REPORTED SPEECH
Rabu, 18 Mei 2016
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Reported speech is how we represent
the speech of other people or what we ourselves say. There are two main types
of reported speech: direct speech and indirect speech.
Direct speech
repeats the exact words the person used, or how we remember their words:
Barbara said, “I
didn’t realise it was midnight.”
In indirect
speech, the original speaker’s words are changed.
Barbara said she
hadn’t realised it was midnight.
In this example, I becomes she and the verb tense reflects the fact
that time has passed since the words were spoken: didn’t realise becomeshadn’t realised.
Indirect
speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact
words:
“I’m sorry,” said Mark. (direct)
Mark apologised. (indirect: report of a speech act)
In a similar
way, we can report what people wrote or thought:
‘I will love you forever,’ he wrote, and then posted the
note through Alice’s door. (direct report of what someone wrote)
He wrote that he would love her forever, and
then posted the note through Alice’s door. (indirect report of what someone
wrote)
I need a new direction in life, she thought. (direct report of someone’s thoughts)
She thought that
she needed a new direction in life. (indirect report of someone’s
thoughts)
Reported
speech: reporting and reported clauses
Speech
reports consist of two parts: the reporting clause and the reported clause. The
reporting clause includes a verb such as say, tell, ask, reply, shout,
usually in the past simple, and the reported clause includes what the original
speaker said.
reporting clause
|
reported clause
|
William said,
|
“I need your help.”
|
Then a man shouted,
|
“Get out of there,
fast!”
|
The postman said
|
he had a package for
us.
|
Clarissa told me
|
she’s thinking of
moving to Canada.
|
Reported
speech: punctuation
Direct speech
In direct speech we usually put a comma between the
reporting clause and the reported clause. The words of the original speaker are
enclosed in inverted commas, either single (‘…’) or double (“…”). If the
reported clause comes first, we put the comma inside the inverted commas:
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he said.
Rita
said, ‘I don’t need you any more.’
If the direct speech is a question or exclamation, we
use a question mark or exclamation mark, not a comma:
‘Is
there a reason for this?’ she asked.
“I hate
you!” he shouted.
We sometimes use a colon (:) between the reporting
clause and the reported clause when the reporting clause is first:
The
officer replied: ‘It is not possible to see the General. He’s busy.’
Indirect speech
Warning:
In indirect speech it is more common for the reporting
clause to come first. When the reporting clause is first, we don’t put a comma
between the reporting clause and the reported clause. When the reporting clause
comes after the reported clause, we use a comma to separate the two parts:
She
told me they had left her without any money.
Not: She told me, they had left her without any money.
Nobody had gone in or
out during the previous hour, he informed us.
Warning:
We don’t use question marks or exclamation marks in
indirect reports of questions and exclamations:
He
asked me why I was so upset.
Not: He asked me why I was so upset?
Reported
speech: reporting verbs
Say and tell
We can use say and tell to report statements in direct speech,
but say is more common. We don’t always
mention the person being spoken to withsay, but if we do
mention them, we use a prepositional phrase with to (to me, to Lorna):
‘I’ll give you a ring tomorrow,’ she said.
‘Try to stay calm,’ she said
to us in a low voice.
Not: ‘Try to stay calm,’ she said us in a low voice.
With tell, we always mention the person being spoken to; we
use an indirect object (underlined):
‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told them.
Not: ‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told.
In indirect speech, say and tell are both common as reporting verbs. We
don’t use an indirect object with say, but we always use an indirect object (underlined)
with tell:
He said he was moving to New Zealand.
Not: He said me he was moving to New Zealand.
He told me he was moving to New Zealand.
Not: He told he was moving to New Zealand.
We use say, but not tell, to report questions:
‘Are you going now?’ she said.
Not: ‘Are you going now?’ she told me.
We use say, not tell, to report greetings, congratulations and other
wishes:
‘Happy birthday!’ she said.
Not: Happy birthday!’ she told me.
Everyone said good luck to me as I went into the
interview.
Not: Everyone told me good luck …
Other reporting verbs
add
|
comment
|
explain
|
offer
|
state
|
admit
|
complain
|
hint
|
order
|
suggest
|
advise
|
confess
|
inform
|
point out
|
threaten
|
agree
|
confirm
|
insist
|
promise
|
warn
|
announce
|
continue
|
interrupt
|
protest
|
wonder
|
answer
|
cry (= shout)
|
maintain
|
repeat
|
|
ask
|
demand
|
note
|
reply
|
|
claim
|
enquire
|
observe
|
shout
|
The reporting verbs in this list are more common in
indirect reports, in both speaking and writing:
Simon admitted that
he had forgotten to email Andrea.
Louis
always maintains that there is royal blood in his family.
The
builder pointed out that the roof was in very poor condition.
Most of the verbs in the list are used in direct
speech reports in written texts such as novels and newspaper reports. In ordinary
conversation, we don’t use them in direct speech. The reporting clause usually
comes second, but can sometimes come first:
‘Who is
that person?’ she asked.
‘It was
my fault,’ he confessed.
‘There
is no cause for alarm,’ the Minister insisted.
Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/reported-speech
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