REPORTED SPEECH

Direct speech (exact words)

Rose said, “I want to dance”

Indirect speech (exact meaning with different words)

Rose said that she wanted to dance

DIRECT SPEECH

1.  Tom said, `I´m feeling ill.´

2.  Tom said, `my parents are well ´

3.  Tom said, `Ann has bought a car´

4.  Tom said, `I´m going to give up my job´

5.  Tom said, `I can´t come to the party on Friday´

6.  Tom said,`I want to go on holiday but I don´t know where to go.´

7.  Tom said, `I´m going away for a few days. I´ll phone you when I get back.´

Tom said: reporting clause

Said: reporting verb

INDIRECT SPEECH/ REPORTED SPEECH

1.  Tom said that he was feeling ill.

2.  Tom said that his parents were well.

3.  Tom said that Ann had bought a car.

4.  Tom said that he was going to give up his job.

5.  Tom said that he couldn´t go to the party on Friday

6.  Tom said that he wanted to go on holidays but he didn´t know where to go.

7.  Tom said that he was going away for a few days and that he would phone you when he got back.

Tendency to avoid change if there is no change of meaning.

The garderner told me that this plant doesn´t need much watering. (universal or timeless statements)

Rabindranah Tagore said that love does not claim possession but gives freedom. (a source of information is quoted)

Einstain said that there are two things which are infinite: the universe and the human stupidity and he wasn´t sure of first one.

BACKSHIFT (verbal changes in the subordinate clause)

Simple present              past simple

Past simple                  past perfect (also past simple)

Present perfect            past perfect

Past perfect                past perfect

Present progressive              past progressive

Past progressive past perfect progressive(also past progr.)

Present perfect progressive    past perfect progressive

Past perfect progressive         past perfect progressive

BACKSHIFT IN MODAL VERBS

Will> would

Can>could

May>might

Must/have to>had to

Should/ought to>don´t change

Other changes

Pronouns and possessives:

Paul said, “I will call my brother”

Paul said that he would call his brother.

Demonstratives

Paul said, “I will come this week”

Paul said that he would come that week

Adverbs of place

Paul said, “I found it here”

Paul said that he found it there.

Adverbs of time (grammar practice pg 42)

+  last week>the week before, the previous week

The day before yesterday>two days´before

The day after tomorrow> in two days´time

STATEMENTS

-changes in verbal tense, demonstratives, pronouns, possessives, time and place adverbials

-`that´can be dropped after say/tell

He said he´d rather come earlier.

QUESTIONS

He asked, “do you know Rose?”

He asked if I knew Rose

Changes: comma dropped, inverted/quotation marks deleted, question mark omitted, reporting verb `say´replaced by a verb of enquiry (ask, wonder, want to know), internal structure (no s-v inversion, like a statement), backshift

Yes/no questions: He asked whether I wanted tea or coffee (whether: to emphasize the choice).

Wh-questions: He asked, “where is the bookshop?”

He asked where the bookshop was.