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Can you use REPORTED SPEECH? Grammar Lesson + Examples
mmmEnglish
Overview
This video explains reported speech, also known as indirect speech, which is used to convey what someone else has said. It details the four key steps involved: adding a reporting verb, changing pronouns, adjusting time and place words, and backshifting the verb tense. The lesson covers how to report statements, questions (both yes/no and WH- questions), and also touches on reporting advice, instructions, requests, promises, and offers, providing examples and emphasizing the importance of practice for mastering this grammatical concept.
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Chapters
- Reported speech (or indirect speech) is used to relay what someone else said.
- It differs from direct speech, which uses the exact words spoken, enclosed in quotation marks.
- Reported speech requires changes to verb tense, pronouns, and time/place words to reflect the passage of time since the original statement.
- Mastering reported speech is crucial for storytelling, discussing the past, and confirming information accurately.
Understanding reported speech allows you to accurately convey conversations and information, which is essential for clear communication and storytelling.
Direct: She said, 'I woke up late this morning.' Reported: She said that she had woken up late that morning.
- Step 1: Add a reporting verb (e.g., 'said', 'told') and often the conjunction 'that'.
- Step 2: Change pronouns to match the new speaker's perspective (e.g., 'my' to 'his').
- Step 3: Adjust time and place words (e.g., 'next week' to 'the following week', 'here' to 'there').
- Step 4: Backshift the verb tense by one degree (e.g., present simple to past simple).
Following these four steps systematically ensures that the meaning of the original statement is preserved while adapting it to a new context.
Direct: 'My holiday starts next week.' Reported: He said that his holiday started the following week.
- The most common reporting verbs are 'say' (intransitive) and 'tell' (transitive, requires an object).
- Future tenses with 'will' change to 'would'; 'be going to' changes to 'was/were going to'.
- Present tenses shift to their past equivalents (e.g., present simple to past simple).
- Past simple shifts to past perfect; past continuous shifts to past perfect continuous.
- Past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses generally remain unchanged.
Correctly backshifting tenses is the most complex part of reported speech, but it's vital for indicating that the reported information is from the past.
Direct: 'I was washing the dishes.' Reported: He said that he had been washing the dishes.
- Do not backshift if the reported information is still current or true.
- Do not backshift for ongoing states or conditions (e.g., 'I love my family').
- Do not backshift if reporting something that happened very recently.
- Exceptions often use more formal reporting verbs like 'announced' or 'reported'.
Knowing when *not* to backshift is as important as knowing when to backshift, as it prevents misrepresenting the timeliness or ongoing nature of information.
Direct: 'They're moving offshore.' Reported: The company told their staff that they're moving offshore (because it's current).
- Use question reporting verbs like 'ask', 'inquire', or 'wonder'.
- For yes/no questions, introduce the reported question with 'if' or 'whether'.
- For WH- questions, keep the original question word (who, what, where, etc.).
- In reported questions, revert to statement word order (subject-verb-object) instead of inverted question order.
- All other rules (pronoun changes, time/place words, tense backshifting) still apply.
Reporting questions accurately requires changing the structure from direct questions to statements, making them easier to integrate into a narrative.
Direct: 'Are you going on holiday?' Reported: He asked if we were going on holiday.
- Advice, instructions, requests, promises, and offers can also be reported.
- These often use a structure with a reporting verb + object + to-infinitive (e.g., 'advised me not to go').
- Verbs like 'ask', 'advise', 'instruct', and 'tell' are common for commands and advice.
- Verbs like 'offer' and 'promise' are used for offers and promises, without an object before the to-infinitive.
- Using these structures makes language more precise and interesting, especially in writing.
Expanding reported speech beyond simple statements to include advice, requests, and offers allows for richer and more nuanced communication.
Direct: 'Do you need help?' Reported: She offered to help me.
Key takeaways
- Reported speech is essential for recounting conversations accurately by adapting direct quotes.
- The four core components of changing direct to reported speech are reporting verbs, pronouns, time/place expressions, and verb tenses.
- Tense backshifting involves moving a verb tense one step into the past, with specific rules for present and past tenses.
- Exceptions to tense backshifting occur when the reported information is currently true, an ongoing state, or very recent.
- Reporting questions requires using 'if' or 'whether' for yes/no questions and retaining the question word for WH- questions, always reverting to statement word order.
- Beyond statements and questions, reported speech can effectively convey advice, instructions, requests, promises, and offers using specific verb patterns.
- Consistent practice is the most effective way to master the nuances of reported speech.
Key terms
Reported SpeechIndirect SpeechDirect SpeechReporting VerbBackshiftPronounTenseStatementQuestionWH- Question
Test your understanding
- What is the fundamental difference between direct speech and reported speech?
- Explain the four essential steps required to convert a direct statement into reported speech.
- How does the tense of a verb typically change when moving from direct speech to reported speech, and why is this change necessary?
- Under what circumstances is it appropriate *not* to backshift the verb tense in reported speech?
- How does the structure of reporting a yes/no question differ from reporting a WH- question in indirect speech?