REPORTED SPEECH
| 1) ORDERS /REQUESTS 2) STATEMENTS (AFFIRMATIVE-NEGATIVE) 3) QUESTIONS a) YES-NO QUESTIONS b) WH-QUESTIONS |
1) ORDERS (told-ordered-commanded)/REQUESTS (asked-requested)
| Affirmative commands | Negative commands |
| Father (me): "Do your homework!." | Teacher (them). "Don't talk to your neighbour!" |
| Father told me to do my homework. | The teacher ordered them not to talk to their neighbour. |
| Affirmative requests | Negative requests |
| Helen (her sister) "Open the window, please!" | Billy (the people) : “Don´t smoke here, please? |
| Helen asked her sister to open the window. | Billy asked the people not to smoke there |
| Frank: (his wife) :”Can you help me, please? |
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| Frank asked his wife to help him |
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2) STATEMENTS (said)
| Backshift of tenses | |
| from | to |
| Simple Present | Simple Past |
| Simple Past | Past Perfect |
| Present Perfect | |
| Past Perfect | |
| will | would |
| Progressive forms | |
| am/are/is | was/were |
| was/were | had been |
| has been | |
| had been | |
| DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH | |
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| Peter: "I work in the garden." | Peter said that he worked in the garden. | |
| Peter: "I worked in the garden." | Peter said that he had worked in the garden. | |
| Peter: "I have worked in the garden." | ||
| Peter: "I had worked in the garden." | ||
| Peter: "I will work in the garden." | Peter said that he would work in the garden. | |
| Peter: "I can work in the garden." | Peter said that he could work in the garden. | |
| Peter: "I may work in the garden." | Peter said that he might work in the garden. | |
| Peter: "I would work in the garden." | Peter said that he would work in the garden. | |
| Progressive forms | ||
| Peter: "I'm working in the garden." | Peter said that he was working in the garden. | |
| Peter: "I was working in the garden." | Peter said that he had been working in the garden. | |
| Peter: "I have been working in the garden." | ||
| Peter: "I had been working in the garden." | ||
If the sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it as well.
Peter: "I worked in the garden yesterday."
Peter said that he had worked in the garden the day before.
Shifting of expressions of time
| DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH |
| this (evening) | that (evening) |
| today/this day | that day |
| these (days) | those (days) |
| now | Then, at that moment |
| (a week) ago | (a week) before |
| last weekend | the weekend before / the previous weekend |
| here | there |
| next (week) | the following (week) |
| tomorrow | the next/following day |
Note:
In some cases the backshift of tenses is not necessary, e.g. when statements are still true.
John: "My brother is at Leipzig university."
John said that his brother was at Leipzig university. or
John said that his brother is at Leipzig university.
or
Mandy: "The sun rises in the East."
Mandy said that the sun rose in the East. or
Mandy said that the sun rises in the East.
3)QUESTIONS (asked-wanted to know)
a)
| YES-NO QUESTIONS: …asked + if + subject + verb
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| DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH | |
| Peter: (me)"Do you play football?"
| Peter asked me if I played football | |
| Millie: (Peter): “Have you finished your work?” | Millie asked if Peter had finished his work
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b)
| WH-QUESTIONS: …asked + wh-word + subject + verb
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| DIRECT SPEECH | REPORTED SPEECH | |
| Peter: "When do you play football?" | Peter asked me when I played football.
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| Helen : “Where did they spend their holidays? “
| Helen asked where they had spent their holidays
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