Reported speech. Indirect questions, orders and statements, requests, exclamations.

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

pronouns

present tense verbs (3rd person singular)

place and time expressions

tenses (backshift)

Type	Example
direct speech	“I speak English.”
reported speech (no backshift)	He says that he speaks English.
reported speech (backshift)	He said that he spoke English.

Indirect questions
There's more than one way to ask a question. Indirect questions are more polite and don't need a change in word order in the main question. Indirect questions are a little more formal and polite. We use them when talking to a person we don’t know very well, or in professional situations, and their form is a little different.

Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

pronouns

present tense verbs (3rd person singular)

place and time expressions

tenses (backshift)

Also note that you have to:

transform the question into an indirect question

use the interrogative or if / whether

Type		Example
with interrogative	direct speech	“Why don’t you speak English?”
	reported speech	He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
without interrogative	direct speech	“Do you speak English?”
	reported speech	He asked me whether / if I spoke English.

Requests

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

pronouns

place and time expressions

Type	Example
direct speech	“Carol, speak English.“
reported speech	He told Carol to speak English.

An order or a request in indirect speech is expressed by an infini­tive:

She said to him, "Open the window (do not open the window)."	She told him to open the window (not to open the window).
She said to him, "Please, open the window (do not open the window)."	She asked him to open the window (not to open the window).

The choice of the verb is determined by the character of the order (request).

Exclamations. We use the verbs exclaim /say that to report exclamations which begin with ‘What a/an......’ or   ‘How........’in direct speech.

‘What an unusual design!’ he said. He exclaimed /said that it was an unusual design.

                                                       He exclaimed /said that the design was unusual.

But with exclamations such as ‘Splendid!, ‘Great!’, ‘Good!’, ‘Excellent!’, ‘Oh!’, ‘Oh dear!’ etc.

we use the expression give an exclamation of delight /disgust/ relief/ surprise, etc.

‘Wow!’ he said as he unwrapped his gift. He gave an exclamation of surprise as he unwrapped

  his gift.

Study the following examples:

They said, ‘Thank you’. They thanked us.

‘You fool!’ she said. She called him fool.

‘Happy Birthday!’ we said to Tom. We wished Tom a happy birthday.

‘Congratulations!’ they said to us. They congratulated us.

Additional Information and Exeptions

Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:

·         main clauses connected with and / but

·         tense of the introductory clause

·         reported speech for difficult tenses

·         exeptions for backshift

·         requests with must, should, ought to and let’s

E    Exercises:
Elementary:

      Exercise 1

      (Transform these sentences into Reported Speech)

      Exercise 2

      ( Transform these sentences into Reported Speech)

      Exercise 3

      ( Choose the correct ending)

      Exercise 4

      (Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary)

      Exercise 5

      (Choose the correct answer)
Exercise 6
(Short-answer quiz on Reported (Indirect) Speech

)     Exercise 7
(Complete the sentences in reported speech)                
Exercise 8
(Put in order)

      Exercise 9
(Finish the sentences using Reported speech)

Exercise 10
(Fill in all the gaps)

Intermediate:
Exercise 1
(mix and match)
Exercise 2
(Change the following sentences from direct speech to reported speech)

Exercise 3
(Complete the sentences)
Exercise 4
(Complete the sentences)
Exercise 5(Rewrite the sentences in direct speech)

Exercise 6(Complete the sentences)
Exercise 7(Make reported statements)
Exercise 8(Add the missing parts to put the questions in reported speech)
Exercise 9
(Change these direct questions into reported speech)

Exercise 10
(Choose the best (most grammatically correct) response)

Advanced:
Exercise 1
(Choose the right sentence in reported speech)
Exercise 2(Turn the sentences into the reported speech. Write down the full sentence.Don't use 'that')
Exercise3(Find the end of the sentences in the reported speech)

Exercise 4(Turn into the reported speech.The pronoun 'that' must be omitted)

Exercise 5(Complete the sentences)

T    TEST
 KEY