Reported speech (1)

R EPORTED S PEECH E STILO INDIRECTO

What is reported speech?
We use reported speech to speak about what someone has said.
For example:

Lisa: “I like Beyonce”

Reported speech

Lisa said (that) she liked Beyonce.

How do we use reported speech?
1. We usually change what the person said in the present into the past tense:
Lisa said: “I LIKE Beyonce”

Lisa said (that) she LIKED Beyonce

There are two main reporting verbs: SAY and TELL.
Say has only one object:
She said that she liked Beyonce
Tell has TWO objects:
She told Karen that she liked Beyonce.
She told her that she liked Beyonce.
(note that we use the object pronouns: told me, told you, told him, told her, told us, told them )

How to transform a reported speech sentence.
Present ->past
E.g. I’m happy ->
She said that she was happy
Past simple -> past perfect
e.g. I bought a t-shirt ->
She said that she had bought a t-shirt

Present perfect ->past perfect
e.g. Susan has lived in Madrid since 1998 ->
He said that Susan had lived in Madrid since 1998
Present continuous->past continuous
e.g. I’m cooking spaghetti->
She said that she was cooking spaghetti

Future simple ->would + infinitive
e.g. I’ll go to the beach ->
She said she would go to the beach
can->could
e.g. I can play the guitar ->
He said he could play the guitar
Must->had to
e.g. I must go->
He said he had to go

Sometimes you have to change the pronouns:
I-> he, she
We ->they
You must use common sense here. If you are transforming a sentence you said yourself, of course you don’t have to make this transformation!
e.g . «You must write a composition» ->
I said that you had to write a composition . (I’m the same person)
BUT if you tell this to your mum:
Elena/She said that we had to write a composition
!!!

Same problem when using time references:
Tuesday:
« You have to write the composition tomorrow»->
She said I had to write the composition tomorrow .
(still Tuesday)
She said I had to write the composition the next day.
(NOT on Tuesday)

Other common transformations: This, these Now Today Yesterday The day before yesterday Tomorrow The day after tomorrow Next week/month/year Last week/month/year Two days/three hours ago That, those Then That day The day before Two days before The next day Two days later The following week/month/year The previous week/month/year Two days/three hours before

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Reported speech (1)

by Elena (IES Beatriz Galindo) on Apr 22, 2010

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