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Direct speech and reported speech Lesson-B - Part 2 - Speech - Narration- English

Direct speech and reported speech Lesson-  b

Subject: English
Subject Code: HUM 4101
Topic: Direct Speech and Reported Speech Part-2
Lecturer: Md. Arif Moinuddin Chy




Person:    I                            he/she
                 My                        his/her
Place:       here                     there, at the flat
Time:        now                     then, at the time
                  today                  that day, on Monday, etc
                  yesterday           the day before, the previous day
                  tomorrow           the next/following day, on     Saturday, etc
                  this week            that week
                  last week            the week before, the previous week
                  An hour ago       an hour before/earlier

When do we change the tense?
After a past-tense verb (e.g. said), there is often a tense change. 'It really is cold today.' —> Joy said it was really cold that day.

If the statement is still up to date when we report it, we can either leave the tense the same, or we can change it.
You said you like/liked chocolate. Claire told me her father owns/owned a racehorse.
Samia said she's going/she was going to Rome in April.
We can say that Samia is going to Rome because it is still true that she will go there.

If the statement is no longer up to date, then we change the tense.
Claire once told me that her father owned a racehorse. (He may no longer own one.)
Sarah said she was going to Rome in April (Now it is May.)
Now Sarah's trip is over, so it is no longer true that she is going to Rome.

We usually change the tense if we think the statement is untrue or may be untrue.
You said you liked chocolate, but you aren't eating any.
The Prime Minister claimed that the government had made the right decision.

DIRECT SPEECH                                             REPORTED SPEECH
Adnan is working.'                         Jessica said Adnan was working.
'The  doors aren't locked.'  - Maruf told me the doors weren't locked.
'I've fixed the shelves.'                  Taufik said he'd fixed the shelves.
‘It’s been raining.'                            We noticed it had been raining

Modal verbs: can -► could, etc
Can, may and will change to could, might and would.
'You can sit over there.'      The waiter said we could sit here.
'I may go to Bali again.'     Karim said she might go to Bali again.
'I'll help if you like.'             Tina said she would help

Could, might, ought to, should and would stay the same. But must can change to have to.
'Sahida would love a holiday.‘ - Mark thought Sahida would love a holiday.
'I must finish this report.' - Sahida said she must finish/had to finish the report.



When do we change the tense?

Put in is or was. Sometimes both are possible.

? I heard today that the house is for sale. I wonder who will buy it.

? I saw David yesterday. He said he was on his way to visit his sister.



1 This wallet is made of plastic not leather. Why did you tell me it…………….leather?
2 We had to hurry yesterday morning. Just as we arrived at the station, we heard an announcement that the train..................about to leave.
3 I saw Emma just now. She said her tooth ............still aching.
4 I'm surprised Maruf lost. I thought he ………….. much better at tennis than Danesh.
5 When he spoke to reporters yesterday, Mr Douglas said that Printco …………… now in a much better financial position.

The tense change . Complete the replies. The second speaker is surprised at what he or she hears.
► Matthew: Emma and I are getting married.
Rachel: Really? But you said last week you weren't getting married.
► Rita: I like pop music more than classical music.
Laura: I'm sure you told me you liked classical music best.
Vicky: I haven't finished my project. Emon: Haven't you? I thought you said .............................................................
Ronny: I'm on a diet. Bipasha: But you told me .................................................................................……
Adnan: I enjoy parties. Daniel: Surely I remember you saying ...................................................................
Mahi: I'm applying for the job. Rakib: I thought you told me...............................................................................
1 you had finished it/your project. 2 you weren't on a diet. 3 you didn't enjoy them/parties. 4 you weren't applying for it/the job.

Wh-questions . We can report questions with verbs like ask, wonder or want to know. Look first at these wh-questions.
DIRECT QUESTION
'When did you start acting, Melissa?‘    'What's the time?'
'Which way is the post office?’    ‘How can we find out?'
'Where can we eat?‘
REPORTED QUESTION
faisal asked Melissa when she started acting.   I just asked what the time is.  Someone wants to know which way the post office is.
I was wondering how we can find out. They're asking where they can eat.
Wh-questions have a word like when, what, which or how both in direct speech and in reported speech

Yes/no questions
DIRECT QUESTION
'Has the taxi arrived yet?' ~ 'No, not yet‘. 'Can we take photos?' ~ 'Yes, of course.' 'Is there a cafe nearby?' ~ 'No.‘
REPORTED QUESTION
Someone was wondering if/whether the taxi has
arrived yet. The visitors want to know if/whether they can take photos. Daniel asked if/whether there was a café nearby.

Asking for information
To ask politely for information, we sometimes use a reported question after a phrase like
Could you tell me ... ? or Do you know ... ?
Could you tell me what time the concert starts?
Do you know if there's a public phone in the building?
Have you any idea how much a taxi would cost?

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