English ICT in ELT. this is a WEB-Based Lesson on Reported Speech. Intermediate level. English as Foreign Language.

1. Daniela Nunes / Master Program ICT in ELT

3.  To express (in writing or oral way) what
somebody said.
 “report what another person has said”.
(Müller & Pahlow, 2014)
 “Expressing the content of statements,
questions or other utterances, without
quoting them explicitly as is done
in direct speech.” (Wikipedia, 2014)

5. Direct speech
Sara says “I’m studying English”.
Sara said “I’m studying English”.
In writing, we use “” quotation marks

6. Indirect speech
Sara says that she is studying English.
Sara said that she was studying
English.

7. The main verb is usually
past tense:
Sara said that…
Sara told me that…
The rest of the
sentence is usually past:
Sara said that she was studying English.

8.  You can leave out “that”
Sara said that she was studying English.
Sara said she was studying English.
Other Important Remarks

9. Normally,
changes topresent form
am / is
are
do / does
have / has
go
want
like
past form
was
were
did
had
went
wanted
liked

10. changes topresent form
can
may
must
will
can
past form
could
might
had to
would
could

11. Examples…
Paul told you some things at
the phone (direct speech):
Then, you tell Sara what
Paul said (report speech):
 “I’m at home.”
 “I’m studying French.”
 “I want to pass the last
exam.”
 “After the exam, I’ll go
to the cinema.”
 …he was at home.
 …he was studying French.
 …he wanted to pass the
previous exam.
 …after the exam he would go
to the cinema.

12. Past simple… did /saw/knew
 In reported speech, the past simple tense
can stay the same or change to past perfect
tense:
past simple
did
saw
knew
past perfect
had done
had seen
had known

13. would
might
could
should
ought to
would
might
could
should
ought to

14. Examples…
Sara told you some things at
the phone (direct speech):
Then, you tell Paul what
Sara said (report speech):
 “I was at home.”
 “I was studying
English.”
 “I wanted to pass the
exam.”
 “The exam had 3
pages.”
 …she had been at home.
 …she had been studying
English.
 …she had wanted to pass the
exam.
 …the exam had had 3 pages.

15. Examples… (cont.)
Sara told you some things at
the phone (direct speech):
Now, you tell your friend what
Sara said (report speech):
 “The professor couldn’t
change the date.”
 “I didn’t want to fail the
exam.”
 “I was not going out with
you. I would phone you
when I finished studying
for my exam.”
 …the professor couldn’t
change the date.
 …she hadn’t wanted to fail
the exam.
 …she hadn’t been going
out with me. She would
phone me when she had
finished studying for the
exam.

16. Remember…
changes tothis
today
tomorrow
yesterday
next week
/moth /year
Last week/
month/year
now just
ago
here
this
these
that
that day/the same day
The next day/the following day
The day before/ the preveious day
The following week
/month/year
The previous week
/month /year
then
before
there
that
those

17. It would be nice if you report P!nk’s song “Who
knew?”, there you go… the lyrics:

18. P!nk – Lyrics of “who knew”
“You took my hand, you
showed me how.
You promised me you'd be
around. Uh huh, that's
right.
I took your words and I
believed. In everything you
said to me. Yeah huh,
that's right.
If someone said three
years from now: you'd be
long gone. I'd stand up and
punch them out, cause
they're all wrong.
I know better, cause you
said forever, and ever. who
knew?
Remember when we were
such fools, and so
convinced, and just too
cool. Oh no, no no.
I wish I could touch you
again. I wish I could still
call you a friend. I'd give
anything.
When someone said count
your blessings now, for
they're long gone. I guess I
just didn't know how. I was
all wrong.
But they knew better
Still you said forever, and
ever. Who knew? Yeah
yeah.
I'll keep you locked in my
head, until we meet again.
Until we, until we meet
again. And I won't forget
you my friend. What
happened?
If someone said three
years from now: you'd be
long gone. I'd stand up and
punch them out, cause
they're all wrong.
And that last kiss, I'll
cherish until we meet
again, and time makes it
harder. I wish I could
remember.
But I keep your memory.
You visit me in my sleep.
My darling, who knew?
My darling, my darling,
who knew? My darling,
I miss you. My darling,
who knew? Who knew?”
Click here

19. Reported speech of P!nk’s song “Who knew?”.
So, P!ink said to him (a male friend) in her song:
He had taken her hand, he had
showed her how.
He had promised her he'd be
around. Uh huh, that was right.
She had taken his words and she
had believed in everything he
had said to her. Yeah huh, that
was right.
If someone had said three years
from then: he'd be long gone.
she'd stand up and punch them
out, cause they were all wrong.
She knew better, cause he had
said forever, and ever. who had
known?
To remember when they had
been such fools, and so
convinced, and just too cool. Oh
no, no no.
She wished she could touch him
again. She wished she could still
call him a friend. She'd give
anything.
When someone had said count
your (her) blessings then, for
they were long gone. She
guessed she just hadn't known
how. she had been all wrong.
But they had known better
Still he had said forever, and
ever. Who had known? Yeah
yeah.
She’d keep him locked in her
head, until they met again.
Until they, until they met again.
And she wouln't forget him her
friend. What had happened?
If someone had said three years
from then: he'd be long gone;
she'd stand up and punch them
out, cause they were all wrong.
And that previous kiss, she‘d
cherish until they met again, and
time made it harder. She wished
she could remember.
But she kept his memory.
He visit her in her sleep.
Her darling, who had known?
Her darling, Her darling, who had
known? Her darling,
She missed him. Her darling,
who had known? who had
known?
Click here

20. I hope you enjoyed 

21. References
 Murphy, R. (2005). English Grammar in Use. A self-study
reference and prectice book for intermediate students of English
with answers (3th ed.) p. 94. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
 Definition of Reported Speech. Consulted 02 July 2014 at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indirect_speech
 Majid, A. (2010) Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS,
“can, may, must. Consulted 04 July 2014 at:
http://www.studyandexam.com/indirect-speech-for-modal.html
 Pink, Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald (2006) Who knew. Video
Music video by P!nk performing Who Knew. (C) 2006 Zomba
Recording, LLC. Watch at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJWIbIe0N90
 Müller, M. and Pahlow H., (2014). Reported Speech. Lingo4you
GbR. Consulted 02 July 2014 at
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech