English Diapositives

Diapositivas from 123arlyne

English Formulary

Formulario

English Activities

Reported speech:

When we report direct speech, the tenses used by the speaker usually change as follows:

Present simple	Past simple
‘He likes gadgets,’ she said.	She said (that) he liked gadgets.
Present continuous	Past continuous
‘He is installing a new camera,’ she said.	She said (that) he was installing a new camera.
Present perfect simple	Past perfect simple
‘They have bought a new music system,’ she said.	She said (that) they had bought a new music system.
Present perfect continuous	Past perfect continuous
‘They have been working all day,’ she said.	She said (that) they had been working all day.
Past simple	Past perfect simple
‘He broke his GPS,’ she said.	She said (that) he had broken his GPS.
Past continuous	Past perfect continuous
‘He was writing his new book,’ she said.	She said (that) he had been writing his new book.

Other changes in verbs forms are as follows:

Can	Could
‘She can use a computer well,’ she said.	She said (that) she could use a computer well.
May	Might
‘He may be looking for a job,’ she said.	She said (that) he might be looking for a job.
Must	Had to
‘He must get to work on time,’ she said.	She said (that) he had to get to work on time.
Will	Would
‘They will take on new staff,’ she said.	She said (that) they would take on new staff.

Note:

1.       We often use the verbs say and tell in reported speech.

We follow tell whit an object.

My manager said we could leave early.

My manager told us we could leave early.

2.       We can leave out that.

I said that I finished my report – I said I had finished my report.

3.       Remember to change pronouns and possessive adjectives where necessary.

‘We are having a meeting,’ he said. — He said (that) they were having a meeting.

‘That is my coffee cup,’ she said. – She said (that) that was her coffee cup.

4.       The following tenses and words don’t change in Reported Speech: past perfect simple, past perfect continuous, would, could, might, should, ought to, used to, had better, mustn’t and must when they refer to deduction.