
insist (also: on someone doing something)
prefer (also: someone to do something)
propose (also: doing something)
recommend (also: doing something)
request (also: someone to do something)
suggest (also: that + clause)
urge (also: someone to do something)
Functions
Examples are:
admit complain request suggest
advise invite remind warn
agree persuade threaten
Changes of viewpoint
Changes of time, place and person reference are assumed known at this level. In
reported speech, there is no longer a clear reference which can be understood by two
people in the same place.
EXERCISES
1.Underline the errors in these sentences. Rewrite each sentence. Rewrite each
sentence in direct speech, ending.
a) 'Look, sorry about this, but I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit late.'
b) 'Actually I've no idea at all where I am!'.....
c) 'The thing is, I know it's silly but I've missed the bus.'.....
d) 'Anyway, I'll be back in next to no time.'.....
e) T did ring, you know, earlier in the evening......
a) 'Are you staying here all summer?' the little girl asked me.
The little girl asked me.. …………………………………………....................
b) 'What does 'procrastinate' mean?' I asked my teacher.
I asked my teacher ..'........................................................................................
c) 'Have you done your homework, or not?' my mother asked me.
My mother asked me .....................................................................................,
d) 'When is your birthday?' I asked Sue.
I asked Sue.......................................................................................................
e) 'Did you remember to lock the door,' my father asked me.
My father asked me ........................................................................................
f) 'Why have you turned off the television?' Ellen asked me.
Ellen asked me ................................................................................................
g) 'Do you speak Italian? ‘the tourist guide asked me.
The tourist guide asked me ............................................................................
4. Rewrite each sentence in reported speech, beginning as shown. Use a verb from the
list.