a cura della prof.ssa Domitilla Gerini Reported speech (he said that) a cura della prof.ssa Domitilla Gerini

Look at this situation: “I’m feeling ill.”

If you want to tell somebody what sarah said there are two ways of doing this: you can repeat Sarah’s words (direct speech) Sarah said, “I’m feeling ill” you can use reported speech: Sarah said that she was feeling ill.

IMPORTANT RULES Sarah said that she was feeling ill (reported) COMPARE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES: Sarah said, “ I am feeling ill ” (direct) Sarah said that she was feeling ill (reported) when we report what someone else said: the personal pronoun changes we are usually reporting at a later time so we use the reporting verb (say, tell …) in the past tense and we normally change the tense used by the original speaker, it moves one tense back (see table on the following slide)

Tense changes in reported speech - 1 Original statement Reported statement present simple “I want to buy a new car” past simple He said (that) he wanted to buy a new car present continuous “The sun is shining” past continuous He said (that) the sun was shining “There was a terrible storm” past perfect He said (that) there had been a terrible storm present perfect “I haven’t seen her for a long time” He said (that) he hadn’t seen her for a long time imperative “Don’t go away!” infinitive He told me not to go away

Tense changes in reported speech - 2 Original statement Reported statement be going to “I’m going to win” was going to He said (that) he was going to win will “I will spend two hours in a bath” would He said (that) he’d (he would) spend two hours in a bath can “I can’t find my keys” could He said (that) he couldn’t find his keys may “I may win” might He said (that) he might win must “I must get my hair cut” must/had to (see slide 9) He said (that) he had to get his hair cut

… but… Could Would Might Ought to Used to These verbs do not change when they are reported at a later time: Could Would Might Ought to Used to and verbs in the past perfect See the following table for examples

Examples – verbs that do not change Original statement Reported statement could “I could ran faster once” He said (that) he could run faster once would “I would phone her if I had her number” He said (that) he would phone her if he had her number might “I might look for another job” He said (that) he might look for another job ought to “You ought to smoke less” He said (that) you ought to smoke less used to “She used to be a good guitarist once” He said (that) she used to be a good guitarist once past perfect I hadn’t expected the storm He said (that) he hadn’t expected the storm

MUST or had to? When we report must, we can use either must or had to in the reported speech, but had to is more common Example: Kate: I must buy some fruit” Kate said she must/had to buy some fruit BUT BE CAREFUL! We use must, not had to, when we report : a negative sentence Ex.: Paul “You mustn’t tell Sally our secret” Paul said we mustn’t tell Sally our secret or a deduction Sarah: “Jim must be tired after the flight” Sarah said Jim must be tired after the flight

References to time - 1 BE CAREFUL: expressions of time also change… Original statement Reported statement now “I’ll do it now” at that moment/ at that time/ then She said (that) she would do it at that moment today “I’m not working today” that day She said (that) she wasn’t working that day tonight “There’s a party tonight” that night She said (that) there was a party that night tomorrow “I’ll call him tomorrow” the next day/ the following day She said (that) she would call him the following day

References to time - 2 yesterday “I saw Alex yesterday” Original statement Reported statement yesterday “I saw Alex yesterday” the day before/ the previous day She said (that) she had seen Alex the day before last week “I had an exam last week” the week before/ the previous week She said she had had an exam the previous week ago “They arrived two hours ago” before/ earlier/ previously She said (that) they had arrived two hours earlier

… as well as ReferenceS to place: Original statement Reported statement here “I saw him here yesterday” There She said (that) she had seen him there the day before

REPORTING QUESTIONS - 1 For yes/ no question we use IF or WHETHER Examples Direct speech: “Is the weather good?” Reported speech : Rachel asked whether the weather was good as you can see questions are reported USING THE WORD ORDER OF A STATEMENT – WITH THE VERB AFTER THE SUBJECT - rather than that of a question We don’t say: Rachel asked whether was the weather good but: Rachel asked whether the weather was good SUBJECT VERB

Reporting questions - 2 Questions with question words (who, what, etc.) keep these words when they are reported and use the word order of a statement (with the verb after the subject) Examples Direct speech:“How do you feel?” Reported speech: Rachel asked James how he felt (not Rachel asked James how did he feel)

Verbs used for reporting (to say) We often use say to report what somebody said He said (that) he was going to win …but... pay attention: If there is an object (a noun or a pronoun) say must be followed by to: He said to me (that) he was going to win (not he said me)

Verbs used for reporting (to tell) When we use tell to report what someone said, it is always followed by an object without to: He told them (that) he was going to win (not he told to them …, he told that …)

Reporting in the same tense If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g says), we use the same tenses as the original speaker Example: Tom “I’ve missed the bus so I’ll be a bit late Tom says he’s missed the bus so he’ll be a bit late

Exceptions to the general rule - 1 If the reporting verb is in the past (e.g. said), we sometimes use the same tenses as the original speaker if the situation is still true: Example 1: Robert “I have three sister” There are two possibilities when reporting this sentence: Robert said he has three sisters or Robert said he had three sisters

Exceptions to the general rule - 2 Example 2: Carlo: “I’m getting married in June” If we report what Carlo said before June we can say: Carlo said he is getting married in June or Carlo said he was getting married in June

Other reporting verbs ORDERS and REQUESTS are reported using reporting verbs such as: ask order invite OFFERS, ADVICE and PROMISES are reported using the following verbs: offer advise promise SUGGESTIONS are reported using: suggest recommend propose

And now… give it a try! Try to turn the following sentences into reported speech and then check your answers! 1. Jane : “ There was an interesting documentary about climate change yesterday” 1. Jane said there had been an interesting documentary about climate change the previous day. 2. Susan : “Jim, where will you be tonight?” 2. Susan asked Jim where he would be that night. 3. Pete “ Mary, are you going to meet your friends here next Saturday?” 3. Pete asked Mary if/ whether she was going to meet her friends there the following Saturday.