Reported speech is when we talk about what people have said. We report what we have heard in different ways, depending on if they are statements, questions, or orders and requests. Let’s focus on reported statements.
We will talk about the grammar rules, but before we do, read the cartoon, and see what you notice by yourself!
VOCABULARY
crush – infatuation
ask out – invite on a date
break up – separate
can’t wait to – excited to
The next day…
Compare the direct and reported statements. What do you notice?
Direct speech: I have a crush on Todd.
Indirect speech: Lucy told me that she had a crush on Todd.
Direct speech: I am thinking of asking him out.
Indirect speech: She said that she was thinking of asking him out.
Direct speech: I saw him with Beth.
Indirect speech: She said that she had seen him with you.
Direct speech: They were holding hands.
Indirect speech: She said that you had been holding hands.
Direct speech: They have been together for three months.
Indirect speech: She mentioned that you had been together for three months.
Direct speech: But they have been arguing.
Indirect speech: … but also that you had been arguing.
Direct speech: Maybe they will break up and I can ask him out.
Indirect speech: She said that maybe you would break up and she could ask him out.
Direct speech: But I must think about Beth’s feelings too.
Indirect speech: She added that she had to know more about Todd’s feelings.
Well, the first thing I notice is that the last thing Steven told Beth wasn’t true. Did he lie on purpose, or was it an honest mistake?
What do you think? Talk about your observations about the grammar, meaning, and potential social consequences.
How to report statements in English
You can report speech in four steps. Start with a clause, to establish that you are conveying someone else’s words. Change your pronouns and adjectives as needed. Backshift the verb tense, and then adjust the time and place.
The first step is to start with a reporting clause. It announces that you are reporting speech, and it clarified who said what, and maybe to whom.
Ben said
Jennifer told David
The President ordered the army to
Let’s do a quick quiz to check that you can use say, tell, and ask correctly.
If this is confusing at all, feel free to review say and tell before we continue!
The second step is to change your pronouns and adjectives as needed. Pay attention to how you use he, him, his, for example.
The third step is to determine the tense that you need to use.
Someone made a statement. This occurred before the moment when you are speaking, so you are referring to something that happened in the past. Further, if someone told you (in the past), something that happened before that, then you need to use Past Perfect.
An exception is if something is still happening in the moment of speaking, in which case you can use the Present Simple, because it is still true.
Compare the following direct and reported sentences.
Direct Speech: “I live in Vancouver.”
Tom said that he lived in Vancouver.
Tom lived in Vancouver at some time in the past and maybe still does. You are just reporting what he said.
Tom says that he lives in Vancouver.
Tom still lives in Vancouver in the moment that you are reporting it, and you want to emphasize that he is still there.
Direct Speech: “I lived in Vancouver.”
Tom said that he had lived in Vancouver.
Tom told you something, which is an event in the past. He lived in Vancouver, which is another event in the past. We use Past Perfect to talk about events before other events in the past.
Sentences with two Past Simple statements
When we report sentences with two statements in the Past Simple, we backshift the first verb and leave the second one in the Past Simple.
Don’t worry about the nuances until you have mastered the basics. Learn the reporting rules, and we’ll incorporate it into your classes until it’s second nature.
If you need to refresh your memory of the grammar tenses and how they are formed, check out the infographic.
How to Backshift for Reported Speech
Changing tenses in reported speech is called backshifting. Here are all of the backshifts that you need to report statements properly:
Let’s practice.
Try the quiz, add the correct form of the verbs again. Explain your answers.
The final step is adjust the place and time.
If you aren’t in the same place where you heard the words, then you are here, and talking about another place, over there.
If you heard the words yesterday, and tell someone about it two weeks from now, then you report the conversation as happening a couple of weeks ago.
Try the Mean Girls Quiz!
Play I CHALLENGE YOU with a twist. After the players answer each challenge, they give a challenge back, and ask “what did I just say”?
