1. I can only help you if you say / tell me the problem.
2. My mother said/told to turn the oven on at 6 o'clock.
3. The doctor said / told, "You'd better stay in bed for two days."
4. My dentist told / said me to eat less chocolate.
5. Tom told / said he would be late home.
6. The teacher said / told us to do the exercise.
7. I like listening to him when he says / talks about his youth.
8. He won't be punished if he says / tells what happened.
"I work hard," he said."I am working hard," he said."I have worked hard," he said. "I worked hard," he said. "I will work hard," he said."I have been working hard," he said.I am going to work harder," he said."I can work harder," he said."I may work harder," he said."I must work harder," he said."I should work harder," he said."I ought to work harder," he said."Do you work hard enough?" she said to him. "Work harder!" she said to him.
He said (that) he worked hard.He said (that) he was working hard.He said (that) he had worked hard.He said (that) he had worked hard.He said (that) he would work hard.He said (that) he had been working hard.He said (that) he was going to work harder.He said (that) he could work harder.He said (that) he might work harder.He said (that) he had to/must work harder.He said (that) he should work harder.He said (that) he ought to work harder.She asked him if he worked hard enough.She told him to work harder.
Changing from Direct into Reported Speech (Statements)
· Inverted commas are omitted in Reported Speech.
"I'm going out," he said. He said (that) he was going out.
· When the reporting verb (said, told etc) is in the past, all the following verbs usually change into a past form too. "I enjoy dancing," she said. She said she enjoyed dancing.
However, the tenses do not change in Reported Speech when:
a) the reporting verb (said, told etc) is in the Present, Future or Present Perfect
"The station is far from here," he says. He says the station is far from here.
b) the speaker expresses general truths, permanent states and conditions. "Water turns into ice," he said. He said water turns into ice. (permanent truth)
c) the speaker is reporting something immediately after it was said (up to date).
"I will call you back," he said. He said he will call me back. (immediate reporting - up to date) "I will call you back," he said. He said he would call me back, (later reporting - out of date)
· If the speaker expresses something which is believed to be true, the tenses
may change or remain unchanged. If something untrue is expressed, then the
tenses definitely change.
"She likes strawberries very much," he said, (true) He said she likes/liked strawberries very much."Canada is a poor country," he said, (untrue) He said Canada was a poor country.
· The Past Perfect and the Past Continuous usually remain the same in
Reported Speech. I was watching TV while Ann was reading a book." He said he was watchingTV while Ann was reading a book.
· If the reported sentence deals with unreal past, conditionals type 2/type 3 or wishes, the tenses remain the same. "It's time we went," he said. He said it was time they went. "If I were you, I would apologise," he said. He said that if he were me, he would apologise.· Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to the context.
I will show you my new dress," she said. She said she would show me her new dress. · Certain words change as follows depending on the context.
Direct Speech: this/these here"Put that box down over here," she said.
Reported Speech: that/those thereShe told me to put that box down over there.
· Time words and tenses can change or remain the same depending on the time reference. If the reported sentence is out of date, the tenses change. If the reported sentence is up to date, the tenses can remain the same.
"They are leaving next week," he said. He said they were leaving the following week. (speech reported after they had left -out of date) "They are leaving next week," he said. He said they are leaving next week. (speech reported before they have left - up to date)
tonight, today, this week/month/year
yesterday, last night/week/month/year
tomorrow, next week/month/year
two days/months/years etc ago
that night, that day, that week / month / year
then, at that time, at once
since the day before, the previous night/week/ month/year
the following day/the day after, the following/next week/month/year
two days/months/years etc before
3. Jim met Ann while she was on holiday. Read Anns words then report what she said.