Reported Speech
Hi, today's tutorial is a complete guide to reported speech compared to direct
speech in English. I'm going to explain to you what it is, show you when to use
it, explain how to transform sentences from a direct speech to reported speech
and from reported speech to direct speech, we're going to look at what
happens to modal verbs, the difference between say and tell and look at
questions in reported speech and references of time and place. This
tutorial is all you need to know for the Cambridge First Certificate exam and
will help you in your spoken and written English. If you want to go to a specific
part of the video, I've noted the times for each section down below so you can
check out the bit that you're interested in faster. So first up, what is reported
speech? Okay imagine the scene, Zoe is talking to Emma. "I'm hungry."
This is what Zoe actually said. This is called direct speech. Later, we want to
report on what Zoe said either in writing or in speech. Zoe said she was
hungry. This is indirect speech or reported
speech. These two terms mean the same. This is the simplest of transformations.
So, when do we use reported speech? Often reported speech is used to summarise
what someone says. It's used to communicate the message of what was
actually said in a more concise manner. It's not just a different way of
transcribing what was actually said. In the FCE Reading and Use of English part 4,
you have to change the given sentence into a second sentence using a given
word. This part of the exam often tests your ability to change direct speech
into reported speech and also reported speech into direct speech. So some rules
can help you in this process. If we go back to our example of Zoe and
Emma talking, we noticed that in direct speech Zoe uses the present tense "I am,"
"I'm hungry." Whereas in the reported speech we
changed that to, Zoe said she was hungry. Here is a chart which you can download
from my website and use as a reference. The link can be found down below. Present
simple in direct speech goes to past simple in reported speech. I am hungry,
she said she was hungry. Present continuous goes to past continuous. "The
sun is shining," becomes, He said the Sun was shining. Notice the "that" in brackets
means that it's optional, you can say, He said that the sun was shining, or He said
the Sun was shining. Past simple becomes Past perfect. It was a great evening
becomes, She said it had been a great evening. Present perfect to Past perfect.
I haven't eaten chocolate for a week becomes she said she hadn't eaten
chocolate for a week. and lastly Past perfect doesn't change
and remains Past perfect in reported speech. So, I hadn't expected a pay-rise
becomes, She said she hadn't expected a pay rise . Now for modal verbs: could, would,
should, might, ought to, and used to do not change when they're reported at a later
time. So, let's look at those that do. Will changes to would. I will pass the exam
becomes, She said she would pass the exam. Notice also you need to change the
pronouns when necessary. So here "I" changes to "she." Can changes to could. I
can swim becomes he said that he could swim.
May becomes might. I may call Sam becomes she said she might call Sam. Must becomes
had to. I must do my homework becomes , She said she had to do her homework.
Again notice the pronouns changing here we have "my" homework which changes to "her"
homework. However we have to use must in reported speech for two situations.
Number one, with a negative. So in direct speech you say: "You mustn't play computer
games late at night." In reported speech we say, She said we mustn't play computer
games late at night. So, it stays as "mustn't" and also for deductions: "You must
be very thirsty in this hot weather." She said we must be very thirst. You
can't use had to in this case. Now for the difference between say and tell.
Basically you "say something" but you "tell somebody. " He said he was going to join us.
Whereas told has to be followed by an object without to. So he told me that he
was going to join us. However you can "say something to somebody." He said to me that
he was going to join us. So how about transformations of questions. In direct
speech, "What time is it?" In reported speech, He asked me what time it was.
In direct speech for questions we inverse the subject and the verb.
Whereas in reported speech we keep the order of a statement and do not
inverse the subject and the verb. If the question has a yes-or-no answer then we
use either if or whether. "Would you like a coffee?" this is a yes/no answer. She
asked me if I'd like a coffee or she asked me whether I would like a coffee.
Finally with reported speech references to time and place need to change unless
we're speaking on the same day. So yesterday
changes to the day before, today to that day, tomorrow to the next or following
day, next week to the following week, now to then. For places: here becomes there
and this becomes that. So let's try some transformations as you have to do in the
FCE exam Reading and Use of English part 4. The weatherman forecast that there would
be sunshine all day. The given word is shine. The weatherman said the something
all day. So this is transforming from reported speech to direct speech. The
weatherman said, "The sun will shine all day." Would changes to will. "Last night I
saw a fantastic film," said Phil. The given word is previous. Phil told me that the
previous night he had seen a fantastic film. The time reference changes from
last night to the previous night and the tense from the past simple to the past
perfect. "Did you book a room with a balcony?" I asked my mother. The given word
here is "if". I asked my mother if she had booked a room with a balcony. Here it's a
yes/no question, so we use if, if or whether in the answer. But here the given
word is "if" so we have to use "if," and the verb changes from the past to the past
perfect. For more examples of transformations go
to my website oxfordenglishnow.com. Congratulations you now understand
reported speech and how to transform from reported speech to direct speech
and vice versa in English. Please like this video and remember to subscribe to
my channel Oxford English Now for more free English language videos out every
Friday. Thank you for watching!
Reported Speech