Skip to main content

REPORTED SPEECH

Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.

direct speech: 'I work in a bank,' said Hari.

indirect speech: Hari said that he worked in a bank.


In indirect speech, we often use a tense which is 'further back' in the past (e.g. worked) than the tense originally used (e.g. work). This is called 'backshift'. We also may need to change other words that were used, for example pronouns.


Present simple, present continuous and present perfect

When we backshift, present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous and present perfect changes to past perfect.

'I travel a lot in my job.'

  • Jamila said that she travelled a lot in her job.

'The baby's sleeping!'

  • He told me the baby was sleeping.

'I've hurt my leg.'

  • She said she'd hurt her leg.

Past simple and past continuous

When we backshift, past simple usually changes to past perfect simple, and past continuous usually changes to past perfect continuous.

'We lived in China for five years.'

  • She told me they'd lived in China for five years.

'It was raining all day.'

  • He told me it had been raining all day.

Past perfect

The past perfect doesn't change.

'I'd tried everything without success, but this new medicine is great.'

  • He said he'd tried everything without success, but the new medicine was great.

No backshift

If what the speaker has said is still true or relevant, it's not always necessary to change the tense. This might happen when the speaker has used a present tense.

'I go to the gym next to your house.'

  • Jenny told me that she goes to the gym next to my house. I'm thinking about going with her.

'I'm working in Italy for the next six months.'

  • He told me he's working in Italy for the next six months. Maybe I should visit him!

'I've broken my arm!'

  • She said she's broken her arm, so she won't be at work this week.

Pronouns, demonstratives and adverbs of time and place

Pronouns also usually change in indirect speech.

'I enjoy working in my garden,' said Bob.

  • Bob said that he enjoyed working in his garden.

'We played tennis for our school,' said Alina.

  • Alina told me they'd played tennis for their school.

However, if you are the person or one of the people who spoke, then the pronouns don't change.

'I'm working on my thesis,' I said.

  • I told her that I was working on my thesis.

'We want our jobs back!' we said.

  • We said that we wanted our jobs back.

We also change demonstratives and adverbs of time and place if they are no longer accurate.

'This is my house.'

  • He said this was his house. [You are currently in front of the house.]
  • He said that was his house. [You are not currently in front of the house.]

'We like it here.'

  • She told me they like it here. [You are currently in the place they like.]
  • She told me they like it there. [You are not in the place they like.]

'I'm planning to do it today.'

  • She told me she's planning to do it today. [It is currently still the same day.]
  • She told me she was planning to do it that day. [It is not the same day any more.]

In the same way, these changes to those, now changes to then, yesterday changes to the day before, tomorrow changes to the next/following day and ago changes to before.


SOURCES : 

British Council. Learn English : Reported Speech 1 - Statements. (2021, 5 18). Retrieved from British Council: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/intermediate-to-upper-intermediate/reported-speech-1-statements


Curriculam Development Centre. (2020). English Grade 11. Sanothimi, Bhaktapur: Government of Nepal, Curriculum Development Centre.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BBS First Year English Question Paper with Possible Answers (TU 2021)

Post a Comment
Read more

PROFESSIONS FOR WOMEN - Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

Summary : Virginia Adeline Woolf (1882-1941) was an English novelist and essayist, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. She was one of the leaders in the literary movement of modernism.  The speech of  Professions for Women  was given in 1931 to the Women’s Service League by Virginia Woolf. It was also included in  Death of a Moth  and  Other Essays  in 1942. Throughout the speech, Virginia Woolf brings forward a problem that is still relevant today:  gender inequality .   Woolf’s main point in this essay was to bring awareness to the phantoms (illusions) and obstacles women face in their jobs. Woolf argues that women must overcome special obstacles to become successful in their careers. She describes two hazards she thinks all women who aspire to professional life must overcome: their tendency to sacrifice their own interests to those of others and their reluctance (hesitancy) to challenge conservative male attitudes .  She starts her
Post a Comment
Read more

Summary and Analysis of My Mother Never Worked

MY MOTHER NEVER WORKED Bonnie Smith - Yackel SYNOPSIS   In the essay “ My Mother Never Worked ,” Bonnie Smith-Yackel recollects the time when she called Social Security to claim her mother’s death benefits. Social Security places Smith-Yackel on hold so they can check their records on her mother, Martha Jerabek Smith . While waiting, she remembers the many things her mother did, and the compassion her mother felt towards her husband and children. When Social Security returns to the phone, they tell Smith-Yackel that she could not receive her mother’s death benefits because her mother never had a wage-earning job. A tremendous amount of irony is used in this essay. The title, in itself, is full of irony; it makes readers curious about the essay’s point and how the author feels about the situation. Smith-Yackel uses the essay to convey her opinion of work. Her thesis is not directly stated; however, she uses detail upon detail to prove her mother did work, just not in the eyes of the
Post a Comment
Read more