Page 73 - American English File Student Book 3B

GRAMMAR BANK

reported speech: sentences and questions • If you rep o rt w h at so m eo n e said on a d ifferen t day
o r in a d ifferen t place, so m e o th e r tim e and place
reported sentences w ords can ch an g e, e.g., tomorrow>the next day,
here>there, this>that, etc.
direct statements reported statements 4 33))) “I’ll meet you here tom orrow " He said he’d meet me
“I like trav elin g .” S h e said (that) she liked traveling.
there the next day.
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”H e told h er (that) he was leaving the next day.
“I’ll alw ays love you.” H e said (th at) he would alw ays love me. P say and tell
“I passed the e x a m !” S h e told m e (th at) she had passed the exam . Be careful - after said don’t use a person or
"I’ve fo rg o tten my keys.” H e said (that) he had fo rg o tten his keys. an object pronoun:
“I can’t co m e.” S h e said (that) she couldn’t com e. He said he was tired. NOT He-said-merr-.
“I may be late.” H e said (that) he might b e late. After told you must use a person or pronoun:
“I must go.” S h e said (that) she had to go. Sarah told Cally that she would call her. NOT
Sarah told that she...
He told me he was tired. NOT He-teld-he- was-..-:
• W e use rep orted sp eech to re p o rt (i.e., to tell an o th er person) w hat
so m eon e said.
• W h en the rep o rtin g verb (said, told, etc.) is in the past ten se, the ten ses in reported questions
the sen ten ce th a t is b ein g rep orted u sually ch an g e like this:
direct questions reported questions 4 34)))
p resen t > past
“Are you m arried ?” S h e asked him if he was
will > would
m arried.
sim ple p ast / p resen t p erfe ct > p ast p erfect
“Did she call?” H e asked m e w h eth er she
had called.
P When tenses don’t change
“W h a t’s your nam e?” I asked h im w hat h is nam e
When you report what someone said very soon after they said it, the
tenses often stay the same as in the original sentence. was.
“W here do you live?” H e asked m e w here I lived.
Adam “I can’t come tonight”
I've just spoken to Adam and he said that he can’t come tonight.
Jack “I really enjoyed my trip.” • W h en you rep o rt a q u estion , the ten ses ch ange as
Jack told me that he really enjoyed his trip. in rep orted statem en ts.
• W h en a q uestion d o esn ’t b eg in w ith a question
• S o m e m od al verbs ch ang e, e.g., can>could, may>might, must>had to. O th er w ord, add if (or whether).
m od al verbs stay the sam e, e.g., could, might, should, etc. “Doyou want a drink?" He asked me i f / whether I
• Y ou u sually have to ch ang e the p ro n o u n s, e.g., “I likejazz." Jane said that wanted a drink.
she liked jazz. • You also have to ch an g e the w ord ord er to su bject
• U sing that a fte r said and told is op tion al. + verb, and n ot use do / did.

a C o m p le te th e s e n te n c e s u s in g r e p o r te d s p e e c h . b C o m p le te th e s e n te n c e s u sin g r e p o rte d s p e e c h .
“I ’m in love w ith a n o th e r w o m a n .” “W h y did you d um p y o u r g ir lfrie n d ? ” M y frie n d asked
My boyfriend told me he was in love with another woman. m e why I had dumped my girlfriend.
1 “I ’m se llin g a ll m y b o o k s .” M y b ro th e r s a id ___________. 1 “W h e n are you leav in g ?” M y p aren ts asked m e ___________
2 “I ’ve b o o k e d th e flig h ts .” E m m a told m e ___________. 2 “H ave you ev er b ee n en g ag ed ?” S h e asked h im ___________

3 “Y o u r n ew d re ss d o e s n ’t su it y o u .” M y m o th e r told m e 3 “W ill you b e h o m e e a rly ?” A n n a asked L ia m ___________.
4 “W h e re d o you u su ally b u y y o u r c lo th e s ? ” M y siste r
4 “I m ay n o t b e ab le to g o to th e p a rty .” M a tt said ask ed m e ___________.

5 “D id you w e a r a su it to th e jo b in te rv ie w ? ” W e asked
5 “ I w o n ’t w e a r th e se sh o e s a g a in .” je n n y s a id ___________. h im ___________.
6 “I d id n ’t b u y y o u a p re se n t.” M y g irlfrie n d told m e 6 “D o you ev er g o to th e th e a te r? ” I ask ed L is a ___________.

7 “W h a t tim e w ill you a rriv e ? ” H e asked u s ___________.
7 “ 1 m u st g e t a d re ss fo r th e p a rty .” R a c h e l s a id ___________. 8 “H o w m u ch m o n ey did you sp en d at th e s a le ? ” I asked
8 “I h av en ’t b e e n to th e g y m fo r a lo n g tim e .” K e v in said m y g ir lfr ie n d ___________ .

9 “C a n you h elp m e ? ” S a lly asked th e p o lice
9 “I found a bargain at the sale." M y sister told m e ___________. o f f i c e r ___________.
10 “I c a n ’t fin d a n y w h e re to p a rk .” L u k e told m e __________ . 10 “W h a t size are you?” T h e salesp erson asked m e ___________

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