Thinking about Language

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II. Reported Speech

A sentence in reported speech consists of two parts : a reporting clause, which contains the reporting verb, and the reported clause. Look at the following sentences.

(a) “I went to visit my grandma last week,” said Mamta.

(b) Mamta said that she had gone to visit her grandma the previous week.

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In sentence (a), we have Mamta’s exact words. This is an example of direct speech. In sentence (b), someone is reporting what Mamta said. This is called

indirect speech or reported speech. A sentence in reported speech is made up of two parts — a reporting clause and a reported clause.

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In sentence (b), Mamta said is the reporting clause containing the reporting verb said. The other clause — that she had gone to visit her grandma last week — is the reported clause.

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Notice that in sentence (b) we put the reporting clause first. This is done to show that we are not speaking directly, but reporting someone else’s words. The tense of the verb also changes; past tense (went) becomes past perfect (had gone). Here are some pairs of sentences in direct and reported speech. Read them carefully, and do the task that follows :

1. (i) Lomov : Honoured Stepan Stepanovitch, do you think I may count on her consent? (Direct Speech)

   (ii) Lomov asked Stepan Stepanovitch respectfully if he thought he might count on her consent. (Reported Speech)

2. (i) Lomov : I’m getting a noise in my ears from excitement. (Direct Speech)

   (ii) Lomov said that he was getting a noise in his ears from excitement. (Reported Speech)

3. (i) Natalya : Why haven’t you been here for such a long time? (Direct Speech)

   (ii) Natalya Stepanovna asked why he hadn’t been there for such a long time.(Reported Speech)

4. (i) Chubukov : What’s the matter? (Direct Speech)

    (ii) Chubukov asked him what the matter was. (Reported Speech)

5. (i) Natalya : My mowers will be there this very day! (Direct Speech)

   (ii) Natalya Stepanovna declared that her mowers would be there that very day. (Reported Speech)

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You must have noticed that when we report someone’s exact words, we have to make some changes in the sentence structure. In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list the changes that have occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for you.

1. To report a question, we use the reporting verb ___asked__________ (as in Sentence Set 1).

2. To report a statement, we use the reporting verb _____________.

3. The adverb of place here changes to _____________.

4. When the verb in direct speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in the ___________ tense (as in Sentence Set 3).

5. If the verb in direct speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech changes to _____________ tense. For example, ___________ changes to was getting.

6. When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb _________ in the reporting clause (as in Sentence Set 1).

7. The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech, change according to the subject or object of the reporting verb such as _____________, __________, or __________ in reported speech.