B2.

1​ ​-​ ​UNIT​ ​10

GRAMMAR
REPORTED​ ​SPEECH

Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is what we use when we want to ​tell
somebody​ ​what​ ​another​ ​person​ ​(or​ ​other​ ​people)​ ​said​.

To introduce reported speech we usually use the verbs ​say ​and ​tell​, normally in the past
simple (​said ​and ​told​). However, there are more reporting verbs which you can use:
admit, warn, agree, decide, explain, promise​... You will study them in detail in this unit.
Observe​ ​these​ ​examples:

DIRECT​ ​SPEECH REPORTED​ ​SPEECH

‘​I​ ​am​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​sad.​’ → She​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​was​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​sad.
(a​ ​girl​ ​is​ ​talking)

‘​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​a​ ​car.​’ → He​ ​told​ ​me​ ​that​ ​he​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​a​ ​car.
(a​ ​boy​ ​is​ ​talking​ ​to​ ​me)

Say​ ​or​ ​tell​?​ ​When​ ​do​ ​we​ ​use​ ​one​ ​and​ ​when​ ​do​ ​we​ ​use​ ​the​ ​other?

➔ We normally use the verb ​to say ​when ​the person who receives the message
is​ ​not​ ​specified​.

He​ ​said​ ​that​ ​he​ ​missed​ ​me. NOT:​ ​*​He​ ​said​ ​my​ ​mother​ ​that​ ​he​ ​missed​ ​me​.
She​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​couldn’t​ ​go. NOT:​ ​*​She​ ​said​ ​me​ ​that​ ​she​ ​couldn’t​ ​go​.

➔ We​ ​use​ ​the​ ​verb​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​when​ ​we​ ​know​ ​who​ ​receives​ ​the​ ​message​.

He​ ​told​ ​me​ ​that​ ​he​ ​missed​ ​me. NOT:​ ​*​He​ ​told​ ​that​ ​he​ ​missed​ ​me.

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 He​ ​told​ ​my​ ​sister​ ​that​ ​he​ ​loved​ ​her. NOT:​ ​*​He​ ​told​ ​that​ ​he​ ​loved​ ​her.

He​ ​told​ ​me​ ​that...

She​ ​told​ ​them​ ​that...
We​ ​told​ ​our​ ​neighbours​ ​that...
They​ ​told​ ​my​ ​brother​ ​that...

Remember!​ ​We​ ​can​ ​omit​ ​the​ ​relative​ ​pronoun​ ​that​ ​in​ ​all​ ​these​ ​sentences:

He​ ​said​ ​that​ ​he​ ​was​ ​bored.​ ​=​ ​He​ ​said​ ​he​ ​was​ ​bored.
She​ ​told​ ​me​ ​that​ ​she​ ​was​ ​shopping.​ ​=​ ​She​ ​told​ ​me​ ​she​ ​was​ ​shopping.

TENSE​ ​CHANGES

When we want to report what someone said, tenses always change from direct to
reported​ ​speech.​ ​To​ ​see​ ​how​ ​verb​ ​tenses​ ​change,​ ​please​ ​study​ ​this​ ​chart:

DIRECT​ ​SPEECH REPORTED​ ​SPEECH

PRESENT​ ​SIMPLE
PAST​ ​SIMPLE
→
‘I​ ​am​ ​a​ ​teacher,’​ ​Rose​ ​said.
Rose​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​was​ ​a​ ​teacher.

PRESENT​ ​CONTINUOUS
PAST​ ​CONTINUOUS
→
‘She​ ​is​ ​singing​,’​ ​Greg​ ​said.
Greg​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​was​ ​singing​.

PRESENT​ ​PERFECT
PAST​ ​PERFECT
→
‘I​ ​have​ ​watched​ ​a​ ​film,’​ ​Rachel​ ​said.
Rachel​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​had​ ​watched​ ​a​ ​film.

PAST​ ​SIMPLE PAST​ ​PERFECT

→
‘I​ ​finished​ ​my​ ​degree,’​ ​Joe​ ​said​. Joe​ ​said​ ​that​ ​he​ ​had​ ​finished​ ​his​ ​degree.

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 FUTURE​ ​SIMPLE CONDITIONAL​ ​(with​ ​would​)
→
‘I​ ​will​ ​go​ ​to​ ​university,’​ ​Paul​ ​said. Paul​ ​said​ ​that​ ​he​ ​would​ ​go​ ​to​ ​university.

We​ ​also​ ​change​ ​these​ ​modal​ ​verbs:

DIRECT​ ​SPEECH REPORTED​ ​SPEECH

can could
→
‘I​ ​can​ ​speak​ ​Russian,’​ ​Rose​ ​said. Rose​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​could​ ​speak
Russian.

may
might
‘I​ ​may​ ​give​ ​the​ ​dress​ ​to​ ​Laura,’​ ​Lily →
Lily​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​might​ ​give​ ​the​ ​dress
said.
to​ ​Laura.

must​​ ​( obligation)
had​ ​to​ ​( in​ ​affirmative​ ​sentences)

‘I​ ​must​ ​finish​ ​before​ ​6​ ​o’clock,’​ ​Klaus →

Klaus​ ​said​ ​that​ ​he​ ​had​ ​to​ ​finish​ ​before​ ​6
said.
o’clock.

We​ ​don’t​ ​change​ ​must​ ​when:

➔ it’s​ ​negative:

Leo said: ‘You ​mustn’t tell him the truth.’ ​→ Leo said that you ​mustn’t tell him
the​ ​truth.

➔ it​ ​expresses​ ​a​ ​deduction:

Poppy​ ​said:​ ​‘It​ ​must​ ​still​ ​be​ ​late.’​ ​→​ ​Poppy​ ​said​ ​that​ ​it​ ​must​ ​still​ ​be​ ​late.

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CHANGES​ ​IN​ ​THE​ ​PRONOUNS

Here​ ​are​ ​some​ ​charts​ ​that​ ​explain​ ​in​ ​complete​ ​detail​ ​how​ ​pronouns​ ​change:

Pronouns​ ​in​ ​Direct​ ​Speech Pronouns​ ​in​ ​Reported​ ​Speech

I he​ ​/​ ​she

→
Mary​ ​said:​ ​‘​I​’m​ ​in​ ​a​ ​hurry.’ Mary​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​was​ ​in​ ​a​ ​hurry.

you I​ ​/​ ​he​ ​/​ ​she​ ​/​ ​they

→
Harry​ ​told​ ​her:​ ​‘​You​ ​don’t​ ​know Harry​ ​told​ ​her​ ​that​ ​she​ ​didn’t​ ​know
my​ ​situation.​’ his​ ​situation.

he​ ​/​ ​she​ ​/​ ​it he​ ​/​ ​she​ ​/​ ​it
Changes
→
in​ ​the
Ann​ ​told​ ​me:​ ​‘​He​ ​is​ ​a​ ​liar.’ Ann​ ​told​ ​me​ ​that​ ​he​ ​was​ ​a​ ​liar.
speaker
we they
→
Will​ ​and​ ​Tom​ ​told​ ​them:​ ​‘​We​ ​are Will​ ​and​ ​Tom​ ​told​ ​them​ ​that​ ​they
the​ ​champions.​’ were​ ​the​ ​champions.

they they
→
She​ ​said:​ ​‘​They​ ​are​ ​very​ ​noisy.​’ She​ ​said​ ​that​ ​they​ ​were​ ​very​ ​noisy.

Pronouns​ ​in​ ​Direct​ ​Speech Pronouns​ ​in​ ​Reported​ ​Speech

me him​ ​/​ ​her

→
Changes​ ​in Robert​ ​said:​ ​‘My​ ​mum​ ​takes Robert​ ​said​ ​that​ ​his​ ​mum​ ​took​ ​care
the​ ​person care​ ​of​ ​me​.’ of​ ​him​.
who
receives you me​ ​/​ ​him​ ​/​ ​her​ ​/​ ​them
the →
message Phil​ ​said:​ ​‘I​ ​love​ ​you​.’ Phil​ ​said​ ​that​ ​he​ ​loved​ ​me​.

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 him​ ​/​ ​her​ ​/​ ​it him​ ​/​ ​her​ ​/​ ​it
→
Caroline​ ​said:​ ​‘We​ ​are​ ​looking Caroline​ ​said​ ​that​ ​they​ ​were​ ​looking
for​ ​him​.​’ for​ ​him​.

us them
→
Carl​ ​said:​ ​‘She​ ​is​ ​taking​ ​us Carl​ ​said​ ​that​ ​she​ ​was​ ​taking​ ​them
home.’ home.

them them
→
Alex​ ​said:​ ​‘My​ ​brother​ ​is​ ​taking Alex​ ​said​ ​that​ ​his​ ​brother​ ​was
care​ ​of​ ​them​.’ taking​ ​care​ ​of​ ​them.

Pronouns​ ​in​ ​Direct​ ​Speech Pronouns​ ​in​ ​Reported​ ​Speech

my his​ ​/​ ​her

→
Tim​ ​said:​ ​‘​My​ ​mum​ ​cares​ ​for Tim​ ​said​ ​that​ ​his​ ​mum​ ​cared​ ​for
me.’ him.

your my​ ​/​ ​his​ ​/​ ​her​ ​/​ ​their

→
Hans​ ​said:​ ​‘​Your​ ​house​ ​is Hans​ ​said​ ​that​ ​my​ ​house​ ​was
beautiful.’ beautiful.

his​ ​/​ ​her​ ​/​ ​its his​ ​/​ ​her​ ​/​ ​its
→
Eve​ ​said:​ ​‘His​ ​car​ ​is​ ​huge.’ Eve​ ​said​ ​that​ ​his​​ ​car​ ​was​ ​huge.
Changes​ ​in
possessive our their
pronouns →
Rosemary​ ​and​ ​Kim​ ​said:​ ​‘​Our Rosemary​ ​and​ ​Kim​ ​said​ ​that​ ​their
country​ ​is​ ​amazing.​’ country​ ​was​ ​amazing.

their their
→
Kate​ ​said:​ ​‘​Their​ ​bicycles​ ​are Kate​ ​said​ ​that​ ​their​ ​bicycles​ ​were
new.’ new.

this​ ​/​ ​that it​ ​/​ ​that

→
More Maya​ ​said:​ ​‘You​ ​can​ ​give​ ​this Maya​ ​said​ ​that​ ​he​ ​could​ ​give​ ​that

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 changes​ ​in to​ ​Toby.’ to​ ​Toby.
pronouns
this​ ​/​ ​that​ ​/​ ​these​ ​/​ ​those​ ​+​ ​noun the​ ​/​ ​that​ ​/​ ​those​ ​+​ ​noun
→
Phoebe​ ​said:​ ​‘​This​ ​hospital​ ​is Phoebe​ ​said​ ​that​ ​the​ ​hospital​ ​was
new.’ new.

Pronouns​ ​that​ ​do​ ​not​ ​change​ ​are​ ​in​ ​green.

Learn this tip! If you have many doubts about how these pronouns change, think
about how you would change them in Spanish. It usually helps! They normally change
in​ ​the​ ​same​ ​way​ ​in​ ​both​ ​languages.

‘​My​ ​car​ ​is​ ​blue,’​ ​Lili​ ​said.​ ​→​ ​Lili​ ​said​ ​that​ ​her​ ​car​ ​was​ ​blue.
‘​Mi​ ​coche​ ​es​ ​azul’,​ ​dijo​ ​Lili.​ ​→​ ​Lili​ ​dijo​ ​que​ ​su​ ​coche​ ​era​ ​azul.

And​ ​what​ ​happens​ ​to​ ​time​ ​and​ ​place​ ​adverbs?

CHANGES​ ​IN​ ​ADVERBS

Have​ ​a​ ​look​ ​at​ ​this​ ​chart:

Adverbs​ ​in​ ​Direct​ ​Speech Adverbs​ ​in​ ​Reported​ ​Speech

today​ ​/​ ​this​ ​week​ ​/​ ​this​ ​month​ ​/​ ​this that​ ​day​ ​/​ ​that​ ​week​ ​/​ ​that​ ​month​ ​/​ ​that
→
year year

now → at​ ​that​ ​moment,​ ​then

the​ ​next​ ​day​ ​/​ ​month​ ​/​ ​year…;

tomorrow​ ​/​ ​next​ ​month​ ​/​ ​next​ ​year →
the​ ​following​ ​day​ ​/​ ​month​ ​/​ ​year…

the​ ​previous​ ​day​ ​/​ ​week​ ​/​ ​month​ ​/

yesterday​ ​/​ ​last​ ​week​ ​/​ ​last​ ​month​ ​/​ ​last
→ year…;
year
the​ ​day​ ​/​ ​week​ ​/​ ​month​ ​/​ ​year​ ​before...

here → there

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 REPORTING​ ​VERBS

As you have seen before, there are many verbs which can be used to introduce
reported speech. Each of these verbs follows a different grammatical pattern, and some
of them can be followed by more than one. Take a look at this chart to learn the verb
patterns:

Grammatical​ ​Pattern Verbs Examples

agree Paul​ ​agreed​ ​to​ ​look​ ​after​ ​me.

offer My​ ​boyfriend​ ​offered​ ​to​ ​cook​ ​dinner​ ​that​ ​night.

verb​ ​+​ ​to​ ​infinitive
promise
I​ ​didn’t​ ​promise​ ​to​ ​give​ ​you​ ​a​ ​present.

The dentist advised ​me not to eat ​many

advise
sweets.

The customer asked ​me to bring ​another

ask
coffee​ ​to​ ​the​ ​table.
verb​ ​+​ ​object​ ​+​ ​to​ ​infinitive
The teacher told ​us not to write more than
tell
190​ ​words.

A random man warned ​me not to walk on the

warn
ice.

admit Mark hasn’t admitted ​stealing my mobile

phone​ ​yet.

The girls denied ​throwing the party while their

deny
parents​ ​were​ ​away.
verb​ ​+​ ​-ing​ ​form
Paul strongly recommends ​watching films in
recommend
their​ ​original​ ​versions​ ​to​ ​practise​ ​English.

Mercedes always suggests ​going to the

suggest
beach,​ ​but​ ​we​ ​never​ ​go.

admit Peter​ ​admitted​ ​(that)​ ​she​ ​was​ ​jealous​.

verb​ ​+​ ​(that)​ ​+​ ​sentence We had agreed ​(that) the answer would be
agree
A.

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 Björk promised ​(that) she would never let me
promise
down.

The waiter recommended ​(that) we tried the

recommend
red​ ​wine.

She said (that) she would take the kids to

say
the​ ​countryside.

John suggests ​(that) we should set off at 5

suggest
am.

tell My mum told ​me (that) she was coming

verb​ ​+​ ​object​ ​+​ ​(that)​ ​+ home​ ​by​ ​7.
sentence
warn Nobody​ ​warned​ ​me​ ​(that)​ ​the​ ​floor​ ​was​ ​wet.

​ ​You​ ​can​ ​omit​ ​the​ ​word​ ​that​ ​which​ ​appears​ ​between​ ​brackets.

My mum told me that she was coming home by 7. = My mum told me she was
coming​ ​home​ ​by​ ​7.

Did you realise how we make negative sentences? We write ​not before the to
infinitive​.

The​ ​dentist​ ​advised​ ​me​ ​not​ ​to​ ​eat​ ​many​ ​sweets.

The​ ​teacher​ ​told​ ​us​ ​not​ ​to​ ​write​ ​more​ ​than​ ​190​ ​words.
A​ ​random​ ​man​ ​warned​ ​me​ ​not​ ​to​ ​walk​ ​on​ ​the​ ​ice.

REPORTED​ ​COMMANDS

Do​ ​you​ ​remember​ ​what​ ​imperatives​ ​are?​ ​For​ ​example:

Do​ ​your​ ​homework.

Be​ ​quiet.

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Imperatives are also known as ​commands​. When we want to report commands, we
use​ ​the​ ​structure:​ ​‘​tell​ ​somebody​ ​(not)​ ​to​​ ​do​ ​something​’.

Have​ ​a​ ​look​ ​at​ ​these​ ​examples​ ​and​ ​you​ ​will​ ​soon​ ​understand​ ​how​ ​it​ ​goes:

DIRECT​ ​COMMANDS INDIRECT​ ​COMMANDS

(imperatives)

‘Stand​ ​up,’​ ​she​ ​said​. → She​ ​told​ ​me​ ​to​ ​stand​ ​up​.

‘Don’t​ ​move,’​ ​he​ ​said. → He​ ​told​ ​me​ ​not​ ​to​ ​move​.

REPORTED​ ​QUESTIONS

We also use ​ask, wonder ​or ​want to know to introduce reported questions. Have a look
at​ ​this​ ​chart:

DIRECT​ ​SPEECH REPORTED​ ​SPEECH

‘​Where​ ​do​ ​you​ ​work?’​ ​Angel​ ​asked Angel​ ​asked​ ​me​ ​where​ ​I​ ​worked.
me.

‘Have​ ​you​ ​finished​ ​your​ ​degree?’​ ​my My​ ​grandma​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​know​ ​if​ ​I​ ​had
→
grandma​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​know. finished​ ​my​ ​degree.

‘What​ ​is​ ​Dan​ ​doing?’​ ​Matilda Matilda​ ​wondered​ ​what​ ​Dan​ ​was​ ​doing.
wondered.

Observe​ ​how​ ​the​ ​word​ ​order​ ​changes​ ​from​ ​direct​ ​to​ ​reported​ ​speech.

‘What​ ​are​ ​you​ ​doing?​’​ ​he​ ​asked.

He​ ​asked​ ​what​​ ​I​ ​was​ ​doing​.

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 In reported questions, we use the same question words (​what, when, where​, etc.)
as​ ​we​ ​use​ ​in​ ​direct​ ​questions,​ ​but​ ​if​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​question​ ​word,​ ​we​ ​use​ ​if​ ​or​ ​whether​.

‘Are​ ​you​ ​happy?’​ ​Jim​ ​asked​ ​me.

Jim​ ​asked​ ​me​ ​if​ ​I​ ​was​ ​happy.

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