DIRECT VS INDIRECT SPEECH

When we speak, we often must repeat or report other people’s

words. We can do it in two different ways; by repeating the exact
same words that they stated or by adapting them to a new
context. In the first case, we would be making use of what is
known as Direct Speech whereas in the second, we would be
using Reported (or Indirect) Speech.

Let’s imagine that a person called John says this: “I am going to

study medicine next year”.

How could that be reported?

Example of Direct Speech:

- John said; “I am going to study medicine next year”.

We repeat John’s words, without changing the personal
pronouns, the verb tenses, etc.

Example of Reported (Indirect) Speech:

-John says that he is going to study medicine next year.

If you pay attention, the only thing that has changed here is the
personal pronoun (I/he). This is due to the fact that we are
probably reporting what someone is saying at the moment of
speaking, in the same place, etc.

However, the most common thing for Reported Speech is to

report what someone said in a different context (= at a different
(past) time, in a different place). This is the context that we will
apply in class because it is what you are going to be asked about
in exams like the EvAU.
This implies a series of changes called “backshift”. The good
news is that most of these changes apply to Spanish in the very

same way. 😀
 TENSES CHANGES:
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
Present Simple Past Simple
Present Continuous Past Continuous
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Past Simple Past Simple/ Past Perfect
(depending on the context)
Past Perfect Past Perfect
Future Simple Conditional Simple
Conditional Simple Conditional Simple
Should Should
Can/ Could Could
May/ Might Might
Must Had to
Shall Should

 ADVERBIAL CHANGES:
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
here there
now then
yesterday the day before
tomorrow the following day/ the next day
today that day
tonight that night
next Tuesday/Wednesday/etc the following
Tuesday/Wednesday/etc.

 PRONOUN CHANGES:
When it comes to pronouns, one must pay attention to those of
the original statement and see how changes apply to the new
context.

Ex: Martha said, “I am going to visit my mum” becomes “Martha

said that she was going to visit her mum”.

Ex: Martha said “This needs to change” becomes “Martha said

that that needed to change”-

Besides, although the most common reporting verb is “say”,

there are many others that we can use, depending on the
context, meaning and situation; admit, mention, declare, explain,
whisper, announce, etc.

Exercises:
 “I am not going to visit Paris tomorrow”.
 “This game will not be complicated”.
 “Tennis is not an easy sport”.
 “Jonás works at a gas station”.
 “I’ve been ill for a couple of days”, Martha said.
 “Martha will not be able to do it without your help”, my
mother told me.
 “The meeting may start early next Monday”, my boss said.
 “You should talk to Nick today”, Martha told me.
 “My father can’t drive very well”, said John.
 “We had bought that car before we met you”, Parker told
his new friends.
 “I will call you as soon as I get home”, I said to Martín.
 “I want to know when Paul is coming home”, Juan said.
 “Mark sent the email yesterday”, the headmistress said.
 “We should go to the beach this afternoon!”, John said.
 “She hasn't eaten meat in three years”, Mark told me.
 “My parents are looking for a new flat”, Maria said.
 “Today is the most special day of my life!” Martha stated.
  “You need to change your attitude right now!”, the teacher
told Bella.
 “Students must bring their own material to classes”, the
teacher stated.
 “I had bought flowers for my mum's birthday”, Martha
said.

Reporting Commands and Requests.

A command is an order that we give to someone. Example: “Sit

down now!” “Be quiet!”, “Don’t smoke here!”, etc.

The most common verb that we use to report commands is

“tell”. Other verbs include: demand, order, shout, warn, etc.
“Sit down now!”, John told me.
 John told me to sit down then.
“Be quiet!”, Martha told me.
 Martha told me to be quiet.
“Don’t smoke here”, the teacher told the students.
 The teacher told the students not to smoke there.

As you can see, we apply the changes in adverbials and pronouns

but the verb that is part of the command is expressed in the
infinitive in the reported command.

A request is a petition that we make. Example: “Can you open

the window, please?”, “Would you mind being quiet?”, “Don’t
use your phone here, please”, etc.

The most common verb to report requests is “ask”. Other verbs

may include “advise”, “beg”, etc.
“Can you open the window, please?”, Martha asked him.
 Martha asked him to open the window.
“Would you mind being quiet?”, the teacher asked us.
  The teacher asked us to be quiet.
“Don’t use your phone here, please” he asked me.
 He asked me not to use my phone there.

As you can see, we apply the changes in adverbials and pronouns

but the verb that is part of the request is expressed in the
infinitive in the reported request.

Exercises.
“Stay with me”, Mark asked me.
“Come with me to the party tomorrow”, Joanna asked me.
“Change your attitude now!”, the teacher ordered Sarah.
“Lend me some money, please!”, Víctor asked Manuel.

REPORTED QUESTIONS.

It is also very common to report questions. The most common

verbs that we use to report questions are "ask" and "want to
know".

Examples:
-"What is your name?", Marianne asked Samir.
-Marianne wanted to know what the name of Samir was.
-"Do you live in London?", she asked Juan.
-She asked Juan if he lived in London.

There are two main types of questions: yes/no questions and

WH-questions.

Both can obviously be reported in different but similar ways:

A) yes/no questions: they are answered with a yes or no.

-"Can you play tennis here?", he asked me.
-He asked me if/whether I could play tennis there.
 -“Will you come with me to the party next week?”, she asked
John.
-She asked John if/whether he would go with her to the party the
following week.

Structure:

subject + asked/wanted to know + (person) + if/whether +

subject + verb + complement.

B) WH-questions: they begin with a question word, like "how",

"what", "who", "when", etc.
-"When did you finish?", the teacher asked us.
-The teacher asked us when we had finished.

-”What is your name?”, he asked me.

-He asked me what my name was.
-He asked me what was my name.

-“Why do you write with a pencil?”, the teacher asked Sarah.

-The teacher asked Sarah why she wrote with a pencil.
-The teacher asked Sarah why did she write with a pencil.

*** As you can see, there is no inversion, no auxiliary “do” in

reported WH-questions.

Structure:

subject + asked + (person) + question word + subject + verb +

complement.

 “What will you be doing on Tuesday evening?”, he asked

Maria.
 “Have you visited your grandmother this week?”, the
teacher asked Jane.
 “Did you recover from that accident easily?”, they asked
us.
 “When is the next train leaving?”, he asked.
 “How are you going to study that part of the exam?”, Sarah
asked me.
 “How long did the film last?”, the young boy asked me.
 “Is this going to change before next week?”, Mark asked.
 “Have they discovered anything new?”, the detective
inquired.
 “Have students been revising for their next exam?”, the
teacher asked Jonás.
 “Will they be giving new documents tomorrow?”, Martha
asked.
 “How are we supposed to know that this will happen?”, he
asked.