The document provides information on reported speech, including how to change verbs, pronouns, and tense when reporting what someone else has said. It includes tables showing how to change verbs from direct to reported speech, such as changing "I live in Madrid" to "She said she lived in Madrid." It also discusses reporting questions and requests/commands, noting the required changes to structure and inclusion of question words like "if" or "when."

1. Reported speech
(or the art of gossip)

2. Direct Speech
Hi, I am
Square Face
Hello,
My name is
Long Legs

3. Indirect speech
The tall robot said his name was Long Legs.
The small robot said he was Square Face.

4. Definition
When we use the reported speech we
are reproducing what other people has
said.

5. Reporting verbs
and changes
Said, told, informed, mentioned, replied, admitted,
announced...
Changes
Pronouns Time expressionsTenses

6. Table of tense
changes
Present Simple Past Simple ‘I live in Madrid’
She said she lived in Madrid
Present Perfect Past Perfect “I have lived in Madrid since 2002’
She said she had lived in Madrid since 2002
Present
Continuous
Past continuous ‘I am living in Madrid’
She said she was living in Madrid
Present Perfect
continous
Past Perfect
Continuous
‘I have been living in Madrid for ages’
She said she had been living in Madrid...

7. Table of tense
changes
Past Simple Past Perfect “I lived in Madrid in 2002’
She said she had lived in Madrid in 2002
Past Perfect Past Perfect ‘I had already lived in Madrid’
She said she had already lived in Madrid
Past Continuous Past Perfect
Continuous
‘I was living in Madrid then’
She said she had been living in Madrid

8. Table of tense
changes
Future Conditional ‘I will live in Madrid one day’
She said she would live in Madrid one day
Conditional Conditional ‘I would live in Madrid if I could’
She said she would live in Madrid if she could
Can Could ‘I can’t live in Madrid’
She said she couldn’t live in Madrid
Must Had to ‘I must live in Madrid’
She said she had to live in Madrid

9. Table of Time
expressions
now then
today That day
tonight That night
yesterday The previous day, the day before
Last week The previous week, the week before
A month ago The previous month, the month before
tomorrow The next day, the following day
Next week The following week, the week after
This/ these That/ those
here There

10. Say/Tell
Pay attention to the ‘say’ and ‘tell’ structure:
‘I feel very unhappy’
She said TO me (that) she felt very unhappy
She told me (that) she felt very unhappy.

11. Reporting
questions

12. There are two types of questions:
A. ‘Do you live in Paris?’ she wanted to
know
B. ‘When did you move to Paris?’ she
inquired
Types of
questions

13. A. ‘Do you live in Paris?’
she wanted to know.
B. ‘When did you move to
Paris?’ she inquired
A. She wanted to know
IF I lived in Paris
B. She inquired WHEN I had
moved to Paris
How to report
them?
The changes in pronouns and in tenses are the same as
in the statements.
Examples:

14. Watch out!!!
● It is obligatory to use a verb of this type:
asked, wanted to know, inquired,
wandered…
● You will have to include in the reported
sentences
IF (when the sentence starts with an
auxiliary verb) or
the Wh- questions the sentence starts
with.

15. Watch out!!!
Follow the word order of a statement :
+SUBJECT+VERB+COMPLEMENTS
IF
WHERE
WHEN
WHY
HOW OFTEN
...
HE ASKED+

16. EXAMPLES
‘Do you know my family’’ he
asked me
He asked me IF I knew his family
‘Have you ever travelled
abroad?’ Claire wanted to
know
Claire wanted to know IF I had ever
travelled abroad.
‘Can you read Italian?’ she
inquired
She inquired IF I could read Italian
‘How often did you travel to
Italy last year?’
He wanted to know HOW OFTEN I had
travelled to Italy the year before
‘Where will you stay in Italy?’
they asked us.
They asked us WHERE we would stay in
Italy.

17. Requests and
commands
COMMANDS REQUESTS
‘Tidy your room! Mother to
child
The mother TOLD/
ORDERED the child to tidy
his room
‘Don’t shout? The teacher to
the students
The teacher TOLD/
ORDERED the students NOT
TO SHOUT
‘Could you carry these books for me,
please?’
She ASKED/ BEGGED me to carry
those books.
STRUCTURE
Subject +TOLD, ORDERED+
object + infinitive with to
STRUCTURE
Subject +ASKED, BEGGED+ object +
infinitive with to

18. Acknowledgments
http://cosmicponye.deviantart.com/art/Contest-Best-Friends-D-308058508
By CosmicPonye
https://www.flickr.com/photos/47476117@N04/15608591524/sizes/l
By ezhikoff
https://openclipart.org/detail/60415/cartoon-robot
By rg1024
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalinternet/8227432373/sizes/l
By digital internet

19. Author
Inmaculada Tinte