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Use Quotation Marks in Direct Speech. Someone Said But Not The Exact Words. We Do Not Use Quotation Marks in Reported Speech

The document discusses direct and reported speech. [1] Direct speech uses quotation marks to report the exact words spoken, while reported speech conveys the general meaning without quotation marks. [2] Pronouns, verbs, time/place references are adjusted in reported speech according to the context. [3] Reporting verbs like "say" and "tell" are used to indicate who was spoken to. In summary, the document outlines the key differences and adjustments made between direct and reported speech.

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Ieva Vaičikauskaitė
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439 views

Use Quotation Marks in Direct Speech. Someone Said But Not The Exact Words. We Do Not Use Quotation Marks in Reported Speech

The document discusses direct and reported speech. [1] Direct speech uses quotation marks to report the exact words spoken, while reported speech conveys the general meaning without quotation marks. [2] Pronouns, verbs, time/place references are adjusted in reported speech according to the context. [3] Reporting verbs like "say" and "tell" are used to indicate who was spoken to. In summary, the document outlines the key differences and adjustments made between direct and reported speech.

Uploaded by

Ieva Vaičikauskaitė
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Reported Speech

Direct speech is the exact words someone said. We


use quotation marks in Direct speech. He said „I`ll wait for you“
Reported speech is the exact meaning of what
someone said but not the exact words. We do not use He said that he would wait for me
quotation marks in Reported speech.

Say – Tell

We use say in Direct speech. We also use say in Reported speech when say is not followed by the person
the words were spoken to. We use tell in Reported speech when tell is followed by the person the words
were spoken to.
Direct speech: She said to me ‘‘I am very tired.“
Reported speech: She told me that she was very tired
Reported speech: She said that she was very tired.
Expressions with say say good morning etc, say something, say one`s prayers, say so
Expressions with tell Tell the truth, tell a lie,tell a secret, tell a story, tell the time, tell the difference,
tell sb one`s name,tell sb the way,tell one from another

Reported Statements

1. To report ststements we use a reporting verb (say, tell, advise,explain,promise etc.) followed by a
that-clause. In spoken English that may be omitted.

2. Pronouns and possessive adjektives change according to the meaning.

Direct speech: He said „I can`t fix it myself“


Reported speech: He said he couldn`t fix it himself.
3. Certain words change as follows: Note that:
Direct speech: this/these, here, come
Reported speech: that/those, there, go Can changes to could
„This is my book,“ he said. Will - - would
He said that was his book. May - - might
Must - - had to

4. When the reporting verb is in the Past the verb tenses change as follows:
Direct speech Reported speech
Present Simple Past Simple
„I can`t remember his name,“ she said. She said she couldn`t remember his name.

Present Continuous Past Continuous


„She is speaking to Joe,“ he said. He said she was speaking to Joe.
They are speaking to Joe,“ he said. He said they were speaking to Joe.
Present Perfect Past Perfect
„I`ve bought you some flowers,“ she said. She said she had bought me some flowers.
She has bought you some flowers,“ she said.
Past Simple Past Perfect
I bought you some flowers yesterday,“ she said. She said she had bought me some flowers
„He lost all the money,“ she said. She said that he had lost all the money.
Future Conditional
„I will see you later,“ he said. He said he would see me later.
5. Time expressions change as follows:

Direct speech Reported speech


tonight that night
today that day
this that
these those
now then
Yesterday the day before
last week the week before
Two days ago Two days before
Tomorrow the next day
here there

„ He arrived last week,“ she said She said that he had arrived the week before.

6. There are no changes in verb tenses when the reporting verb is in the Present, Future or Present
Perfect tense or when the sentence expresses something which is always true.

Direct speech She`ll say,“I can do it.“ „The earth is round,“


said the teacher
Reported speech She`ll say(that) she can do it. The teacher said(that) the earth is
round.

7. The Past continuous does not usually change.


Direct speech: „I was travelling to Brighton while she was flying to the USA,“ he said.
Reported speech: He said he was travelling to Brighton while she was flying to the USE.

8. Certain modal verbs do not change in Reported speech. These are: would,could,might,should,ought
to.
Direct speech: „He might visit us,“ Mum said.
Reported speech: Mum said that he might visit us.

Reported Questions

In Reported questions we use affirmative word order and the question mark is omitted. To report a
wh- question, we use ask followed by the question word (who, what,etc.). When there is no question
word in direct questions, if or whether is used in Reported questions. Pronouns , possessive adjectives,
tenses, time expressions etc. change as in statements.

Direct speech: He asked,“What time is it?“ He asked me, „Do you know her?“
Reported speech: He asked what time it was. He asked me if/whether I knew her.

Reported Commands/Requests/Suggestions

To report commands, requests, suggestions etc we use a reporting verb


(order,ask,tell,advise,ofter,warn,beg,sugges etc) followed by to –infinitive or not to –infinitive.

suggest is followed by the –ing form. Eg. He said,“Shall we go by bus?“ He suggested going by bus)

Direct speech: He said to me,“Stop talking!” He said to me, „Don`t touch it!“
Reported speech: He told me to stop talking. He told me not to touch it.
DIRECT INDIRECT

Can

‘‘I can swim‘‘ He said that he could swim.

May

‘‘He may come in. ‘‘ He said that he might come in.

Will

‘‘I will make a cake . ‘‘ He said that he would make a cake .

shall

Has got

‘‘She has got a cat. ‘‘ He said that she had a cat.

Have got

Must

‘‘I must go. ‘‘ He said that he had to go.

PRESENT PAST

‘‘ I eat some bread every day. ‘‘ She said that she ate some bread every day.

‘‘She eats some bread every day. ‘‘ He said that she ate some bread every day.

‘‘ I am seeing my doctor today. ‘‘ He said that he was seeing his doctor that day.

‘‘ They are going to the cinema tonight. He said that they were going to the cinema that night.

PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT


PRESENT PERFECT
‘‘ I watched an interesting film He said that he had watched an interesting film
yesterday.‘‘ the day before.
I have watched an interesting film. He said that he had watched an interesting film.

It has snowed this week. He said that it had snowed that week.

PAST CONTINUOUS ( no changes) PAST CONTINUOUS

‘‘I was driving when the police stopped He said that he was driving when the police stopped
me.‘‘ him.

Where do you live? He asked me where I lived.


When did I get up yesterday? He asked me when he had got the day before.

Do you like apples? He asked me if liked apples.

What are you doing tomorrow? He asked me what I was doing the next day.

Did he pass his exam last week? He asked if he had passed his exam the week before.

Will you come? He asked me if I would come.

When will you come? He asked me when I would come.

Does he live in Paris? He asked me if he lived in Paris.

When did you buy this computer? He asked me when I had bought that computer.

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