Tense changes in reported speech; reporting in the same tense; verbs for reporting; verbs for reporting with to infinitive; reporting questions; reference to time, place, etc.
CONTEXT LISTENING
You are going to hear a radio interview. Rachel, a reporter in the studio, is talking to a man called James Baker, who is sailing in a round-the-world yacht race.
1. What do you think she is asking him?
2. Listen and check if you were right.
Later, Rachel tells a colleague about the conversation.
3. Read what Rachel says, then listen again and fill in the gaps with James’s actual words.
1. Rachel: James told me he was about 100 kilometres off the coast of Australia.
James: ‘I’m about 100 kilometres off the coast of Australia.’
2. Rachel: He said he hadn’t seen another boat for a few days.
James: ‘I _______ another boat for a few days.’
3. Rachel: He said he thought he might win.
James: ‘I _______ win.’
4. Rachel: He said there had been a terrible storm.
James: ‘There _______ a terrible storm.’
5. Rachel: He said he hadn’t slept for three days.
James: ‘I _______ for three days.’
6. Rachel: He told me the sea was calm, the sun was shining.
James: ‘The sea _______ calm, the sun _______ .’
7. Rachel: He said that he could sometimes see sharks and dolphins swimming.
James: ‘I _______ sometimes see sharks and dolphins swimming.’
8. Rachel: He said he would spend two hours in a hot bath.
James: ‘I _______ two hours in a hot bath.’
9. Rachel: He said he had to get his hair cut.
James: ‘I _______ my hair cut.’
4. Complete the questions that Rachel asked. Then listen again to check.
I asked him where he was. ‘Where _________?’
I asked him if he thought he was going to win. ‘Do you _________ to win?’
I asked him what the weather was like. ‘What_________ like?’
I asked him if he could see dolphins there. ‘_________ dolphins there?’
Can you see any pattern to the changes to the tenses in Exercises 3 and 4?
Log into Learnclick to do the exercise and check your answers.
GRAMMAR
Tense changes in reported speech
When we report what someone else said, we are usually reporting at a later time so we change the tenses used by the original speaker.
The following verbs do not change when they are reported at a later time:
could, would, should, might, ought to, used to
and verbs in the past perfect
You ought to buy a new coat in the sale. ➞ My mum said I ought to buy a new coat in the sale.
They used to live in California. ➞ He said they used to live in California.
Must vs had to
When we report must, we can use either must or had to in the reported speech but had to is more common:
Kate: ‘I must buy some fruit.’ ➞ Kate said she had to / must buy some fruit.
We use must, not had to, when we report:
a negative:
Paul: ‘You mustn’t tell Sally our secret.’ ➞ Paul said we mustn’t tell Sally our secret.
a deduction:
Sarah: ‘Jim must be tired after the flight.’ ➞ Sarah said Jim must be tired after the flight.
Reporting in the same tense
We report in the same tense
If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g. says), we use the same tenses as the original speaker:
Amy: ‘I’ve missed the bus so I’ll be a bit late.’ ➞ Amy says she’s missed the bus so she’ll be a bit late.
If the reporting verb is in the past (e.g. said), we sometimes use the same tenses as the original speaker if the situation is still true:
Robert: ‘I have three sisters’. ➞ Robert said he has three sisters.
or Robert said he had three sisters.
If we report what someone said about something that hasn’t happened yet
Carlo: ‘I’m getting married in June.’ ➞ Carlo said he is getting married in June.
But if we report after June, we must change the tense:
Carlo said he was getting married in June.
Verbs for reporting
We often use say and tell to report what somebody said:
say and tell:
With say, we must use to if we mention the person spoken to:
He said to me (that) he was going to win.
(not He said me)
Tell is always used without to, and it must be followed by the person spoken to:
He told them (that) he was going to win.
(not He told to them / He told that)
With say and tell, we usually omit that, especially in spoken English.
He told them (that) he was going to win.
(not He told to them / He told that)
other reporting verbs :
We can use other reporting verbs instead of say and tell. Some verbs are like tell:
He reminded me (that) it was his birthday.
She persuaded me (that) I should buy a different car.
He informed me (that) he had a new job.
They warned us (that) the bridge was in a dangerous condition.
Some verbs are nearly always followed by that and we use to if mentioning the person spoken to:
I mentioned (to my uncle) that Nicholas had found a new job.
The attendant pointed out that the pool would be closed on Saturday.
She complained (to the waiter) that the food was cold.
He explained (to us) that volcanic activity often caused earthquakes.
After agree we use with for the person spoken to:
Jack agreed (with me) that the film was brilliant.
Some verbs are nearly always followed by that but do not mention the person spoken to:
He answered that he had already read the report.
She replied that she didn’t know my cousin.
Verbs for reporting with to infinitive
to infinitive
We usually report orders and requests by using tell or ask + object + to infinitive:
‘Be quiet!’ ➞ The teacher told us to be quiet. (= an order)
reporting orders and requests
‘Don’t stay out late.’ ➞ Dad told me not to stay out late. (= an order)
‘Please help me!’ ➞ He asked us to help him. (= a request)
‘Could you carry my bag, please?’ ➞ She asked me to carry her bag. (a request)
Some other reporting verbs are also used with the to infinitive
‘You should vote for me.’ ➞ He advised us to vote for him.
‘We could help you.’ ➞ They offered to help me.
‘I’ll be a good leader.’ ➞ He promised to be a good leader.
‘OK. I’ll help you do the shopping.’➞ He agreed to help me do the shopping.
Reporting questions
Questions are reported using the word order of a statement rather than a question.
Questions with question words (who, what, etc.) keep these words in the reported speech:
‘How do you feel?’ ➞ Rachel asked James how he felt. (not how did he feel)
‘What’s the weather like?’ ➞ She asked (him) what the weather was like. (not what was the weather like)
Yes / no questions
Yes/no questions are reported with if or whether:
‘Can you hear me?’ ➞ Rachel asked James if/whether he could hear her.
‘Is the sea calm?’ ➞ Rachel wanted to know if/whether the sea was calm.
Being polite
We use the same structure when we ask politely for information:
Can you tell me what time the next train leaves?
I’d like to know if there’s a flight to Australia next Thursday.
References to time, place, etc.
Depending on how close in time we are to the original situation, we often have to change references to time when we report what someone said:
yesterday
today
tomorrow
next week
now
the day before / the previous day
that day / the same day
the next/following day
The next/following week
(right) then / right away, immediately, etc.
‘We didn’t do any work yesterday.’ ➞ They admitted that they hadn’t done any work the day before.
‘Will the library be open tomorrow?’ ➞ She enquired whether the library would be open the following day.
‘I have to go now or I’ll miss my bus.’ ➞ He explained that he had to go right then or he’d miss his bus.
Here and this
Other changes may include:
here ➞ there
this ➞ that/the
Other changes may include:
‘I saw him here yesterday‘ ➞ She explained that she had seen him there the day before.
What’s this red box?’ ➞ He wanted to know what the red box was.
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