DIRECT SPEECH VERSUS REPORTED SPEECH

A hospital spokesperson said: ‘The President’s condition is not serious. We expect him to make a speedy recovery.’

We repeat the actual words of a speaker/writer in quotations and informal speech (e.g. telling jokes).

A spokesperson for the hospital said that the President’s condition was not serious and that his doctors expected him to make a speedy recovery.’

We use reported speech to say what a speaker/writer meant - when the actual words are not very important, (though we may repeat all of them).

Form changes

 

The above examples show some changes:

      no inverted commas (‘...’) in reported speech, and no punctuation after said.

      ‘that’ is added in formal speech/writing.

      tense change (e.g. present is past was)

pronoun (we) replaced by noun (his doctors) to make meaning quite clear.

Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives: changes

Direct speech

Reported speech

I he/she Obviously, if we are reporting our own we they words, I, my, etc. will not change, and my his/her if the speaker was speaking to us, our their you/your, etc will change to me/my,

mine his/hers etc. ours theirs

Time and Place: changes

Direct speech Reported speech here there (when the listener knows which place

is meant) this/these that/those (or the if the person/object can’t

be seen by the listener) today / this afternoon

that day/afternoon

yesterday / last week

the day/week before (or the previous day/week)

tomorrow / next week ago now

the next day/week (or the following day/week) before then

I work here on Saturdays ---------- She said (that) she worked there on Saturdays.I’m going to London tomorrow.---She said (that) he was going to London the next day.I’ve written a letter today-----------She said (that) she had written a letter that day.I saw an old friend yesterday –She said (that) she had seen an old friend the day before.

I had forgotten to tell you.----------She said (that) she had forgotten to tell me.I’ll ring you later this week --------She said (that) she would ring us later that week.I cannot hear you.--------------------She said (that) she could not hear me.You must do your homework.-----She said (that) I had to do my homework.I may join you later.-----------------She said (that) she might join us later.

REPORTING VERBS:

       Other verbs apart form said used in the R.S. with a that clause: explained, admitted complained, argued, promised. Ex:I’ll give you a hand with your homework---- My father promised me to give me a hand with my homework.        When “suggest” is used to report advice it is followed by should. Ex:

Ask in the Post Office for directions----- He suggested that we should ask in the Post Office for directions.        A)The verb “tell” can be used to introduce a reported statement. It is followed by a personal object and a that clause. Ex:  He told us that the film was excellent.

Other common verbs like this are: advise, warn, remind. B) The verb “tell” is also used to introduce commands. Ex:Go to your room------------------He told me to go to my room. Other common verbs like this: advise invite recommend forbid ask, warn, remind.

Changes in Construction

‘Have you felt this pain before?’

Yes/no question

The doctor asked (him) if he had felt the pain before.

‘How long is your normal working day?’

Wh- question

The doctor asked (him) how long his normal working day was.

‘Unbutton your shirt’ Request/order

The doctor asked/told him to unbutton his shirt.