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Lesson Plan August 16, 2024
Topic: Reported Speech
There are two ways of telling somebody what another person said, direct speech and reported speech.
Section A
Direct speech (D) repeats the exact words that somebody said, while reported speech (R) reports what somebody said without repeating the exact words. Pay attention to the highlighted verbs.
(D) Peter said, “I'‘m at home.”
(R) Peter said that he was at home
(D) The politician said ,“I will create many new jobs.”
(R) The politicians said that he would create many new jobs.
(D) Alison said, “I went out on Saturday.”
(R) Alison said that she went out on Saturday.
(R) Alison said that she had gone out on Saturday.
(D) Omar said, “I'‘ve never been to China.”
(R) Omar said that he had never been to China.
(D) Daniel said, “I can’t speak French.”
(R) Daniel said that he couldn’t speak French.
(D) Pavel said, “I want to go to the concert.”
(R) Pavel said that he wanted to go to the concert.
Section B - Rules for Forming Reported Speech
The tense of the verb in direct speech changes in reported speech.
am / is —> was
are —> were
present simple —> past simple
will —> would
can —> could
The past simple in direct speech (went) can stay the same in reported speech, or we can use the past perfect (had gone). We can leave out the word that
Jackie said (that) she went to the store
Jackie said (that) she had gone to the store.
He said (that) he ate lunch.
He said (that) he had eaten lunch.
They mentioned (that) they drove along the coast.
They mentioned (that) they had driven along the coast.
If the situation has not changed, it is not necessary to change the tense.
Peter said he was at home. (= Maybe he is still at home now. Maybe he isn’t.)
Peter said he is at home. (= He is still at home now.)
She told me that she liked this book. (= Maybe she still lies this book, maybe she doesn’t.)
She told me that she likes this book. (= She still likes this book.)
If the situation ha changed, we usually change the tense. We may also need to change the time expression.
John said, “I'‘m feeling bad today.”
John said he was feeling bad that day.
Paulina said, I’m coming tomorrow.”
Paulina said she was coming the next day.
“I will see you next weekend,” she said.
She said she would see me the following weekend.
Lesson Notes
Words & Phrases
Gust; (noun) a sudden strong rush of wind; also used for rain, sounds
Once in a while there will be some strong gusts and heavy rain.
The typhoon will brigs gusts of rain along the coast today.
In the Showa era, railroad companies always pushed ahead during storms. Nowadays I think they learned that planned spots cause less damage. (Push ahead; (phrase) proceed with or continue a course of action)
Grammar
When we are talking about plants in pots (noun), and describing plants grown in pots we use the adjective "potted"
I have potted roses. (= roses growing in a pot)
We have too many potted plants. (= plants growing in pots)
Reported Speech
In these two examples the situation between Direct and Reported speech hasn’t changed.
(D) The athlete said, "I will win the race tomorrow.”
(R) The athlete said he will win the race tomorrow.
Explanation: The situation hasn’t changed because the race is still in the future. The word "will" remains the same.
(D) The director said, "The company will continue to grow next year.”
(R) The director said the company will continue to grow next year.
Explanation: The situation hasn’t changed because "next year" is still in the future. The word "will" is also retained here.
When someone asks you a yes or no question, and you want to tell someone else what they asked, you usually use the word "if." This helps connect the two parts of the sentence.
Direct Speech: "Are you tired?”
Reported Speech: "He asked if I was tired.”
Direct Speech: "Do you like pizza?”
Reported Speech: "She asked if I liked pizza.”
Direct Speech: "Did you finish your homework?”
Reported Speech: "He asked if I finished my homework.”
Direct Speech: “Have you seen my iPad?”
Reported Speech: She wanted to know if I had seen her iPad.”
So, when changing a question into reported speech, remember to use "if" to make the sentence sound right!
When someone asks you a question about something that already happened, you need to change the verb to show that it happened before.
For example, if someone asks, “Did you enjoy your trip?” and you want to tell someone else what they asked, you say, “She asked me if I had enjoyed my trip.”
We use "had enjoyed" instead of just "enjoyed" to show that the trip happened before the question was asked.
Original question: “Did you enjoy your trip?”
Reported speech: “She asked me if I had enjoyed my trip.”
Original question: “What were you talking about earlier?”
Reported speech: “Oscar asked me what I had been talking about earlier.”
Using "had" makes it clear that the trip or the talking was finished before the question was asked.
