Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end
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| Item | Match | Comments |
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| I have known your father for twenty years (told) | He told me (that) he had known my father for twenty years | |
| Why are you living in this city? (wanted to know) | He wanted to know why I was living in that city |
If we report this sentence in the same city, we say "... living in this city" |
| I lived in Brighton for a year (said) | He said (that) he had lived in Brighton for a year | |
| I have been planting flowers all morning, I must rest (said) | He said (that) he had been planting flowers all morning and (that) he must rest |
the modal verb MUST has no past form, so it doesn't change |
| It's not fair, she has to stay with me (exclaimed) | He exclaimed (that) it wasn't fair and (that) she had to stay with him | |
| Show me your hands (ordered) | He ordered me to show him my hands | |
| Don't move! (ordered) | He ordered me not to move | |
| It's better if I keep quiet and stay hidden here (thought) | He thought it was better if he kept quiet and stayed hidden there | |
| Can you see that bird over there? (asked) | He asked me if I could see that bird over there | |
| Sometimes I see fairies (whispered) | He whispered that sometimes he saw faires |
we can also say "... he sees faires" if that is still true |
| We will be hungry soon (announced) | He announced (that) they would be hungry soon |
If WE includes him and me, it remains WE, but if it doesn't include me, it changes to THEY. |
| I can't do this any longer, I need to go now (shouted) | He shouted (that) he couldn't do (that) any longer and that he needed to go then | |
| You look very nice, what's your name? (told her) | He told her (that) she looked very nice and wanted to know what her name was |
also: ... and wanted to know her name. |
| Did you see my brother yesterday? (wanted to know) | He wanted to know if I had seen his brother the day before | |
| I've got a big family (said) | He said (that) he had a big family |
The form HAVE GOT is only used in the present, we can't say HAD GOT |
| Come here! (asked) | He asked me to go there | |
| Are you coming with me now? (asked) | He asked me if I was going with him then |
also: ... at that moment |
| I worked in this factory two years ago (said) | He said he had worked in that factory two years before |
AGO changes to BEFORE |
| Who's that tall girl? (asked) | He asked me who that tall girl was | |
| Where are you from? (wanted to know) | He wanted to know where I was from | |
| Are you ok? (wanted to know) | He wanted to know if I was ok |
or: whether I was ok |
| Will you come to my party tonight? (asked) | He asked me if I would go to his party that night |
A more normal way of reporting this sentence would be: - He invited me to his party |
| Sit down please (asked) | He asked me politely to sit down | |
| We saw a cangaroo at the zoo last week (told) | He told me (that) they had seen a cangaroo at the zoo the week before | |
| Will you come to my house tomorrow? (asked) | He asked me if I would go to his house the following day | |
| I like those paintings very much, who is the painter? (said) | He said (that) he liked those paintings very much, and wanted to know who the painter was |
also: and asked who the... |
When we report what somebody says or thinks, we can reproduce the exact words they say (or that we imagine they think) or we can express the idea inside our own sentence, changing everything necessary to make it fit:
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Direct speech: Peter said, “I am very happy here” Reported speech: When we arrived to the river, Peter said that he was very happy in that place |
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As you can see, in reported speech we need to make some changes. Let’s see what those changes are.
CHANGE OF SITUATION
Words referring to place, time, etc. may need to be changed if we are reporting those words in a different place, time, etc.
- These are my children 
He said that those were his children
- Come here He told me to go there
- I’ll go tomorrow Yesterday he told me that he would come today
PRONOUNS
Some pronouns may need to change too.
- Give it to me He told me to give it to him
- You are nice He said that I was nice
TENSES
We usually report the words at a later time, so we need to change all the tenses back towards the past with logical common sense. These are the usual changes:
Present Past
I need help He said that he needed help
Present perfect Past perfect
They have moved away He said that they had moved away
Past Past perfect
She lived here He said that she had lived there
Will would
I will visit you later He said he would visit us later
And the same with other modal verbs such as Can could, May might, etc.
I can do it He said he could do it
The Past Perfect tense doesn’t change because it can’t move back any further:
They had left an hour before He said they had left an hour before
QUESTIONS
We only use inversion in direct questions, so in reported speech we use the normal order: subject + verb. Also, questions beginning with a verb use the connector IF (or WHETHER). The reporting verb is always "asked" or "wanted to know".
Who are you? He asked me who I was
What's your name? He asked me what my name was
Is she gone? He asked me if she was gone
Have you got a pound? He wanted to know if I had a pound
Do you like her? He asked me whether I liked her
IMPERATIVES
When we report an imperative we use an infinitive. Reporting verbs: told, ordered, asked.
Run faster! He told me to run faster
Be quiet He ordered us to be quiet
Don’t move He asked us not to move
