DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH |
Present Simple | Past Simple | |
She said, "I am happy". He said: "I work everyday". | She said that she was happy. He said that he worked everyday. | |
Present Progressive (Continuous) | Past Progressive (Continuous) | |
You said, "They are swimming". | You said that they were swimming. | |
Present Perfect Simple | Past Perfect Simple | |
He said, "I have bought a car". | He said that he had bought a car. | |
Past Simple | Past Perfect Simple | |
He said, "I bought a hamster". | He said that he had bought a hamster. | |
Past Progressive (Continuous) | Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) | |
You said, "I was working". | You said that you had been working. | |
Future of Intention ("going to") | Past of Intention ("going to") | |
She said, "I am going to win". | She said that she was going to win. | |
Future Simple | Conditional | |
They said, "We will lose". | They said that they would lose. | |
Future Perfect | Perfect Conditional | |
She said, "I will have bought it by Friday". | She said that she would have bought it by Friday. | |
Future Progressive (Continuous) | Progressive (Continuous) Conditional | |
She said, "I will be having tea at ". | She said that she would be having tea at . | |
Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous) | Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) | |
She said, "I have been painting the ceiling". | She said that she had been painting the ceiling. |
Modal verbs
DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH |
can | could |
may | might |
must | must / had to |
IMPORTANT!!!!
However, other auxiliary verbs (could, would, should, might, ought to, used to and mustn't) have no past form and so they do not change. Some examples: |
could | DIRECT SPEECH: He said, "I could fly because the weather was fine". REPORTED SPEECH: He said he could fly because the weather was fine. |
ought to | DIRECT SPEECH: They said, "We ought to pay him a better salary". REPORTED SPEECH: They said they ought to pay him a better salary. |
used to | DIRECT SPEECH: She said, "I used to live in REPORTED SPEECH: She told me she used to live in |
SOME ADDITIONAL CHANGES
DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH |
this | that | |
these | those | |
here | there | |
now | then | |
today | that day | |
this morning | that morning | |
yesterday | the day before | |
tomorrow | the next day or the following day |
However, in reality it may be becessary to be more specific: THIS e.g. He asked, "Who does this belong to?". He asked who the book in his hand belonged to. (We don't say: "that book"; it is not very specific). HERE e.g. She said, "My father was here". She said that her father had been in the sitting room. (We don't say: "there"; it is not very specific). |
REPORTED QUESTIONS
1. Indirect questions are just a special case of reported statements. When the reporting verb is in the past the one-tense back rule applies in the same way. The difference is that we have to change the word order because the reported clause is not a question anymore. If the reported clause uses the auxiliary verb do/did, these disappear. And you must use the conjunction if ( = on the condition that; supposing that). e.g. She asked, "Do you work on Saturdays?". She asked me IF I WORKED on Saturdays. (We don't say: She asked me do you work on Saturdays). |
2. If the reported clause has an inverted verb this inversion is reversed. e.g. He asked, "Can I come?". He asked me IF HE COULD COME. e.g. Helen asked, "Can I make a phone call?". Helen asked IF SHE COULD MAKE a phone call. e.g. Jim asked, "Should I buy that book?". Jim asked IF HE SHOULD BUY that book. PLEASE, REMEMBER THIS: In colloquial style you can use the conjunction if instead of whether (pronounced as /uéder/ and also translated as "si" in Spanish), but in formal English you must use whether: "Jim asked WHETHER HE SHOULD BUY that book (OR NOT). |
3. If the direct question includes a question word (i.e. how, when, where, who, why, etc.) this question word is used in the reported question. If it does not, we use if or whether: e.g. He asked, "How old are you?". He asked me how OLD I WAS. e.g. He asked, "When is she leaving the office?". He asked when SHE WAS LEAVING the office. e.g. He asked, "Where can I leave my coat?". He asked where HE COULD LEAVE his coat. e.g. He asked, "Who is going to He asked who WAS GOING to e.g. Julie asked, "Why are you in Julie asked why I WAS in |
REPORTED REQUESTS AND COMMANDS |
REQUEST: appeal, petition, asking (pedido, solicitud, requerimiento, in Spanish) COMMAND: order (orden, in Spanish) In reported requests and commands we often use the verbs ASK (for requests) and TELL (for commands). However, these verbs are not used in the same way as in reported statements or reported questions, and they are followed by an INFINITIVE STRUCTURE: STANDARD USE: e.g. She asked, "Do you know them?" COMMANDS: She said, "Please, be quiet !!" STANDARD USE: e.g. He said, "I will come home" STANDARD USE: e.g. He said, "I will come home" COMMANDS: He ordered, "Sit down !!" Others verbs that use this INFINITIVE STRUCTURE include: |
VERBS | English | Spanish |
advise command compel expect instruct invite order persuade recommend remind request urge warn | give an advice order force, oblige look forward give instructions offer someone an invitation tell someone to do something cause someone to do something give a recommendation recall someone from memory ask for encourage notify of danger or risk | aconsejar ordenar forzar, obligar esperar instruir invitar ordenar persuadir recomendar recordar a alguien (que haga algo) solicitar alentar, estimular advertir, alertar. |
RECOMMENDATIONS |
1. Verbs such as SUGGEST, PROPOSE, RECOMMEND are used to make recommendations. If the speaker includes himself/herself in the recommended action, we use the -ING FORM (gerund) in the reported clause: e.g. Ana suggested, "Why don't we go to the park". Ana suggested going to the park. (Ana included herself in the suggestion) 2. However, if the speaker does not include himself/herself in the sugegstion, we use a "THAT" CLAUSE: e.g. Ana suggested, "Why don't you go to the park". Ana suggested that I should go to the park. (Ana didn't include herself in the suggestion) 3. With these verbs we can use the present subjunctive (e.g. "go") or should (e.g.: "should go") in the reported clause: e.g. Ana proposed that we go to the park or Ana proposed that we should go to the park |
OFFERS AND REFUSALS |
With the verbs OFFER and REFUSE we use the infinitive structure but NO indirect object: e.g. She said, "Shall I carry your bag, Tommy?". She offered to carry Tommy's bag. e.g. He said, "I won't come to the party !!". He refused to come to the party. |
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