Noun clause - Direct and indirect speeches

Direct and indirect speeches (video)

1.      Study this example situation:

Paul said, " I'm feeling ill."		You want to tell somebody what Paul said. There are two ways of doing this: 1.      You can repeat Paul’s words (direct speech): Paul said, “I’m feeling ill.” 2.      Or you can use indirect speech (reported speech): Paul said that he was feeling ill.
Compare	Direct:  Paul said, “  I  am feeling ill.” à In writing we use these quotation marks to show direct speech.
	Indirect: Paul said that he was feeling ill.

PS: You can leave out that - Paul said that he was feeling ill. – So you can say à Paul said he was feeling ill.

2. Verb tenses in indirect speech

We have to change the tense of the verb in indirect speech.

Direct – Yevette said, “I’m really happy to meet Jeanette.”

x Indirect - Yevette said she is really happy to meet Jeanette.

v indirect - Yevette said she was really happy to meet Jeanette.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
am/are/is	à was/were
have/has	à had
will	à would
can	à could
do/does	à did
simple present	à simple past
simple past	à past perfect
present continuous	à past continuous
present perfect	à past perfect

Ex:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
1. Ben said, “We’ll be late again.”	à Ben said they would be late again.
2. Kate said, “We may be late.”	à Kate said they might be late.
3. “I am from Japan,” said Ann.	à Ann said she was from Japan.
4. Kate said, “Nate, you look great.”	à Kate told Nate he looked great.
5. Gwen said, “I have lost my purse again.”	à Gwen said she had lost her purse again.
6. Jerome said, “Tia gave me a ride home.”	à Jerome said Tia had given him a ride home.

- Exceptions

3. It is not always necessary to change the verb in indirected speech. If you report something and the situation hasn’t changed, you do not need to change the verb to the past:

Ex:

Direct	Pual said, “My new job is very interesting.”
Indirect	Pual said that his new job is very interesting. (The situation hasn’t changed. His job is still interesting.)

Direct	Helen said, “I want to go to New York next year.”
Indirect	Helen told me that she wants to go to New York next year. (Helen still wants to go to New York next year.)

PS: You can also change the verb to the past:

1. Paul said that his new job was very interesting.

2. Helen told me that she wanted to go to New York next year.

But if you are reporting a finished situation, you must use a past verb:

1.      Paul left the room suddenly. He said he had to go. (Not has to go)

4.      You need to use a past form when there is a different between what was said and what is really true.

Ex:

You met Sonia a few days ago.

She said: “Joe is in the hospital.” (Direct speech)

Later that day you meet Joe in the street. You said:

“I didn’t expect to see you, Joe. Sonia said you were in the hospital.”

(Not “Sonia said you are in the hospital”, because clearly he is not)

5.      Tell/ask someone to do something:

We also use infinitive (to V) in indirect speech, especially with tell and ask (for orders and requests)

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
“Stay in bed for a few days,” the doctor said to me.	à The doctor told me to stay in bed for a few days.
“Don’t shout,” I said to Jim.	à I told Jim not to shout.
“Please don’t tell anybody what happened,” Jack said to me.	à Jack asked me not to tell anybody what (had) happened.

PS: You can also say “Somebody said (not) to do something”:

1. Jack said not to tell anybody. (But not Jack said to me)

Other verbs: order/beg/warn + Object + to V

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Sheriff Dianne Sun shouted at the man, “Drop your gun!”	à Sheriff Dianne Sun ordered the man to drop his gun.
“Please don’t tell anyone!” Kim exclaimed to Sheriff Sun.	à Kim begged Sheriff Sun not to tell anyone.

Note

We do not use object + infinitive (to V) after verb say or suggest Ex: 1. (x) Midge suggested my dad to go back to college.      (o) Midge suggested that my dad (should) go back to college.    2. (x) Del said Mel to tell Adele about the crack in the bell.      (o) Del ask Mel to tell Adele about the crack in the bell.

6.      Other words

After a “saying” verb in the past tense (said, reported, told, etc.), we sometimes have to make changes to the adverbs and other words. This is because the time and place and the speaker have changed. For instance, when we tell people what somebody said, we may have to change words like here, this, today, and now.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
here	à there
tomorrow	à the next day à the following day
yesterday	à the day before à the previous day
today	à that day
now	à then
this	à that
next week	à the next week
come	à go

Ex: 1. “The taxi will be here soon,” Maxie said to June.

à Maxie told June the taxi would be there soon. (The place is different (not in the same place) when it is reported.)

à Maxie told June the taxi would be here soon. (The place is the same (still in the same place) when it is reported.)

   2. Rae said, “I am not working today.”

à Rae said she was not working that day. (The time is different (not on the same day) when it is reported.)

à Rae said she was not working today. (The time is the same (still on the same day) when it is reported.)

   3. May said, “Leo, I hope you will come to my wedding tomorrow.”

à May said she hoped Leo would go to her wedding the next day. (The time and place are different (not on the same day; not in the same place) when it is reported.)

7.      Indirect questions = embedded questions (See embedded questions) (video)

Practice videos for SBS4 U8:

The portable classroom - Grammar practice - SBS 4 p. 112 - 113 (ex - picture 4) (vol. 1)
The portable classroom - Grammar practice - SBS 4 p. 112 - 113 (picture 5-9) (vol. 2)
The portable classroom - Practice video - SBS 4 p. 116 - 117 (ex-pic 6) (vol. 1)
The portable classroom - Practice video - SBS 4 p. 120 -121

Direct & indirect speeches exercises:

Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (1).doc answer keys:  Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (1) answer keys.doc

Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (2).doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (2) answer keys.doc

Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (3).doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (3) answer keys.doc
Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (4).doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (4) answer keys.doc
Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (5) (verb tenses only).doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (5) (verb tenses only) answer keys.doc
Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (6) tell,say or ask.doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (6) tell,say or ask answer keys.doc
Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (Questions) (1).doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (Questions) (1) answer keys.doc
Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (Questions) (2).doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (Questions) (2) answer keys.doc
Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (direct advice - indirect) (1).doc answer keys: Noun Clause - direct & indirect speeches (direct advice - indirect) (1) answer keys.doc
Direct and Indirect speeches on-line exercises:
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on English Grammar Online 
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on My English Pages 
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on E-Grammar. Org 
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on Englisch-Hilfen
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on Perfect English Grammar 
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on To learn English 
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on Angenda Web
Direct & Indirect speeches exercises on About.Com