Reported Speech for Intermediate students. Adapted from a Presentation at this same website by Carmen Torres (thanks!).

1. REPORTED SPEECH

2. REPORTED SPEECH
What is it ? How do you use it?
We use it when we want to tell another person
about a conversation that took place in the past
(e.g telephone call, news or a story that someone
told us, etc.)
Whe re ’s
To m ?
He said he
was fe e ling
ill.

3. CHANGES FROM DIRECT TO
REPORTED SPEECH:
Verb Tense (when the Reporting Verb is in
the Past Tense – most times)
Personal Pronouns, Possessives
(In a logical way, see every sentence)
Demonstratives: This  That
These Those
Time & Place Expressions

4. ' I know quite a lot of people
here.'
Robert said.
Present
Simple
Simple Past He said that
he ...............................
quite a lot of people there
'John is feeling much better '
Paul said.
Present
Continuous
Past
Continuous
He said that
John ...........................much
better
' I enjoyed my holiday in the
States'
David said.
Simple Past Past Perfect He said that
he ............................... his
holiday in the States
'Jackie wasn´t feeling very
well '
The teacher said.
Past
Continuous
Past Perfect
Continuous
He said that
Jackie .........................
very well
' They‘ve seen the Eiffel Tower
'
John said.
Present
Perfect
Past Perfect He said that
they ............................
the Eiffel Tower
' I have been waiting for ages
'
My father said.
Present
Perfect
Continuous
Past Perfect
Continuous
He said that
he ............................
for ages
' Nobody had warned them
about the storm ' The politician
said.
Past Perfect Past Perfect
(No change)
He said that
nobody .................... about the
storm
' She had been reading all
day '
Brenda said.
Past Perfect
Continuous
Past Perfect
Continuous
(No change)
She said that
she ........................ all day
Verb Tense Changes:

5. ' I will be here with you.'
Robert promised me.
Future
Simple
Conditional Robert promised that
he ...............................
there with me
'John is going to study
French '
Paul said.
Be going to Was/Were
going to
Paul said that
John ...........................
to study French
MODAL VERBS:
' We can start the lesson'
David said.
Can Could David said that
we ............................... start
the lesson
' They may come home '
My husband said.
May Might My husband said that
they .........................
come home
' You must be quiet in class '
The teacher told us.
‘ I’ll see you later!’ She said.
Must
Will/ Shall
Had to
Would
The teacher told us that
we ............................
be quiet in class
She said that she ………..…
me later.

6. Changes in Time and Place expressions:
Time Place
Now
...ago
Then
...before
here there
today that day This town/
garden...
That town/
garden ...
tomorrow the following day OR
the day after
These cities/ ... Those cities/ ...
yesterday the previous day OR
the day before
last week/
month/ ...
the previous week/
month ... OR the week
before
Next week /
month/ ...
The following week /
month OR the week/
month after

7. Statements are Affirmative or Negative Sentences.
We use a Reporting Verb + That (it can be omitted)
+ Subject + verb in Previous tense + ...
- “The students are tired”- said the teacher
The teacher said (that) the students were tired.
- “It’s the funniest show I’ve ever seen” -Joan told
me.
Joan told me (that) it was the funniest show she
had ever seen.
- “I’ll call you this afternoon” - Mary assured
Mary assured us (that) she would call us that
afternoon.
REPORTING STATEMENTS

8. Reporting Verbs:
ADD
ADMIT *
ANSWER
ARGUE
ASSURE
BOAST about *
COMPLAIN to .. About *
DENY *
EXPLAIN
GRUMBLE about *
OBJECT to *
OBSERVE
POINT OUT
PROMISE
PROTEST against /about *
REMARK
REPLY
* These verbs + ing
The most common ones:
TELL + I.O. and SAY
Followed by THAT ( Remember it can be omitted!)

9. A) YES / NO QUESTIONS:
Reporting Verb + If or whether + Subject + Verb +...
(Order of Reported Question:
Subject + Verb - as in Statements)
“Are you working these days?” he asked.
He asked if/whether I was working those days. (No Question
Mark)
“Did you speak to John last night?” she asked.
She wanted to know if I had spoken to J. the night before.
REPORTING QUESTIONS
Introductory verbs: ask, wonder, would like/ want to know, …

10. B) WH- QUESTIONS:
Reporting Verb + Question Word(s) + Subject + Verb
(The Word Order is again the same as in Statements)
“Where did you go last summer?”.
He asked me where I had gone the previous summer.
“How long were you waiting for us?”
She wanted to know how long I had been waiting for them.

11. The Imperative changes into (Not) To Infinitive:
He said to us: “Stay here” He told us to stay there
The Reporting Verb must indicate “order”:
He said: “Don’t mention that”
He told me not to mention that.
“Say that again”, he said to me
He asked me to say that again.
Reporting Verbs:
Tell,ask, beg, invite, warn, order, command, instruct,...
REPORTING COMMANDS (= ORDERS)

12. We normally use suggest + gerund
OR suggest that + Clause
•Let’s, why don’t we, shall we, why not… are omitted:
“Let’s go to the theatre”
“Why don’t we go to the theatre?”
“Shall we go to the theatre?”
She suggested going to the theatre
She suggested that we (should) go to the theatre
“Let’s not argue again,” he said.
He suggested not arguing again
He suggested that they should not argue again.
REPORTING SUGGESTIONS:

13. We use these Reporting Verbs:
beg, ask, demand, request + (not) to
(they usually take an Indirect Object)
The word “please” is omitted.
“Can I go out tonight, mum, please?” The boy begged.
The boy begged to go out that night.
“John, don’t open the window, please” I said
I asked /requested/begged John not to open the window.
“Can you let me use your phone, please?” I asked my
neighbour.
I asked my neighbour to let me use her phone.
“Can I use your phone?” I asked my neighbour
I asked my neighbour if I could use her phone OR
To use her phone
REPORTING REQUESTS

14. Agree, refuse, offer, promise, threaten
+ To Infinitive:
Ann: Would you wait half an hour?
Tom: All right
Tom agreed to wait half an hour.
Chris: Would you lend me another €50?
David: No, I won´t lend you any more money
David refused ...
Accuse of, admit, apologize for, deny, insist on
+ Gerund
You took my money! He accused her of ...
I didn’t steal it! He denied ...
I am sorry I’m late  She apologized for ...
Let me pay, please  She insisted on ...
Other Verbs & Structures: