Rock And Rain

anglais

14

Reported speech

1-Reporting the exact words people use:

When we report what someone said in the past ,pronouns change and the verb forms often move one tense into the past:

  1. we change pronouns so that the reported sentence makes sense in the context we report it:

                         ex: "I love you". → He said (that) he loved her.

      2.     we change the tense if the reporting verb is in the past:

                        ex : "I'm hungry". → He said he was hungry.

Verb forms change in the following way:

Direct speech

(the actual words)

Reported speech

(indirect speech)

present Simple (do)Past simple (did)
Present Continuous (is doing)Past Continuous (was doing)
Present Perfect (has done)Past Perfect ( had done)
Simple Past (did)Past perfect ( had done)
Past Continuous(was doing)*              Past perfect Continuous(had been doing)
Past Perfect (had done)no change possible
Past Perfect Continuous(had been doing)no change possible
will would
won'twouldn't
cancould
can'tcouldn't
may might
may notmight not
musthad to
mustn'tdidn't have to
have to had to
doesn't have todidn't have to
is going towas going to
wouldwould
shouldshould
couldcould
mightmight

*This frequently does not change in reported speech.

Notice that if the reporting verb is in the present tense, then there is no tense change

          ex: Mum says I can borrow the car tonight

We do not change the tense if we report something that is still true when we report it:

               ex: "John and Mary are married". →She said that John and May are married.

3- We change some time and place expressions..:

Original statement

reported statement

now                                             then /on that day/ at that time...
at the momentat that moment
todaythat day
this week that week
yesterday the day before /the previous day
Last week /month /year..the week/ month/ year before, the previous week/ month /year..
agobefore / earlier.
tomorrowthe next day, the following day
next week / month / year..                       the following week /month/ year, the week /month /year after
thisthat
thatthat
thesethose
herethere

2-Reported questions 

When reporting a question the verbs change in the same way as in the case of the statement. We use ask or want to know as a reporting verb

When the direct question begins with a question word: when, where, how... we keep the same question word and the same word order but we drop the question mark(of course).

              ex: "Where do you live?" → She asked me where I lived.

                     "How old are you?". → he wanted to know how old I was.

If there is no question word, we add if or whether.

              ex: "Are you Moroccan?. → She asked me if I was Moroccan.

                                           or She asked me whether I was Moroccan.

3-Verbs which summarise what people say:

There is a large number of verbs which summarise what people say, without reporting every word.

               ex: "please, please let me go". → He begged them to let him go.

With some verbs several constructions are possible. Here are some of the most important ones:

1- Verb + that

deny       He denied that he had done anything illegal.

agree     We agreed that we would meet again soon.

(Alsi : decide, conclude, threaten, complain, imply.)

2- Verb + object + that

warn     We warned you that the building was dangerous

(Also:  promise, persuade, assure.)

3- Verb + gerund

suggest    Jonny suggested meeting for a coffee first.

deny        He denied seeing her on the evening of the murder.

4- Verb + preposition + gerund

insist  The children insisted on coming with us.

5- Verb + object + preposition + gerund

accuse  You accused me of lying.

(Also: blame, congratulate.)

6- Verb + infinitive

refuse    She refused to tell me where she had been.

(Also : offer, promise, decide, agree, threaten.)

7- Verb + object +infinitive

Order    The police ordered them to put up their hands.

Warn      Her parents warned her not to speak to strangers

(Also: persuade, urge.) 

 

Practice

-         I couldn’t go into the house because I had lost my key.

-         I wrote to him the day before yesterday i wonder why he hasn’t rung up.

-         if it trains this afternoun ; it will be too wet to play the match tomorrow.

-         « I found an old roman coin in the garden yesterday » he said , «  and I am going to take it to the museum  this afternoon »

-         why are you looking through the keyhole ?

-         who put salt in my coffee ?

-         if I press my ear against the wall ; I can hear what the people in the next flat are saying.

-         can you read the last line on the blackboard ?

-         whose car did you borrow last night ?

-         I said : « we will get some later ? »

-         he said : «I’m ill ; I can’t go with you today. »

-         she said : «  I was here two days  ago »

-         «  Here’s five dirhams.go and  get  yourself an ice-cream »

-         « please ; please do as I say »

-         « Miss brown ; this is Miss white .Miss white this is Miss brown »

-         « Hurray ; I have passed my exam !» , he cried «  congratulations » I said.

-         « Welcome home ; my dear » said the wife .

-         « Wait a minute, will you ? »

 Report the following  statements as suggested and make any necessary changes :

 

- « We must have the courage to say that we have almost done nothing to help the poor countries »

The heads of states admitted…………………………………………………………….

-         « we think I t was your fault. You shoulden’t have allowed your daughter to go out alone at night »

They blamed him……………………………………………………………………

-         « I have done a lot of wrong in my life » the woman said to herself.

The woman regretted………………………………………………………………

-         «  The anti-war campaign was a total failure » one of the organisers said.

One of the organisers confessed ………………………………………………….

-         « You’d better cut down on fatty food ! » the doctor told the patient.

The patient was advised……………………………………………………………

-         «  He’s honest , hard-working ; and open-minded. » the villagers said

The villagers described  their deputy………………………………………………

-         « I managed to get through the customs without a visa and a passport . » he said

The illegal immigrant revealed………………………………………………………

-         «  Elguerrouj runs like a deer » journalist used to write

Journalists used to compare…………………………………………………………..

-         «  Would you like me to help you prepare you speech ? » Linda said to him

Linda offered …………………………………………………………………………

-         «  No,.no. I didn’t rob that bank.It wasn’t me » The accused man said to the judge.

The accused man denied…………………………………………………………….

-         « Please ; please come and stay with us for the weekend ! »The girl said on the phone

The girl begged her grandmother……………………………………………………….

-         «  How about building a charity center for the homeless ? »The city Mayor said

The city Mayor suggested……………………………………………………………

-         « I am having a birthday party tomorrow . I’d be glad if you could attent » Halima said to Linda

Halima invited …………………………………………………………….

-         «  you are here because you’ve been caught throwing garbage in the street » said the police officer.

The police officer accused the man ……………………………………………………..

- « I can’t attend the opening ceremony. I’m so sorry » The guest speaker said on the phone.

The guest speaker apologized……………………………………………………………

-         « Don’t be late for work orI’ll get angry » The boss said to his secretary.

The boss warned…………………………………………………………………………

-         «  No. I won’t let you in . It’s against the regulations » The security guard said to the boy.

The security guard refused……………………………………………………………….

-         « Take a long holiday . It’ll do you a lot of good » The manager said to his asistant.

The manager recommended…………………………………………………………….

-         «  I want you all to work as a team » The teacher kept repeating to the class.

The teacher insisted……………………………………………………………………..

-         «  I won’t tell your father about the damage you caused to my car ; I promise » He said to me.

He promised………………………………………………………………………………..

 

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