Overview
This lecture explains reported speech (indirect speech) in English, covering direct speech, backshifting, reporting verbs, modal verbs, reported questions, and commands.
Direct Speech vs. Reported Speech
- Direct speech quotes someone's exact words using quotation marks.
- In reported speech, we summarize what someone said, often changing tenses, pronouns, and adverbs.
- American English uses double quotation marks; British English uses single.
Backshifting (Tense Changes)
- Backshifting means changing verb tenses back one step when reporting speech.
- Present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous.
- Past simple → past perfect; past perfect and past perfect continuous stay the same.
- Future “will” → “would” in reported speech.
- Don’t backshift if the information is still true or the action hasn’t happened yet.
Reporting Verbs: Say vs. Tell
- “Say” and “tell” are common reporting verbs; both are irregular (say/said, tell/told).
- Use “say” without mentioning the listener; use “tell” with the listener (“I told him…”).
- “Tell” gives more information about who was spoken to, while “say to someone” is also correct.
Modal Verbs in Reported Speech
- Will → would; can → could; may (possibility) → might; may (permission) → could; must (obligation) → had to; must (speculation) stays “must.”
- Should, might, could generally stay the same.
Reported Questions
- Yes/no questions use “if” or “whether”: reporting verb + if/whether + subject + verb.
- No subject-verb inversion or question marks in reported questions.
- WH-questions: reporting verb + question word + subject + verb.
- Do not use auxiliary verbs or inverted word order.
Reported Commands (Imperatives)
- Reported commands use “tell” plus the infinitive (“to” + base verb).
- For negative commands, use “to not” plus verb (“She told me not to look at my phone”).
Key Terms & Definitions
- Direct speech — The exact words spoken, in quotation marks.
- Reported (indirect) speech — Rephrasing what someone said, often changing tense/pronouns.
- Backshifting — Moving verb tenses one step back in time in reported speech.
- Reporting verb — Verb used to introduce reported speech (e.g., say, tell, ask).
- Modal verbs — Verbs expressing possibility, ability, obligation, etc. (can, may, must, will…).
- Imperative — A command or instruction.
- Yes/no question — A question answerable by “yes” or “no.”
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review tense changes for all 12 English tenses when reporting speech.
- Practice rewriting direct speech as reported speech using examples.
- Learn key reporting verbs and their structures.
- Complete exercises on reported questions and commands.