STATEMENTS IN REPORTED SPEECH

THE REPORTED SPEECH
A – STATEMENTS IN REPORTED SPEECH
I.Look at these examples :
1. He said , “ I will leave here tomorrow .”
He said that he would leave there the following day .
(1) (2) (3)
( 4)
(5)
(5)
2. Mary said to me , “ I saw them at this place “
Mary told me that she had seen them at that place .
(1)
(2) (3)
(4)
(3)
(5)
II.Remember to make these five changes :
1)Repeat the introducing verb SAY (EX 1 ) or change SAY TO to TELL (EX
2)
2)Change the comma (,) or colon (:) to THAT and omit the quotation marks
(“…”)
3)Change the personal pronouns and possessive adjectives if necessary ,
according to the meaning of the sentence
4)Change the verb in the direct speech one step into the past if the
introducing verb
( usually TO SAY) is in any past tense .
Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
• Simple present -------------> Simple past
• Present continuous
Past continuous

• Present perfect
Past perfect
• Simple past
Past perfect
• Past continuous
Past perfect continuous
• Simple future
Future in the past
• Present conditional
Perfect conditional
*The Past perfect and the perfect conditional are not change .
5)Change the words showing Place and Time ,if the place and time are
different , so that the meaning is quite clear .
• This -> that ,
these -> those
• Here -> there
Now -> then
• Ago -> before(earlier)
• Today ->that day
-Tonight ->that night
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• Tonorrow -> The next day (the following day / the day after )
• Yesterday -> the day before ( the previous day )
• Next week/month/year ->The next week/month/year (the following
week/…)
• Last night -> the night before ( the previous night )
*GENERAL NOTES :
a)THAT may be omitted from the reported sentences .

She said ,”I have not finished my exam paper “
=>She said (that) she had not finished her exam paper .
b)It is not always necessary to express the words showing place and time .
She said ,”I’m coming to see you now “
=>She said she was coming ti see me .(THEN is not necessary .)
c)MUST is often changed to HAD TO ; MUST NOT (MUSTN’T),which
expresses a prohibition, remains unchanged ;NEED NOT (NEEDN’T) is
changed to DID NOT HAVE TO
e.g :The teacher said ,”you must do the exercises carefully “
=>The teacher said that we had to do the exercises carefully .
e.g :”You mustn’t play ball in the street “ Said the policeman to the
boys .
=>The policeman told the boys that they mustn’t play ball in the
street .
d)The simple past in the direct speech is not changed if the meaning is quite
clear .
e.g:Tom said to me ,”My mother died of cancer in 1985 “
=>Tom told me that his mother died of cancer in 1985 .
e)If the direct speech expresses a general truth ,the tenses of the verb can
remain unchanged in the reported speech .
e.g :He said ,” The earth revolves around the sun .”
=>He said that the earth revolves around the sun .
*Change the following sentences from direct to reported speech .
1. Paulo said ,”I want to buy a gift for my father .”
2. “The store isn’t going to open on New Year’s Day “The man informed us.
3. She said,”I spent a summer here in this village.”
4. The students said,”We’ll be sitting for our exams next Monday .

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5. The nurse said ,”The patient in this room did not obey your orders
,Doctor.”
6. “The house will seem so empty without you and Tim”Mr.Brown said to
Susan
7. “If she knew the truth,she would be happy.”David told me .
8. The manager said,”John! You must finish the work by 5 o’clock”
9. Our teacher said:” The second world war broke out in 1939.”
10.Mother said,”I think it won’t rain tomorrow.”
THE END

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