INDIRECT SPEECH ( REPORTED SPEECH )

I) What is Indirect Speech?

From a structural point of view, we can understand Indirect Speech as a statement or
question introduced by another sentence with a verb which we may call Introductory
or Reporting verb:
Where is Mary now? Rob asked.
Rob asked where Mary was then.
Mary is having lunch with Bob at the moment- Peter answered.
Peter answered that she was having lunch with Bob at that moment.
In most cases, we use Indirect Speech to report what somebody else said or thought, that
is why it is normally called REPORTED SPEECH.
Sharon left to Canada two days ago- They said.
They told us Sharon had left to Canada two days before.
II) Reporting verbs.
There are many reporting verbs and verb phrases which can be used in Reported Speech
to introduce the reported sentence. They are all verbs of speech or thought. Here you
are some of them:
SPEECH: say, tell, ask, state, deny, warn, advise, mean, order, command, demand, etc.
THOUGHT: wonder ,know, would like to know, want to know, think, believe, etc.

Revise the difference between SAY and TELL

TELL: it is always followed by the I.O. (Indirect Object) without to.

Joe told Helen that he had been going out with Sharon before
SAY: it doesnt need to be followed by the I.O. If it ismentioned, it is preceded by to.
Joe said (to Helen) that he had been going out with Sharon before
Exercise 1: Complete with say or tell in its correct form.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Hello. He ____________.
You can buy English newspapers at this shop. I ____________ him.
Its a nice day! She ____________. I ____________ you it would be fine.
What is he ____________? I dont understand him
Could you ____________ me what he ____________?
He ____________ to us what had happened and then went out. He didnt even
___________ goodbye.

III) TENSES in Reported Speech.

No TENSES change: we do not change the tenses in the reported statement when
the reporting verb is in a Present tense. This is because the action reported has still an
influence in the present such as when we talk about general truths or present situations.
We come from the Ape Scientists state.
Scientist state we come from the Ape
Cathy is eating at that restaurant now - He has told me.
He has told me Mary is eating in that restaurant now
TENSES change: in most cases, the reporting verb is in a Past tense and this makes
the verbs in the reported sentence also change.
Cathy is eating in that restaurant now He told me.
He told me Cathy was eating in that restaurant then
Exercise 2: a group of students are going on a trip with their teacher, Ms. Collins.
One pupil reports another one what Mrs. Collins said about the trip.
Ms. Collins said we would have to get up very early, at a
quarter past six. Then, we would have breakfast at a quarter past
seven. She said the journey to Stratford took about two and a half
hours but we would spend an hour at Oxford to see the cottages. She
also said we would have lunch at Shakespeares house and visit
Hathaways college and that she had not allowed more time because we
might be late for the bus. Before leaving Stratford, she told us to
have a cup of tea and pastries or we would be hungry on the way back
to the hotel. We would be a bit late at the hotel but the manager had
agreed to keep the restaurant open until eight oclock.
- Can you infer Ms. Collins literal words? Turn the underlined sentences into
Direct Speech:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

We
We
The journey to Stratford
We
I

The manager

- Complete the table with the corresponding relationship between DIRECT and
INDIRECT tenses changes.
2

DIRECT SPEECH

INDIRECT SPEECH

Present Simple
Present Continuous
Past Simple
Past Continuous
Present Perfect Simple
Present Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Simple / Continuous
Will
Can
May
Must

Modal verbs might, should, ought to, could do not change their form.

IV) Pronouns and Possessives change.

There are no rules. Their change will depend on the interlocutors and the reported
people.
Peter said: I want to visit my parents next Saturday
Peter told me he wanted to visit his parents the following Saturday
- Now, you complete the sentences with the appropriate pronouns and
possessives.
I said: I want to visit my parents next Saturday
I told him ______ wanted to visit ______ parents the following Saturday
You are going too far with your comments
I told you that ______ were going too far with ______ comments.
You told me ______ was going too far with ______ comments.
You told him ______ was going too far with ______ comments.

V) Demonstratives and Time and Place adverbials change.

These changes will also depend on the specific time and situation when reporting the
events but, in most cases, the changes will be as the following charts show.
- Changes in Demonstratives:
DIRECT SPEECH
This
These

INDIRECT SPEECH
That
Those

- Changes in Time and Place adverbials:

DIRECT SPEECH

INDIRECT SPEECH

Here
Now
Ago
Today
Tonight
Tomorrow
Yesterday
Last
Next

There
Then
Before
That day
That night
The next/following day / The day after
The previous day / The day before
Thebefore
The following

VI) The sentence in the Reported Speech: Word Order.

STATEMENTS.

It follows the tense, demonstratives, adverbials and pronouns and possessives changes
but there are no changes in the word order.
My husband said: Tomorrow at 7.00, I will have arrived at the station
My husband told me he would have arrived at the station the day after at 7.00
CONNECTOR: we can use that but it is normally omitted.
COMMANDS AND REQUESTS: imperative and request interrogative
sentences.
In both cases, the reported sentence starts with a negative or affirmative to- infinitive.
The reporting verb changes depending if we want to express an order or request:
- COMMANDS: tell, order.
Keep attention! - The teacher said.
The teacher told us to keep attention.
Dont open your notebooks in the exam
He ordered us not to open our notebooks in the exam.
- REQUESTS: ask, beg.
Could you pass me the salt, please? Linda asked.
4

Linda asked me to pass her the salt.

Will you help me with my work? He asked me.
He begged me to help him with his work.
Open the window, please. She said.
She asked me to open the window.
This same structure can also be used for advice, warning and offers with the
appropriate verb.
Dont open that box! He warned me.
He warned me not to open that box.
Shall I carry your luggage?
He offered me to carry my luggage.
Exercise 3: read what the teacher said to his students and change his instructions
into Reported Speech.
(1) Open your books on page 37, exercise 4. (2) Please, pay attention, Alexander. (3)
Answer the first question, Mark. (4) Dont interrupt, Sarah! (5) Will you please be quiet,
Sarah, and let Mark answer the question? (6) Put your hand down, Alexander and wait
until it is your turn. (7) Sarah, would you mind telling me whats wrong with Alexander?
Oh, my God! (8) Dont sit there doing nothing. (9) Please, keep calm all of you! (12)
Help me put out the fire!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

QUESTIONS.

- Word Order: in Indirect Questions, we must change the word order of the common
interrogative sentence into the one of a statement: SUBJECT + V. + COMPLEMENTS.
Is there a school near here? The woman asked.
The woman asked me if there was a school near there.
It follows the tense, demonstratives, adverbials and pronouns and possessives changes.
The reporting verbs can be ask, inquire, would like to know, wonder, etc.
5

CONNECTOR: it will change depending on the type of question:

- Yes / No Questions: the connectors in this type of questions can be either if or
whether.
Have they booked the tickets for the theatre? Loren asked me.
Loren asked me if they had booked the tickets for the theatre.
We prefer to use whether when there is more than one option.
Have they booked the tickets for the theatre or are we finally going to the
cinema? Loren asked.
Loren asked me whether they had booked the tickets for the theatre or we were
finally going to the cinema.
-

Wh- Questions: in this case, we use as a connector the Wh- word.

Where do you stay when you go to Paris? He asked me.
He asked me where I stayed when I went to Paris.

Exercise 4: turn the following questions into Reported Speech.

1. Is she upset? I wonder.
2. What are they doing tomorrow? Id like to know.
3. Does she often come home early? I asked her mother.
4. Who did he come with? She asked her friend.
5. Which thieves came out of the bank? The police asked us.
6. Have you understood the lesson or do you need further explanation? The teacher
asked his students.

SUGGESTIONS.

We can turn it into reported speech in two different ways:

1) As the statements but the verb appears as a base form.
My husband suggested: Let's have dinner at the nearest restaurant
My husband suggested that we have dinner in the nearest restaurant
CONNECTOR: we can use that but it is normally omitted.
2) We use a GERUND after the reporting verb:
My husband suggested: Let's have dinner at the nearest restaurant
My husband suggested that having dinner in the nearest restaurant