Reported speech. Right? Well, what is reported speech? What "to report" means is to say something that has been said before. So really what we're doing is we're repeating something that somebody said earlier. And that's what reported speech is - we're reporting what we can call direct speech.
Okay. So here's a little example for you of reported speech. In direct speech, John says, "My name is John". Now, if we reported that, it is quite likely that we would say, he said that his name was John. He said that his name was John. Now, that may seem a little strange, because I said his name was John, and presumably, he hasn't changed his name. But it's very common in most languages (that) when we report what somebody has said, to use the verb after that in the past. Because I say, he said that, and it seems natural to continue using the past tense. He said that his name was John. But it is correct, of course, to say he said that his name is John, because his name is john. Both are correct.
Now, let's see what happens with reported speech. For example, Mary says, I'm going to Madrid, I'm going to Madrid. And a week later, we may say that Mary said she was going to Madrid, or Mary said that she was going to Madrid. In this case, we can't put it into the present tense, because she has already gone to Madrid. So it is past tense.
So what we do in reported speech, is to put the verb one step further into the past. If we say something in present tense, we'll put it in the past. If we say something in the past tense, we'll put it into the past perfect. So really, it's quite easy to know which tense we should use. Present simple, goes to past simple, present continuous goes to past continuous, present perfect simple to past perfect simple.
So let's look at some examples. Dave said one day, I've seen that film. So we can report that direct speech by saying Dave said that he had seen that film. I have seen (changes to) he had seen that film. Of course, if I say something, or somebody says something in direct speech in past perfect, well, then I can't go any further back in the past. So Steve said, Oh, I, I had been there. I had been there. So Steve said that he had been there in the same tense because we can't go further back in the past.
Now, other things that change in reported speech are the adverbs. For example, adverbs referring to time. I'm going tomorrow. He said that he was going the next day or the following day. But we must use common sense here. Because if I'm saying what he said, and it's the same day, I'm going tomorrow, well, then I can say, he said that he was going tomorrow. But of course, if we go further forward, maybe a few days later, then I have to say, he said that he was going the next day, or the following day, I'm playing football next week, he said that he was playing football the following week. I went to see my mother last week, he said that he had gone to see his mother the week before, the week before.
Other words that change are those referring to place. Now, again, we're assuming here that the person has moved from one place to another, if somebody says, Oh, it's a lovely place here - is really nice. I like it here. I like it here. So we could say, he said that he liked it here. Or even if it's the same time, he said that he likes it here. But if we go to another place, and another time, then we would say, he said that he liked it there. He said that he liked it there. So these words can change, if we change the time, and we change the place.
And other words that change are words like this will change to that. And these will change to those. And today will become that today. And tomorrow, the following day, yesterday, the day before, next week, the following week, last week, the week before. Now will become then, two days ago will become two days before.
Now we will often use modal auxiliaries. And we report them by using the past tense of those modal auxiliaries. So we've got those words like can, for example, modal auxiliary, like can, I can speak English. He said that he could speak English, because the past tense of can is could. I'll see you next week. She said that she would see him the following week. She said that she would see him the following week. Because would is the past tense of will.
Other modal auxiliaries that change would be could we change the could. That's not a change? Is it? Well, it is really, because could can refer to the future (or the present). Like, could I go to the bathroom please? So the reported speech would be he asked if he could go to the bathroom. And the first one really is referring to something in the future or asking if you can do something now could I go to the bathroom? And he asked if he could go to the bathroom is a could in the past.
And likewise with would. Ah, I would love to travel the world. He said that he would love to travel the world. So that's would, referring to, well, something he would like to do. Maybe in the future. The would in the reported speech, talking about the past the past tense of would is would*.
And must, well we can use must in the reported speech or we can use had to, had to. I must do my homework. He said that he had to do his homework. Or he said that he must do his homework.
Should changes to should and may changes to might. I may go to the countryside this weekend for a lovely walk in the hills. He said that he might go to the countryside this weekend for a lovely walk in the hills. And might changes to might. I might go. He said that he might go.
Now, the other thing about reported speech is when we report questions. Is your name John? She asked him if his name was John. So we could say these are closed questions, a question which requires yes or no. Is your name John? Yes or no? She asked him if his name was John. Are you going out this weekend? she asked him if he was going out that weekend.
And then we have another type of question, which are open questions. For example, how much are the potatoes? They asked how much the potatoes were. What you have to
be careful about here is the inversion of the question. How much are the potatoes? So the verb to be comes before the subject the potatoes. But in the reported speech, it will be the other way around. Because it's not really a question. They asked how much the potatoes were, and not (they asked) how much were the potatoes. Don't make that mistake. Where can we go tonight? He asked where they could go. And not where could they go. When
did you see that film? she asked when he had seen that film.
Now the other thing to remember is when we use imperatives, when we use imperatives, like: go away, come here, sit down, or instructions: do it like this, cut the paper with the scissors. Now here, we use the verb in the to form of the infinitive with to go away - he told him to go away. She told him to go away. Sit down and be quiet. She told the child to sit down and (to) be quiet or to be quiet. We don't have to repeat the to. If we have two verbs in the same sentence - she told the child to sit down and be quiet. Please take these things into the kitchen. She told him to take the things into the kitchen. Okay, thank you very much Goodbye for now.
*I'm adding a note here about "would". In the example "I would love to travel the world", the reported speech - if said when travelling the world was no longer possible - perhaps I've died :-( - then the reported speech would be, He said he would have loved to travel the world.
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