Grade 7 English FAL - Grammar

Reported speech

Direct speech vs reported speech (indirect speech)

• Direct speech

Direct speech refers to the exact words said by a person. To show the direct speech we put the words said inside quotation marks.

“I am making good progress in learning English,” Peter said.

the verb ‘said’ in the example above is called ‘the reporting verb’.

• Reported speech

Reported speech or indirect speech is the exact meaning of what someone said but not the exact words.

Peter said (that) he was making good progress in learning English.

Notice in the reported sentence above that quotations marks are not used. In addition, the word that can be omitted in everyday speech, especially after the verb said.

We can say:

Peter said he was making progress in learning English.

• The most common reporting verbs

The verbs say, tell and ask the most commonly used verbs in both direct and reported speech.The verbs say and tell are used to report statements, whereas ask is used to report questions and commands.

The reporting verb ‘say’ can be used with or without a personal object.

1. “I want to learn foreign languages,” she said.
2. “I want to learn foreign languages,” she said to me.
3. He asked, “Are you still working on that project?” (question).
4. “Stop eating much fatty food,” he said to me  (command) ⇒ He asked me to stop eating fatty food.

As you can see in sentence 2 above, ‘said‘ is used with a personal object (me) that is why it is followed by ‘to’.

Now, let’s turn sentence 1 above into reported speech (indirect speech).

Because the reporting verb, in direct speech, is in the past tense, in reported speech, the should go one step backwards in time.

The reported sentence (1) would look like this:

She said that she wanted to learn foreign languages.

So the present simple (want) becomes past simple (wanted). Also, the pronoun ‘I’ becomes ‘she’.

Tip: The tense in the reported part moves one step backwards in time

(but you can’t go further back than the past perfect).

Examples of direct and reported speech with different tenses:

• He said, “The food is really delicious.”

He said that the food was really delicious.

• “I have stopped lying,” he said to his father.

He told his father (that) he had stopped lying.

• “We have been studying English for hours,” she said.

She said (that) they had been studying English for hours.

Modals in reported speech:

Modal verbs also change in reported speech.

• Will ⇒ would
• Would ⇒ would
• Shall ⇒ should / would
• Can ⇒ could / would be able to
• Could ⇒ could
• May ⇒ might
• Migh ⇒ might
• Must ⇒ must / had to
• Have to ⇒ had to
• Needn’t ⇒ didn’t need to / didn’t have to
• Had better ⇒ had better

Examples of direct and reported speech with modals

1. “I can sing for long hours,” Tom said.

→ Tom said (that) he could sing for long hours. (ability)

1. “I can finish all my tasks tomorrow,” she said to her mother.

→ She told her mother (that) she would be able to finish all her tasks the next day. (ability)

Tips: Can (ability in present)  ⇒ could

Can (ability in the future)  ⇒ would be able to

1. “You must respect our school rules,” she said.

→ She said I  we must / had to respect their school rules. (obligation/necessity)

1. “You must be a hard-working learner,” she said.

→ She said that I must be a hard-working learner. (deduction/conclusion)

Tips: When must expresses obligation, keep it (must) or change it to had to in reported speech.

If must expresses deduction or conclusion, it does not change in reported speech.

1. “We have plenty of food at home. You needn’t buy any now,” she said to her husband. (present)

→ She told her husband (that) they had plenty of food at home and that he didn’t need to /didn’t have to buy any food then.

1. “You needn’t come next Monday,” he said.

He said (that) I/we wouldn’t have to come the following Monday.

Tips: Needn’t (present)  ⇒   didn’t need to / didn’t have to

Needn’t (future)   ⇒  wouldn’t have to

 

Adverbials of time and place in reported speech

Today → that day

Now  → then / at that time / at that moment

Tonight  → that night

Last night → the previous night

Yesterday  → the day before

Last week / year …  → the following week/ year …

Two days…ago  → two days… before (earlier)

Tomorrow  → the next day / the following day

The day after tomorrow  →  in two days’ time.

Next week … → the following week

Here  → there

This  → that

These → those

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AKTIWITEITE

Grade 7 English FAL – Reported speech Activity

 

Rewrite the answers on a piece of paper and change the direct speech into reported speech.

Choose the past simple of ‘ask’, ‘say’ or ‘tell’:

 

1. “Don’t do it!”

Start with: She...

 

2. “I’m leaving tomorrow”

Start with: She...

 

3. “Please get me a cup of tea”

Start with: She...

 

4. “She got married last year”

Start with: She...

 

5. “Be quick!”

Start with: She...

 

6. “Could you explain number four, please?”

Start with: She...

 

7. “Where do you live?”

Start with: She...

 

8. “We went to the cinema and then to a Chinese restaurant”

Start with: She...

 

9. “I’ll come and help you at twelve”

Start with: She...

 

10. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

Start with: She...

 

11. “Don’t go!”

Start with: She...

 

12. “Do you work in Mossel Bay?”

Start with: She...

 

13. “Could you tell me where the post office is?”

Start with: She...

 

14. “Come here!”

Start with: She...

 

15. “I’ve never been to Wales”

Start with: She...

 

 

 

Answers:

(When I used ‘said’ you can also use ‘told me’)

1. She told me not to do it.
2. She said (that) she was leaving tomorrow (the next day).
3. She asked me to get her a cup of tea.
4. She said (that) she got married last year.
5. She told me to be quick.
6. She asked me to explain number four.
7. She asked me where I lived.
8. She said (that) they went (had been) to the cinema and then to a Chinese restaurant.
9. She said (that) she would come and help me at twelve.
10. She asked me what I was doing tomorrow (the day after).
11. She told me not to go.
12. She asked me if I worked in London.
13. She asked me to tell her where the post office was.

(or: she asked me if I could tell her where the post office was).

14. She told me to come here (there).
15. She said (that) she had never been to Wales.

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