Overview
This lecture covers how to change direct speech to reported (indirect) speech in English, focusing on verb tense changes, pronouns, time expressions, and reporting questions and requests.
Tense Changes in Reported Speech
- Present simple changes to past simple (e.g., "I like Fortnite" → James said he liked Fortnite).
- Present continuous changes to past continuous (e.g., "I'm playing Fortnite" → James said he was playing Fortnite).
- Present perfect changes to past perfect (e.g., "I've seen this film" → James said he had seen that film).
- Present perfect continuous changes to past perfect continuous (e.g., "I have been studying" → James said he had been studying).
- Past simple changes to past perfect (e.g., "I played football" → James said he had played football).
- Past continuous changes to past perfect continuous (e.g., "I was watching TV" → James said he had been watching TV).
- Past perfect remains past perfect in reported speech.
Time Expressions Changes
- "This morning" → "That morning"
- "Tomorrow" → "The next day" or "the following day"
- "Yesterday" → "The day before" or "the previous day"
- "Monday" → "The following Monday"
Reporting Modal Verbs
- "Will" changes to "would" (e.g., "It will rain" → James said it would rain).
- "Can" changes to "could."
- "Must" changes to "had to."
- "May" changes to "might."
- "Would," "should," "could," and "might" usually stay the same.
Reporting Questions
- Yes/no questions: use "if" or "whether" (e.g., "Did you watch the match?" → James asked me if I had watched the match).
- Wh- questions: use the wh-word (e.g., "Where did you go?" → James asked me where I had gone).
- Adjust verb tense back as with statements.
Reporting Requests and Commands
- Use "tell/ask + object + to + infinitive" for requests (e.g., "Hurry up!" → James told me to hurry up).
- For negative requests, use "not to" (e.g., "Please stop" → James asked me to stop).
Key Terms & Definitions
- Reported speech — Indirectly telling what someone said.
- Direct speech — Quoting someone's exact words.
- Modal verbs — Auxiliary verbs like can, could, must, may, will, would, should, might.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practice transforming direct speech into reported speech, focusing on tense, pronoun, and time expression changes.
- Review examples of reporting questions and commands.