II. Прямая и косвенная речь . - Direct and Reported Speech.

Direct and Reported Speech

We use direct speech to quote people's exact words. We use inverted commas (" " ) in direct speech. 

" I come from Ireland, " Fiona said.

We use reported speech to report the exact meaning of what someone said, but not the exact words. We do not use inverted commas in reported speech.

Personal pronouns, possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns change according to the meaning of the sentence.

Fiona said that she comes from Ireland.

We can report someone's words either a long time after they were said (out-of-date reporting) or a short time after they were said (up-to-date reporting).

2. Say • Tell • Ask

2.1 Say can be used both in direct and reported speech. It is used with or without a personal object. When used with a personal object, it is always followed by the preposition to (said to me). In reported speech, say is not followed by an object pronoun, but it can be followed by that.

She said, " I'm happy.”     

She said to me, " I'm happy.”

She said (that) she was happy.

2.2 Tell can be used both in direct and reported speech. It is always followed by a personal object (told me).

She told me, " I'm happy."

She told me (that) she was happy.

2.3 Ask is used in reported questions and requests. It is also used in direct questions.

" Where is Tom? " he asked me.             He asked me where Tom was.

" Will you do me a favour? " Mary said to me.

Mary asked me to do her a favour.

Expressions with say, tell and ask.

SAY: good morning/afternoon, something/nothing, a prayer, so, a few words

T ELL: the truth, a lie, a secret, a story, a joke, the time, the difference, sb one's name, sb the way, one from another, one's fortune, sb so

ASK: a favour, the time, a question, the price

Reported Statements

Verb tenses and time expressions change in reported speech:

4.1 When the introductory verb is in a past tense.

" I'm buying a new car next month, " he said.

He said that he was buying a new car the following month.

 

 

4.2 In out-of-date reporting.

(Wednesday 11 May) Tim said, " I have caught a cold."

(Sunday 15 May) Tim said that he had caught a cold.

4.3 When we consider what the speaker says to be untrue.

" Peter and I are business partners, " Jill said to me.

Jill said that she and Peter were business partners, (but Peter had never met her.)

5. Tenses do not change in reported speech when:

5.1 the introductory verb is in the present simple, future or present perfect.

" I live in Tokyo, " he says.           He says (that) he lives in Tokyo.

5.2 the speaker reports something a short time after it was said

" There is plenty of food in the fridge, " Mum said,

Mum said (that) there is plenty of food in the fridge.

5.3 the reported sentence deals with type 2 or type 3 conditionals.

" If I had the money, I would travel abroad, " Kelly said.

Kelly said (that) if she had the money, she would travel abroad.

5.4 Tenses can either change or remain the same in reported speech when the speaker reports a general truth, a law of nature or a permanent state.

" The sun sets in the west, " the teacher said.

The teacher said (that) the sun sets/set in the west

6. The tenses change as follows:

	Direct speech	Reported speech
present simple - past simple	" I play the guitar quite well."	He said (that) he played the guitar quite well.
present continuous - past continuous	" I am learning French."	He said (that) he was learning French.
present perfect - past perfect	" I have already watered the flowers."	He said (that) he had already watered the flowers.
past simple - past simple or past perfect	" I won the chess tournament."	He said (that) he (had) won the chess tournament.
past continuous - past continuous or past perfect continuous	" I was writing a letter at five o'clock."	He said (that) he was writing/had been writing a letter at five o'clock.
future (will) - conditional (would)	" I will do the shopping."	He said (that) he would do the shopping.
• The past perfect and past perfect continuous remain the same.

 

7. Some words and time expressions change according to the meaning of the sentence:

now - then, at the time, immediately      come - go

 tomorrow - the next/following day     here – there

two days ago - two days before             this week - that week

today, tonight - that day, that night            

yesterday - the day before, the previous day

last month - the month before, the previous month

next month - the month after, the following month

Modal Verbs

Will - would	" I will study medicine."	He said (that) he would study medicine.
can - could	" I can cook very well."	He said (that) he could cook very well.
can - could/would be able to (future reference)	" I can meet you at noon."	He said (that) he could/would be able to meet me at noon.
may - might	" I may go for a ride."	He said (that) he might go for a ride.
shall - should (asking for advice)	" What shall I tell him?	He asked what he should tell him.
shall - offer  (expressing offers)	" Shall I help you? "	He offered to help me.
must - must/had to (obligation)	" You must write an essay."	He said (that) I must/had to write an essay.
needn't - needn't/didn't need to/didn't have to	" You needn't feed the dog."	I needn't/ didn't need to/ didn't have to feed the dog.
Would, could, might, should, ought, had better, used to and mustn't do not change. Must does not change when it expresses a logical assumption. " You could watch a video, " he said. - He said that we could watch a video. " You must be happy, " Susan said to Joe. - Susan told Joe (that) he must be happy.

Reported Questions

9.1 Reported questions are usually introduced with the verbs ask, inquire, wonder or the expression want to know. The verb is in the affirmative. The question mark and words/expressions such as please, well, oh, etc., are omitted. The verb tenses, pronouns and time expressions change as in statements.

9.2 When the direct question begins with a question word (who, where, when, why, what, how old, how long, etc) the reported question is introduced with the same question word. When the direct question begins with an auxiliary verb (is, do, have) or a modal verb (can, may, etc) then the reported question begins with if or whether.

" Where are you from? " she asked me.    She asked me where I was from.

" Can you speak Italian? " Tom asked me.     Tom asked me if I could speak Italian.

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