REPORTING SENTENCES AND QUESTIONS

We can repeat or report what someone has said in a different time and place using these verbs…

SAID, TOLD (me/you/him/her/us/them…) PREDICTED,

REPLIED, ADMITTED, etc…

THOUGHT, ANNOUNCED,

We can give a lot of information about the speaker’s attitude or intentions this way!

To report questions, use either ‘asked me/him…’ or ‘wanted to know’, among others; but remember…

 WH- QUESTIONS: WH-word + a sentence structure (Wh – subject – verb…)

 YES/NO QUESTIONS: IF / WHETHER + a sentence structure (IF – subject – verb…)

DIRECT SPEECH (actual words) REPORTED SPEECH (what we repeat)

PRESENT SIMPLE PAST SIMPLE

To be: ‘He’s my brother.’ To be: He said he was his brother.
‘They aren’t home.’ He said they weren’t home.
‘Where are you?’ He asked me where I was/we were.
‘Is he a good friend?’ He wanted to know if he was a good friend.
Other verbs: Other verbs:
Aff: ‘He likes simple things.’ Aff: He said he liked simple things.
Neg: ‘She doesn’t eat meat.’ Neg: He said she didn’t eat meat.
Quest: ‘Where do they usually eat?’ Quest: He wanted to know where they usually ate.
‘Does he work in an office?’
He asked me if he worked in an office.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS

‘He is planning an important trip.’ He announced he was planning an important trip.
‘We aren’t working at the moment.’ He announced they weren’t working at that moment.
‘Who is she talking to?’ He wanted to know who she was talking to.
‘Are you having fun?’ He asked us if I was/we were having fun.

PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT

‘We went to the park yesterday.’ He told me they had gone to the park the day before.
‘They didn’t cook last night.’ He told me they hadn’t cooked the night before.
‘Where did you put my bus card?’ He asked me where I had put his bus card.
‘Did you see her at the party?’ He wanted to know if I had seen her at that party.

PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT

‘That trip has been my dream for years.’ He said that trip had been his dream for years.
‘They haven’t finished yet.’ He said they hadn’t finished yet/up to that moment.
‘Why have you done it?’ He asked me why I had done that.
‘Has he already been to Brazil?’ He wanted to know if he had already been to Brazil.
DIRECT SPEECH (actual words) REPORTED SPEECH (what we repeat)
PAST CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
‘Marie was working this morning.’ She said Marie had been working that morning.
‘They weren’t dancing together.’ She said they hadn’t been dancing together.
‘What was John doing when I called last She wanted to know what John had been doing when she
night?’ called the night before.
‘Were the dogs barking loud?’ She asked me if the dogs had been barking loud.

FUTURE: (AM/IS/ARE) GOING TO __ (WAS/WERE) GOING TO __

‘Tom’s going to apply for a job tomorrow.’ She told me Tom was going to apply for a job the next day.
‘We aren’t going to travel next month.’ She told me they weren’t going to travel the following month.
‘Who are you going to travel with?’ She wanted to know who I was/we were going to travel with.
‘Is he going to buy a car?’ She asked me if he was going to buy a car.

FUTURE SIMPLE: WILL __ WOULD __

‘I will call her tonight.’ She told me she would call her that night.
‘Barcelona won’t win the next match.’ She thought Barcelona wouldn’t win the next match.
‘What will you buy with the money?’ She asked me what I would buy with that money.
‘Will you go out with her?’ She wanted to know if I would go out with that girl.

MUST __ ‘HAVE’ TO __
‘You must do it.’ They said I had to do it.
‘Students mustn’t use their phones here.’ They said students didn’t have to use their phones there.
CAN __ (ability, permission) COULD __ (ability, permission)
‘I can do that job.’ She told me she could do that job.
‘You can’t go out tonight.’ She said I couldn’t go out that night.
‘What hotel can I stay at?’ She wanted to know what hotel she could stay at.
‘Can he finish the job for tomorrow?’ She asked me if he could finish the job for the next day.

REQUEST (ask sb to do sth)

COMMAND (order sb to ) (not) TO INFINITIVES
…
‘Can you help me, please?’ She asked me to help her.
‘Don’t call me.’ She asked me NOT to call her.
‘Could you lend me some money?’ She asked me to lend her some money.

SUGGEST
DENY (not) -ING form
‘Why don’t we order pizza?’ She suggested ordering pizza.
‘I didn’t tell her your secret!’ He denied…
telling her my secret.
having told her my secret.
that he had told her my secret.