Indirect speech grammar for teachers

GRAMMAR FOR TEACHERS

Yessenia González Carla Gutiérrez Jesús Gutiérrez Ian Neblett

The Form of Indirect Speech Reported material can appear in several grammatical frames, but reporting most commonly involves creating complements to a reporting verb such as say or report.

Noun clauses beginning with “that” (verb + that-clause) are probably the most common way in which reporting is done. The word “that” is usually absent in speaking but present in formal writing.

Direct Speech

Reported Speech

He said: "I feel sad."

He said that he felt sad.

The Sequence of Tenses

Indirect reported clauses are subject to a rule referred to as sequence of tenses or backshifting in which the tense in reported clauses is in some sense controlled by the tense in the reporting clause. Therefore, when the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verbs in the reported clause must “backshift,” or take one step backwards. What is happening here seems to be a shift in perspective regarding the time of the utterance reported on, which is necessarily in the past.

The traditional tense switch is accompanied by:

a. the changing of pronouns from first-person to third-person forms, and

b. the changing from the here now of a live conversation to the there then of the same conversation.

In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is: reporting clause [+ conjuntion] + reported clause Reporting Clause

Conjunction

Reported Clause

John said

(that)

he was hungry.

John's original words: "I am hungry."

When do we use backshift?

We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. So, for example, if two minutes ago John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I might NOT use backshift (because John is still hungry): John just said that he is hungry.

But if yesterday John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I would likely use backshift: Yesterday, John said that he was hungry.

BACKSHIFT this

goes back to this

present simple

→

past simple

present continuous

→

past continuous

past simple

→

past perfect

past continuous

→

past perfect continuous

can

→

could

present perfect

BACKSHIFT this

goes back to this

may

might

will

would

shall

should

We NEVER use backshift when the original words are: past perfect, could, might, would, should.

Exceptions:  If a situation is still perceived as true, backshift is optional.  For a general truth there is no need for backshift.  If a statement is reported immediately following its utterance, it will most likely be repeated with its original tenses unchanged.

Tenses and Modals present simple*

Direct Speech He said, "I like coffee."

Reported Speech He said (that) he likes coffee.

He said (that) he liked coffee.

present continuous*

She said, "Moo is living here with us."

She said Moo is living there with them.

She said Moo was living there with them.

past simple

John said, "We bought a house last week."

John said they had bought a house the week before.

present perfect

Ram said, "I haven't seen Avatar."

Ram said he hadn't seen Avatar.

past continuous

Wayne said, "Were you watching TV when I called."

Wayne asked if I had watching TV when he called.

past perfect**

Ati said, "I had never lived in Thailand before."

Ati told us that he had never lived in Thailand before.

been

Tenses and Modals can

Direct Speech

Reported Speech

She said, "Tara can't swim."

She said Tara couldn't swim.

She said Tara can't swim.

could** may

He said, "Could you swim when you were three?"

He asked me if I could swim when I was three.

She said: "I may be late."

She said she might be late. (and she was late) She said she may be late. (the time to be late has not yet arrived)

might** will

She said, "I might come early."

She said she might come early.

She said, "I'll call you tomorrow."

She said she would call me the next day.

She said she will call me tomorrow. (tomorrow has not come)

would**

She said, "I wouldn't like to go."

She said she would not like to go.

shall

He said: "Shall I open the door?"

He asked if he should open the door.

John said, here."

John said I should go there.

should** must

have to

"You

should

come

The kidnapper phoned me and said: "You must come here now."

The kidnapper phoned me and said I had to go there then.

Ati said, "I must find a job next year."

Ati said he must find a job next year. (next year hasn't come yet)

Tara said: "I have to do homework."

Tara said she homework.

had

to

do

her

Tara says she homework.

has

to

do

her

my

* if still true, change is optional (sometimes a matter of emphasis) ** never changes

The most important verbs for reporting speech are, obviously, said and asked.

However there are many others, some of which add extra meaning. For example demand means ask in a forceful way.

Here are a few:

replied, told, complained, confessed, reported, demanded, suggested, claimed, answered, denied, confirmed, shouted, added, persuaded, yelled, announced, screamed, agreed, recommended, vowed, whispered, boasted, mumbled.

Reported questions To report a yes/no question, use whether or if.

“Are you married?”

They asked us if/whether we were married.

“Can I extend my holiday?”

I asked if I could extend my holiday.

To report a WH-question include the WH-question word but do not invert the subject and the verb.

“Why are you late?”

He asked me why I was late.

“How do you know about it?”

She asked me how I knew about it.

Reported Thoughts Reported thoughts, ideas, beliefs, decisions, etc. follow the same pattern as reported speech.

I thought we’d go for a ride.

Reported Imperatives

Imperatives can also be reported with that-clauses.

“Please go away!”

He said that I should go away.

He told me that I should go away.

However, imperatives are most commonly paraphrased with infinitival complements using the main-clause verbs tell, order, ask: “Please go away!”

He told/asked/ordered me to (please) go way.

Notice that imperatives can be used for purposes other than commands. They can, for instance, be used for invitations.

“Stop by for some dessert and coffee tonight!”

She asked (= invited) us to stop by for some dessert and coffee tonight.

Meaning and Use of Indirect Speech Reported or indirect speech is used to communicate what one person says to another. In everyday speech, the word that can be omitted, especially after the verb said.

The use of indirect forms typically marks something as distant from the speaker.

Similarly, the effect of backshift in tense creates a sense of more remote as they move the reported speaking event to another time. This effect makes the indirect speech forms more like a narrative account of an event.

Finally, when a speaking event is reported via indirect speech, there is a tendency to use verbs that indicate the purpose of the utterance (admit, agree, deny, explain, promise, respond, suggest). Such verbs convey an interpretation by the reporter of the speech act being performed. In other words, the reporter not only tells us what was said, but what kind of action was performed by the utterance.