COMPLEX SENTENCEUnit 2

Unit 2: INDIRECT SPEECH

There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect. In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact words:

[1] He said, ‘I have lost my umbrella’. What kind of punctuation marks this type of

reporting? Where is it usually found?

2.1. Direct and indirect (or reported speech)

In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark without necessarily using the speaker’s exact words:

[2] He said that he had lost his umbrella. The verbs used to introduce this kind or

retelling (reported speech) are usually say or tell, but also many other verbs: complain, explain, object, point out, protest, etc.

An indirect speech sentence is a complex sentence structure consisting of the main clause (REPORTING CLAUSE (1)) and a subordinate clause (REPORTED CLAUSE (2)) which functions as a direct object. Han Solo said (1), “I love you, Lea (2).” Han Solo told Lea (1) that he loved her (2).

INDIRECT SPEECH

Depending on the sentence discourse type of the reported clause (statement, question, command, exclamation), the object nominal clause can be structurally realized in several ways:

REPORTED CLAUSE

Discourse types

Subordinate nominal clause Examples

Statements that-clause He said that the was angry.

questionsyes/no interrogative clause He asked her if she was married.

wh-interrogative clause He asked her where she lived.

commands to-infinitival clausethat-clause

I told Tom to tidy his roomI Insisted that Tom tidy his room.

exclamations wh-interrogative clause Jenny told them what brave boys they were.

When converting DIRECT SPEECH TO INDIRECT SPEECH, changes occur because the conditions under which the utterance was produced changed:◦ BACKSHIFT of tenses (if the reporting verb is in

the past tense)◦ CHANGES OF PRONOUNS (central and

demonstrative)◦ ADJUNCTS OF TIME AND PLACE ALSO CHANGE

now > then today > that day here > there Etc.

CHANGES IN INDIRECT SPEECH

Direct speech Indirect speechSimple present‘I never eat meat,’ he explained.Present continuous‘I am waiting for Ann,’ he said.Present perfect‘I have found a flat,’ he said.Present perfect continuous‘I have been waiting for ages,’ he said.Simple past‘I took it home with me,’ she said.FutureHe said, ‘I shall/will be in on Monday.’Future continuousShe said, ‘I’ll be using the car on April 24th.’But note, ConditionalI said, ‘I would like to see it.’

BACKSHIFT

BACKSHIFTDirect speech Indirect speech

Simple present‘I never eat meat,’ he explained.

Simple pastHe explained that he never ate meat.

Present continuous‘I am waiting for Ann,’ he said.

Past continuousHe said (that) he was waiting for Ann.

Present perfect‘I have found a flat,’ he said.

Past perfectHe said (that) he had found a flat.

Present perfect continuous‘I have been waiting for ages,’ he said.

Past perfectHe said (that) he had been waiting for ages.

Simple past‘I took it home with me,’ she said.

Past perfectSe said (that) she had taken it home with her.

FutureHe said, ‘I shall/will be in on Monday.’

Future in the pastHe said he would be in on Monday.

Future continuousShe said, ‘I’ll be using the car on April 24th.’

Future in the past continuousShe said she would be using the car on April 24th.

But note, ConditionalI said, ‘I would like to see it.’

ConditionalI said I would like to see it. – NO CHANGES

I/we shall/should normally becomes he/she/they would: I shall be 21 tomorrow Bill said he would be 21 the following day. If I had the instruction manual, I

should/would know what to do.

BACKSHIFT

BACKSHIFT is optional if the time reference of the original utterance is still valid at the time of reporting:◦ King Leonidas said that he was/*is a citizen of the

world.◦ Leonidas said that nothing could/can harm a

freedom-loving man.◦ I didn’t know that our meeting is/was next

Thursday.

BACKSHIFT

In spoken English, the past tense does necessarily shift into the past perfect, provided this can be done without causing confusion about the relative time of the actions.[4] i. a. He said, ‘I loved her’. b. He said he had loved her.

In [4a] the implied meaning is that he does not love her any more, therefore, the tense has to be shifted to past perfect; otherwise the meaning would be wrong. But if the situation is obvious, as in [5], the shift is not necessary:

[5] a. He said, ‘Ann arrived on Monday.’ b. He said Ann arrived/had arrived on Monday. Similarly, the past continuous in theory changes into the past perfect

continuous, but in practice usually remains unchanged except when it refers to a completed action:

[6] i. a. She said, ‘We were thinking of selling the house, but we decided not to.

b. She said that they had been thinking of selling the house, but had decided not to.

but ii. a. He said, ‘When I saw them, they were playing tennis.’ b. He said that when he saw them they were playing tennis.

Past tenses can remain unchanged

If a state talked about in present remains unchanged, constant, or exists when a speech act is over, it does not require a shift in the past:

[7] John: ‘I love you and that is why I want to marry you.’ John told me he loves me and that is why he wants to marry

me. (provided his feelings remained the same) Unreal past tenses (subjunctives) in indirect speech Unreal past tenses after wish, would rather/sooner and it is

time do not change: [8] i. ‘We wish we didn’t have to take exams,’ said the

children. The children said they wished they didn’t have to take

exams. ii. Ann said, ‘I’d rather Bill went with a group than alone.’ Ann said she’d rather Bill went with a group than alone.

No change in tense

Might, ought to, should, used to remain unchanged:

[9] i. He said, ‘Ann might ring today’. He said that Ann might ring (that day). ii. ‘They ought to/should widen this road,’ I

said. I said they ought to/should widen the road. iii. ‘I know the place because I used to live

here,’ he explained. He explained he knew the place because

he used to live there.

Modals in indirect speech

How are the following statements reported? What changes are likely to occur?

a. ‘I couldn’t stand on my head’, he said. b. He said, ‘I could do it tomorrow’ c. ‘I could read when I was three,’ she

boasted. Could for present ability does not change;

could for future ability either remains unchanged or is reported by would be able:

He said he would be able to do it tomorrow. Past ability: unchanged/had been able to.

Could: a. Ability

‘If I paid my fine, I could walk out of prison today,’ he said it.

He said that if he paid his fine he could/would be allowed to…

Could or was/were allowed to, also, had been allowed to:

He said that, as a boy, he was/had been allowed to stay up as long as he liked.

Could for permission

The choice of the personal pronoun depends on who is reporting whose words.

It usually changes from first or second to third person unless the speaker is reporting his own words.

Sometimes the noun must be used to avoid ambiguity: [11] i. Tom said: ‘He came in through the window.’ Tom said the man/burglar/cat etc. had come in

through the window. (because Tom said he had come in… would imply it

was Tom who came in) this and these Usually are changed into that or those, but depends on

the perspective of the speaker.

 Other changes: Pronoun and possessive adjectives

Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time change according to the following table:

Expressions of time and place

Direct speech

today

yesterday

the day before yesterday

tomorrow

the day after tomorrow

next week/year etc.

last week/year etc.

a year/month ago

Direct speech Indirect speech

today that day

yesterday the day before

the day before yesterday two days before

tomorrow the next day/the following day

the day after tomorrow in two days’ time

next week/year etc. the following week/year

last week/year etc. the previous week/year

a year/month ago a year before/the previous year

But if the speech is made and reported on the same day, these time changes are not necessary:

[12] i. At breakfast this morning he said, ‘I’ll be very busy today.’

At breakfast this morning he said he would be very busy today.

Adjustments of any kind are logical: if John said on Monday: ‘I’ll be leaving on Wednesday,’ this statement can be reported on Tuesday as John said he’d be leaving tomorrow, and on Wednesday, as John said he’d be leaving today.

What are the common verbs of introducing reported questions ? ask, inquire, wonder, want to know, etc. Ask can also be followed by the

person addressed (indirect object). E.g. i. Allan asked Sue, ‘Where are you going?’ ii. Allan asked Sue where she was going. When we turn direct questions into indirect speech, which changes

are necessary? Tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time

and place change as in statements; The interrogative form of the verb changes into affirmative form.

The question mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions:◦ He asked: ‘Where does she live?’ He asked where she lived.

What about: He asked: ‘Who lives next door?’ He asked who lived next door.

2.3. Questions in indirect speech

If a question has a wh- word, it is repeated in the reported question. Examples:

  [14] He said, ‘Where is the station?’ He asked where the station was. He inquired, ‘What do you have in your bag?’ He asked me what I had in my bag. He said, ‘Mary, when is the next train?’ He asked Mary when the next train was. He said, ‘Why didn’t you put on the brake?’ He asked her why she hadn’t put on the brake. She said, ‘What do you wand?’ She wanted to know what he wanted.

(a) Questions with a Wh- word

If there is no question word, i.e. if the question is asked by inversion of subject and auxiliary, if or whether must be used in reported questions. Examples:

[15] He said, ‘Is anyone there?’ He asked if/whether anyone was there. ‘Shall I wait for them or go on?’ he wondered. (a) He wondered whether he should wait for them or go

on. (b) He wondered whether to wait for them or go on. Bill asked me, ‘If you get the job, will you move to

York?’ Bill asked whether/if I got the job, I’d move to York.

(b) Questions without a Wh- word

If a question is asked with the auxiliary ‘do’ (do-support), this auxiliary is not used in reporting:

He said, ‘Do you know Bill?’ He asked if/whether I knew Bill. ‘Did you see the accident?’ the policeman asked. The policeman inquired if I had seen the accident. The officer asked me, ‘Do you want to insure your

luggage or not?’ The officer asked whether I wanted to secure my

luggage or not.

(c) Questions with ‘do’

Direct command: He said, ‘Lie down, Tom.’ Indirect command: He told Tom to lie down. Indirect commands, requests, advice are

usually expressed by: verb of command/request/advice + object

+ infinitive Which verbs are used? advise, ask, beg, command, encourage,

entreat, forbid, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge, warn.

2.4. Commands, requests, advice in indirect speech

usually reported by not + infinitive [17] i. ‘Don’t swim out too far, boys,’ I

said. ii. I warned the boys not to swim out

too far.

Negative commands

EXERCISESINDIRECT SPEECH

PAGE 177 – exercise 22 (a-d)

She said that he had to hurry. Her father was always furious if any of them were late for meals.

My uncle said that if I was short of money, he could lend me $50 and I didn’t have to worry about paying back.

He warned us we’d better take our sleeping bags; we might have to sleep out.

Tom said that he he’d have enjoyed the journey if the man next to him hadn’t snored all the time