Reported Speech

What is Reported Speech?

Reported speech, or indirect speech, is a way of communicating what someone else has said without quoting them directly. It requires changes to tenses, pronouns, and time/place expressions to reflect the shift from the original statement.

Key Concepts in Reported Speech

Tense Changes

When reporting speech, tenses often shift back. For example, present simple becomes past simple, and present continuous becomes past continuous. Direct speech might be ‘I am happy,’ but reported speech becomes ‘She said she was happy.’

Pronoun Changes

Pronouns must change to reflect the new speaker. If someone says ‘I need my book,’ and you report it, it becomes ‘He said he needed his book.’

Time and Place Expressions

Words indicating time and place also change. ‘Now’ becomes ‘then,’ ‘today’ becomes ‘that day,’ ‘here’ becomes ‘there,’ and ‘tomorrow’ becomes ‘the next day.’ Reporting verbs like ‘say,’ ‘tell,’ and ‘ask’ are crucial.

Deep Dive: Reporting Verbs and Structures

The choice of reporting verb influences the sentence structure. ‘Tell’ is usually followed by an object pronoun (e.g., ‘He told me…’), while ‘say’ is not (e.g., ‘He said…’). Questions are reported using ‘ask’ or ‘wonder,’ often followed by ‘if’ or ‘whether’ for yes/no questions.

Direct: "Are you coming?" she asked.
Reported: She asked if I was coming.

Applications of Reported Speech

Reported speech is essential for recounting conversations, summarizing information, and writing narratives. It allows for a smoother flow in communication by integrating others’ statements into your own discourse. Journalism and storytelling heavily rely on it.

Challenges and Misconceptions

A common challenge is remembering the correct tense shifts. Another is confusing ‘say’ and ‘tell.’ Misconceptions include thinking that tense changes are always mandatory, which isn’t true if the reported statement is still true or the reporting verb is in the present tense.

FAQs

• When do you NOT change the tense? If the original statement is still true or the reporting verb is in the present tense.
• How do you report commands? Use reporting verbs like ‘tell,’ ‘order,’ or ‘ask’ followed by the infinitive (e.g., ‘He told me to sit down’).
• What about modal verbs? Modals like ‘can’ often change to ‘could,’ and ‘will’ to ‘would.’