Reported speech (he said that)

REPORTED SPEECH
(HE SAID THAT)
a cura della prof.ssa Domitilla Gerini
LOOK AT THIS SITUATION:
“I’m feeling ill.”
IF YOU WANT TO TELL SOMEBODY WHAT
SARAH SAID THERE ARE TWO WAYS OF DOING
THIS:
you can repeat
Sarah’s words
(direct speech)
Sarah said, “I’m
feeling ill”
you can use reported
speech:
Sarah said that she was
feeling ill.
IMPORTANT RULES
COMPARE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:
Sarah said,
“ I
am feeling ill ” (direct)
Sarah said that she was feeling ill (reported)
when we report what someone else said:
1.
2.
3.
the personal pronoun changes
we are usually reporting at a later time so we use the
reporting verb (say, tell …) in the past tense
and we normally change the tense used by the original
speaker, it moves one tense back (see table on the
following slide)
TENSE CHANGES IN REPORTED SPEECH - 1
Original statement
Reported statement
present simple
“I want to buy a new car”
past simple
He said (that) he wanted to buy a new
car
present continuous
“The sun is shining”
past continuous
He said (that) the sun was shining
past simple
“There was a terrible storm”
past perfect
He said (that) there had been a terrible
storm
present perfect
“I haven’t seen her for a long time”
past perfect
He said (that) he hadn’t seen her for a
long time
imperative
“Don’t go away!”
infinitive
He told me not to go away
TENSE CHANGES IN REPORTED SPEECH - 2
Original statement
Reported statement
be going to
“I’m going to win”
was going to
He said (that) he was going to win
will
“I will spend two hours in a bath”
would
He said (that) he’d (he would) spend two
hours in a bath
can
“I can’t find my keys”
could
He said (that) he couldn’t find his keys
may
“I may win”
might
He said (that) he might win
must
“I must get my hair cut”
must/had to (see slide 9)
He said (that) he had to get his hair cut
… BUT…
These verbs do not change when they are reported at a
later time:
Could
 Would
 Might
 Ought to
 Used to


and verbs in the past perfect
See the following table for examples
EXAMPLES – VERBS THAT DO NOT CHANGE
Original statement
Reported statement
could
“I could ran faster once”
could
He said (that) he could run faster once
would
“I would phone her if I had her number”
would
He said (that) he would phone her if he had
her number
might
“I might look for another job”
might
He said (that) he might look for another job
ought to
“You ought to smoke less”
ought to
He said (that) you ought to smoke less
used to
“She used to be a good guitarist once”
used to
He said (that) she used to be a good guitarist
once
past perfect
I hadn’t expected the storm
past perfect
He said (that) he hadn’t expected the storm
MUST OR HAD TO?
When we report must, we can use either must or had to
in the reported speech, but had to is more common
Example:
Kate: I must buy some fruit”
Kate said she must/had to buy some
fruit
BUT BE CAREFUL!


We use must, not had to, when we report :
a negative sentence
Ex.: Paul “You mustn’t tell Sally our secret”
Paul said we
mustn’t tell Sally our secret
or a deduction
Sarah: “Jim must be tired after the flight”
Sarah said Jim must
be tired after the flight
REFERENCES TO TIME - 1
BE CAREFUL:
expressions of time also change…
Original statement
Reported statement
now
“I’ll do it now”
at that moment/ at that time/ then
She said (that) she would do it at that
moment
today
“I’m not working today”
that day
She said (that) she wasn’t working
that day
tonight
“There’s a party tonight”
that night
She said (that) there was a party that
night
tomorrow
“I’ll call him tomorrow”
the next day/ the following day
She said (that) she would call him the
following day
REFERENCES TO TIME - 2
Original statement
Reported statement
yesterday
“I saw Alex yesterday”
the day before/ the previous day
She said (that) she had seen
Alex the day before
last week
“I had an exam last week”
the week before/ the previous
week
She said she had had an exam
the previous week
ago
“They arrived two hours ago”
before/ earlier/ previously
She said (that) they had arrived
two hours earlier
… as well as REFERENCES TO PLACE:
Original statement
Reported statement
here
There
“I saw him here yesterday”
She said (that) she had seen
him there the day before
REPORTING QUESTIONS - 1

For yes/ no question we use IF or WHETHER
Examples
Direct speech: “Is the weather good?”
Reported speech : Rachel asked whether the
weather was good
as you can see
questions are reported USING THE WORD ORDER OF A
STATEMENT – WITH THE VERB AFTER THE SUBJECT - rather
than that of a question
We don’t say: Rachel asked whether was the weather good
but:
Rachel asked whether the weather was good
SUBJECT VERB
REPORTING QUESTIONS - 2

Questions with question words (who, what, etc.)
keep these words when they are reported and
use the word order of a statement (with the
verb after the subject)
Examples
Direct speech:“How do you feel?”
Reported speech: Rachel asked James how he
felt (not Rachel asked James how did he feel)
VERBS USED FOR REPORTING (TO SAY)
We often use say to report what somebody said
He said (that) he was going to win
…but... pay attention:
If there is an object (a noun or a pronoun)
say must be followed by to:
He said to me (that) he was going to win (not he said me)
VERBS USED FOR REPORTING (TO TELL)
When we use tell to report what someone said, it
is always followed by an object without to:
He told them (that) he was going to win
(not he told to them …, he told that …)
REPORTING IN THE SAME TENSE
If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g
says), we use the same tenses as the original
speaker
Example:
Tom “I’ve missed the bus so I’ll be a bit late
Tom says he’s missed the bus so he’ll be a bit late
EXCEPTIONS TO THE GENERAL RULE - 1
If the reporting verb is in the past (e.g. said), we
sometimes use the same tenses as the original
speaker if the situation is still true:
Example 1:
Robert “I have three sister”
There are two possibilities when reporting this sentence:
Robert said he has three sisters
or
Robert said he had three sisters
EXCEPTIONS TO THE GENERAL RULE - 2
Example 2:
Carlo: “I’m getting married in June”
If we report what Carlo said before June we can say:
Carlo said he is getting married in June
or
Carlo said he was getting married in June
OTHER REPORTING VERBS
ORDERS and REQUESTS are reported using reporting
verbs such as:
 ask
 order
 invite
OFFERS, ADVICE and PROMISES are reported using the
following verbs:
 offer
 advise
 promise
SUGGESTIONS are reported using:
 suggest
 recommend
 propose
AND NOW…
GIVE IT A TRY!
Try to turn the following sentences into reported
speech and then check your answers!
1. Jane : “ There was an interesting documentary about
climate change yesterday”
1. Jane said there had been an interesting documentary
about climate change the previous day.
2. Susan : “Jim, where will you be tonight?”
2. Susan asked Jim where he would be that night.
3. Pete “ Mary, are you going to meet your friends here next
Saturday?”
3. Pete asked Mary if/ whether she was going to meet her friends
there the following Saturday.