Unit 15. English Course. Grammar - In English

In this unit you are going to learn about reported speech. You will learn the rules for verb changes following reporting verbs and how to use several reporting verbs. You are also going to study indirect questions. Do you remember the scene in the film "Crocodile Dundee" in a subway station in New York City where two people are separated by a large crowd of people who pass messages back and forth for them? The woman says "I love him." and this message is passed along until it reaches the man: She says she loves him. Tell him she loves him. She says she loves you. In addition to being a charming fantasy on life in a modern metropolis, this is also a clear example of what happens when we pass on messages from one person to another, when we report another person's words. First of all, pronouns change so that the message is logical to the person it is being given to. Notice how in the sentences we've just looked at, "I" becomes "she" when reported and when the message is given to the man "him" becomes "you". Secondly, we need to use a reporting verb. Here the verbs used were "say" and "tell", probably the two reporting verbs most often used. Note that their meaning is the same but that when we use "tell", we must indicate who we tell. "Say" is not followed by a personal direct object. The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. The Bible tells us the love of money is the root of all evil. "Say" can be used with direct speech and in this case you can indicate who something was said to by adding "to" and a noun or pronoun, usually after the object. I said hello to them. I said goodbye to my friends and then went home. You cannot use "tell" in this way. There are a limited number of expressions in which "tell" can be followed by an object. These include: -- to tell the truth -- to tell a lie-- to tell the time -- to tell a story You cannot use "say" in these expressions. Finally, the tenses of the verbs in the message being reported may change. This did not happen in the scene in the subway station because the reporting verbs used were in the present tense. Therefore the verbs which followed them did not change tense. However when the reporting verb is in the past tense we normally change the tense of the verbs that follow. If a friend named Federica says "I'm not going to marry John. I want to continue my studies." this would be reported as: I saw Federica yesterday and she said she wasn't going to marry John. She said she wanted to continue her studies. or I saw Federica yesterday and she told me she wasn't going to marry John. She told me she wanted to continue her studies. The reason that the verb is in the past tense is that the reporting verb is in the past tense. Of course this doesn't mean (in this example) that Federica wanted to continue her studies yesterday and now doesn't want to. It is one of the changes that logically occur when we use reported speech. When in reporting what someone has said you use a reporting verb in the past tense, there are changes that occur in the verbs following the reporting verb, in what is being reported. In the examples we're now going to look at, we'll use "said" as the reporting verb but the same changes occur with other reporting verbs in the past tense. The present is changed to the past:I'm French. He said he was French. We're going to Australia for our holidays. She said they were going to Australia for their holidays. I hate getting up when it's dark. She said she hated getting up when it was dark. The past simple is changed to the past perfect: I lived in Mexico for a year. She said she had lived in Mexico for a year. The present perfect is also changed to the past perfect: I haven't seen them for ages. He said he hadn't seen them for ages. "Will" is changed to "would": I think the film will be very interesting. He said he thought the film would be very interesting. "Can" is changed to "could": I can give you a lift. She said she could give me a lift. "Shall" is changed to "should": Shall I telephone you when I arrive? I asked if I should telephone when I arrived. "May" is changed to "might": I may be able to help you. He said he might be able to help us. There are also cases when no change occurs in the verb. When the verb in the sentence being reported is in the past perfect tense, there is no change. I had never seen anything quite like it. She said she had never seen anything quite like it. The modal verbs "must", "would", "could", "should", "ought to", "might" are not usually changed in reported speech. It is a mistake to change these verbs using the perfect form of these verbs: "would have", "could have", etc. We must go. They said they must go. I'd like to help. He said he would like to help. We're sorry we couldn't see you. She said they were sorry they couldn't see us. You should drive more slowly. She said I should drive more slowly. I might be able to babysit for you. He said he might be able to babysit for me. We have seen that in reported speech, pronouns need to be changed depending on who is speaking and who is being addressed. We have also seen the verb tense changes that occur after reporting verbs in the past tense. It is also logical for some other words to change. Consider the last example we looked at. Imagine it is Friday. I might be able to babysit for you tomorrow. If this were reported at a later date, we could no longer logically use "tomorrow" in reported speech because it would mean whatever day came after the day we were speaking. If this sentence were reported on Saturday, it could be: He said he might be able to babysit for me this evening. At any time after that, we would have to say: He said he might be able to babysit the next day. Other changes which normally occur in reported speech include: "that day" for "today" "the next day", "the following day" for "tomorrow" "the previous day", "the day before" for "yesterday" "the" or "that" for "this" "then" for "now" "there" for "here" You may have to make other changes so that the meaning of what you report is clear. In reporting questions, pronouns and verb tenses change in the ways we have just seen. What is especially important to remember is that statement word order, with subject followed by verb, is used. We do not use "do", "does", "did". There are two types of reported questions, those with question words and those with "if" or "whether" which report "yes"/"no" questions. We'll look first at those with question words. In this example the question word is "what time". What time does the train arrive? He asked what time the train arrived. After the question word, we do not have a question but a statement. "Do", "does", "did" are not used. He asked what time did the train arrive. is a mistake Note that "asked" can be followed by a noun or pronoun that indicates who was asked: He asked a fellow passenger what time the train arrived. He asked us what time the train arrived. However, it is not necessary for "asked" to be followed by an object and when it is clear who was asked or it is not important, no object is used. Question words include "who", "when", "what", "how", "how many", "why", "where", "which". "Said" cannot be used as a reporting verb with questions. In writing, the punctuation following a reported question is a full stop, not a question mark. How are you? She asked how I was. Where did you spend your holidays? She asked where I had spent my holidays. To report a question that would be answered "yes" or "no", we use "if" or "whether". In the question reported after "if" or "whether", statement word order is used. Were you born in New York? He asked if (or whether) I had been born in New York. Did you grow up there too? She asked whether (or if) I had grown up there. Remember that it is not correct to use "do", "does", "did" or to use question word order. She asked did I live in New York. is a mistake We use indirect questions when we want to avoid sounding brusque, when we do not want to sound as though we were demanding information. Here are some ways of introducing indirect questions: Can you tell me Could you tell me I wonder if you could tell me Would you mind telling me After these introductions, there are no changes in verb tense. Statement word order is used. In writing, "I wonder if" is followed by a full stop but other indirect questions are followed by a question mark. What's your name? I wonder if you could tell me what your name is. How old are you? Would you mind telling me how old you are? "Yes" / "no" questions are introduced by "if" or "whether". Statement word order is used. Have you got a high school diploma? Can you tell me if (or whether) you've got a high school diploma? What are called embedded questions are statements of fact. Like indirect questions they have an introduction, for example: I'd like to know I wonder I don't knowI can't remember and are followed by either a question word or "if" or "whether" and then statement word order. There are no changes in verb tense. In writing they are followed by a full stop. I wonder why he said that. I can't remember what her name is. I don't know if (whether) I'll see them this evening. When we report orders and requests we usually use the reporting verbs "told" and "asked" followed by an infinitive. When you use this structure, "told" and "asked" need to be followed by a noun or personal pronoun as object: you must say who was told or asked. Close the door, please. She told me to close the door. She asked me to close the door. Both "told" and "asked" are correct. The choice of whether to use "told" or "asked" depends on whether we see the original words as an order or as a request. When we report negative requests or orders we use a negative infinitive. Don't tell anyone. He asked me not to tell anyone. He told me not to tell anyone. Different reporting verbs are used in different structures. For example, when we use "said" we do not use a personal object after the verb but when we use "told", we must. Some verbs can be used in more than one way. Some can be followed by an infinitive, some by a clause and some by a gerund. Those are the basic patterns within which, however, there are small - but important - differences in usage. So when you want to use a reporting verb -- "advise", "agree", "explain", "insist", "invite", "offer", "promise", "suggest" for example -- consult the usage examples in your dictionary to see exactly how it is used. This is the only way to avoid making mistakes. That is the end of the lesson. Now you can do the exercises on the grammar points presented in this unit.