Reported speech 1 A Reported speech We often teil people what other people have said. This is called reported or indirect speech We v&ry rarely try to report the exact words that someone says. Usually wis give- the genera1 meaning with a summary 'Look, I've been phoning ail day and he's always in a meeting. Can you teii him that I'll give him a rail sometime next week please?' (actual words) 4 Sandra phoned. She said she'd call you next week, (report) From what I can see, toe advertising campaign is a great success.' (actual words) ^ He said the campaign was a success- (report) Note the change of tense in the above examples: will to would and is to was, It is not always necessary to change tenses. If the statement is still true we can keep *.ne same tense as the original. He said the campaign was a great success, (the campaign is ftnished) He said the campaign Is/was a great success, (the campaign 6 still happening) See sections B and C below for more details. In writing we can repeat the exact words using speecn narks (' ... % 'I have no further comment to make at this stage,'said the company press officer when he spoke to our reporter yesterday. This unit uses said as the reporting verb. See unit 22 for other repo'ting verbs. B Tense changes When the verb tense changes it 'moves back Actual words 7 work for IBM' 'I'm working for IBM' 'I've worked for IBM' I've been working for IBM 'I worked for IBM' 'I had worked for IBM' 'I'm going to work far IBM.' 'I can/wiU/may work for IBM. n time. Report (Indirect speech) She said she worked for IBM. She said she was working for IBM. She. said she. had worked for IBM. She said she hud been working for IBM. She said she had worked far IBM. OR Sne sard she worked for IBM. She said she bad worked for IBM She said she was going to work for IBM. She said she could/would/might work for IBM. Khiivi, ;■■ lricrina-bascd tdccvms company said mi Friday it teas entering the Czech market by offering dieapcr poire services through the Internet, (czeclitoday website) Earlier in the week, a labor Union report said thai 151 deaths hrtd occurred 'on the job'm Italy during thejirst six months of this yeart up from 621 jor the same period teat year. (International Herald Tribune website) Vu' Shading Aluminum Industry Co. said last week \t ttxmtd issue 160 million shares far listing on She Shanghai Stock Exchange. (Shanghai Daily website) ;:- There is no change for must might, could, should, would. ■i Note that if the aduaf words were in the past Simple (worked), the report can change or stay the same f* Note that There is no change for the past perfect {had worked). C No tense change We do not need to change tense il the information is still true. The sales team are doing very well at the moment.' He says/said the team are doing very we//, ■ We do not need to change tense if we report something which is always true. 'There is always a period of uncertainty after a merger' He says/said there is always a period of uncertainty after a merger D People, places, times and things In reported speech references to people, places, times and things often change, because the point of view changes, 'I'll see you here tomorrow,' said Sue. 'I've read your report about this project,' he said. Suesald^she^ the next day. Hes^^he'dr^ead^my report abouYthe project. The examples in the previous paragraph show some of these typical changes: People: / he/she you me my -> h is /her your my Place: here there, at the office Times: now then, at that time today that day, on Monday yesterday the day before, the previous day tomorrow the next day, the following day, on Monday this afternoon that afternoon last week > the week before, the previous week next week the week after, the following week a few days ago a few days before, a few days earlier Things: this project the project 'Remember when j said f iüos going to be honest •with you, Jeff? That wai a big, fat lie." 21 Practice Exercise 4 B C Read the worcs spoken in a conference presentation about the role of the Chief Executive Office1-, Exercise 1 B Write the actual words that each person says. Use contractions where possible. 1 Anna said that she had already firished. (Anna's actual words)1 ..Lvft..AlCfofcdy...£iislfh&d..................................... 2 She said he would be back after lunch. (Her actual words) '................,......................._..................................,.......... 3 He said she was gorng to contact the printers. (His actual words) '.......-............................................................................... 4 Paul ss'td 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)'...................................................................................... 5 Pierre said he had -pund out about the problem a long time ago. (Pierre's actual words) '..............._.............................r_______,...............________T... 7 David said he had to be back in the ofxe by three thirty. (David's actual words)' .„.............................................................................. 3 Jan said she wouJd let me know (Jans actual words)'.................................................................................... Exercise 1 D Look at the actual woros spoken, Underline the correct words in the reported version. 1 (Helen's words) 'I won't do it unt I tomorrow.' Helen said tfshe wouldn't do it until the previous /following day. 2 (Peter's words) Tte very busy in here. I'll call you later.' Peter said it was very busy here/there, and he'd call methim later 3 (The sales manager's words) 'We received your order last week.' He said fhey'd/we'd received our/their order the week after/before. 4 (Mel Bowen's words) 'I'm sorry about the delay, I'll deal with this now.' She said she/I was sorry about the delay, and she'd deal with it right then/later. Exercise 3 B D Rewrite the sentences in reported speech. Use contractions where possible. 1 1 won't nut it in the sales because it's selling very well/ she said. She said .*.he. .wwld.rOt .^t.it .i^..the. ^lef .bftC^ft .<.t. .WAf. 1^*4. >S% MAIL 2 'I've read the report and I don't understand section 4/ he said He said............................................................................................................................................. 3 'When I f nish my presentation, I'm going to hcve a drink,' he said, He said that when........................................................................................................................... 4 "I'm preparing the figures but f won't be long,' she said. She said.................f..................._...................................................................................................... 5 '1 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. She said.............._..T,....................................................._........._______............________________......_________ 'jack Welch, one of the most famous CEOs of all time, was head of General Electric for twenty years. But he was an exception. In fact, two-thirds of aU 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 problems, lids process started in the 1980s, and the prototype was Lee Iaaoca, "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 datving down.' Now iook at ways to report the words to a colleague. By each sentence write P/TC (it the sentence is Possible because of Tense Change ruies), P/ST (if the sentence is Possible because it is Still True} or I (if the sentence is incorrect). The speaker said that... 1 2 3 4 5 5 7 lack Welch was CEO cr General Electric for twenty years. ..P./!TC. Jack Welch had been CEO of General Electric for twenty years, ........... Beards of companies look at their CEOs as superheroes............ Boards ol companies looked at (heir CEOs as superheroes............ Boards of companies had looked at their CEOs as superheroes............ Lee tectoca started it all in the 1930s............ Lee laccoca had started it all in the 1980s............ 3 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 D On Friday morning you had a meeting with someone from your advertising agency at his offices. The words he spoke are on tne left. The next week you tell a coileagje about the discussion Underline the correct words on the right. lismq person/s_wprds: 'Did you get my email I sent yesterday about this campaign we've been working on? I hope so. I'm sorry to ask you to come here at such short notice, but it's quite urgent. The situation is this: we use an outside printing company, and a few days ago the workers there went on strike. I'm having a meeting with a union representative this afternoon, but I thought) should talk to you first.' What_y_pu sav to your colleague; 'He said he (T) hopes f hoped i'd Q°t (2) hat my emai) that (3) he'd send/he'dsent (4) yesterday I the day before about (5) thetthis advertising, campaign (6) they've/weVe been working on. And he apologised for asking (7) rrte/yuu to go (8) here/there at such short notice - he said it (9) is/was urgent. Well apparently a tew days !10) age/before the printers they use (11) have gone Shad gone on strike, and he (12) is/was meeting them (13) thistthar afternoon He said he thought he should talk to (14) me/you about it first' Reported speech 2 A Say or tell We say something and we tell somebody. Simon said he was confident about the success of the Beta project. Simon told me the project was going well. We never use to between tell and the object. He told me what happened in Ifie meeting. (NOT told to 11») We can use to after say, especially when the actual words are not reported. What 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. bach verb has one or more possible patterns-Common reporting verbs include: Verb + -ing form (unit 19) Verb + to infinitive (unit 19) Verb + object + to infinitive (unit 13) Verb + that clause Verb + object + thst clause admit, deny, mention, propose, suggest agree, ask, demand, decide, offer, promise, retuse, 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 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 wait. She promised (that) she'd call me tomorrow. I reminded them (that) they had to pay a 75% deposit. I told him (that) I couldn't make the meeting next week. We use the same tense change rules as in unit 21. Creek telecom gUmi OTE won the privatisation contract with RomTekcom- OTE promised that. 70 per cent of the telephone system would be digital within three years. (Bucharest Business Week 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. C It + 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 in a newspaper story, a scientific report or a written summary of 3 meeting. It was announced at the conference that Argentina was losing Pesos $3,000 million per annum on grain prices compared with the average in the last ten years. It was pointed out that international prices had not improved in two years, but tins stability had alhttvd 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. * He asked me where it was. (NOT where \ 'Where is it?' Hi) 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?' -> / was asked why our sales had gone down 'A year ago, 1 mas asked hi>u> this wonderful merger between Daimler and Chrysler would work, and I said 1 was waiting 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 speak French?' -> She asked me if I spoke French. Are you going to pay in cash?' -> He asfed me whether I was going to pay in cash. Notice in the examples that reported questions have no question mark in writing. 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 waiting for a moment?' 'Please don't wait for me, I'll come along later.' He asked me to wait. He asked us not to wait. 22 Practice Exercise 1 A Underline the correct wcrds. 1 2 3 5 6 7 Sally taid/Told me that she had lost the catalogue, this is confidential, please don't wy/tefl anything abo.it it [his is confidents , please don't my/tell anyone about it. Chris ssid/sai'ri me he must leave early said/told them about the meal, and they aid/told they would come 'You see,' toldfseid Steve, 'I always told/aid you'd get a promotion ' 'You see,1 void/said Steve, 'I always told/said you you'd get a promotion.' 8 'Look,' I told to/said to her, 'why don't you tefl/iay me what you mean?' Exercise 2 B Match the actual words in sentences 1-12 with the reported statements e)-IJ. 1 'Well done! You've done it!' 2 'Who me? No, I never did i:,' 3 'I'm really sorry I didn't do it -1 just forgot.' EH c) 4 'If I were you, I'd do it.' 5 'Would you like to do it?' □ e) 6 'Don't forget to do it!' 7 'On, I see that you've done t,' g) S 'Oh, by the way, I've done it.' 9 'Oh! I thought you hadn't done it!' CD i) 10 'I really wouldn't do it. It could be a disaster.' — I j) 1 1 Til ec it, v'qli can count an ne ' □ k! 12 'No, I wor't do it. It's out of the question; □ I) He advised me to do it. He apologised for not doing it He congratulated me on doing it. He invited me to do it. He denied dong it. He mentioned thai he'd done it. He didn't realise I'd done it. He promised titwt he'd do it. He no* ced that I'd done it, He refused to do it, He reminded me to do it. He warned rne not to do it Exercise 3 D unit 21 Rewrite each sentence in reported; speech. 1 'Are you on holiday for the whole of August?' she asked rne. She asked me .i£/w|teth£r ..!... 2 'What do the letters 'URL' mean?' I asked him. i asked him............................................................................................... 3 'Have you prepared the figures?' my boss asked me, My boss asked me.......................................................................................« . 4 'When is your birthday?' I asked Franceses. i asked Franceses.................................................................................................... 5 'Did you remember to back up the f le?r she asked him. She asked him.................................................................................................... 6 'Why have you turned off the air conditioning?' Ellen ssked me. Fllen asked me........_........................................................................................... 7 'Do you speak ;taliar?' thgy 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.................................................................................................... Exercise 4 C Read the extract from a meeting, cha red 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? njoľL: Well, no actually. I don't chink v/e should Our company cultures are totally different, and I can't see many opportunities to cut costs in a combined operation, f'm sorry, but I'm against it. toNY: But. Nigel, can't you see thai we're too small to Stand alone in the global economy. There's going to he Tationalisation in our market and now is the right time to act, (.jLMJDiA: Urn, right. How long do you think it would cake to integrate the two companies? TONY: Probably about six months, maybe more. Nigel: That's six months of complete chaos and falling investor confidence. It's just too risky. clauhiA: Well, I don't think wc have enough information at the moment. Perhaps we could set up a task force to look into the whole issue in more detail? TONY: HllilTi. olauuiai Tony — would you be willing to chair it? tony: OK, ľíl chair a task force, but I'll need representatives from the other departments as well t:iAUi>iA: That shouldn't be a problem. When dn you think you'll be able to get the report done? tony: Urn,in about six weeks. niciel Six weeks! Tba:'s ridiculous. tony: OK, we'il try to get all die information together in four weeks. ciAunr/v Right, that's settled. WeMI meet again a month from today, same tune same place. 1 ft was estimated/announced tha- it would take about six months to integrate the two tympanies in the event of a merger. 2 It was rumoured f suggested that we could set up a task force to produce a report on the implications of the merger. 3 t was proposed/claimed that the task force would be chaired by Tony with representatives from other departments. 4 It was shown/agreedXhat the task force should produce its report in four weeks. 5 It was claimed f decided that the next meeting would be on Jury 28th at 9 am in the main conference room. Exercise 5 A B D Nigel (řrorr- Fxercise 4) is talking to a colleague about the same meeting later in the week. Underline the correct words in his report. 'Claudia, asked us (1) that we give/to give our opinions about the merger talks. I (2) told [hem/iold to them that I thought the whole thing was a bad idea, but they refjsed (3) to listen/listening. Of course Tony dsagreed, as usual. He {4} told/said that we were too small for the global market. Then Claudia asked how long (5) would it/it would take to integrate the two companies, and Tony claimed it would (6) take/to take six months. Claudia suggested (7)setting up/to setup a task force to fook into the whole thing. I decided (8) not saying/not to say anything, Tony offered (y) to chair/that he v/ouid chairxhe task iorce. He proposed that the task force {10) reporting/should report back in six weeks, but I (11) reminded them that/reminded that we'd need the report much sooner, Anyway, we decided (1?) to meet/meeting again in a month.'