GRAMMAR: INDIRECT SPEECH/REPORTED SPEECH

Change of tense

When we report what someone said, the verb forms often move one tense into the past.

‘I believe that what I am doing is right’, she said, ‘I will continue to fight for justice.’

She said she believedthat what she was doingwas right, and that she would continueto fight for justice.

Verb forms change in the following way:

Direct speech (the actual words) Reported speech (indirect speech)

Present Simple (do) Past Simple (did)

Present Continuous (is doing) Past Continuous (was doing)

Present Perfect (has done) Past Perfect (had done)

Past Simple (did) Past Perfect (had done)

Past Continuous (was doing) Past Perfect Continuous (had been doing)

Past Perfect (had done) no change possible

Past Perfect Continuous (had been doing) no change possible

Modals are used in direct speech:

- use the past forms of modals: can ® could

will ® would

may ® might

must ® had to

‘I must pay my phone bill’ ® He said he had to pay his phone bill.

- those which do not have a past form do not change: would, could, might and should

‘I might come later’ ® She said she mightcome later.

Reported questions

- use ask, want to know or wonder to report questions

- after wh-questions, the question word is used as a conjunction

The police asked (him) where he had been.

They wanted to know what time he arrived home.

- with yes/no questions if or whether are used

Ben wondered if/whether you wanted to come round for dinner

I ® she/he ours ® theirs today ® that day tomorrow ® the next day yesterday ® the previous day this ® that these ® those here ® there now ® then

In reported speech it is necessary to change the pronouns, adjectives and adverbs:

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<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
C. Answer the following questions and use them to speak about Canada.	\|	A. Read the dialogue and reproduce it in Indirect Speech.

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