ĐỒNG NAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Unit 10: INDIRECT SPEECH

(REPORTED STATEMENTS – REPORTED QUESTIONS)

I. Definition :
- Indirect speech (also called reported speech) is a report of what somebody has said that does
not use their exact words.
Ex:
Direct speech: “I like ice cream”
Reported speech: She said she liked ice cream

 Grammar in action:
1. Indirect speech is often used by reporters on the media:
Ex: Yesterday evening, film stars Nelson Faulkes and Amy Skelp told our reporter that they were
going to married next week.
2. We often use indirect speech to tell someone else what we have heard in a talk or speech.
Ex: The lecturer said that global warming would be the main issue in mid-century politics
We also use indirect speech to tell someone about something you have read. We can use the
verbs such as said even though we are talking about writing:
Ex: In his Times column, Wilson said that At Gloaming was the best film he had seen for a long
time.
3. We often use indirect speech when we gossip with friends, family and colleagues:
Ex: That guy in HR said he didn’t like the new manager at all, but I think she’s ok.

II. Reported statements:

1. Reported statements with the reporting verb in the present:
Ex:
- ‘I’ve eaten.’
 He says (that) he has eaten.
- ‘I enjoyed it.’
 He says (that) he enjoyed it.

The reporting verb is often in the present when:

 We are passing on messages: ‘What does mother say?’ ‘She says you must come in now.’
 Reading aloud and reporting: ‘The instructions say that you connect this plug to the set.’
 Reporting what someone often says: ‘She’s always telling me how rich she is.’

2. Reported statements with tense changes:

A. Common indirect speech forms:

Direct speech Indirect speech

"I'm going to the cinema", he said.  He said he was going to the cinema.

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Tense change (backshift of tense)
A useful general rule is: “present becomes past and past becomes past perfect”

Direct speech Indirect speech

Present simple
› Past simple
She said, "It's cold." She said it was cold.
Present continuous
She said, "I'm teaching English online." › Past continuous
She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." › Past perfect simple
She said she had been on the web since 1999.
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching English for seven › She said she had been teaching English for seven
years." years.
Past simple
She said, "I taught online yesterday." › Past perfect
She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous
› Past perfect continuous
She said, "I was teaching earlier." She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect Past perfect
She said, "The lesson had already started › NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started
when he arrived." when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I'd already been teaching for five › NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for
minutes." five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change:

Direct speech Indirect speech

would
will
She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." › She said she would teach English online
tomorrow.
can
She said, "I can teach English online." › could
She said she could teach English online.
must had to
She said, "I must have a computer to teach › She said she had to have a computer to teach
English online." English online.
shall (in offers and suggestions)
She said, "we shall learn today." › should
She said we should learn today.
Shall (with a future reference)
She said, “I shall speak to him.” › Would
She said she would speak to him.
may
She said, "I may open a new browser." › might
She said she might open a new browser.

!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.

Direct speech Indirect speech

"I might go to the cinema", he said.  He said he might go to the cinema.

 You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still
true

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Direct speech Indirect speech
 She said her name was/ is Lynne
"My name is Lynne", she said.
 He proved that the earth goes/ went round the
“The earth goes round the sun.”
sun.

 You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.

Direct speech Indirect speech

"Next week's lesson is on reported speech ", she  She said next week's lesson is on reported
said. speech.

Practice exercise: turn each direct speech into indirect speech with tense changes.

1. 'I am very tired.' She said she very tired.

2. 'You play the piano very well.'  Mr Jones told me I the piano very well.

3. 'We 're leaving the town.' He told me they the town.

4. 'He hasn't shaved.' I noticed that he .

5. 'Your parents have had an accident.' Sally rang to say that your parents an accident.

6. 'I left home at seventeen.' Her letter said that she home at seventeen.

7. 'Don't worry! He won't say anything to the police'. I was sure he anything to the
police.

8. 'None of our relatives will come.' They knew none of their relatives .

9. 'This parcel has been opened at the customs.' I could see the parcel at the customs.

B. Pronoun and adverb changes in indirect speech:

 Time change

o For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different meanings at
the time and place of reporting.
Today + 24 hours - Indirect speech
 She said yesterday's lesson was on
"Today's lesson is on presentations."
presentations.

o In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it
you must change the place (here) to the place (there).

At work At home
"I have worked here since 1998 "  She said she had worked there since 1998.

Direct speech Indirect speech

Now  then / at that time
Tonight  last night, that night, on Monday night
Today  yesterday, that day, on Monday
Yesterday  the day before / the previous day, on Sunday
last night  the previous night / the night before, on Sunday night
Tomorrow  today, the following day, on Tuesday

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this week  last week, that week
last month  the previous month / the month before, in June
next year  this year, the following year / the year after, in 1996
five minutes ago  five minutes before
in two hours' time  two hours later

Practice exercise: turn each direct speech into indirect speech with tense changes and time changes.
1. ' I was listening to the radio yesterday '.  He said ……………………………………………………………………………
2. ' I was in Spain last week '.  She said ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. ' I want to visit my parents this evening '.  Susy said ……………………………………………………………………………
4. ' I'll give you the money back next week '.  She said ……………………………………………………………………………..
5. ' I'll help you tomorrow '.  He said ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. ' Peter bought the car last year '.  She said …………………………………………………………………………………………...
7. ' I visited them last night '.  Ann said …………………………………………………………………………………………………...
8. ' I'm tired today '.  My mother said ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9. ' I have to clean my car now '.  Bob said ……………………………………………………………………………………………...
10. ' I saw them two years ago '.  He said ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 Pronoun change
Me You
"I teach English online."  She said she taught English online.

Rules for the Change of Pronouns in Indirect Speech

First person pronouns in the direct speech change according to the subject of the reporting
verb in the indirect speech.
Direct: He said, ‘I am busy.’
Indirect: He said that he was busy.

Second person pronouns in the direct speech change according to the object of the reporting
verb in the indirect speech.
Direct: He said to me, ‘You have to come with me.’
Indirect: He told me that I had to go with him.

Third person pronouns in the direct speech will not change in the indirect speech.
Direct: He said, ‘She is a good girl.’
Indirect: He said that she was a good girl.

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Personal Pronouns
I / you (subject) she / he
we / you (subject) they
me / you (object) him / her
us / you (object) them
Possessive Pronouns / Determiners
my / your his / her
mine / yours his / hers
our / your their
ours / yours theirs
Demonstrative Pronouns / Determiners
this that
these those

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3. Reporting Verbs:
We use say and tell in both direct and indirect speech.
Ex:
I said "I'm hungry." / I told him "I'm hungry."
 I said that I was hungry / I told him that I was hungry.
We cannot use say or tell with indirect questions.
Jim told/said me if I wanted to play football - Incorrect
Jim asked (me) if I wanted to play football - Correct

4. Using objects
Tell + SO + that
He told me that he liked playing tennis - Correct
He said me that he liked playing tennis - Incorrect
He told that he liked playing tennis - Incorrect
Say to + SO+ that
He said to them that he would be late.
With other objects, we don't usually use tell.
He said a strange thing - Correct
He told a strange thing – Unusual

5. Use of 'That' in reported speech

In reported speech, the word that is often used.
Ex: He told me that he lived in Greenwich.
However, that is optional.
Ex: He told me he lived in Greenwich.
!Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.
Ex: He asked me if I would come to the party.

Activity: watch the movie segment and answer these questions:

1. Watch the segment and check who 2. Now rewrite the sentences above, using
says these lines in reported speech:
T – Tom R – Rita C – Cecilia Example:
1. ( ) I was in an Egyptian Tomb 1. Tom said (that) he was in an Egyptian tomb..
2. ( ) I'll wait for that glass of champagne at the 2. ....................................................................................
Copacabana 3. ....................................................................................
3. ( ) It's nothing, I'll be OK. 4. ....................................................................................
4. ( ) Draw my bath. 5. ...................................................................................
5. ( ) I can't wait to get out of these clothes. 6. ...................................................................................
6. ( ) I am very impressed. 7. ...................................................................................
7. ( ) You've been here all day. 8. ...................................................................................
8. ( ) This is the fifth time you're seeing this. 9. ...................................................................................
9. ( ) Come here quickly 10. .................................................................................
10. ( ) Who are you? 11. ...................................................................................
11. ( ) I'm free. 12. ...................................................................................
12. ( ) What's going on?

III. Reported questions:

- We use reported questions to tell what other people have asked. There are two kinds of
questions: Yes/No questions and ‘Wh’ questions.
 General:
 When we report questions we can use the reporting verbs: ask, want to know, wonder and
inquire.
 When we turn direct question into indirect speech, the following change are necessary.
Tense, pronoun and possessive adjective, and adverbs of time and place change as in statement.

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The interrogative form of the verbs changes to the affirmative form. The question mark (?) is
therefore omitted in indirect question

1. Yes-no question in reported speech

“Do you want to go to the movie with me?”
 My friend asked me if I wanted to go to the movie with him.

a. We don’t use comma, quotation marks or question marks in indirect questions:

Ex:
 “Are you ready?”, he said.
 He asked me if I was ready.

b. Speech verb: ask, want to know, wonder, …

Ex: “Did you see the accident?” the policemen asked.
 The policemen asked if/whether I had seen the accident.

 “said”  “wanted to know, wondered, …”

 “said to”  “asked”
Ex: "Is it raining?" she said to me
=> She asked me if/ whether it was raining.

c. The inversion in the direct question changes to statement word order.

Ex:
 “Are you ready?”  He asked (me) if/whether I was ready.
 A reported tag question also changes to statement word order
Ex:
 “You are ready, aren’t you?”  He asked (me) if/whether I was ready.

d. When we report these questions we link two parts with if/whether (we use if/
whether after speech verb)

Normally we can use the either if and whether. If is the more usual:
Ex:
“Do you know Bill?” he said
 He asked if I knew Bill.
“Did you see the accident?” the policemen asked.
 The policemen asked if/whether I had seen the accident.

Whether can emphasize that a choice has to be made:

Ex:
“Do you want to go by air or sea?” the travel agent asked.
 The travel agent asked whether I wanted to go by air or by sea.

Whether or not:
Ex:
“Do you want to insure your luggage or not?” he asked.
 He asked whether or not I wanted to insure my luggage.
 He asked if I wanted to insure my luggage or not.

Whether is neater if the question contains a conditional clause as otherwise there would be
two ifs:
Ex:
“if you get the job will you move to York?” Bill asked.
 Bill asked whether, if I got the job, I`d move to York.

e. Tense, pronoun and possessive adjective, and adverbs of time and place change
as in statement.

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Practice exercise: Change into indirect question. (Homework)

1. “Have you done your homework yet, Peter?”
 Mum wanted to know …………………………………………………………………………………….
2. “Do you know how long it is from London to Cambridge?”
 Tom asked me …………………………………………………………………………………………………...
3. “Will you phone me as soon as you arrive in Oxford, Carol?”
 Cindy asked Carol ………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. “Did the children play football in the park yesterday?”
 Grandma was interested in knowing …………………………………………………………………………………………
5. “Can you help me with the housework tomorrow, Linda?”
 He asked Linda ……………………………………………………………………………………………
6. “Are you going to buy a new computer next month, Lewis?”
 I wanted to know …………………………………………………………………………………….……
7. “Is Sue coming to the library with you, Paul?”
 Tina asked Paul ………………….……………………………………………………………………………
8. “Could you swim when you were six, Tony?”
 The P.E. teacher asked Tony ……………………………………………………………………
9. “Are you revising for tomorrow exam?”
 The teacher asked the students …………………………………………………………………………………………..

2. Wh-questions in reported speech:

a. We don’t use comma, quotation marks or question marks in indirect questions:
Ex:
Direct speech: "Where are you going?"
Reported speech: He asked me where I was going.

b. Speech verb: ask, want to know, wonder, …

 If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g ask, inquire,
wonder, want to know, etc:
Ex: He said, “Where is the station?” = he asked where the station was.

 Ask, inquire, wonder can also be used in direct speech. They are then usually placed at
the end of sentence:
Ex: “Where is the station?” he inquired.

 Ask can be followed by the person addressed (indirect object):

Ex: He asked, “What have you got in your bag?” = he asked (me) what I had got in my bag.

 But inquire, wonder, want to know cannot take an indirect object so if we wish to report
a question where the person addressed is mentioned, we must use ask:
Ex: He said, “Mary, when is the next train?” = he asked Mary when the next train was.
If we use inquire, wonder or want to know we must omit Mary.

c. The inversion in the direct question changes to statement word order.

 When we report questions, the subject comes before the verb.
"Where are you going?"
 He asked me where I was going.
"Why is he shouting?"
 He asked me why he was shouting.
"What do you want?"
 She asked me what I wanted.

 When reporting questions we don't use the auxiliary verb do, except in negative
questions.
"Who doesn't like cheese?"
 She asked me who didn't like cheese.

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 When we report questions with who, what or which + to be + object, the verb be can come
before or after the object.
"Who is the champion?"
 She asked me who the champion was / She asked me who was the champion.
"What is your favourite colour?"
 She asked me what my favourite colour was OR She asked me what was my favourite colour.

d. Tense, pronoun and possessive adjective, and adverbs of time and place change as in
statement.

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note the change of pronouns and tenses.

1. "Where is my umbrella?" she asked.

→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
2. "How are you?" Martin asked us.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
3. He asked, "Do I have to do it?"
→ …………………………………………………………………………………….
4. "Where have you been?" the mother asked her daughter.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
5. "Which dress do you like best?" she asked her boyfriend.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
6. "What are they doing?" she asked.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
7. "Are you going to the cinema?" he asked me.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
8. The teacher asked, "Who speaks English?"
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
9. "How do you know that?" she asked me.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………
10. "Has Caron talked to Kevin?" my friend asked me.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………

IV. Reported commands, requests and advice:

1. COMMANDS in reported speech:
When we report someone’s command, we often use the reporting verbs: TELL, ORDER, COMMAND,
WARN…

A. Affirmative commands
V + O/A

S + told / ordered…….. + O + infinitive + O/A

Ex: “ Clean the bike” Tim said to his younger brother.

 Tim told his younger brother to clean the bike
“ Turn off the light before going to bed”. He said to John.
 He told John to turn off the light before going home.

B. Negative commands:
Don’t + V + O/A

S + told/ warned…….+ O + not + infinitive + O/A.

Ex: “ Don’t play with matches” the mother said.

 The mother warned her child not to play with matches

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2. REQUESTS in reported speech

Reported verbs: ASK, BEG, REQUEST….

A. Affirmative requests:
Please + V +O/A Or V + O/A, please.

S + asked/ begged…+ O + infinitive +O/A

EX: Please turn on the light.

 He asked me to turn on the light.

B. Negative requests
Don’t + V +O/A, please Or Please + don’t + V + O/A

S + asked/ begged…+ O + not + infinitive +O/A

Ex: Please don’t make a noise here.
 They asked us not to make a noise there.

! Notes:
a. The reported requests have the same form as reported commands,
b. Other structures:
- Would / Will + S +(not) + V + O/A, (please)?
- Could/ Can + S +(not) + V + O/A, (please)?
- Would you mind + ( not) + gerund (V.ing) + O/A?

Ex:
Would/ Could you turn on the fan, please?
 He asked me to turn on the fan.
Would you mind not smoking here?
 They asked us not to smoke there.
Exercise:

Change the following commands, requests into the reported speech.

1/ Their mother said to them: “Don’t make so much noise.”
2/ The traffic policeman said: “Show me your driving licence, please?”
3/ Mrs. Jackson said to Tim: “Could you give me a hand, please?
4/ The lifeguard said: “Don’t swim out too far, boys.”
5/ Nam said to the taxi driver: “Please turn left at the first traffic light.”
6/ She said to her son: “Go straight upstairs and get into bed.”
7/ The policeman said: “Don’t touch anything in the room.”
8/ Marry said to John: “Can you carry my suitcase, please?”
9/ “ Hurry up” I said to Tim.
10/ “ Please, don’t smoke in my car.” He said to me.
11/. “Could you close the window?”John said to Peter
12/ “Remember to lock the door before going to school,” my sister said.
13/ “Don’t stay at the hotel near the airport,” I said to Ann.
14/ “Can you speak English?” Ba said to Nam.
15/ “Will you go with me?” Mary asked me.
16/ “Don’t talk in class.”The teacher said to her students.

“It does not matter where you go and what you study, what matters most is what
you share with yourself and the world.” ― Santosh Kalwar

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