Indirect Speech

Direct and indirect speech:

Imperatives

Check Point

Tick the doctor's exact words.

� Eat a heavy meal before bed:

� Don't eat a heavy meal before bed:

� Not to eat a heavy meal before bed:

Express Check

Circle the correct words to complete these sentences.

� The doctor told me go / to go to bed at the same time every night.

� She said, “Don’t work / Not to work too hard.”

Grammar Explanations Examples

1. Direct speech is the exact word a speaker

used. In writing, use quotation marks.

Indirect speech reports what a speaker

said without. Using the exact words.

There are no quotation marks.

• Come early and bring your national

Health card: said the doctor.

• The doctor told her to come early and

bring her National Health card.

2. The reporting verb (such as say or tell) is usually in the past simple for both direct and indirect speech. BE CAREFUL! Put a personal direct object or someone’s name after tell. Do not put a personal direct object after say.

DIRECT SPEECH

• Drink warm milk; he said.

INDIRECT SPEECH

• He told me to drink warm milk.

• He said I should call him in the

morning.

NOT he told I should call him in the

morning.

3. Imperatives in direct speech use the base form of the verb. Imperatives in indirect speech use the infinitive to report: a. Instructions b. Commands c. Request d. Invitations

Direct speech Indirect speech

Come early; he

said.

“Wait”

Could you

please arrive by

8:00?

Could you join

us for lunch?

He said to come

early

He told me to

wait

She asked him

to arrive by

8:00

She invited me

to join them for

lunch.

4. Use a negative infinitive (not+ infinitive) to report negative imperatives.

Direct speech Indirect speech

“Don’t go” He told her not

to go

5. Indirect speech, make changes to keep the speaker’s original meaning.

a. Change pronouns and possessives. b. Change the phrases. c.

• He said to Ann, “Tell me your

problem”

• He told Ann to tell him her problem

• Call me tomorrow

• She said to call her the next day.

• “Sign this form here”

• She told him to sign that form there.

Indirect speech

Statements (1)

Check Point

Tick the man’s exact words

� It looks great on you! � It looked great on me!

Express Check

Circle the correct words to complete this sentence.

She said/told the salesperson that she is/was going to buy the dress.

Grammar Explanations Examples

1. An indirect speech statement reports

what a speaker said without using the

exact words. The word that can

introduce the indirect statement but

you can also leave it out.

����BE CAREFUL !use say as the reporting

verb when the listener is not mentioned. Do

not use tell.

Direct speech

• It’s a great dress, he said.

Indirect speech

• He told her that it was a great dress.

• He told her it was a great dress.

• He said that it was a great dress

NOT he told that it was a great dress.

2. When the reporting verb is in the past simple, the verb in the indirect speech statement is usually in a different tense from the verb in the direct speech statement.

Direct speech Indirect speech Present simple ���� past simple Present continuous

����past continuous

Past simple ����past perfect Present perfect ����past perfect

Direct speech Indirect speech He said, “it’s lovely” He said it was lovely “I’m leaving” She said she was

leaving. “I did it” He said that he had

done it. He said to her, ”I’ve never lied”

He told her that he had never lied.

3. In indirect speech the change of the verb tense is optional when reporting:

a. Something someone has just said. b. Something that is still true c. A general truth or scientific law.

A: what did you just say?

B: I said I’m tired. Or I said I was tired.

• Rick said the bank wants a cheque.

• Rick said the bank wanted a cheque.

• She said that everyone lies sometime.

• She said that everyone lied sometime

4. When the reporting verb is in the present simple do not change the verb tense in indirect speech

• “I run a mile every day”

• She says that she runs a mile every day.

Indirect Speech:

Statement (2)

Check Point

Tick the weather forecaster's exact words.

� “It would be windy.”

� “It will be windy.”

Express Check

Read Jim's words. Tick the sentence that correctly reports what he said.

JIM: “I may move soon.”

� Jim said that I may move soon.

� Jim said that he might move soon.

Grammar Explanations Examples

1. As you learned in unit (indirect speech

statement 1), when the reporting verb

is in the past simple, the verb tense

usually changes in the indirect speech

statement.

Modals often change in the indirect

speech, too.

Direct speech Indirect speech will ����would Can ����could May ����might must ����had to

Direct speech Indirect speech She said, “it’s windy” She said it was

windy.

Direct speech Indirect speech I said,” the wind will be strong”

I said the wind would be strong.

They told us, “you can stay with us”

They told us we could stay with them.

He said, “the storm may last all night”

He said that the storm might last all night.

She told us, “ you must leave”

She told us we had to leave.

2. Some verb do not change in indirect speech.

a. Do not change should, could, might and ought to in indirect speech.

b. Do not change the past perfect in indirect speech.

c. Do not change verbs in the second and third conditional sentences in indirect speech.

d. Do not change past modals in indirect speech.

Direct speech Indirect speech

“You should listen to the weather report” he told us.

He told us that we should listen to the weather report.

“I had just moved here a week before,” she said.

She said she had just moved there a week before.

“If I knew, I would tell you”

Jim said if he knew, he would tell me.

“If 1 had known, I would have told you,” said Jim.

He said if he had known, he would have told me,

“I should have left” He said that he should have left.

Indirect Questions

The stress interview.

Check Point

Tick Ms Bentley's exact words.

� “Why were you still single?”

� “Why are you still single?”

Express Check

Unscramble these words to complete the indirect question. Why • he • job • his • left • had

He asked him………………………………………………………… Grammar Explanations Examples

1. Use if, whether or whether or not to

form indirect yes/no questions.

USAGE NOT: whether is more formal than

if.

Direct speech

• “Can you type?” she asked.

Indirect speech

• She asked if I could type.

• She asked whether (or not) I could

type.

2. In indirect yes / no questions, the subject comes before the verb, the same word order as in statements.

Direct Speech

• “Can I start tomorrow?”

Indirect Speech

• He asked if he could start tomorrow.

NOT he asked could he start tomorrow.

Direct speech

• “does the job proverbs benefits”

Indirect speech

• He asked if the job provided benefits.

NOT he asked does the job provide benefits.

3. Use questions words to form indirect Wh-questions.

Direct speech

• “Where is you office?” I asked.

Indirect speech

• I asked where his office was.

4. In indirect wh-questions, the subject also comes before the verb as in statement, and you do not use do, does or did.

In indirect wh-questions about the subject, the question word is the subject and the verb follows as in statement word order.

Direct Speech

• “Why did you leave you job?”

Indirect speech

• She asked me why I had left my job.

NOT she asked me why did l leave my job.

Direct speech

• Bob asked, “Who got the job?”

Indirect speech

• Bob asked who had got the job.