Reported Speech for intermediate learners
Reported speech is related to the grammar of reporting what someone else said. In this lesson, you will learn all about it.
What Is Reported Speech?
When we want to report or deliver what someone has said to a third party, we use reported speech. We will learn all about it in this lesson.
Types
We can report speech in two ways:
Direct Speech
When we want to report the exact, same words of someone to a third party, we are reporting it directly. Remember to put the whole clause/clauses in quotation marks. Take a look at the following examples:
They said "
"
Uses
Since we want to deliver the same words somebody said to another person, the reported speech does not change. However, the sentence that comes after or before it, is usually in the past tense. Study the following examples:
"I don't want you anymore." I voiced.
"Why can't she come right now?" My mom yelled.
Indirect Speech
When we want to report a speech indirectly, we use our own words to do it. So, the tenses change. Study the following examples carefully:
Chiara told me they were going on a trip to Italy.
The director said we could move the chairs around.
Uses
Backshift
One important thing we must do when we want to report speech indirectly is to change the tense of the reported speech. In other words, If the sentence is in the simple present tense, it changes to simple past and so it goes on. Take a look at the table below:
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Simple Present | Simple Past |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
Now, let us see how they are used in sentences:
"I
As you can see, the sentence has been back shifted into simple past tense.
"We
Reporting Verbs
In English, we have some reporting verbs that are used to deliver a speech, either directly or indirectly to a third party. Take a look at the following list to get a glimpse of them:
- Voice
- Declare
- Tell
- Say
- Answer
- Shout
- Cry
Now let us see some examples with them:
She
My friend
Comments
