Features of the use of indirect speech (Reported speech) in the English language. Usage, examples, comparisons Reported Speech

How to use Reported Speech?

Reported Speech is translated as “indirect speech” and is formed according to the formula ( table 7):

Coordination of tenses is one of the most difficult topics to understand. The reason for this is the difference in the transmission of indirect speech in Russian and English. Language learners often copy the way they convey indirect speech from their native language, which leads to serious grammatical and semantic errors.

Below is a table of word changes when converting direct speech into indirect speech:

Table 7

DIRECT SPEECH	INDIRECT SPEECH
WILL She said, "She will come at 7".	WOULD She said she would come at 7.
PRESENT SIMPLE She said , "I want to buy a book."	PAST SIMPLE
PAST SIMPLE She said, "I want to buy a book."	PAST SIMPLE / PAST PERFEC She said she wanted to buy a book. She said she had wanted to buy a book.
PRESENT PERFECT She said, "I have bought a book".	PAST PERFECT She said she had bought a book.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS She said, "I am going to buy a book."	PAST CONTINUOUS
PAST CONTINUOUS She said, "I was going to buy a book."	PAST CONTINUOUS She said she was going to buy a book.
PAST PERFECT She said, "I had bought a book."	PAST PERFECT She said she had bought a book.
Yesterday She said, "I bought a book yesterday."	The day before She said she bought a book the day before.
Today She said, "I want to buy a book today."	That day She said she wanted to buy a book that day.
Tomorrow She said, "I will buy a book tomorrow".	The next day She said she would buy a book the next day.
Last time / week / month / year She said, "I bought a book last week."	The previous time / week / month / year She said she bought a book the previous week.
She said, "I want to buy it now"	That time / (back) then She said she wanted to buy it that time.
Next time / week / month / year She said, "I will buy it next week."	The next time / The following / week / month / year She said she would buy it the next week.
Coming/Sunday She said, "I will buy the book this coming Sunday."	The following / Sunday She said she would buy the book the following Sunday.
Last/weekend She said, "I bought the book the last weekend."	The previous / weekend She said that she bought the book the previous weekend.

The complexity of direct speech can only arise in the past tense. If you are dealing with the present, then you follow the principle of arbitrariness, i.e. if the first part of the sentence (or the main clause) is in the present tense " She says" - “She says", then the second (or subordinate clause) can be in any tense (present, future, past) ( 11.1 ).

He says that he never lies.
He says he never lies.

He says that she really wanted to buy a car.
He says that she really (really) wanted to buy a car.

She says that she will never eat sweets.
She says that she will never eat sweets (candy).

When we are dealing with the past tense in the main clause, the rules are different. If the first half of the sentence (main clause) is in the past, then the second half (subordinate clause) must also be in the past, and the subordinate clause is translated into Russian in the present tense! (11.2 ). This is done because each language has its own ways of conveying meaning, and they always need to be taken into account when translating.

He said that he never lied.

This design was obtained by translating “ He saysthat he neverlies. “He says he never lies” from the present to the past tense. According to the rules of English grammar (11.2 ) verb said in the main clause turns lie's in li ed.

But if the person is still alive and your statement is still valid at this moment, then you can use the present tense:

He said that he never lies.
He said he never lies.

And here’s how to convey someone’s words about past and future (for them) events:

He said that she had really wanted to buy a car.
He said that she really (really) wanted to buy a car.

She said that she would never eat sweets.
She said that she would never eat sweets.

So, as you noticed, will changes to would, past ( Past Simple) to the antecedent ( Past Perfect) and so on. Study the table. 7(11.3 ).

He says (that) he is leaving next Sunday.
He says he will leave next Sunday.

He said he was leaving the following Sunday.
He said he was leaving next Sunday.

He said he was going to leave the following Sunday.
He said he was going to leave next Sunday.

In Russian we usually do not observe agreement:"He said he was going …” – after “said” we already understand that we are talking about the past, and the word “is going to” will not throw us off. In the English sentence, he said and was going to in the past, so for clarity, everything is in the same tense, emphasizing that it happened in that situation. This is done so as not to be confused with the present time, since circumstances could change. This is also a way to distance yourself from the information being transmitted. He said it then, but I don’t know how it is now.

He says (that) he is leaving next Sunday.
He says he is leaving next Sunday.

But if we convey his words to someone a month or two later and say “ next Sunday“Will the fellow Englishman understand us correctly? In this sense, they are simple guys and understand everything as it is. We heard next and they begin to count from the moment they heard this word, so for them it will be like next Sunday, although in fact it has already passed a long time ago. So we fell into a trap.

This has happened more than once in hotels. The person passes the information to the administrator. “My friends said yesterday that they are leaving tomorrow at 5 pm, wake them up at 3 o’clock after their midday rest.” But here’s the problem: the transmitter, who is also the only one who speaks Russian, forgot to tell this to the administrator on time, after an extremely intense rest, and decided: “better late than never,” I’ll convey all this today, i.e. the next day. Now imagine the situation. Now 8 morning, the whole day is still ahead, there is still plenty of time until three o’clock. Fits he goes to the reception desk and says : « My friends from 308 said yesterday that they areleavingtomorrowat 5. Please wake them up at 3 after the siesta " Everything is fair, as promised. True, the person skipped English lessons at school and does not know what is for English-speaking people tomorrow- it's always tomorrow, it is not tied to the word said. And the administrator realized that they had to be woken up tomorrow at 3 . So our friends overslept, and it was all due to ignorance of the timing.

I should have said:

“My friends from 308 said yesterday that they were leaving the next day at 5. Please wake them up at 3 after the siesta.”

We remember that after if And when we don't put " will».

When reporting someone's speech in another place and time, special attention should be paid to verb forms. If in the main clause the verb is in present tense (he says,shewrites, theythink… ), in a subordinate clause the verb can be in any tense.

Examples of indirect speech in the present tense:

He says (that) he will do it if she arrives on Sunday.
He says that he will do it if she appears (arrives) on Sunday.

She says (that) she can do it for us.
She says she can do this for us.

She says (that) she did it for us.
She says she did it for us.

If in the main clause the verb is in past time (he said, shewrote, theythought… ), then the verb in the subordinate clause must also be in one of the corresponding forms (Table 7):

He said (that) he would do it if she arrived on Sunday.
He said that he would do it if she showed up (arrived) on Sunday.

Let's look at the sentence: he said (in the past) that he would do this (future assumption) if she appeared (future condition). Everything is clear here, according to the table. 7 will will go to would. But why are we talkingifshe arrived- past tense?

Because afterif not placed will(although there are exceptions), i.e. then there should have beenifshe arrives on Sunday, but the verb said in the main clause affects the subordinate clause, therefore arrives goes into arrived.

How do you say: “He said that he went to the cinema”?

He said (that) he had gone to the movies.
He said that he went to the cinema.

Can you say : « He said (that) he went to the movies»? I heard that's what they say in the movies! (11.4 )

Yes, when you convey the past tense, you can use Past Simple or Past Perfect. Past Perfect will differ only in that it will sound a little more literary.

Thus, when conveying our own or someone else’s speech in another situation or talking about past events, in our presentation we change not only the grammatical tense (present to past), but also the circumstances in which this happened ( This place - That place, this car - that car, in This Sunday - on That Sunday), and at the same time pronouns.

So, let's summarize:

1. He says that he never lies. - He says that he never lies. (11.1 )

2. He said that he never li ed. – He said he never lies. (11.2 )

3. She said that she would never eat sweets. – She said that she would never eat sweets (candy).(11.3 )

4. He said (that) he had gone to the movies.

He said (that) he went to the movies.

He said that he went to the cinema. (11.4 )

Convert to indirect speech. Coordination of tenses from direct speech to indirect speech. Let's understand how to translate direct speech into indirect speech in English.

Coordination of tenses from direct speech to indirect speech in English

Direct Speech	Indirect speech – Reported Speech
In English, when constructing direct speech, everything is the same as in Russian: We use direct speech when we want to tell someone what a third person told you, quoting his. (say\ask), which say that we are transmitting information from a third party. We also use quotes for citation.	Statement We use indirect speech when we want to tell someone what a third person said in their own words, without quoting. We use special verbs (say\tell), but we don't use quotes. The verbs most often used when constructing an affirmative sentence are: say And tell. We can use the word that to show that this is an indirect sentence (but you don't have to use it)
Ed said, ‘I play football every week.’ - Ed said: “I play football every week.” They asked, ‘Where is the teacher’s office?’ - They asked: “Where is the teacher’s office?” Pay attention to punctuation. There is a comma after the verb, and single quotes are usually used (but this is not important). In quotation marks, the quotation begins with a capital letter.	He said, 'I ’ m having a good time’ -He said: “I’m having a good time.” - direct speech. He said (that) he was having a good time. “He said he was having a good time.”

What changes when translating from direct speech to indirect speech in an affirmative sentence in English?

1. Special verb

Table “Coordination of times” -1

That is, if we clarify to whom we are saying this, in indirect speech we change said to told(told me, told him, told Jack, told his mother…)

If we don’t specify to whom we are saying this, we leave said

1. Personal pronouns, possessive and demonstrative pronouns (I-me – me\ you – your- you\ he- his- him\ she – her – her, etc.)

All this changes depending on who says what to whom. For example:

Table “Coordination of times” -2

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
George said to me, ‘ I like you‘ -George told me: “I you I love". I – personal pronoun (who loves?) you – demonstrative pronoun (loves whom?)	George told me he liked me. - George told me that He loves me. Since George said, it means HE loves ME Changed: I-he\ you- me
Kate said, “ My room is a mess.” – Kate said: “ My room in a mess" (My room is a mess) – possessive pronoun – my	Kate said (that) her room was a mess. -Katya said that her the room is a mess. (U her the room is a mess). Change my - her

There can be many options here, so there is no general scheme, I hope the examples are clear.

1. Verb tense.

We change the tense of the semantic verb when the special word (say, ask) is in the past tense (said, asked). We do this because, according to the rules of English grammar, we are at a different point in time relative to when these words were pronounced. Shows that some time has already passed since then.

Table “Coordination of times” -3

By the time We're talking about Peter's ideas, it's not Saturday anymore. She's in the past. And we change the verb in an English sentence to be in the shape of am for the past tense - was, to show it.

How do verbs change when they are put into indirect speech when we are talking about the past tense? We remember that in the Russian translation nothing changes. There is no need to translate with the past tense if the direct speech was in the present tense!!! Convert to indirect speech

Table “Coordination of tenses” -4 Translate into indirect speech

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple Harry said, 'Sam eats everything.’ Harrysaid: "SamAll eating ».	Past Simple Harry said (that) Sam ate everything. Harry said that Sam is everything eating.
Present Continuous Anna said, ' I'm working late.’ Anna said, “I work late.”	Past Continuous Anna said (that) she was working late. Anna said that she works late.
Past Simple Fiona said, 'It rained all day.’ Fiona said: “It rained all day.”	Past Perfect Simple Fiona said (that) it had rained all day. Fiona said it rained all day.
Past Continuous Dan said,'We were listening to music'. Dansaid: "Welistenedmusic».	Past Perfect Continuous Dan said (that) they had been listening to music. Dan said they were listening to music.
Words When\while over time Past Simple And Past Continuous Viki said, 'I was cooking when the phone rank'. Vicky said: “I was cooking when the phone rang.”	Don't change Viki said (that) she was cooking when the phone rank. Vicky said she was cooking when the phone rang.
Present Perfect Simple James said, 'I have read the book.’ James said: "I read the book."	Past Perfect Simple James said (that) he had read the book. James said he read the book.
Present Perfect Continuous Nadia said, 'I 've been studying all morning.’ Nadya said: “I studied all morning”	Past Perfect Continuous Nadia said (that) she 'd been studying all morning. Nadya said that she studied all morning.
Past Perfect Simple Tom said, 'We had already left.’Tom said, "We've already left."	Notis changing Tom said (that) they had already left. Tom said they had already left
Past Perfect Continuous Susan said, 'I had been running.’Susan said, “I was running.”	Does not change Susan said (that) she had been running.Susan said she was running.
will David said, 'She' ll call us.’ Davidsaid: "Sheuswill call».	would David said (that) she would call them. David said she would call them.
am\ are\ is going to Claire said, ‘They’re going to sing.’ Claire said, "They're going to sing"	was\were going to Claire said (that) they were going to sing. Claire said they were going to sing.
Infinitive with or without to Ian said, 'It's silly not to go.’Ian said: “It would be stupid not to go.”	Does not change Ian said (that) it was silly not to go.Ian said it would be stupid not to go.

Modal verbs:

Table “Coordination of tenses” -5 Translate into indirect speech

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
May\might Fred said, 'It may not be easy.’ Fred said, “It might not be easy.”	Might Fred said (that) it might not be easy. Fred said it might not be easy.
Can't Chris said,'You can leave.’ Chris said, “You can go.”	Could Chris said (that) I could leave. Chris said I could go.
Should Martha said,' We should pay'. Martha said, “We have to pay.”	Should Martha said (that) they should pay. Martha said they had to pay.
Must\have to Eddie said, 'The door must close'Eddie said: "The door needs to be closed"	had to Eddie said (that) the door had to close. Eddie said the door needs to be closed.
Ought to Mark said, “I ought to do it.” Mark said, “I have to do this.”	Ought to Mark said (that) he ought to do it. Mark said he had to do it.

In contact with

Consider when Indirect Speech is used in English. The concept of “indirect speech” refers to sentences that tell us information from the words of another person. Such sentences are almost always used in spoken English.

Past tense form

If the verb conveying to us the speaker’s words is in the past tense form (i.e. said), then the part of the sentence that actually contains the speaker’s words will also be in the past tense form. Thus, we seem to take a “step back” from the form of the verb in the initial sentence

Present form

If the verb conveying to us the words of the speaker is in the form of the present simple, present perfect or future tense (for example, says), then the tense form of the verb standing in the part of the sentence that actually contains the words of the speaker remains unchanged.

Undeniable facts

If we convey someone’s words containing undeniable facts, then in the part of the sentence that actually contains the speaker’s words, the present tense form is also preserved.

Pronoun change

When we change a sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, it is often necessary to change the pronoun to match the form of the subject.

Adverb of time changes

It is also important to replace adverbs of time so that they coincide with the moment of speech. Consequently, when translating a sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, we replace the adverbs with ones that are suitable in meaning.

today, tonight→ that day, that night

tomorrow→ the day after / the next day / the following day

yesterday→ the day before / the previous day

now→ then / at that time / immediately

this week→ that week

next week→ the week after / the following week

last week→ the week before / the previous week

ago→before

here→ there

Questions in indirect speech

When we convey questions using indirect speech, special attention should be paid to connecting conjunctions and word order in a sentence. Note that when we pass general questions that require a yes or no answer, we connect the actual question to the author's words using 'if'. If we pass questions that use question words (why, where, when, etc.), we use this question word.

There are such concepts as "direct speech " And "indirect speech". Most likely, everyone knows about direct speech; this is the so-called speech in quotation marks. Indirect speech in English used when we want to communicate what another person said, then indirect speech is used. For example:

“I want a cup of coffee.”(direct speech)

She said that she wanted a cup of coffee.(indirect speech)

Depending on the type of sentence being transformed (affirmative, interrogative or request), its structure will change.

note, which when transforming into indirect speech, very often needs to be changed:

• • pronouns
  • time (backshift)
  • time and place indicators

Affirmative sentences

1. If the introductory sentence in direct speech is in the Present Simple, then in indirect speech there is no shift (replacement) of tenses:

She says, “I like ice cream” ? She says that she likes ice cream.

As can be seen from the example, the pronoun has changed from I on she, therefore the verb from like on likes, but remained at the same time.

2. If the introductory sentence is in the past tense, then we change the main one to the past tense (backshift):

She said, “I like ice cream” ? She said that she liked the ice cream.
My sister said, “I have just come back from the park” ? My sister told me that she had just come from the park.
Kate said “I am going to buy a new car” ? Kate said that she was going to buy a new car.
“I will be 30 next summer,” said Tom. ? Tom said that he would be 30 the following summer.

Table of tense changes in indirect speech

Direct Speech
Present Simple	Present Simple
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
Past Simple	Past Perfect
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous
Future I (going to)	Was/ were going to
Future I (will)	Conditional I would
Conditional I (would)

As mentioned above, not only time changes, but also indicators of time and place.

Direct Speech
today	that day
now	then
yesterday	the day before
tomorrow	the next day/ the following day
…days ago	...days before
last week	the week before
next year	the following year
here	there
this	that
these	those

She said “This is the best summer” ? She said that that was the best summer.
My mother said “I found your book several days ago” ? My mother said that she had found my book several days before.
I called my friend and she said “I am watching TV now” ? I called my friend and she said that she was watching TV then.

Interrogative sentences

Direct questions are transformed into indirect questions, question words or introductory words are used if/whether.

“How old are you?” ? He asked me how old I was.
Tom asked Jane “Where do you live?” ? Tom asked Jane where she lived.
She asked “Do you know this man?” ? She asked if I knew that man.
My friend asks “Are you going with us?” ? My friend asks whether I am going with them.

Requests, wishes, advice

For requests, wishes and advice, times do not matter, since the form is used to+infinitive:

He said “Bring me the book” ? He asked to bring him the book.
She said “Come to me tomorrow” ? She asked to come to her place the next day.
My mother said “Don’t eat the cake before dinner” ? My mother asked me not to eat the cake before dinner.

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech / Direct and indirect speech in English

In English there are 2 ways of conveying speech, be it a person or your own words.

For example,
Mom said: “Vitya, don’t be late for school.”
Mom told Vitya not to be late for school.

Direct Speech / Direct speech

Direct speech in English ( Direct Speech) is a construction that literally conveys the speech of the person to whom it belongs.

For example,
They asked me: “How to get to Saratovskaya Street?”
Tom confirmed: “Yes, today at two o’clock we are going shopping at the store.”

A sentence with direct speech consists of two parts connected
in meaning and intonation - from the direct speech and words of the author.

Note!
Direct speech in English is enclosed in quotation marks, which in English are superscripted on both sides.

For example,
Tom says: “I phone my friend every day.”
The girl says: “I phone my friend every day.”

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Indirect speech in English (Reported Speech / Indirect Speech) is someone else's speech, conveyed verbatim on behalf of the person to whom it belongs.

In English, a sentence in indirect speech also consists of two parts.

Rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech in declarative sentences

1. The comma and quotation marks are omitted (they are simply not in the sentence).

2. All are personal and vary depending on the person from whom the speech is being made.

For example,
Direct speech: He said, “I can bring you a cup of coffee.” “He said, 'I can get you a cup of coffee.'
Indirect speech: Didn't say (that) he could bring me a cup of coffee. — He said he could bring me a cup of coffee.

3. Possible union " that"(but most often the conjunction is not included in the sentence). Please note that the comma before the English conjunction " that" is not included in the sentence.

For example,
Doesn't say (that) she is the best in the world. - He says she is the best in the world.

4. Verb to say, followed by an object (namely, if the person being addressed is indicated), is replaced by a verb to tell. Please note that the verb to tell used without a preposition.

For example,
Direct speech: Kate says to me, “I’m happy.” - Katya told me: “I’m happy.”
Indirect speech: Kate tells me that she is happy. — Katya told me that she was happy.

5. Indirect speech in English always depends on what tense is used in the words of the author. If it is present, then time remains unchanged.

The tenses of verbs (except Present Simple Tense) in subordinate clauses change according to the rules of tense agreement:
Present Simple → Past Simple
Present Continuous → Past Continuous
Present Perfect, Past Simple, Past Perfect → Past Perfect
Past Continuous → Past Continuous,
Past Perfect Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous
will, can, may, must etc → would, could, might, had to etc

For example,
Direct speech: He said, “I go to driving lessons every day.” “He said, 'I go to driving lessons every day.'
Indirect speech: He said (that) he went to driving lessons every day. — He said he goes to driving lessons every day.

6. Demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of time and place are replaced with other words:

this (this) - that (that)
these (these) - those (those)
now (now) - then (then)
today (today) - that day (on that day)
tomorrow (tomorrow) - the next day (the next day)
here (here) - there (there)
the day after tomorrow (the day after tomorrow) - two days later (two days later)
yesterday (yesterday) - the day before (day before)
the day before yesterday (the day before yesterday) - two days before (two days before)
ago (back) - before (before)
next year (next year) - the next year, the following year (a year later)
tonight (at night) - that night (that night)
last week (last week) - the previous week (the week before)

The rule for changing direct speech to indirect in incentive sentences

Requests, orders, recommendations in indirect speech have the form of an infinitive, that is, an imperative action expressed by an infinitive without a particle to in direct speech, will change to an infinitive with a particle to in indirect. " That" is not added in such sentences.

Attention!
In negative form the particle not used before a particle to .

1. If direct speech is a command, then the verb to say, included in direct speech, is replaced by a verb to tell or to order .

2. If direct speech expresses a request, then the verb to say replaced by a verb to ask .

3. In indirect speech after verbs to ask , to tell , to order in English there is always an indirect object indicating to whom the request or order is addressed.

For example,
Direct speech: My friend said: “Help me with English, please.” — My friend said: “Please help me with English.”
Indirect speech: My friend asked me to help him with English. — My friend asked me to help him with English.

Direct speech: She asked me: “Close the window.” “She asked me: “Close the window.”
Indirect speech: He asked me to close the window. — She asked me to close the window.

Rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech in interrogative sentences

Interrogative sentences in indirect speech are called indirect questions. The question mark is not used in such sentences except in cases where the main part of the indirect sentence is interrogative.

1. Special question.

For example,
Direct speech: He asked me, “Who has brought the letter?” “He asked me: “Who brought the letter?”
Indirect speech: He asked me who had brought the letter. — He asked me who brought the letter.

2. The general question in direct speech changes to a subordinate clause in indirect speech and is connected to the main part by conjunctions if/whether, and no comma is used.

For example,
Direct speech: He asked: “Do (1) you know her?” - He asked: “Do you know her?”
Indirect speech: He asked me if/whether I knew her. — He asked if I knew her.

3. Short answers in indirect speech are expressed by an auxiliary or modal verb, and the tense of these verbs changes according to the rule of tense agreement.