Reported speech Indirect and Direct speech 11A-11B-11C

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns
• present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
• place and time expressions
• tenses (backshift)

Type	Example
direct speech	“I speak English.”
reported speech (no backshift)	He says that he speaks English.
reported speech (backshift)	He said that he spoke English.

Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns
• present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
• place and time expressions
• tenses (backshift)

Also note that you have to:

• transform the question into an indirect question
• use the interrogative or if / whether

Type		Example
with interrogative	direct speech	“Why don’t you speak English?”
	reported speech	He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
without interrogative	direct speech	“Do you speak English?”
	reported speech	He asked me whether / if I spoke English.

Requests

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns
• place and time expressions

Type	Example
direct speech	“Carol, speak English.“
reported speech	He told Carol to speak English.

• Simple Present (He says …)
• Present Perfect (He has said …)
• Future I will (He will say …)
• Future I going to (He is going to say …)

• Simple Past (He said …)
• Past Perfect (He had said …)
• Future II ( He will have said …)
• Conditional I (He would say …)
• Conditional II (He would have said …)

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Simple Present	Simple Past
Present Progressive	Past Progressive
Simple Past	Past Perfect Simple
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Progressive	Past Perfect Progressive
Present Perfect Progressive
Past Perfect Progressive
Future I (going to)	was / were going to
Future I (will)	Conditional I
Conditional I
Future II	Conditional II
Conditional II

 Direct and Reported Speech

Cuando queremos comunicar o informar de lo que otra persona ha dicho, hay dos maneras de hacerlo: utilizando el estilo directo o el estilo indirecto

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple	Past Simple
“He is American,” she said.	She said he was American.
“I am happy to see you,” Mary said.	Mary said that she was happy to see me.
He asked, “Are you busy tonight?”	He asked me if I was busy that night.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
“Dan is living in San Francisco,” she said.	She said Dan was living in San Francisco.
He said, “I’m making dinner.”	He told me that he was making dinner.
“Why are you working so hard?” they asked.	They asked me why I was working so hard.
Past Simple	Past Perfect Simple
“We went to the movies last night,” he said.	He told me they had gone to the moviesthe night before.
Greg said, “I didn’t go to workyesterday.”	Greg said that he hadn’t gone to workthe day before.
“Did you buy a new car?” she asked.	She asked me if I had bought a new car.
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I was working late last night,” Vicki said.	Vicki told me she’d been working latethe night before.
They said, “we weren’t waiting long.”	They said that they hadn’t been waitinglong.
He asked, “were you sleeping when I called?”	He asked if I’d been sleeping when he called.
Present Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Heather said, “I’ve already eaten.”	Heather told me that she’d already eaten.
“We haven’t been to China,” they said.	They said they hadn’t been to China.
“Have you worked here before?” I asked.	I asked her whether she’d worked there before.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I’ve been studying English for two years,” he said.	He said he’d been studying English for two years.
Steve said, “we’ve been dating for over a year now.”	Steve told me that they’d been datingfor over a year.
“Have you been waiting long?” they asked.	They asked whether I’d been waitinglong.
Past Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple (NO CHANGE)
“I’d been to Chicago before for work,” he said.	He said that he’d been to Chicago before for work.
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous (NO CHANGE)
She said, “I’d been dancing for years before the accident.”	She said she’d been dancing for years before the accident.

Nota: Cuando hablamos de algo que no ha cambiado (que sigue siendo cierto) o de algo en el futuro, no es necesario cambiar el tiempo verbal.

Ejemplos:

“I’m 30 years old,” she said. → She said she is 30 years old.

Dave said, “Kelly is sick.” → Dave said Kelly is sick.

“We are going to Tokyo next week,” they said. → They said they are going to Tokyo next week.

“I’ll cut my hair tomorrow,” Nina said. → Nina said she is cutting her hair tomorrow.

Modal Verbs (Los verbos modales)

El tiempo verbal cambia en el estilo indirecto también con algunos de los verbos modales.

Nota: Con “would”, “could”, “should”, “might” y “ought to”, el tiempo no cambia.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Will	Would
“I’ll go to the movies tomorrow,” John said.	John said he would go to the movies the next day.
“Will you help me move?” she asked.	She asked me if I would help her move.
Can	Could
Debra said, “Allen can work tomorrow.”	Debra said Allen could work the next day.
“Can you open the window, please?”, he asked.	He asked me if I could open the window.
Must	Had to
“You must wear your seat belt,” mom said.	My mom said I had to wear my seat belt.
She said, “You must work tomorrow.”	She said I had to work the next day.
Shall	Should
“Shall we go to the beach today?” Tom asked.	Tom asked if we should go to the beachthat day.
“What shall we do tonight?” she asked.	She asked me what we should do that night.
May	Might/Could
Jane said, “I may not be in classtomorrow.”	Jane said she might not be in class the next day.
“May I use the bathroom, please?”, the boy asked.	The boy asked if he could use the bathroom.

Nota: A continuación tienes una tabla donde puedes observar los cambios que sufren las expresiones de tiempo cuando usamos el estilo indirecto.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
today	that day
tonight	that night
this week/month/year	that week/month/year
tomorrow	the next day
next week/month/year	the following week/month/year
yesterday	the day before or the previous day
last week/month/year	the week/month year before or the previous week/month/year
now	then/at th

Ejercicios: Direct and Reported Speech

Escribe las siguientes frases en estilo indirecto, como en el ejemplo.

"I'm hungry," Tom said. 

orTom said that he was hungry.

1. Sarah asked, "Are you busy tonight? 
2. "I am working in a hospital," she said. 
3. "We made a great dinner last night," he said. 
4. "They were living in Chicago when their son was born," she said. 
5. "I have been to India three times," Melissa said. 
6. "We have been waiting for the tickets for three hours," they said.
7. He asked, "Had you ever been to New York before?" 
8. "I am from Australia," Pam said.
9. "You must drive slowly here," the police officer told me.