REPORTED SPEECH / INDIRECT SPEECH / EL ESTILO INDIRECTO

We usually inform someone else about what happened in a different place and
time from the original.
We use the Indirect Speech (IS) when we want to tell someone what another
person said without using his/ her exact words, adapting them to the new
circumstances in which they are repeated.

FORM: Introductory Clause + Indirect clause.

He said that I was intelligent

Direct Speech: He: You are intelligent.
In the introductory clause we need an introductory verb. The commonest verbs
to introduce the reported speech are:

TELL & SAY

“Tell and Say” can be followed by THAT , but it can be omitted.
Some important aspects about these verbs are that:

 TELL needs an indirect object (IO). He told me that she was his wife.

 SAY can have an IO or not. If it has an indirect objects, this must be

introduced by the particle “to”.
He said that Sarah was working. (no IO)
He said to me that Sarah was working. (with IO)
*(never) He said me …*
There are other 248 verbs to introduce the reported speech in English.
For example: Advice, announce, encourage, explain, inform, mention, persuade,
promise, remind, state , warn…

1. Reporting STATEMENTS:
In reporting statements we have to change Tenses, adverbs (time, place), and
personal pronouns (subject and object), demonstratives, etc.

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1.1 BACK-SHIFTS (TENSESS TRANSFORMATIONS)

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

PRESENT SIMPLE PAST SIMPLE

“He works in Seville” He said (that) he worked in Seville

PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS

“I am reading a novel” She said (that) she was reading a novel
PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT
“They have come back from USA” He mentioned (that) they had come
back from USA.
PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT
“She gave him a present” She told me that she had given him a
present
PAST CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
“We were having a party” He explained that they had been
having a party
FUTURE CONDITIONAL
“I will go with you tomorrow” She told me (that) she would go with
me the following day.
MODALS
CAN COULD
“We can order a pizza” She said that we could order a pizza.
MAY MIGHT
“ It may rain today” Pete said (that) it might rain that day.
MUST HAD TO
“ I must study for this exam” She said she had to study for that exam

Exceptions to the back-shift:

1.- When the meaning of the reported Speech is still valid.

“ I love you”  I said that I love you . ( instead of) I said that I loved you.
2.- Universal Truth .

“Tom: time is gold”  Tom told us that time is gold. (instead of ) “…time was
gold.”
3.- Habits repeated up to the moment of speaking.

“ I always get up early”  He said that he always gets up early.

(instead of) He said that he always got up early.

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2. Reporting QUESTIONS:
2.1. YES / NO QUESTIONS:

 We need different introductory s than the ones used in reporting

statements. some of them are: Ask, request, Inquire, Wonder, or
Want to know.

 We must add IF / Whether to introduce de Indirect clause.

 We don’t change the (SV) Subject + Verb order as in affirmative

sentences.; and we don’t use “” or ? in the Reported Speech.

Examples:
(DS)“ Did you receive my e-mail?”
(IS) The teacher asked me If I had received his e-mail.

(DS) “ Will you be in London in time for dinner?”

(IS) They asked us if we would be in London in time for dinner.

2.2 WH- QUESTIONS:

 The indirect clause begins with an interrogative particle such as:

Who , how, why, when, where. Whose…

 They are introduced neither THAT nor IF but with the interrogative
pronoun.

 We don’t change the order SVO and we don’t use ? or “” .

Examples:
(DS) “ Where do you live?”
(IS) She asked me where I lived.

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3. Reporting COMMANDS:
The reporting verbs for the orders or commands will be : order, beg, command,
warn or tell (mandar) ; we never use “say” to report in the IS.

 We can’t use THAT to introduce the indirect sentence.

 To transform an order into (IS), we change the order into the infinitive
with TO.

IMPERATIVE  INFINITIVE.

Examples:

(DS) “Open the door!”  (RS) He ordered me to open the door.

(DS) “ Don’t answer the phone”  (RS) She told me not to answer the
phone.
Note: In order to negate the infinitive, we just place NOT before the
infinitive with to.
4. Reporting SUGGESTIONS:

We can report suggestions in two different ways:

“Let’s go to the cinema”

1.- Using a gerund to introduce the indirect sentence , after the

introductory verb.
She suggested going to the cinema.

2.- With THAT+ subject+ Verb in the base form .

She suggested that we go to the cinema.

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 Note: The expression: she suggested that we should go to the cinema
is old fashioned nowadays. We omit “should “ from the sentence
in actual English.

Reporting verbs for suggestions: advise, invite, recommend, suggest…

5. CHANGES in Personal Pronouns and Demonstratives:

In the reported speech, the personal and possessive pronouns and

adjectives must be adapted to the new speaker.
When reporting other speaker’s words , we have to change these
pronouns. It will depend on the person who tells the sentence and who
reproduces it.

Let’s see a good example:

(DS) “ John , if you kiss your sister, I’ll give you a present”
(IS) (John reports) He said that if I kissed my sister, he would give me a present.
(IS) ( I report) I told John that if he kissed his sister, I’d give him a present.
(IS) ( sister reports) He said that if John kissed me , he’d give him a present.

Demonstratives:

(DS) THIS  (IS) THAT

(DS) THESE  (IS) THOSE

5. TIME AND PLACE ADVERBS:

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

NOW THEN

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TODAY THAT DAY
TOMORROW THE FOLLOWING / NEXT DAY
YESTERDAY The previous day, the day before.
NEXT YEAR THE NEXT/ FOLLOWING YEAR
LAST DAY THE DAY BEFORE
AGO, (one year ago) BEFORE, (one year before)
HERE THERE

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