Reported+Speech

- tells us what people said.

**Reporting verbs **
**Tell** and **say** are similar, but there are differences. - After **tell**, we normally say who is spoken to. We do not put to before the object. e.g. I **told the assistant** that I wanted size 8. - After **say**, we don’t have to say who is spoken. If we do, we put **to** before the object. e.g. I **said (to the assistant)** that I wanted size 8. - **Tell** means inform or instruct. It can’t introduce questions. e.g. I said to her ‘What are you doing?’ (NOT I told her ‘What are you doing?’) - **Say** can’t normally be used before an infinitive. e.g. I told him to hurry up. (NOT I said to him to hurry up) - **Ask** is used to report questions He **asked** me what time I would come.

A large number of reporting verbs indicate the function of the original speech.

‘You should stop smoking.’ He advised her to stop smoking. (advice) ‘If you do that again, I’ll call the police.’ He threatened to call the police. (warning)

There are several different patterns used after reporting verbs:


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb only‘I’m really sorry.’ → She apologized. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Agree, apologise, refuse ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb + (that) clause‘I hacked into the company’s accounts system.’ → He admitted (that) he had hacked into the company’s accounts system. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Accept, acknowledge, add, admit, advise, agree, announce, answer*, argue, assert, assume, believe, boast, comment, complain, concede, conclude, confess, continue*, decide, declare, deny, doubt, exclaim, expect, explain, foresee, imagine, imply, insist, know, mention, notice, observe, point out, predict, promise, protest, recommend, remark, repeat, reply*, report, respond, reveal, say, shout*, state, suggest, vow, whisper(* = that is obligatory) ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb + object + that clause‘Don’t worry. You’ll arrive on time.’ → She reassured me that I would arrive on time. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Advise, (re)assure, inform, remind, tell, warn ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb + to infinitive‘We’ll pick up the children, if you like.’ → They offered to pick up the children. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Agree, demand, guarantee, offer, propose, refuse, swear, threaten, volunteer, vow ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb (+ optional object) + to infinitive‘Please, can I use the car?’ → She asked (me) to use the car. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ask, beg, expect, promise ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb + object + to infinitive‘You shouldn’t say anything.’ → I advised him not to say anything. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Advise, allow, challenge, command, compel, encourage, expect, forbid, force, implore, instruct, invite, order, permit, persuade, remind, request, tell, urge, warn ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb + object + to infinitive + complement‘Mohammed Ali was the greatest boxer ever.’ → She considers Mohammed Ali to have been the greatest boxer ever. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Acknowledge, assume, believe, claim, consider, declare, expect, feel, find, presume, suppose, think, understand ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb + -ing form‘I didn’t do it.’ → He denied doing it. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Admit, apologise for, decide on, deny, mention, recommend, regret, report, suggest ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Verb + object + preposition + -ing form‘You forged the cheques, didn’t you?’ → They accused me of forging the cheques. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Accuse sb of, blame sb for, congratulate sb on, thank sb for ||

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">present time **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When we report things happening now, or general facts, or give messages, or report something we are reading, we use a present tense reporting verb, and do not backshift tenses into the past. Note that for written texts we report what the text 'says'.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'I'm going to wait for you.' He **says** he'**s going** to wait for us.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'Fifty people were injured.' It **says** here that fifty people **were injured.**

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">past time with tense changes **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When reporting what people said, we use a past tense reporting verb and we backshift the tenses following into the past.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'We'**re thinking** it over.' She **said** they **were thinking** it over.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had an accident.' He told me he'd had an accident.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'We '**II** let you know.' They **said** they **would** let me know.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Note that both **past simple** and **present perfect** become **past perfect**.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">'I'**ve had** an idea.' She **said** she'**d had** an idea.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Past tenses are changed to past perfect tenses after past reporting verbs, but only if this is necessary in order to make the time relations clear. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Compare:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I **saw** Penny a couple of days ago. Dinosaurs **were** around for 250 million years

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In his letter, he said he'**d seen** Penny a couple of days before.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This guy on TV said dinosaurs **were** around for 250 million years.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">facts and states **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When we use a past tense reporting verb, a continuing state is not back-shifted, though if we use back-shift this is not wrong.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'Reindeer **can** swim really well.' <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He told us that reindeer **can** swim really well.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He told us that reindeer **could** swim really well.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If we do use back-shift, it may be necessary to use a time phrase to make the time reference clear.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She said she was unhappy in her job at that time. ( = unhappy in the past)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She said she was unhappy in her job at the moment ( = unhappy now)

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">modals and conditionals **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Can, will I shall (future) and may change to could, would and might.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 'I'll be back on Friday.' He said he would be back on Friday.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I may be late.' She said she might be late.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shall in requests etc changes to should. See also wh-questions below. 'What shall we do?' They wanted to know what they should do '
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Would, should, ought to, could, might, used to remain unchanged. Must is often changed to had to, but can remain unchanged, or be changed to would have to if there is future reference.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'You must be more careful in future.'

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She told me I must be I had to be I would have to be more careful in future.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• First conditional sentences are usually changed, but not second or third conditional. **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">If you're late, they won't let you in.' (first conditional)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He said that if I was late, they wouldn't let me in.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you'd brought a map, we wouldn't have got lost' (third conditional)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She said that if I had brought a map, we wouldn't have got lost' <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">reporting imperatives: tell and ask <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We use tell (order, command, forbid) to report orders and ask (beg, urge) to report requests. 'Stop what you are doing!' She told me to stop what I was doing. 'Please don 't go.' He asked me to stay

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">no change **

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">when we report a narrative we need not change past simple to past perfect - "I was standing at the bus stop, and I saw everything happened," he said. - He said he was standing at the bus stop and saw everything happened.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> when we report facts
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">when we report quotations


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">changes of viewpoint **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">References to time, place and specific reference usually change.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 'Bring this ticket with you tomorrow.'

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He told me to bring the ticket with me the next day 'Give that to me ' He told me to give it to him 'I'll see you here in the morning.' He said he would see me there the next morning


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">reported yes /no questions **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes/no questions are reported using **if** / **whether**. There is no inversion or auxiliary do/ did. If the auxiliary have is used in the question it becomes had. The same backshift rules apply as for statements. There is no question mark.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'Do you like Japanese food?' **She asked me if/ whether I liked Japanese food**.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'Have you finished?' **They asked me if/ whether I had finished.**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We prefer **whether** before or, especially in a formal style. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I enquired whether she was coming by road or by air.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">reported wh-questions **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• We form reported wh-questions without inversion or auxiliary do/ did. Auxiliary have becomes had.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 'What's the time?' He asked me what the time was.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'Where have you been? She asked me where I had been.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Polite requests beginning could/ would are not back shifted into the past after a past tense reporting <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">verb.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'Could you help me?' she asked.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She asked me if I could help her/ to help her.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It may be possible to report the request rather than the actual words of the request. 'Could you tell me where the station is?' He asked me for directions to / the way to the station.

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