Unit 2

There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect. In direct speech we repeat the original speakers exact words: [1] He said, I have lost my umbrella. What kind of punctuation marks this type of reporting? Where is it usually found?

In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark without necessarily using the speakers exact words: [2] He said that he had lost his umbrella. The verbs used to introduce this kind or retelling (reported speech) are usually say or tell, but also many other verbs: complain, explain, object, point out, protest, etc.

An indirect speech sentence is a complex sentence structure consisting of the main clause (REPORTING CLAUSE (1)) and a subordinate clause (REPORTED CLAUSE (2)) which functions as a direct object.
Han Solo said (1), I love you, Lea (2). Han Solo told Lea (1) that he loved her (2).

Depending on the sentence discourse type of the reported clause (statement, question, command, exclamation), the object nominal clause can be structurally realized in several ways:

Discourse types
Statements

Subordinate nominal clause

that-clause yes/no interrogative clause wh-interrogative clause

Examples
He said that the was angry. He asked her if she was married. He asked her where she lived. I told Tom to tidy his room I Insisted that Tom tidy his room. Jenny told them what brave boys they were.

questions

commands exclamations

to-infinitival clause that-clause wh-interrogative clause

When converting DIRECT SPEECH TO INDIRECT SPEECH, changes occur because the conditions under which the utterance was produced changed:
BACKSHIFT of tenses (if the reporting verb is in the past tense) CHANGES OF PRONOUNS (central and demonstrative) ADJUNCTS OF TIME AND PLACE ALSO CHANGE
now > then today > that day here > there Etc.

Direct speech
Simple present I never eat meat, he explained. Present continuous I am waiting for Ann, he said. Present perfect I have found a flat, he said. Present perfect continuous I have been waiting for ages, he said. Simple past I took it home with me, she said. Future He said, I shall/will be in on Monday. Future continuous She said, Ill be using the car on April 24th. But note, Conditional I said, I would like to see it.

Indirect speech

Direct speech
Simple present I never eat meat, he explained. Present continuous I am waiting for Ann, he said. Present perfect I have found a flat, he said. Present perfect continuous I have been waiting for ages, he said. Simple past I took it home with me, she said.

Indirect speech Simple past He explained that he never ate meat. Past continuous He said (that) he was waiting for Ann. Past perfect He said (that) he had found a flat. Past perfect He said (that) he had been waiting for ages. Past perfect Se said (that) she had taken it home with her.

Future He said, I shall/will be in on Monday. Future continuous She said, Ill be using the car on April 24th.
But note, Conditional I said, I would like to see it.

Future in the past He said he would be in on Monday. Future in the past continuous She said she would be using the car on April 24th. Conditional I said I would like to see it. NO CHANGES

I/we shall/should normally becomes he/she/they would: I shall be 21 tomorrow Bill said he would be 21 the following day. If I had the instruction manual, I should/would know what to do.

BACKSHIFT is optional if the time reference of the original utterance is still valid at the time of reporting:
King Leonidas said that he was/*is a citizen of the world. Leonidas said that nothing could/can harm a freedom-loving man. I didnt know that our meeting is/was next Thursday.

In spoken English, the past tense does necessarily shift into the past perfect, provided this can be done without causing confusion about the relative time of the actions. [4] i. a. He said, I loved her. b. He said he had loved her. In [4a] the implied meaning is that he does not love her any more, therefore, the tense has to be shifted to past perfect; otherwise the meaning would be wrong. But if the situation is obvious, as in [5], the shift is not necessary: [5] a. He said, Ann arrived on Monday. b. He said Ann arrived/had arrived on Monday. Similarly, the past continuous in theory changes into the past perfect continuous, but in practice usually remains unchanged except when it refers to a completed action: [6] i. a. She said, We were thinking of selling the house, but we decided not to. b. She said that they had been thinking of selling the house, but had decided not to. but ii. a. He said, When I saw them, they were playing tennis. b. He said that when he saw them they were playing tennis.

If a state talked about in present remains unchanged, constant, or exists when a speech act is over, it does not require a shift in the past: [7] John: I love you and that is why I want to marry you. John told me he loves me and that is why he wants to marry me. (provided his feelings remained the same) Unreal past tenses (subjunctives) in indirect speech Unreal past tenses after wish, would rather/sooner and it is time do not change: [8] i. We wish we didnt have to take exams, said the children. The children said they wished they didnt have to take exams. ii. Ann said, Id rather Bill went with a group than alone. Ann said shed rather Bill went with a group than alone.

Might, ought to, should, used to remain unchanged: [9] i. He said, Ann might ring today. He said that Ann might ring (that day). ii. They ought to/should widen this road, I said. I said they ought to/should widen the road. iii. I know the place because I used to live here, he explained. He explained he knew the place because he used to live there.

How are the following statements reported? What changes are likely to occur? a. I couldnt stand on my head, he said. b. He said, I could do it tomorrow c. I could read when I was three, she boasted. Could for present ability does not change; could for future ability either remains unchanged or is reported by would be able: He said he would be able to do it tomorrow. Past ability: unchanged/had been able to.

If I paid my fine, I could walk out of prison today, he said it. He said that if he paid his fine he could/would be allowed to Could or was/were allowed to, also, had been allowed to: He said that, as a boy, he was/had been allowed to stay up as long as he liked.

The choice of the personal pronoun depends on who is reporting whose words. It usually changes from first or second to third person unless the speaker is reporting his own words. Sometimes the noun must be used to avoid ambiguity: [11] i. Tom said: He came in through the window. Tom said the man/burglar/cat etc. had come in through the window. (because Tom said he had come in would imply it was Tom who came in) this and these Usually are changed into that or those, but depends on the perspective of the speaker.

Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time change according to the following table:
Direct speech today yesterday the day before yesterday tomorrow the day after tomorrow next week/year etc. last week/year etc. a year/month ago

Direct speech
today yesterday

Indirect speech
that day the day before

the day before yesterday

tomorrow the day after tomorrow next week/year etc. last week/year etc. a year/month ago

two days before

the next day/the following day in two days time the following week/year the previous week/year a year before/the previous year

But if the speech is made and reported on the same day, these time changes are not necessary: [12] i. At breakfast this morning he said, Ill be very busy today. At breakfast this morning he said he would be very busy today. Adjustments of any kind are logical: if John said on Monday: Ill be leaving on Wednesday, this statement can be reported on Tuesday as John said hed be leaving tomorrow, and on Wednesday, as John said hed be leaving today.

What are the common verbs of introducing reported questions ? ask, inquire, wonder, want to know, etc. Ask can also be followed by the person addressed (indirect object).

E.g. i. Allan asked Sue, Where are you going? ii. Allan asked Sue where she was going. When we turn direct questions into indirect speech, which changes are necessary? Tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time and place change as in statements; The interrogative form of the verb changes into affirmative form. The question mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions: What about: He asked: Who lives next door? He asked who lived next door.
He asked: Where does she live? He asked where she lived.

If a question has a wh- word, it is repeated in the reported question. Examples:

[14] He said, Where is the station? He asked where the station was. He inquired, What do you have in your bag? He asked me what I had in my bag. He said, Mary, when is the next train? He asked Mary when the next train was. He said, Why didnt you put on the brake? He asked her why she hadnt put on the brake. She said, What do you wand? She wanted to know what he wanted.

If there is no question word, i.e. if the question is asked by inversion of subject and auxiliary, if or whether must be used in reported questions. Examples: [15] He said, Is anyone there? He asked if/whether anyone was there. Shall I wait for them or go on? he wondered. (a) He wondered whether he should wait for them or go on. (b) He wondered whether to wait for them or go on. Bill asked me, If you get the job, will you move to York? Bill asked whether/if I got the job, Id move to York.

If a question is asked with the auxiliary do (dosupport), this auxiliary is not used in reporting: He said, Do you know Bill? He asked if/whether I knew Bill. Did you see the accident? the policeman asked. The policeman inquired if I had seen the accident. The officer asked me, Do you want to insure your luggage or not? The officer asked whether I wanted to secure my luggage or not.

Direct command: He said, Lie down, Tom. Indirect command: He told Tom to lie down. Indirect commands, requests, advice are usually expressed by: verb of command/request/advice + object + infinitive Which verbs are used? advise, ask, beg, command, encourage, entreat, forbid, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge, warn.

usually reported by not + infinitive [17] i. Dont swim out too far, boys, I said. ii. I warned the boys not to swim out too far.

INDIRECT SPEECH

She said that he had to hurry. Her father was always furious if any of them were late for meals. My uncle said that if I was short of money, he could lend me $50 and I didnt have to worry about paying back. He warned us wed better take our sleeping bags; we might have to sleep out.

Tom said that he hed have enjoyed the journey if the man next to him hadnt snored all the time