Skip to main content

Reported Speech

Image
By

1. Introduction to Reported Speech

Reported speech or indirect speech is the second-hand account of what has been spoken by someone else (direct speech). In the above example, Amit’s friend reports what their teacher had said in the classroom.
Inverted commas (“…”) are used for indicating direct speech, i.e., for showing the exact words spoken by the speaker.
For example:
Teacher: “I will give a test on reported speech tomorrow.”
There are two ways of reporting this direct speech.
I. Direct reported speech: By using the exact words of the speaker.
The teacher said, “I will give a test on reported speech tomorrow.”
As you would have noticed, there is not much difference between direct speech and direct reported speech. Both make use of the inverted commas, thereby indicating that the exact words of the speaker have been used.
However, the use of the reporting verb (‘said’ in this case) in the latter differentiates it from the former.
II. Indirect reported speech: By using one’s own words to replace the exact words of the speaker.
The teacher said she would give a test on reported speech the next day.
Notice that inverted commas have not been used.
[Remember: Basically, speech is either direct or indirect. Direct speech makes use of inverted commas, whereas indirect speech does not.]

2. Reported Statements

Notice that the statement made by the elephant is in simplepresent tense and the deer also reports his statement in simple present tense. Therefore, there is no shift in tenses from the direct statement to the reported statement.
However, there is a shift in tenses when the direct statement is not in simple present tense.
Notice in the following example that there is a shift in tenses from the statement made by the elephant (simple past tense) to the statement reported by the deer (past perfect tense).

3. Reported Commands

In the above example, an affirmative command (Go, play…) is reported. Notice that in the reported speech, the commanding verb is preceded by told me to.
However, in cases of negative commands, the commanding verb in the reported speech is preceded by told me not to, as in the following example.

4. Reported Questions

You know that there are two types of questions: the YES/NO type and the WH- type. Let us see what happens when such questions are reported.
YES/NO type
Remember: You can use if or whether in the reported speech of Yes/No type questions.
WH- type
Remember: A reported speech does not have a question mark. The question becomes a statement.

5. Conversion of Tenses

You can see that there is no shift in tenses in the above example. Why? This is because, as mentioned earlier, if the direct speech is in the simple present, then there is no shift in tenses in the reported speech.
However, if the direct speech indicates the past, then there is a shift in tenses in the reported speech.
This is why conversion of tenses is an important part of the conversion of direct speech into reported speech. Let us look at some more examples of such changes.
Simple past
Changes to
Past perfect
 Sameer: “I went to the market.”
Sameer said that he had gone to the market.
Present perfect
 Jennifer: “I have begun writing the book.”
Jennifer said that she had begun writing the book.
Past perfect
 Deepak: “I had already started watching the movie when Sam entered the room.”
Deepak said that he had already started watching the movie when Sam entered the room.
Was/were
Changes to
Had been
 Tina: “I was working in the laboratory.”
Tina said that she had been working in the laboratory.
Has been
 Billu: “Pintu has been sleeping since morning.”
Billu said that Pintu had been sleeping since morning.
Had been
 Wasim: “I had been singing all afternoon.”
Wasim said that he had been singing all afternoon.
Am, Are, Is change to Was/Were
In the above example, am changes to was. Similarly, when are and is are used in direct speech, they change to were and was respectively in the reported speech.
Will changes to Would
Roger: “We will be back after nine.”
Roger said that they would be back by nine.

6. Changes in the Expressions of Time

Yesterday changes to The day before
The following example will make this clear.
Here are two more cases in which the expression of time changes in the reported speech.
Tomorrow changes to The day after
Julie: “We will work on the History project tomorrow.”
Julie said that they would work on the History project the day after.
Today changes to That day
Ananya: “I have to visit my grandfather today.”
Ananya said that she had to visit her grandfather that day.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Viewed Posts

Summary of The Enemy - Pearl S. Buck

By
THE ENEMY                                  - Pearl S. Buck Dr. Sadao – a surgeon and scientist Dr Sadao Hoki, a Japanese surgeon and scientist, lived with his wife Hana and two children on the Japanese sea-coast. His house was located on the sea-coast where he had spent his childhood. He was greatly influenced by his father whose chief concern was Sadao’s education. At the age of twenty-two, he was sent to America to study surgery and medicine. Sadao too, as an obedient son, fulfilled his father’s wishes and came back a famous surgeon and scientist to serve his nation and people. Although there was a war going on, he was not sent abroad with the troops for two reasons – he was perfecting a discovery on wounds and the old General might need him for an operation. Hana – a dedicated wife With his father’s consent, ...
28 comments
Read more

Summary of Evans Tries an O-level - Colin Dexter

By
EVANS TRIES AN O-LEVEL                                                 - Colin Dexter An unusual request from a prisoner In early March, the Secretary of the Examinations Board gets a call from the Governor of HM Prison in Oxford. The call is regarding a prisoner at Oxford Prison. The prisoner, James Roderick Evans, has been taking night classes in O-level German since last September and now aspires to write the exam to add to his education qualification. The Governor informs the Secretary that Evans is a congenital kleptomaniac but has a pleasant personality and no record of violence. As Evans is in a cell of his own, he can sit for his exam there itself. The call ends with the decision to get a parson from St. Mary Mags to invigilate and to kee...
7 comments
Read more

Summary of Memories of Childhood - The Cutting of My Long Hair - Zitkala-Sa and We Too are Human Beings - Bama

By
MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD This lesson presents the idea of marginalization from the perspective of two women, Zitkala-Sa and Bama, as they walk down the memory lane to the episodes that had significant influence on their lives. I. The Cutting of My Long Hair (Zitkala-Sa) The raucous cage The author narrates the incidents of the agonizing first day of her new boarding school life as a Native American. The day was bitterly cold and she was aghast to find herself amidst the chaos of the annoying loud noises of the ringing bell, clattering shoes and ceaseless murmuring in English, the language which was still “unknown” to her. In that new place, she fell prey to the European missionaries who were prejudiced and biased against the Native American clan. Caught in this strange new world, she yearned for her “lost freedom”. Discipline of the dining hall The ringing bell was an indication for breakfast. As Zitkala-Sa entered the room in a line with her Indian counterparts, who...
7 comments
Read more

Summary of Indigo - Louis Fischer

By
INDIGO                              – Louis Fischer The author visits Sevagram Fischer visited Sevagram, the ashram of Gandhi, in 1942. There, Gandhi revealed the reason behind the decision to urge the departure of the British, in 1917. A Champaran peasant and his request In 1916, Gandhi attended the annual convention of the Indian National Congress in Lucknow. During the proceedings, an illiterate peasant, Rajkumar Shukla, approached Gandhi and requested him to visit his district. He was one of the sharecroppers of Champaran, who had come to appeal against the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar. The peasant accompanied Gandhi everywhere he went and unrelentingly begged him to ‘fix a date’ for his visit to Champaran. In due course, Gandhi, impressed by the determination and the woeful tale of the peasant, consented to his request and asked him to meet in Calcutta. Gandhi’s visit to Ra...
6 comments
Read more

Summary of On the Face of It - Susan Hill

By
ON THE FACE OF IT                                   - Susan Hill Scene one Lonely Derry avoids people Fourteen-year-old Derry, in an attempt to hide from the hustle-bustle and yet unfriendly world, jumps over the wall to Mr. Lamb’s garden. Unaware of Mr. Lamb’s presence, Derry stumbles upon him and is dumbfounded as he expected the house as well the garden to be unoccupied. Derry has a distorted face, a side of which was burnt by acid, and this crushed his self-confidence. Unconcerned about the way he looked, Mr. Lamb easily starts a conversation with the boy. The friendly Mr. Lamb Mr. Lamb, even without knowing him or his name, considers Derry as a friend.  The play highlights how he kept the gate of the garden always open, welcoming everyone. His house did not have any curtains as he did not like “shutting things out, shutting things in”. While talking to Derry, he said, ...
17 comments
Read more