Reported Speech
Use:
It is used to tell what a person has said but without exactly quoting their words.
Changes to be made:
Verbal and place expressions
Pronouns (using logic)
Verb tenses
Present simple – past simple
Present continuous – past continuous
Present perfect simple – past perfect simple
Present perfect continuous – past perfect continuous
Past simple – past perfect simple
Past continuous – past perfect continuous
Can – could
May – might
Must / have to – must had to
Will / would
Now – then
Today – that day
Tonight – that night
Yesterday – the previous day / the day before
Last week – the previous week / the week before
Tomorrow – the following day / the day after / the next day
Here – there
This – that
These – those
Reported statement:
We can use the word "That" to introduce the phrase in indirect style, although it can also be omitted.
We do not use quotes.
Reported verbs:
She told him that she was happy.
She told him she was happy.
These verbs give extra information about what we are talking about and help us to make the change to indirect style more freely.
Said, tell, ask, suggest, invite, etc.
Reported questions:
the interrogative form is no longer used. The phrase takes the form of an affirmative.
Subject + verb + complement
Tom asked: “Are you coming to the party tonight, Jane?”
Tom asked Jane if she was coming to the party that night.
Orders and petitions:
Subject + tell + somebody + infinitive + complement
the doctor said to me: “Stop smoking”
The doctor told me to stop smoking
Object request
ask + for + object
“can I have an Apple?”, she asked
She asked for an apple
Hopes, intentions, promises.
Subject + reporting verb + to infinitive
“I will pay you the money tomorrow”
He promised to pay me the money the next day.
The same applies to Hope, threaten, swear.