Aprende sobre el reported speech

1. REPORTED SPEECH
IT IS THE ART OF TELLING WHAT
OTHERS HAVE SAID
I am
still
learning
Michelangelo
Imagination is
more important
than
knowledge.
Albert Einstein
Michelangelo said he was still learning Einstein said that imagination is more
important than knowledge

2. REPORTED SPEECH
• Backshift : In reported speech we usually report
what was said at a different time, and so we
change the tense to reflect the time which we
are reporting. We normally "shift back" one
tense.
• Eg. Present simple-> Past Simple. Will-> Would.
Present Continuous -> Past Continuous
• Direct speech: "I'm not playing football now."
• Reported later: "He said that he wasn't playing
football then."

3. CHANGES IN PRONOUNS AND OTHER WORDS
• Sometimes we need to change the pronoun.
Direct speech: Jane: "I don't like living here." (Jane is
referring to herself)
Reported speech: Jane said (that) she didn't like living
here. (The pronoun “she” refers to Jane)
• We may also need to change other words about place
and time.
• Direct speech: "I like this car."
• Reported speech: He said (that) he liked that car.
• Direct speech: "I went to Tokyo last week."
• Reported speech: She said (that) she'd been to Tokyo
the week before.

4. Shift in time references
• Now then
• yesterday the previous day/the day before/on
Saturday, etc.
• today yesterday/that day/on Saturday, etc.
• tomorrow the next day/the following day/on Saturday,
etc.
• this week that week/last week
• next year the year after/the following year/in 2006
etc.
• last month the month before/the previous month/in
April, etc.

5. REPORTED SPEECH: ORDERS, REQUESTS
• Requests and commands are formed using the "to-infinitive" in statements and
"not + to-infinitive" in negative statements. If we report somebody's commands,
we use the verb told. If it's a request, the word used in the main clause is
usually asked.
• EXample : “Close the window , please”.
• He asked me to close the window
Commands
• Go to bed!
• He told me to go to bed.
• Don't go to bed!
• He told me not to go to bed.
Requests
Could you buy some eggs?
She asked me to buy some eggs
Don't buy any eggs please.
She asked me not to buy any
eggs.

6. SUGGESTIONS
• “Let’s go out tonight” she suggested. She
suggested that we go out that night.
• She suggested going out that night.