Упражнения по теме "REPORTED SPEECH"

REPORTED SPEECH

When statements, questions, commands, requests, and other utter­ances are reported later with a reporting verb in the past, the origi­nal tenses move one step back in time. This basic rule can be summarised as follows:

Present Tence     -      Past Tense

Present Perfect Tense - Past Perfect Tense

Past Tense          -     Past Perfect Tense

Future Tense      -      conditional

Future Perfect Tense    -     conditional perfect

The Past Perfect Tense cannot move back in time so it stays the same. Conditionals and subjunctives also remain unchanged.

Conditionals and subjunctives which do not relate to time do not change.

eg "If I had enough money I'd buy it." - He said that if he had enough money, he'd buy it.

"I wish I could remember his name." - She said she wished she could remember his name.

"I'd rather he was coming too." - She said she'd rather he was coming too.

Orders and instructions change either to:

a.       An infinitive construction introduced by told, ordered, etc:
eg "Sit down" - He told me to sit down.

"Don't say a word" - He told me not to say a word.

b.      A construction with was/were (not) to:
eg "Wait in this room until you are called."

They said I was to wait in the room until I was called.

Auxiliary Verbs

a.       The following auxiliary verbs always change:
can/cannot - could/couldn't

may -might

will/shall - would/should

b.      The following auxiliary verbs do not change when they are used with the meaning given below.

might                    He said he might come later.

could/could not     She said the key could be lost,

(to express possibility or impossibility)

should/ought to     I told him he should be more careful.

(to express advisability or

expectation)

REPORTED SPEECH

must                     He said I must be joking,

(to express a conclusion)

must (not)/need not         She told me I needn't stay late,

(to express obligation or lack of obligation)

c. Did not need to changes to had not needed to but needn 't have doesn't change.

Exercise 1. Change the following sentences into reported speech. Use link words where possible.

a.       "You might catch the 6 o'clock train, if you hurry." (They told me...)

b. "I couldn't have a small dog as a pet. My flat's too small." (I  explained...)

c.  "You must be exhausted! You haven't had a break all day." (She  exclaimed...)

d. 'You ought to ask for a pay rise. You've brought the company a lot of business.' (He told me...)

e.  "As I was only going for the day, 1 didn't need to pack a suitcase."   (She said...)

f. "You needn't have waited up for me. I'm quite capable of letting   myself in." (He told us...)

g.  "I'd rather you didn't tell anyone what I've just told you." (He  said...)

h. "I may be able to give you a lift but I won't know until the morning." (She explained...)

i. "I couldn't find my door key. That's why I broke a window." (He told the policeman...)

j. "She should be delighted when she hears the news." (They told us...)

Requests and Suggestions

a.       Reporting verbs like ask, beg, warn, etc. take a personal object + full infinitive:

eg             He        asked     us to wait for him.    begged

b.      When ask is used to report a request for permission it is followed  by if + subject + could/might:

eg We asked if we could record the speech.

c. Suggest takes either a gerund or a that-clause (normally with should):

More usually, it takes either a pronoun+full infinitive or a (that clause:

eg He recommended   us to visit the City Museum.

that we should visit the City Museum.

Reported Questions

a.                 Questions with yes/no answers are reported with /for whether:

eg "Will you be late home?" - She asked if I would be late home.

whether

b.                 Questions with question words (How, When, Who, etc.) reported with the same question word:

eg "How long are you staying?" - They asked how long I was staying.

c.                  The auxiliary do is not used in reported questions and normal word order is followed.

eg "What does the word 'supersede' mean?" –I  asked what the word 'supersede' meant.

"What is the time?" –I  asked what the time was.

Exercise 2. Use one of the introductory verbs to report each of the following sentences. Each of the verbs should be used only once. Use link words where appropriate.

   warn          ask           encourage   urge

recommend      suggest        advise      beg

 invite          forbid

a. "Please sit down and make yourself at home", our hostess said.

b.   "Don't touch the Record button", my friend said. "You could  erase the tape."

c. "You really must take the matter up with your solicitor. It could be very serious," my brother said.

d.   "I should pay a visit to the Citizen's Advice Bureau. They'll be able to tell you what your rights are," she said.

e. "If you're eating at Marios, try the squid. It's delicious?", they told us.

f. "No one is to use a dictionary during the test", the teacher said.

g. "Please don't forget to let me know when you've arrived safely,"my aunt said. "I'll be worried to death unless you do".

h.      "May we come in?" said the two visitors.

i. "You could try the corner shop. They sometimes stay open late on Saturday," the man said.

j. "Goon, enter for the exam," he said. "You've nothing to lose and it'll be good experience for you."