Grammar Point: Reported Speech

Reported Speech

In the English language reported speech affects the sequence of tenses, if the main clause is in the past ("I said", She asked"). It applies to some of the tenses.

TENSES:
1) Present Simple -> Past Simple

I do -> I did
2) Present Continuous -> Past Continunous

I am doing -> I was doing
3) Present Perfect - >Past Perfect

I have done-> I had done
4) Present Perfect Continuous ->Past Perfect Continuous

I have been doing-> I had been doing
5) Past Simple -> Past Perfect

I did-> I had done
6) will ->would

Changes in time and place words (ADVERBS)
here->there
this->that
now->then
yesterday-> the day before
tomorrow -> the day after
last week - the week before
next week - > the week after
ago -> before


Mike said: "I will repair my bike tomorrow"
REPORTED SPEECH: Mike said that he would repair his bike the day after

Modals in the Reported Speech:


Can ->Could

He can swim
REPORTED SPEECH: Mike said he could swim
May ->Might

He may swim
REPORTED SPEECH: Mike said he migth swim
Must ->Had

He must swim
REPORTED SPEECH: Mike said he had to swim
Needn't * ->Did not need

He needn't swim
REPORTED SPEECH: Mike said he didn't need to swim
*needn't is a different way of saying: don't need.

You needn't worry! I will take care of this = You don't need to worry ...
The following modals do not change: Would, could, might, ought to, needn't have, must have, used to.


Reported Questions:

Reported questions have the word order of a statement (postive sentence).
a) questions asking for details (What? Which? Where? Who? When? and so on.)
For example: "Where was your brother yesterday?" We introduce them with the interrogative pronoun.

REPORTED SPEECH: She asked where my borther had been the day before.
b) general questions (yes/no questions) those which can be answered with yes or no, formed using conjunctions like if and whether.
For example: "Are you hungry?"

REPORTED SPEECH: He asked whether I was hungry.

Reported Commands and Requests:

Commands
"Go to bed!"
We use the infinitive with to.
REPORTED SPEECH: He told me to go to bed.
"Don't go to bed!"

REPORTED SPEECH: He told me not to go to bed.
Requests
"Could you buy some eggs?"

REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me to buy some eggs
"Don't buy any eggs, please."

REPORTED SPEECH: She asked me not to buy any eggs