© eported speech 1 A Reported speech meaning with a summary. ***' Usu*"'we 9"e the general «■« as the ST 9e tenSeS-lf "* ~* - - «• « teep ,he same * ^:iľzzä* *e exaci ""* -■ "- ■»■*■ f - ■) *«*e to ourreporterZZcly™"**' "■ aW'"W ** Wm^^ officers he •Th,sun,tusesiatíasthereportingverbseeun(t22forothef^g^ B Tense changes Actual words ? work for IBM' I'm working for IBM' 'I've worked for IBM' rve been working for IBM' 'I worked for IBM' 7 had worked for IBM' Tm going to work for IBM ■ 't — ,_. .... Report (Indirect speech) Sne said she worked for IBM. She said she was working for IBM She said she had worked for IBM. She said she had been working for IBM. She said she had worked for IBM. OR She sa,dshe worked for IBM She said she had worked for IBM She said she was going to work for jm SrtP cairV t^.f. —.. .t_t ß , . _ HeiaH Tnbu™ website) W P>m ö'> 'Ae «■■•^ &* J»« (Wnanond - ífe •*- ** «Ä S3ÜSJ !S —'60 ■*■ *^* *** • Thereisnochangefor^^^^^^ •Note that the« ,3nochan9eforIhepasiperfKt(Wwo^ 21 REPORTED SPEECH 1 91 C No tense change • We do not need to change teisse if the information is stili true The sales team are doing very we// at the moment' We says/said the team are doing very well. ' ^ľľľd t0 ChZ9T* " W rep0ft ™^ «W ü ^ways true. Tnere & a/wap a pe^oc/ of uncertainty after a merger' He says/said there U always a period of uncertainty after a merger. People, places, times and things ÍESST",0 people' p,aces',imes and th,n95 -——- The exampfes in the previous paragraph show some of these typical changes: he project. People: Place: Times: Things: I you your here now today yesterday tomorrow this afternoon last week next week a few days ago this project ■» ■» -> -» -) -» me ft/s/ner my there, at the office then, at that time that day. on Monday the day before, the previous day the next day. the following day. on Monday that afternoon the week before, the previous week the week after, the following week a few days before, a few days eariier the project 'Rcmemirr u-im I mid I-uos pi„g to it hmat mAyou,Jtfft That-mas a big, fot !ic.m 21 REPORTED SPEECH 1 21 Practice Exercise 1 6 Write the actual words that each person says. Use contractions where possible. 1 Anna said that she had alreacfy finished. (Anna's actual words)' .J.'y6..A!reAdy...ftN.í.í*dJ........................................................................... 2 She said he would be back after lunch. (Her actual words)'............................................................................................................................ 3 He said she was going to contact the printers. (His actual words)'............................................................................................................................ 4 Paul said that he wanted to make a phone call. (Paul's actual words)'........................................................................................................................ 5 She said she was meeting the bank manager at eleven. (Her actual words)'........................................................................................................................... 6 Pierre said he had found out about the problem a long time ago. (Pierre'sactual words)'...................................................................................................................... 7 David said he had to be back in the office by three thirty. (David's actual words)'...................................................................................................................... 8 Jan said she would let me know (Jan's actual words)'......................................................................................................................... Exercise 2 ■ Look at the actual words spoken. Underline the correct words in the reported version. 1 (Helen's words) 'I won't do it until tomorrow.' Helen said //jus wouldn't do it until the previous/folhwing day. 2 (Peter's words) 'it's very busy in here, i'll call you later.' Peter said it was very busy here/there, and he'd call me/him later. 3 (The sales manager's words) "We received your order last week.' He said they'd/we'd received our/their order the week afterlbefore. 4 (Mel Bowen's words) 'I'm sorry 3baut the delay, I'll deal with this now.' She said shell was sorry about the delay, and she'd deal with it right then/later. Exercise 3 B S Rewrite the sentences in reported speech. Use contractions where possible. 1 'I won't put it in the sales because it's selling very well,' she said. She said .i.k..H«*ld^.t..^.t...it..ifc..:^ 2 'I've read the report and I don't understand section 4,' he said. He said............................................................................................................................................. 3 'When I finish my presentation, i'm going to have a drink,' he said. He said that when............................................................................................................................ 4 'I'm preparing the figures but I won't be long,' she said. She said........................................................................................................................................... 5 'I like playing tennis, but I don't do it very often,' she said. She said........................................................................................................................................... 6 'I'm going to visit our Polish subsidiary, but I'm not sure when,' she said. Shp wiH .................................. 21 REPORTED SPEECH 1 93 ■ Exercise 4 H B Read the words spoken in a conference presentation about the role of the Chief Executive Officer. •Jack Welch, one of the most famous CEOs of alt time, was head of General Electric for twenty years. But he was an exception. In fact, two-thirds of all major companies worldwide have replaced their CEO over the last five years. What's the reason? The reason is that expectations of CEO performance are far too high. Boards of companies look at their CEO as a kind of superhero who can solve all the company's prohlems. This process started in the 1980s, and the prototype was Lee laccoca, "the man who saved Chrysler Corp". Then in the 1990s, we had CEOs from the technology sector, like.Microsoft's" Bill Gates, or Cisco's John Chambers, who managed to produce constantly rising share prices. But the situation is very different now and economic growth is slowing down.' Now look at ways to report the words to a colleague. By each sentence write P/TC (if the sentence is Possible because of Tense Change rules), P/ST (if the sentence is Possible because it is Still True) or I (if the sentence is Incorrect). The speaker said that... 1 Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric for twenty years, ..P./TC. 2 Jack Welch had been CEO of General Electric for twenty years............ 3 Boards ot companies look at their CEOs as superheroes............ 4 Boards of companies looked at their CEOs as superheroes............ 5 Boards of companies had looked at their CEOs as superheroes............ 6 Lee laccoca started it all in the 1980s............ 7 Lee laccoca had started it all in the 1980s............ 8 Lee laccoca had been started it all in the 1980s............ 9 The situation is different now............ 10 The situation was different now. ........... Exercise 5 B B ' On Friday morning you had a meeting with someone from your advertising agency at his offices. The words he spoke are on the left. The next week you tell a colleague about the discussion. Underline the correct words on the right. The advertising n^nn's words: What you, say w your colleague; 'Did you get my email I sent yesterday about this 'He said he (1) hopes/ŕKceí I'd got (2) hislmy email campaign we've been working on? I hope so. I'm that (3) he'd send/he'd sent (4) yesterday/me day sorry to ask you to come here at such short notice, before about (S) the/this advertising campaign but it's quite urgent. The situation is this: we use an (6) they've/we've been working on. And he outside printing company, and a few days ago the apologised for asking (7) me/you to go workers there went on strike. I'm having a meeting (8) here/there at such short notice - he said it with a union representative this afternoon, but I (9) is/was urgent, Well, apparently a few days thought 1 should talk to you first.' (10) ago/before the printers they use (11) have gone /had gone on strike, and he (12) is/was meeting them (13) thislthat afternoon. He said he thought he should talk to (14) me/you about it first: 94 O ' eported speech 2 A Say or tell We say something and we tell somebody. Simon said he was confident aoout the success of the Beta project. Simon told me the project was going well. We never use ro between íeíí and the object. He told me what happened in the meeting. (NOT told to mo) We can use to after say, especially when the actual words are not reported. Whet did he say to you? I think the boss wanted to say something to Susan. B Other reporting verbs • There are many verbs to report what people say. Each verb has one or more possible patterns. Common reporting verbs include: admit, deny, mention, propose, suggest agree, ask, demand, decide, offer, promise, refuse, ] threaten advise, ask, convince, encourage, invite, order, persuade, remind, tell, warn admit, agree, announce, answer, claim, complain, confirm, deny, explain, mention, promise, propose,? reply, say, suggest advise, assure, convince, inform, notify, persuade. promise, reassure, remind, tell Verb + -ing form (unit 19) Verb + to infinitive (unit 19) Verb + object + to infinitive (unit 19) Verb + that clause Verb + object + friat clause They denied doing anything wrong. I suggested changing our export agency. She promised to call me tomorrow. They refused to lower their price. He advised us to wait until next year They invited me to come for lunch. They agreed (that) they'd wail She promised (that) she'd call me tomorrow. I reminded them (that) they had to pay a 25% deposit. I told him (that) I couldn't make the meeting next week. We use the same lense change rules as in unit 21. Creek telecom giant OTE won the privatisation contract with RomTclecom. OTE promised that 70 per cent of the telephone system mould be digital within three years. (Bucharest Business Weeka website) We can also report what people think or know. Verbs include; know, notice, think, realise, etc. Sorry, I didn't realise you were busy. I thought you had finished- 22 REPORTED SPEECH 2 95 C /* + passive of a reporting verb • We use It + passive of a reporting verb + that to report what people in general feel or believe. This is a formal use. for example m a newspaper story, a scientific report or a written summary of a meeting. It was announced at tile conference that Argentina was losing Pesos S3.000 million per annum on grain pnces compared with the average in the last ten years. It was pointed out that international prices had not improved in two yean, but this stability had allowed an increase in production. (LatinTrade website) Verbs that are often used in this way are: be agreed, be announced, be believed, be claimed, be confirmed, be considered, be decided, be estimated, be expected, be feared, be felt, be found, be pointed out, be proposed, be reported, be rumoured, be said, be shown, be suggested, be thought. D Reporting questions • The word order in reported questions is like a normal statement (this is the same rule as for indirect questions in unit 16). Tense changes follow those given in unit 21. "Where It it?' -> He asked me where it was. (NOT whore was it) « When we report question word questions (when, what, why, where, how, etc) we use the question word-When will the goods arrive?' -> They asked me when the goods would arrive 'Why have your sales gone down?' -> I was asked why our sales had gone down. 'A year ago, 1 was asked how this wonderful merger between Daimler and Chrysler would work, and I said I utts wailing for the interpersonal problems.They were bound to happen, as our experiences with Seat had shown.'- CEO of Volkswagen (Der Spiegel website) • When we report yes/no questions (Do you, Did you. Are you, etc) we use if or whether. 'Do you ipea* French?' -> She asked me if I spoke French. 'Are you going to pay in cash?' ■* He asked me whether I was going to pay in cash. • Notice in the examples that reported questions have no question mark in writing. ö"ar E Reporting commands and requests • Commands are reported with tell and the infinitive. Take us to the airport.' ■» She told the driver to take us to the airport. 'Don't worry. I'll deal with it.' ■> She told me not to worry. • Requests are reported with ask and the infinitive. 'Would you mind wailing for a moment?' He asked me to wait 'Please don't wait for me, I'll come along later.' He asked us rtof to wait 96 22 REPORTED SPEECH 3 22 Practice Exercise 1 B Underline the correct words. 1 Sally told/told mg that she had lost the catalogue. This is confidential, please don't say/tell anything about it. This is confidential, please don't say/tell anyone about it. Chris said/said me he must leave early. I said/told them about the meal, and they said/told they would come. 'You see,' told/mid Steve, 'I always sold/said you'd get a promotion.' 'You see,' told/said Steve, 'I always told/said you you'd get a promotion.' 8 look,' I told to/said to her, 'why don't you tell/say me what you mean?' Exercise 2 B Match the actual words in sentences 1-12 with the reported statements aH). 1 Well done! You've done it!' l£J 2 'Who me? No, I never did it.' 3 'I'm really sorry I didn't do it - I just forgot.' D 4 'If I were you, I'd do it' 5 'Would you like to do it?' 6 'Don't forget to do it!' 7 'Oh, I see that you've done it.' 8 'Oh, by the way, I've done it.' 9 'Oh! I thought you hadn't done it!' 10 'I realiy wouldn't do it. It could be a disaster.' C 1T TIS do it, you can count on me.' 12 'No, I won't do it. it's out of the question.' L] a) He advised me to do it. b) He apologised for not doing it. c) He congratulated me on doing it. d) He invited me to do it, e) He denied doing it. f) He mentioned that he'd done it. g) He didn't realise I'd done it. h) He promised that he'd do it. i) He noticed that I'd done it j) He refused to do it. k) He reminded me to do it. f) He warned me not to do it. Exercise 3 ■ BBBB1 Rewrite each sentence in reported speech. 1 'Are you on holiday for the whole of August?' she asked me. She asked me .i£/*!«-."t|*r.J,..«Mi. qi\Jiolicfôy 1^ tk wIbIí of Auaiiit. 2 'What do the letters 'URL' mean?' I asked him. lasked him............................................... 3 'Have you prepared the figures?' my boss asked me. My boss asked me___............................................ 4 Wien is your birthday?' I asked Francesca. I asked Francesca......................................................... 5 'Did you remember to back up the file?' she asked him. She asked him................................................... 6 Why have you turned off the air conditioning?' Ellen asked me. Ellen asked me......................................................... 7 'Do you speak Italian?' they asked me at the interview. They asked me at the interview..................................... 8 'How much did you pay for your car?' I asked Pablo. I asked Pablo.................... 22 REPORTED SPEECH 1 97 Exercise 4 B 30 Read the extract from a meeting, chaired by Claudia. Then underline the most appropriate reporting verbs in the written summary below. Claudia: Oh, hi.Take a seat ... Urn, I'd like to hear your views on the talks we're having with BCP about the possible merger. Do you think we should go ahead with the discussions? Nicitr Well, no actually. I don't think we should. Our company cultures are totally different, and 1 can't see many opportunities to cut costs in 3 combined operation. I'm sorry, but I'm against it. tony But, Nigel, can't you see that we're too small to stand alone in the global economy.There's going to be rationalisation in our market and now is the tight time to act. ClAUDiA: Um, right. How long do you think it would take to integrate the two companies? tony: Probably about six months, maybe more. NiCEU That's six months of complete chaos and tailing investor confidence. It's just too risky, Claudia. Well, I don't think we have enough inforniarion at the moment. Perhaps we could set up a , task force to look into the whole issue in more detail? TONY: Hmm. Claudia: Tony - would you be willing to chair it? tony: OK, I'll chair a task force, but I'll need representatives from the other departments as well. ClAUUiA: That shouldn't be a problem. When do you think you'll be able to get the report done? TONY: Um, in about six weeks. Nigel: Six weeks! That's ridiculous. tony: OK, we'll try to get all the information together in four weeks. ciAuniA: Right, that's settled. We'll meet again a month from today, same time same place. 1 it was estimated I announced that it would take about six months to integrate the two companies in the event of a merger. 2 It was rumoured/suggested that we could set up a task force to produce a report on the implications of the merger. 3 It was proposed I claimed that the task force would be chaired by Tony, with representatives from other departments. ' "'4 " It was shown/agreed that the task force should produce its report in four weeks, 5 It was claimed/decided that the next meeting would be on July 28th at 9 am in the main conference room. Exercise 5 B B B Nigel (from Exercise 4) is talking to a colleague about the same meeting later in the week. Linderung the correct words in his report. 'Claudia asked us (1) that we grVe/JD_flů!£ our opinions about the merger talks. 1 (2) told them/told 10 them that í thought the whole thing was a bad idea, but they refused (3) to listen/listening. Of course Tony disagreed, as usual. He (4) told/said that we were too small for the global market. Then Claudia asked how long (S) would it/it would take to integrate the two companies, and Tony daimed it would (6) take/to take six months. Claudia suggested (7> sertrng up/to set up a task force to look into the whole thing, I decided (8) not sayinglnot to say anything. Tony offered (9) to chair/that he would chair the task force. He proposed that the task force (10) reporting /should report back in six weeks, but 101) reminded them that/reminded that we'd need the report much sooner. Anyway, we decided (12) to meet/meeting again in a month.' ■