Reported speech use reported speech is used to retell or report what other person has actually said. When the main idea of a speakers words is reported by another person and the exact words are not quoted, it is called indirect speech or reported speech. Rs004 reported speech indirect commands intermediate. Direct and indirect speech exercises with all forms and all types of sentences, study online or download in pdf. Your friend is an exchange student in the usa at the moment. The general rule is that present tenses in direct speech change to past tenses in reported speech. If we report something around the same time, then we probably do not need to make any changes to time.
Reported speech indirekte rede the hairdresser says she is good at her job. Reported speech in different english tenses exercise. The simple past tense usually changes to the past perfect in reported speech change of tenses. Time refers to the actual time that something happens, such as today or now or 5 weeks ago. And many times, problems appear when you have to put into the past time adverbs, personal and object pronouns, and such kind of words. Indirect speech as you can see from the above examples, present tenses in the direct speech are shifted back to corresponding past tenses in the indirect speech. Reported speech mixed exercise 2 when i used said you can also use told me 1. Direct speech is when we use the exact words that were said. In direct speech we repeat exactly what someone said. Using reported speech in english can sometimes be difficult for nonnative speakers as we usually change the verbs, pronouns and specific times. Backshift of tenses in indirect reported speech in english, simple present, simple past free online exercise. He said that if he had been rich he would have already bought that car.
Reported speech is also known as indirect speech and is used to tell somebody else what another person said. Time and place in reported speech grammar englishclub. Some english tenses do not backshift in reported speech. Though, their example use of were could possibly be considered to be a dialectal extended use of irrealis were according to the 2002 cgel where the usual expectation for indirect reported speech would be either the backshifted preterite was or the nonbackshifted am. The tenses, wordorder, pronouns may be different from those in the direct speech sentence. She said that she would have visited the hospital, if she had known i was sick. Last year, the minister said, the crisis will be overcome next year. Tense is the grammatical form of the verb that in the reported clause we sometimes shift back backshift.
Most likely your students are guilty of hypercorrection. Reported speech is often considered very difficult. Backshift of tenses in indirectreported speech in english, simple present, simple past free online exercise. General points reported speech and direct speech there are two common ways to tell somebody report peoples words, thoughts etc. Reported speech from present simple questions write the questions using reported speech with answer key and grammar note on page 2 intermediate level approximately 10 15 minutes. In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is.
Choose from the drop down menu and mind the tenses of the. Mind the introductory sentences and backshift of tenses. The plays of shakespeare are more interesting than the plays of ibsen. My ear wants to understand that as his talking about an event that was in the past in his life, not merely a backshift to signal reported speech of a present irrealis. Reported speech exercise with positive, imperative, assertive, imperative, exclamatory, question type sentences.
All downloads are in pdf format and consist of a worksheet and answer sheet to check your results. When the actual words of the speaker are reproduced, it is called direct speech. Chalker and weiner offer an example of backshift where logically the present tense would be used. When thinking about this situation, one might think of reported speech as if a reporter were in fact reporting it, thus. Pay attention to backshift and the changes to pronouns, time, and place. We sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving it back one tense. Sometimes someone says a sentence, for example im going to the cinema tonight. So, for example, if two minutes ago john said i am. Which is the correct ending of the sentence in reported speech. Backshift is the changing of a tense to an earlier one after the past form of a reporting verb. Say vs tell exercises subjunctive that clause reported speech examples 1 1. Direct speech alex said that he had been to australia.
The same sentences is presented in multiple verb tenses in direct speech and students fill in a reported speech version with the correct verb tense. Reported speech truefalse the two sentences have the same meaning. Are you feeling past continuous simple past i was there last year. We use reported speech when we want to repeat the content of statements, questions or other utterances previously made by other people, without quoting them explicitly as is done in direct speech. Do tenses in a time clause never backshift in reported. Indirect speech english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. Structure formal aspects we can find different ways of expressing the direct speech. English esl reported speech indirect speech worksheets. Your reportedspeech sentences sound good to me, yet my ear finds the pastperfect here to be too much. Reported speech without backshift change of pronouns and places.
These modals are not changed and remain same in indirect speech. Complete the sentences in reported speech no backshift. Easy reading for technology obsessed teenagers really designed to ignite topical discussion on technology. Backshift we do not change the tense no backshift if the introductory clause is in a present tense. Reported speech backshifting games to learn english. No backshift of tenses personal pronouns must be changed i. In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. Indirect speech alex said, i have been to australia. July 16, 2012 present tenses in the direct speech will become past tenses in the indirect speech. When the reporting verb is in the present tense, we do not backshift. If they struggle with the formation of the past tense, you cannot expect them to. These depend on the tense of the main verb in the reported speech. Backshift of tenses in reported speech online exercise.
Keep reading to understand how to use reported speech and download this free. Reported speech is usually a hard task to give in class, perhaps due to the huge framemark you have to work with. The professor ordered us to put our pencils down immediately. Reported speech pdf worksheets english vocabulary and. She is very excited you have to repeat every sentence to her. Backshift or backshifting may also occur when a verb in a subordinate clause is affected by the past tense in the main clause. See the sentences below with direct and indirect speech forms, these are great references to understand the difference. Simple past present continuous im working at the moment. He claimed that shakespeares plays were more interesting than ibsens. It is a good exercise to revise the reported speech w. Here are some exercises to help you practice and understand. Guess the backshift students tell their partners something that was said to them in direct speech maybe using the air speech marks gesture, and their partners convert it into reported speech, using the right kind of backshift or not by guessing whether it is something that is generally true about them, whether it is something their.
For example, present simple goes back one tense to past simple. Reported speech reported statements when do we use reported speech. Later, maybe we want to tell someone else what the first person said. You are speaking with him on the phone and your friend sue is standing next to you.
She asked me if i arrived had arrived before seven. He told me a i was from poland wrong the pronoun is incorrect. Reported speech indirect speech adjectives to describe feelings mood tone. Practice online with these all sentences types including commands, requests, statements, advice, suggestion and question. Backshift of tenses verb tenses direct speech reported speech pronounsverb tenses simple present do you i am a carpenter.
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