Косвенная речь (Reported speech) – это передача чьих-то слов без точного их цитирования, в отличие от прямой речи (direct speech). Косвенною речь часто ещё называют просто непрямой речью (Indirect speech) и значительно реже, когда indirect discourse. Стоит отметить, что обычно используют именно косвенную речь, значительно реже прямую. Сравните (обратите внимание, что в непрямой речи изменяется время главного глагола):
He said, “I am going to watch TV.” — передача прямой речи.
He said (that) he was going to watch TV. – изменение прямой речи в косвенную.She said, “I want to buy a car.” – прямая речь
She said (that) she wanted to buy a car. – косвенная речьAnna said, “I don’t like shopping.” – прямая речь
Anna said (that) she didn’t like shopping. – косвенная речь
Союз that можно “опустить”, то есть, можно сказать:
Steve said that he was feeling ill. или так Steve said he was feeling ill.
В любом случае всегда обращайте внимание на структуру и звучание предложения, например не стоит использовать два that в одном предложении, а также, если чувствуете, что Вас могут не понять. Также если Вы не уверены в том, можно ли вставить союз that в данное предложение, то лучше тогда его не использовать. Однако в официальной речи уместнее употреблять союз that.
Но перейдём собственно к тому, как правильно изменять временную форму глаголов в косвенной речи.
Настоящее и будущее время
Как правило, настоящая и будущая форма времени глаголов в прямой речи, при передаче их в косвенную речь изменяются на прошедшую форму времени. Изучите следующую таблицу:
| am/is → was | do/does → did | will → would |
| are → were | have/has → had | can → could |
|
go/know/want/like/may и т.д. → went/knew/wanted/liked/might и т.д. |
Немного примеров. Пусть Вас не смущают кавычки вокруг первых примеров. Они просто означают, что в них заключена пряма речь, предложения, которые кто-то когда-то сказал.
“I play football every day.” → He said he played football every day.
“I do my homework every day.” → He said he did his homework every day.
“Julia has a new job.” → He said Julia had a new job.
“I am playing football.” → He said he was playing football.
“I have played football.” → He said he had played football.
“I will play football.” → He said he would play football.
“I am going to play football.” → He said he was going to play football.
“I can play football.” → He said he could play football.
“I may play football.” → He said he might play football
Прошедшее время
В большинство случаев прошедшую форму времени глаголов в косвенной речи можно оставить без изменений или изменить на прошедшее совершённое время — past perfect.
“I played football.” → He said he played football или He said he had played football.
“She watched football.” → He said she watched football или He said she had watched football.
“I saw her in the street.” → He said he saw her in the street или He said he saw her…
“I did not go to work.” → He said he did not go to work или He said he had not gone to work
Данное правило неуместно, если прямая речь уже была в past perfect:
“I had played football.” → He said she had played football
“They had broken down a car.” → She said they had broken down a car
Когда можно оставить настоящее и будущее время без изменений
Иногда настоящее или будущее время глаголов в косвенной речи можно не изменять. Если ситуация в момент передачи речи не изменилась, то можно оставить время глаголов как было. Обратите внимание что say и tell в данном случае можно поставить в настоящем или прошедшем времени.
“My new job is boring.” → Michael said (says) that his new job is boring.
(Ситуация не изменилась, у Михаила по-прежнему скучная работа)“I speak English fluently.” → Sonia says (said) that she speaks English fluently.
(Соня всё ещё говорит на английском свободно)“I want to go to Canada again.” → David tells (told) me he wants to go to Canada again.
(Дэвид до сих пор хочет снова поехать в Канаду)“I will go home tomorrow.” → She said (says) she will go home tomorrow.
(Она по-прежнему собирается поехать завтра домой)
И, конечно же, не будет ошибкой, если Вы скажите, например Sonia said she spoke English fluently. Но если ситуация в момент передачи косвенной речи изменилась, то необходимо ставить глагол как обычно в прошедшей временной форме. К примеру, Вы встретили Татьяну. Она сказала “Anna is in hospital.” Позднее в тот же день Вы встречаете Анну на улице и говорите: Hi, Anna. I didn’t expect to see you here. Tatyana said you were in hospital (неправильно было бы сказать: ‘Tatyana said you are in hospital’, так как это не соответствует действительности, на данный момент Анна не в больнице)
Изменение вопросительного предложения
В косвенных вопросах (Indirect Questions) действуют те же самые правила изменения времени, что и в утвердительных и отрицательных. Но они делятся на два типа: общие вопросы — Yes/No Questions, на которые можно ответить да или нет и специальные – Information(или Wh-) Questions, на которые ответить просто да или нет не получится. Например:
Do you like music? (на этот вопрос можно ответить да или нет).
How are you? (здесь уже не получится ответить просто да или нет, уместно — I am fine).
Общие вопросы
Как правило, сложности с пониманием возникают именно с общими вопросами. Их часто ещё называют “Вопросы Да/Нет”, потому что на переводимые прямые вопросы в косвенные можно ответить одним словом – да или нет. Косвенные вопросы образуются при помощи слов “if” или “whether”, которые ставятся в самом начале переводимого в косвенную речь вопроса. Правила согласования времён в предложениях те же самые, что и в простых косвенных предложениях, однако они не начинаются с вспомогательных глаголов (will, have, do…), вместо них используются слова “if ” и “whether”, которые переводятся на русский как “ли”: в данном случае разницы между ними нет. Использовать союз “that” в косвенных вопросах грамматически неверно. Изучите примеры.
| Direct Question | Indirect Question |
|
“Do you like music?” |
He asked me if I liked music. (Неверно: he asked me did I like music) или He asked me whether I liked music. |
|
“Will he participate in the quiz competition?” |
She asked me if he would participate in quiz competition. или She asked me whether he would participate in quiz competition. |
|
“Are you feeling well?” |
I asked him if he was feeling well. или I asked him whether he was feeling well. |
|
“Did you go to school?” |
They asked me if I had gone to school. или They asked me whether I had gone to school. |
|
“Have you taken the breakfast?” |
He asked me if I had taken the breakfast. или He asked me whether I had taken the breakfast. |
|
“Were they going to the car?” |
She asked her husband if they had been going to the car. или She asked her husband whether they had been going to the car. |
|
“Have they been going to the car” |
She asked her husband if they had been going to the car. или She asked her husband whether they had been going to the car. |
Специальные вопросы
Данные вопросы образуются без “if ” и “whether”. На их место ставятся вопросительные наречия: where, why, which, who… Остальные правила образования те же, что и в обычных косвенных предложениях.
| Direct Question | Indirect Question |
| “How are you?” | He asked me how I was. (неверно: how was I) |
| “What is your name?” | Alice asked him what his name was. |
| “Why did you come late?” | She asked him why he had come late. |
| “Where have you been?” | She asked her husband where he had been. |
| “When will they come?” | He asked when they would come. |
| “What were you doing?” | He asked Anna what she had been doing. |
| “Why are you crying?” | They asked his wife why she was crying. |
Проверьте себя, пройдите тест.
Тест на понимание косвенной речи
скоро
На этом можно закончить. Что собой представляет косвенная речь и как она строится, Вы, внимательно изучив статью выше, теперь знаете. Если желаете полностью освоить косвенную речь, то далее, дополнительная часть статьи для Вас.
Модальные глаголы
При изменении прямой речи в косвенную необходимо также обращать внимание, есть ли в предложении модальные глаголы. Как и главные глаголы, они должны изменяться в косвенной речи, однако не все модальные глаголы можно изменять. Изучите таблицы ниже.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| CAN → COULD | |
|
“I can drive a car.” She said, “He can play a violin.” “We can climb on a hil.” |
He said he could drive a car. She said that he could play a violin. They said they could climb on a hill. |
| MAY → MIGHT | |
|
“I may buy a computer.” She said, “He may visit a doctor.” “They may go to zoo.” |
He said that he might buy a computer. She said he might visit a doctor. They said they might go to zoo. |
| MUST → HAD TO | |
|
“I must work hard.” She said, “They must carry on their work.” I said to her, “You must learn English.” |
He said he had to work hard. She said that they had to carry on their work. I said to her that she had to learn English. |
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| WOULD → WOULD | |
|
“I would start a business.” “We would apply for a visa.” “I would appear in the exam.” |
He said that he would start a business. They said they would apply for visa. She said she would appear in the exam. |
| COULD → COULD | |
|
“I could run faster.” “We could not learn the lesson.” “She could play a piano.” |
He said that he could run faster. They said they could not learn the lesson. She said she could play a piano. |
| MIGHT → MIGHT | |
|
“Guests might come.” “I might meet him.” “It might rain.” |
He said that guest might come. Anna said she might meet him. She said it might rain. |
| SHOULD → SHOULD | |
|
“I should avail the opportunity.” “We should take the exam.” “I should help him.” |
He said that he should avail the opportunity. They said they should take the exam. She said that she should help him. |
| OUGHT TO → OUGHT TO | |
|
He said to me, “You ought to wait for him.” “We ought to attend our classes.” “I ought to learn method of study.” |
He said to me that I ought to wait for him. They said that they ought to attend their classes. She said that she ought to learn method of study. |
Время и наречия
Время и наречия в косвенной речи также изменяются. Примеры:
“I will buy a book tomorrow” → She said that she would buy a book the next day.
“I am happy now” → He said that he was happy then.
“I like this book” → He said that he liked that book.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|
today |
that day/the same day |
Повелительные(imperative) и восклицательные(exclamatory) предложения
В косвенных повелительных и восклицательных предложениях, чаще всего согласование времён отсутствует. В зависимости от контекста могут заменяться глаголы said, told, advised и т.п.
Повелительные предложения
Предложения повелительного наклонения — это предложения приказа, требования, предложения, совета и т.п. Например: “открой двери”, “помоги мне”, “учи уроки”. Очень часто используются такие слова, как requested, ordered, advised, suggested, forbade и not to do something.
“Please help me” → He asked me to help him.
“You should work hard for exam” → He suggested him to work hard for exam.
“Do not tell a lie” → They said to him not to tell a lie.
“Open the door” → He ordered to open the door.
“Do not waste your time” → The teacher advised the students not to waste their time.
“Do not smoke” → Doctor advised me not to smoke.
Восклицательные предложения
Восклицательные предложения – это выражение радости, печали, удивления и т.п. Например: “Ура! Мы победили”, “Увы! Ты опоздал” или “Ого! Классно выглядишь ”. Очень часто используются такие слова, как exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed with wonder и т.д.
“Alas! I failed in exam” → She exclaimed with sorrow that she failed in the exam.
“Wow! What a nice shirt it is” → Michel exclaimed with wonder that it was a nice shirt.
“Hurrah! I am selected for the job” → She exclaimed with joy that she was selected for the job.
“Wow! What a pleasant weather it is” → They exclaimed with wonder that it was a pleasant weather.
В статье подробно рассказали о правилах передачи косвенной речи в английском языке.
Содержание:
- 1. Правила употребления косвенной речи
- 2. Модальные глаголы в косвенной речи
- 3. Утверждения в косвенной речи
- 4. Вопросы в косвенной речи
- 5. Восклицания в косвенной речи
- 6. Приказы, просьбы, советы и предложения в косвенной речи
Прямая речь (Direct Speech) — это способ, при котором высказывание другого человека передается слово в слово, тогда как косвенная (Reported Speech) — это пересказ чужих слов, в котором допускается изменение стиля изложения и замена слов. Косвенная речь — обширная грамматическая тема, которая затрагивает такие разделы, как правила согласования времен, использование модальных глаголов, построение косвенных вопросов и т. д. В этой статье мы расскажем, как правильно строить утвердительные, отрицательные, а также вопросительные предложения в косвенной речи.
Правила употребления косвенной речи
- Прямая речь всегда заключается в кавычки, в то время как косвенная речь в английском языке кавычками не выделяется.
Прямая речь:
Ben said, “I am ready to join you.” — Бен сказал: «Я готов присоединиться к вам».
Косвенная речь:
Ben said (that) he was ready to join us. — Бен сказал, что он готов присоединиться к нам.
- Если говорящий передает чужие слова, личные местоимения I, we меняются на местоимения he, she, they, а местоимение you в зависимости от контекста может меняться на I, we или же на he, she, they.
Melissa said, “I was glad to see my friends.” — Мелисса сказала: «Я была рада видеть своих друзей».
Melissa said (that) she was glad to see her friends. — Мелисса сказала, что она была рада видеть своих друзей.Melissa said, “We were glad to meet new friends.” — Мелисса сказала: «Мы были рады познакомиться с новыми друзьями».
Melissa said (that) they were glad to meet new friends. — Мелисса сказала, что они были рады познакомиться с новыми друзьями. - Если глагол в главном предложении стоит в прошедшем времени (said, told), то при преобразовании прямой речи в косвенную указательные местоимения и наречия заменяются.
this → that
these → those
now → then, at that moment
today → that day
ago → before
a year ago → a year before
last night → the previous night
yesterday → the day before, the previous day
the day before yesterday → two days before
tomorrow → the next day, the following day
the day after tomorrow → two days laterРассмотрим несколько примеров:
He said, “We have been here for two months.” — Он сказал: «Мы здесь уже два месяца».
He said (that) they had been there for two months. — Он сказал, что они находятся там два месяца.Bella said, “I saw them yesterday.” — Белла сказала: «Я видела их вчера».
Bella said (that) she had seen them the day before. — Белла сказала, что видела их накануне.Mario said, “I am going to do it tomorrow.” — Марио сказал: «Я собираюсь сделать это завтра».
Mario said (that) he was going to do it the next day. — Марио сказал, что собирается сделать это завтра / на следующий день. - При переходе от прямой речи к косвенной необходимо следовать правилам согласования времен.
Косвенная речь в английском языке Переход из одного времени в другое Пример Present Simple → Past Simple Emma said, “I seldom chat with friends online.” — Эмма сказала: «Я редко общаюсь с друзьями в интернете». → Emma said (that) she seldom chatted with friends online. — Эмма сказала, что редко общается с друзьями в интернете. Present Continuous → Past Continuous Emma said, “I am chatting with my friends now.” — Эмма сказала: «Я сейчас общаюсь со своими друзьями». → Emma said (that) she was chatting with her friends. — Эмма сказала, что она общается со своими друзьями. Present Perfect → Past Perfect Emma said, “I have just sent a text message to my friends.” — Эмма сказала: «Я только что отправила текстовое сообщение своим друзьям». → Emma said (that) she had just sent a text message to her friends. — Эмма сказала, что только что отправила текстовое сообщение своим друзьям. Present Perfect Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous Emma said, “We have been chatting for two hours.” — Эмма сказала: «Мы общались два часа». → Emma said (that) they had been chatting for two hours. — Эмма сказала, что они общались два часа. Past Simple → Past Perfect Emma said, “I sent a letter to my American friend last night.” — Эмма сказала: «Вчера вечером я отправила письмо своему американскому другу». → Emma said (that) she had sent a letter to her American friend the previous night. — Эмма сказала, что вчера вечером она отправила письмо своему американскому другу. Past Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous Emma said, “I was writing a letter at 5 p.m.” — Эмма сказала: «Я писала письмо в 5 часов вечера». → Emma said (that) she had been writing a letter at 5 p.m. — Эмма сказала, что она писала письмо в 5 часов вечера. Past Perfect → Past Perfect Emma said, “I had sent a couple of text messages to my friends by 6 o’clock.” — Эмма сказала: «Я отправила пару текстовых сообщений своим друзьям к 6 часам». → Emma said (that) she had sent a couple of text messages to her friends by 6 o’clock. — Эмма сказала, что она отправила пару текстовых сообщений своим друзьям к 6 часам. Past Perfect Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous Emma said, “We had been chatting for an hour by 6 o’clock.” — Эмма сказала: «К 6 часам мы общались уже час». → Emma said (that) they had been chatting for an hour by 6 o’clock. — Эмма сказала, что к 6 часам они общались уже час. Will → would Emma said, “We will continue chatting tomorrow.” — Эмма сказала: «Мы продолжим общаться завтра». → Emma said (that) they would continue chatting the next day. — Эмма сказала, что они продолжат общаться на следующий день. Emma said, “We will be chatting at 5 p.m.” — Эмма сказала: «Мы будем общаться в 5 часов вечера». → Emma said (that) they would be chatting at 5 p.m. — Эмма сказала, что они будут общаться в 5 часов вечера. Emma said, “I will have written three letters by 5 p.m.” — Эмма сказала: «Я напишу три письма к 5 часам вечера». → Emma said (that) she would have written three letters by 5 p.m. — Эмма сказала, что она напишет три письма к 5 часам вечера. Emma said, “We will have been chatting for two hours by 5 p.m.” — Эмма сказала: «К 5 часам вечера мы будем общаться уже два часа». → Emma said (that) they would have been chatting for two hours by 5 p.m. — Эмма сказала, что к 5 часам вечера они будут общаться уже два часа. Несмотря на строгие правила согласования времен, есть ряд исключений:
- Past Simple не меняется, когда стоит после временных союзов, например: when, as, while, before, after, since и т. д.
She said, “I have been watching a movie since I came.” — Она сказала: «Я смотрела фильм с тех пор, как приехала».
She said that she had been watching a movie since she came. — Она сказала, что она смотрела фильм с тех пор, как приехала. - Когда речь идет об общеизвестном факте, нет необходимости менять время глагола, если сказуемое в главном предложении стоит в прошедшем времени.
Mark said, “Tokyo is bigger than Moscow.” — Марк сказал: «Токио больше Москвы».
Mark said that Tokyo is/was bigger than Moscow. — Марк сказал, что Токио больше Москвы.Токио на самом деле больше Москвы, поэтому глагол to be можно оставить в той же форме, в которой он был в прямой речи.
- При преобразовании предложений с сослагательным наклонением в косвенную речь форма глагола обычно остается неизменной.
She should be discharged if she were seen going out with her student. — Ее следовало бы уволить, если бы кто-нибудь увидел, что она встречается со своим учеником.
He said that she should be discharged if she were seen going out with her student. — Он сказал, что ее следовало бы уволить, если бы кто-нибудь увидел, что она встречается со своим учеником.
- Past Simple не меняется, когда стоит после временных союзов, например: when, as, while, before, after, since и т. д.
Модальные глаголы в косвенной речи
Разобрав тему согласования времен в косвенной речи, вам не составит труда пересказать чужие слова, используя модальные глаголы. Давайте рассмотрим, какие модальные глаголы в косвенной речи требуют замены, а какие нет:
- Модальный глагол must (должен), как правило, остается неизменным в косвенной речи, если он выражает совет, приказ или предположение с большой степенью уверенности.
The teacher said to him, “You must be more attentive.” — Учитель сказал ему: «Ты должен быть внимательнее». (совет)
The teacher told him he must be more attentive. — Учитель сказал ему, что он должен быть внимательнее.She said, “You must be very confident if you are going to take the exam without any preparation.” — Она сказал: «Ты, должно быть, очень уверен в себе, если собираешься сдавать экзамен без какой-либо подготовки». (предположение)
She said he must be very confident if he was going to take the exam without any preparation. — Она сказала, что он, должно быть, очень уверен в себе, если собирается сдавать экзамен без какой-либо подготовки. - Must обычно заменяется на had to, если выражает необходимость, возникающую из обстоятельств.
He said, “I must be in the office at 6 o’clock every morning.” — Он сказал: «Я должен быть в офисе каждое утро в 6 часов».
He said that he had to be in the office at 6 o’clock every morning. — Он сказал, что должен быть в офисе каждое утро в 6 часов. - Must заменяется на was to, если выражает договоренность или приказ.
Ben said, “I must call my friend at three o’clock.” — Бен сказал: «Я должен позвонить своему другу в три часа».
Ben said he was to call his friend at three o’clock. — Бен сказал, что должен позвонить своему другу в три часа. - Глагол may заменяется на might, а can — на could.
The teacher said to the class, “Now you may open your copybooks.” — Учитель сказал классу: «Теперь вы можете открыть свои тетради».
The teacher told the class that they might open their copybooks. — Учитель сказал классу, что они могут открыть свои тетради.John said, “I can help you with your homework.” — Джон сказал: «Я могу помочь тебе с домашним заданием».
John said that he could help me with my homework. — Джон сказал, что может помочь мне с домашним заданием. - Модальные глаголы might, could, would, should и ought to остаются неизменными в косвенной речи.
Mario said, “You ought to tell me the truth whatever it is.” — Марио сказал: «Ты должна сказать мне правду, какой бы она ни была».
Mario said that she ought to tell him the truth, whatever it was. — Марио сказал, что она должна сказать ему правду, какой бы она ни была.
Утверждения в косвенной речи
Для передачи утверждений и заявлений в косвенной речи чаще всего используются такие глаголы, как to say (сказать) и to tell (сказать, рассказать, сообщить). Их основное отличие в употреблении: после глагола to say используется предлог to (to say to smbd) или вовсе ничего не ставится, тогда как после глагола to tell должен следовать объект (to tell smbd).
Susan said to us, “I have gotten a good job offer.” — Сьюзан сказала нам: «Я получила хорошее предложение о работе».
Susan said that she had got a good job offer. — Сьюзен сказала, что получила хорошее предложение о работе.
Susan told us that she had got a good job offer. — Сьюзен сказала нам, что получила хорошее предложение о работе.
В косвенной речи также могут использоваться и другие глаголы, выбор которых будет зависеть от характера высказывания. Примеры с наиболее распространенными из них мы приведем в таблице ниже.
| Прямая речь | Косвенная речь |
|---|---|
| Donna said to me, “I hope you haven’t forgotten that there will be a conference.” — Донна сказала мне: «Надеюсь, ты не забыла, что будет конференция». | Donna reminded me that there would be a conference. — Донна напомнила мне, что будет конференция. |
| She said, “Chinese is difficult to learn.” — Она сказала: «Китайский трудно выучить». | She remarked that Chinese was difficult to learn. — Она отметила, что китайский трудно выучить. |
| My father said, “I did tell her the truth.” — Мой отец сказал: «Я действительно сказал ей правду». | My father admitted that he had told her the truth. — Отец признался, что сказал ей правду. |
| My colleague said, “I’ve never taken your folder.” — Мой коллега сказал: «Я никогда не брал твою папку». | My colleague denied that he had taken my folder. — Мой коллега отрицал, что взял мою папку. |
| Billy said to her, “I will certainly join you at the party.” — Билли сказал ей: «Я непременно присоединюсь к тебе на вечеринке». | Billy assured her that he would join her at the party. — Билли заверил ее, что присоединится к ней на вечеринке. |
| Matt said, “I’ve never seen this movie before.” — Мэтт сказал: «Я никогда раньше не видел этот фильм». | Matt declared (that) he had never seen that movie before. — Мэтт заявил, что он никогда раньше не видел этот фильм. |
| Matt said, “I never expected she would do such a terrible thing!” — Мэтт сказал: «Я никогда не ожидал, что она сделает такой ужасный поступок!» | Matt exclaimed he had never expected she would do such a terrible thing. — Мэтт воскликнул, что никогда не ожидал, что она совершит такой ужасный поступок. |
| They said, “We are getting married!” — Они сказали: «Мы женимся!» | They announced that they were getting married. — Они объявили, что собираются пожениться. |
| My boss said to me, “You will have to go on a business trip.” — Мой начальник сказал мне: «Тебе придется поехать в командировку». | My boss informed me that I would have to go on a business trip. — Начальник сообщил мне, что мне придется поехать в командировку. |
Вопросы в косвенной речи
Порядок слов в косвенном вопросе такой же, как и в утвердительном предложении. Прямой общий вопрос подразумевает ответ «да» или «нет», поэтому в косвенном вопросе используются такие слова, как if и whether, которые переводятся на русский язык как «ли».
I asked my friend, “Have you finished reading my book?” — Я спросила свою подругу: «Ты дочитала мою книгу?»
I asked my friend if she had finished reading my book. — Я спросила свою подругу, дочитала ли она мою книгу.
She asked me, “Do you know him?” — Она спросила меня: «Ты его знаешь?»
She asked me whether I knew him. — Она спросила, знаю ли я его.
Если вопрос в прямой речи начинается с вопросительного слова (where, what, when и т. д.), то косвенный вопрос также следует начинать с вопросительного слова, не используя вспомогательные глаголы do/does, did и сохраняя прямой порядок слов.
He asked me, “Where do you live?” — Он спросил меня: «Где ты живешь?»
He asked me where I lived. — Он спросил, где я живу.
Maria asked her teacher, “When should I hand in my research paper?” — Мария спросила своего учителя: «Когда мне сдать исследовательскую работу?»
Maria asked her teacher when she should hand in her research paper. — Мария спросила своего учителя, когда ей следует сдать исследовательскую работу.
Глагол to ask можно заменить на синонимы: to question (задавать вопросы), to inquire (спрашивать, осведомляться), to enquire (спрашивать, осведомляться), to demand (спрашивать).
Восклицания в косвенной речи
Когда мы конвертируем восклицания в косвенную речь, то не глагол, а обстоятельства образа действия показывают нам характер определенного высказывания: радость, удивление, печаль и т. д. Приведем несколько примеров предложений с разными обстоятельствами образа действия.
| Прямая речь | Косвенная речь |
|---|---|
| Tom said, “How pleasant! Sarah is going to join us!” — Том сказал: «Как приятно! Сара собирается присоединиться к нам!» | Tom cried joyfully that Sarah was going to join them. — Том радостно воскликнул, что Сара собирается присоединиться к ним. |
| Kelly said, “I’m so sorry, but Mary is leaving us!” — Келли сказала: «Мне очень жаль, но Мэри покидает нас!» | Kelly said sadly that Mary was leaving them. — Келли грустно сказала, что Мэри покидает их. |
| He said, “I’m sure that we’ll never have such fun again!” — Он сказал: «Я уверен, что нам больше никогда не будет так весело!» | He said regretfully he was sure that they would never have such fun again. — Он с сожалением сказал, что уверен, что им больше никогда не будет так весело. |
| Molly said, “I’m sure you’ll forget me as soon as you leave!” — Молли сказала: «Я уверена, что ты забудешь меня, как только уедешь!» | Molly said with bitterness that she was sure he would forget her as soon as he left. — Молли с горечью сказала, что уверена, что он забудет ее, как только уедет. |
| He said to me, “You are lying to me!” — Он сказал мне: «Ты лжешь мне!» | He cried indignantly that I was lying to him. — Он негодующе закричал, что я ему лгу. |
| Donna said to him, “Have you really read all these novels?!” — Донна сказала ему: «Ты действительно читал все эти романы?!» | Donna asked him in surprise if he had really read all those novels. — Донна удивленно спросила его, действительно ли он читал все эти романы. |
| Mike said to her, “Please, forgive me for having lied to you!” — Майк сказал ей: «Пожалуйста, прости меня за то, что я солгал тебе!» | Mike begged his forgiveness for having lied to her. — Майк попросил прощения за то, что солгал ей. |
Стиль прямой и косвенной речи значительно отличается: прямая речь считается более эмоциональной, нежели косвенная. При переходе от прямой речи к косвенной иногда приходится добавлять союзы, чтобы можно было выразить причинные отношения между событиями, которые описываются в предложении.
Mike said, “I’m sick and tired! I’ve been working for them for ten years!” — Майк сказал: «Я сыт по горло! Я работаю на них уже десять лет!»
Mike said (that) he was sick and tired as he had been working for them for ten years. — Майк сказал, что он сыт по горло, так как работает на них десять лет.
Если какие-то фразы или слова повторяются в прямой речи, их часто опускают в косвенной.
Sarah said, “It’s so sweet of you to give me this present, so sweet of you indeed!” — Сара сказала: «Как мило с твоей стороны сделать мне этот подарок, так мило с твоей стороны!»
Sarah said that it was so sweet of me to give her that present. — Сара сказала, что это было так мило с моей стороны сделать ей такой подарок.
Междометия лучше заменять соответствующими обстоятельствами.
Donna said, “Alas! I’ll never see him again!” — Донна сказала: «Увы! Я больше никогда его не увижу!»
Donna exclaimed in despair that she would never see him again. — Донна в отчаянии воскликнула, что больше никогда его не увидит.
Приказы, просьбы, советы и предложения в косвенной речи
Теперь вы знаете, как преобразовывать утвердительные, вопросительные и восклицательные предложения в косвенную речь. Однако если вы столкнулись с категоричным приказом, дружеским советом или просьбой, заманчивым предложением или искренней благодарностью, прежде чем пересказывать их кому-то, стоит учесть некоторые нюансы. Давайте рассмотрим каждый по отдельности:
- Приказы и просьбы
Приказ или просьба в косвенной речи всегда выражаются инфинитивом.
My mom said to me, “Switch on the light.” — Моя мама сказала мне: «Включи свет».
My mom told me to switch on the light. — Мама сказала мне включить свет.Кроме того, при преобразовании приказа или просьбы в косвенную речь глагол to say может заменяться на синонимы to urge (призывать) или to beg (умолять).
The father said to his daughter, “Do take care of your little brother.” — Отец сказал дочери: «Позаботься о своем младшем брате».
The father urged his daughter to take care of her little brother. — Отец призвал дочь позаботиться о младшем брате.В отрицательном предложении, выражающем приказ или просьбу, частица not ставится перед глаголом в инфинитиве.
She said to me, “Don’t open the door.” — Она сказала мне: «Не открывай дверь».
She told me not to open the door. — Она сказала мне не открывать дверь.The child said to his mom, “Don’t take me to the museum!” — Ребенок сказал маме: «Не веди меня в музей!»
The child begged his mom not to take him to the museum. — Ребенок умолял маму не вести его в музей. - Предложения
При преобразовании предложений в косвенную речь мы используем глагол to offer (предлагать) и to suggest (предлагать).
The man said to her, “Shall I bring you a glass of water?” — Мужчина сказал ей: «Принести вам стакан воды?»
The man offered to bring her a glass of water. — Мужчина предложил принести ей стакан воды.She said to him, “What about going there together?” — Она сказала ему: «Как насчет того, чтобы пойти туда вместе?»
She suggested that they should go there together. — Она предложила ему поехать туда вместе. - Советы
Советы преобразуются в косвенную речь с помощью глагола to advise (советовать).
Bella said to him, “You’d better take a cab or, or you may be late for the meeting.” — Белла сказала ему: «Тебе лучше взять такси, ты можешь опоздать на встречу».
Bella advised him to take a cab, as otherwise he might be late for the meeting. — Белла посоветовала ему взять такси, иначе он может опоздать на встречу. - Извинения
Передать извинения в английском языке можно с помощью глагола to apologize (извиниться) и выражения to beg one’s pardon (попросить прощения).
She said to the teacher, “I’m sorry for being late.” — Она сказала учителю: «Извините, что я опоздала!»
She apologized to the teacher for being late. — Она извинилась перед учителем за опоздание.Mary said to him, “Beg your pardon, I’ve left your encyclopedia at home.» — Мэри сказала ему: «Прошу прощения, я оставила твою энциклопедию дома».
Mary begged his pardon for having left his encyclopedia at home. — Мэри попросила у него прощения за то, что оставила его энциклопедию дома. - Благодарность
Передать благодарность вы можете с помощью глагола to thank (благодарить) и выражения to express your gratitude (выразить свою благодарность).
Tom said to them, “Thank you for helping me out!” — Том сказал им: «Спасибо, что помогли мне».
Tom thanked them for helping him out. — Том поблагодарил их за помощь.Elon said to me, “Thank you for coming!” — Илон сказал мне: «Спасибо, что пришел».
Elon expressed his gratitude to me for coming. — Илон выразил свою благодарность за то, что я пришел.
Хотите научиться грамотно говорить по-английски? Тогда записывайтесь на курс практической грамматики.
Надеемся, что приведенные примеры предложений помогут вам разобраться со всеми ранее непонятными моментами. Для закрепления материала вы можете пройти небольшой тест по косвенной речи.
Тест по теме «Косвенная речь»
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Скорее всего, вам уже приходилось пересказывать слова другого человека в разговоре. Как вы себя при этом чувствовали?
На первых порах, скорее всего, не очень уверенно, ведь нужно учитывать множество факторов: изменить порядок слов в предложении или нет, воспользоваться ли другими временными формами, а может и не стоит, подобрать ли другие слова и т.д.
Как же все-таки корректно перевести прямую речь в предложении в косвенную или грамотно передать чужие слова? Давайте разбираться!
Содержание статьи:
- О прямой и косвенной речи в английском
- Согласование времен в косвенной речи
- Исключения из правил
- Вопросы в косвенной речи
- Повелительные предложения в косвенной речи
- Заключение
- БОНУС!
О прямой и косвенной речи в английском
«Direct speech» или прямая речь — это слова какого-либо человека, передаваемые буквально так, как они и были произнесены. На письме прямая речь выделяется кавычками, а после слов, вводящих прямую речь, ставится запятая.
She says, «The lessons begin at 9 o’clock.» – Она говорит: «Занятия начинаются в 9 часов».
Пройдите тему в онлайн тренажере:
- Reporting and Reported Clauses
- Reported statements
- Reported speech
«Indirect speech» («reported speech») или косвенная речь — это речь, передаваемая не слово в слово, а только по содержанию, в виде дополнительных придаточных предложений. При этом запятая, отделяющая слова говорящего от прямой речи, и кавычки, в которые взята прямая речь, опускаются.
She says that the lessons begin at 9 o’clock. – Она говорит, что занятия начинаются в 9 часов.
В прямой речи человек обычно говорит от первого лица. Но в косвенной речи мы не можем говорить от лица этого человека. Поэтому мы меняем «я» на третье лицо.
She said, «I will buy a dress.» – Она сказала: «Я куплю платье».
She said that she would buy a dress. – Она сказала, что купит платье.
Если в главном предложении глагол-сказуемое стоит в прошедшем времени (Past Simple), то при переводе прямой речи в косвенную соблюдаются правила согласования времен, и перед косвенной речью ставится союз «that», который после глаголов «say», «know», «think» и т. п. может быть опущен.
Direct speech: She said, «The lessons begin at 9 o’clock.» – Она сказала: «Занятия начинаются в 9 часов».
Indirect speech: She said (that) the lessons began at 9 o’clock. – Она сказала, что занятия начинаются в 9 часов.
Direct speech: Ann said, «I bought two tickets for the theatre.» – Анна сказала: «Я купила два билета в театр».
Indirect speech: Ann said (that) she had bought 2 tickets for the theatre. – Анна сказала, что она купила 2 билета в театр.
Давайте рассмотрим таблицу, которая поможет разобраться с временами в придаточных предложениях.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| Present Simple: He said, «I am hungry!» – Он сказал: «Я голоден!» |
Past Simple: He said that he was hungry. – Он сказал, что он голоден. |
| Present Continuous: Mother said, «I am cooking the dinner now.» – Мама сказала: «Я сейчас готовлю обед». |
Past Continuous: Mother said that she was cooking the dinner then. – Мама сказала, что она готовила обед. |
| Present Perfect: She said, «I have worked hard today.» – Она сказала: «Я много работала сегодня». |
Past Perfect: She said that she had worked hard that day. – Она сказала, что она много работала в тот день. |
| Present Perfect Continuous: I said, «My colleague has only been working here for 3 months.» – Я сказал: «Моя коллега работает здесь всего 3 месяца». |
Past Perfect Continuous: I said that my colleague had only been working there for 3 months. – Я сказал, что моя коллега работала там всего 3 месяца. |
| Past Simple: She said, «I had a cold a week ago.» – Она сказала: «Неделю назад у меня была простуда». |
Past Perfect: She said that she had had a cold a week before. – Она сказала, что неделю до этого у нее была простуда. |
| Past Continuous: Tom said, «I was watching the football match.» – Том сказал: «Я смотрел футбольный матч». |
Past Perfect Continuous: Tom said that he had been watching the football match. – Том сказал, что он смотрел футбольный матч. |
| Past Perfect: My friend said to me, «I had known you before we were introduced to each other.» – Мой друг сказал мне: «Я знал тебя до того, как нас представили друг другу». |
Past Perfect: My friend told me that he had known me before we were introduced to each other. – Мой друг сказал мне, что он знал меня до того, как нас представили друг другу. |
| Past Perfect Continuous: My wife said, «We had been dating for 3 years before we got married.» – Моя жена сказала: «Мы встречались 3 года, прежде чем поженились». |
Past Perfect Continuous: My wife said that we had been dating for 3 years before we got married. – Моя жена сказала, что мы встречались 3 года, прежде чем поженились. |
| Future Simple (will): The doctor said, «You will get the result of your blood test tomorrow» – Доктор сказал: «Вы получите результат своего анализа крови завтра». |
Future in the Past (would): The doctor said that I would get the result of my blood test the next day – Доктор сказал, что я получу результат своего анализа крови на следующий день. |
Если в прямой речи были модальные глаголы, то те из них, которые имеют формы прошедшего времени, изменятся в косвенной речи, например: «can» – «could», «may» – might», «have (to)» – «had (to)» – вот практически и все. Остальные при переходе в косвенную речь не меняются: must, ought и др.
He said, «The contract can be signed in the evening.» – Он сказал: «Контракт может быть подписан вечером».
He said that the contract could be signed in the evening. – Он сказал, что контракт может быть подписан вечером.
Глагол «must» заменяется в косвенной речи глаголом «had», когда «must» выражает необходимость совершения действия в силу определенных обстоятельств:
She said, «I must send him a telegram at once.» – Она сказала: «Я должна послать ему телеграмму немедленно».
She said that she had to send him a telegram at once. – Она сказала, что должна послать ему телеграмму немедленно.
Когда же глагол must выражает приказание или совет, то он остается без изменения:
He said to her, «You must consult a doctor.» – Он сказал ей: «Вы должны посоветоваться с врачом».
He told her that she must consult a doctor. – Он сказал ей, что она должна посоветоваться с врачом.
Глаголы «should» и «ought to» в косвенной речи не изменяются:
She said to him, «You should (ought to) send them a telegram immediately.» – Она сказала ему: «Вам следует немедленно послать им телеграмму».
She told him that he should (ought to) send them a telegram immediately. – Она сказала ему, что ему следует послать им телеграмму немедленно.
В некоторых случаях мы должны согласовать не только времена, но и отдельные слова.
He said, «I am dying now». – Он сказал: «Я умираю сейчас».
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То есть в данный момент он умирает. Однако, когда мы будем передавать его слова, то будем говорить уже не про сейчас, а про момент времени в прошлом (тот, когда он умирал). Поэтому мы меняем «now» (сейчас) на «then» (тогда).
She said that she was driving then. – Она сказала, что она была за рулем тогда.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| this, these этот, эти |
that, those тот, те |
| here здесь |
there там |
| now сейчас |
then тогда |
| today сегодня |
that day в тот день |
| tomorrow завтра |
the next day на следующий день |
| yesterday вчера |
the day before за день |
| ago тому назад |
before до того, раньше |
| last прошлый |
the previous предыдущий |
| next следующий |
the following следующий |
Читайте также: В чем отличия This от That?
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О ценах на английском
Исключения из правил
Как известно, в любых правилах есть свои исключения. Так и в косвенной речи. Этих исключений не много, но их следует знать. Итак, правило согласования времен не соблюдается:
- В придаточных дополнительных предложениях, которые выражают общеизвестный факт или истину.
Не said that 22 December is the shortest day of the уеаг.
Он сказал, что 22 декабря — самый короткий день в году.
- Когда в придаточном предложении есть модальные глаголы «must», «should», «ought to»:
I said that I must meet her. – Я сказал, что мне надо встретить ее.
- Если говорящий ссылается на слова, которые только что были сказаны:
Kate: «Stay with me, Mark. I will cook something delicious.» – Кейт: Останься со мной, Марк. Я приготовлю что-нибудь вкусное.
Mark to Elza: «Kate said she will cook something delicious.» – Марк Эльзе: Кейт сказала, что приготовит что-то вкусное.
- В придаточном предложении, вводимом союзами when/since, где простое прошедшее время (Past Simple) не изменяет своей формы:
I answered that I hadn’t met her since we moved. – Я ответил, что не видел ее после того, как мы переехали.
- Если говорящий использовал времена Past Continuous, Past Perfect, то они не изменяются в косвенной речи, независимо от того, в каком времени стоит глагол, который вводит косвенную речь:
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«I was working at 6 o’clock.» – He said that he was working at 6 o’clock. (если в предложении указано точное время действия)
«I had never seen such a big fish before my visit to an aquarium.» – She said that she had never seen such a big fish before her visit to an aquarium.
Вопросы в косвенной речи
В косвенной речи вопросы имеют прямой порядок слов, а вопросительный знак в конце предложения заменяется на точку.
Общие вопросы вводятся союзами «if» или «whether»:
I asked, «Have you seen my pen?» – Я спросил: «Ты видел мою ручку?»
I asked him whether/if he had seen my pen. – Я спросил, видел ли он мою ручку.
Специальные вопросы вводятся вопросительными словами:
He wondered: “Who on earth would buy this junk?!” – Он поинтересовался: «Кто вообще станет покупать эту рухлядь?!»
He wondered who on earth would buy that junk. – Он поинтересовался, кто вообще станет покупать эту рухлядь.
Краткий ответ на вопрос косвенной речи вводится союзом «that» без слов «yes»/«no»:
She answered, «Yes, I do.» – Она ответила: «Да».
She answered that she did. – Она ответила утвердительно.
Повелительные предложения в косвенной речи
Такие предложения используются с глаголами «say», «tell», «order», «ask», «beg», а глагол в повелительном наклонении изменяется в форму инфинитива:
Mom told me, «Clean your room.» – Мама сказала мне: «Прибери свою комнату».
Mom told me to clean my room. – Мама сказала мне прибрать свою комнату.
Отрицательная форма глагола в повелительном наклонении заменяется инфинитивом с предшествующей частицей not.
He said, «Don’t run in the corridor.» – Он сказал: «Не бегайте в коридоре».
He said not to run in the corridor. – Он сказал не бегать в коридоре.
Для передачи косвенной речи существует множество вариантов. В таблице мы собрали некоторые глаголы — «introductory verbs», которые помогут вам передать чужую речь без постоянного использования «she said» или «he asked»:
| Introductory Verb | Translation | Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| agree | соглашаться | “Ok, I was wrong.” | He agreed that he had been wrong. |
| claim | заявлять | “I saw the UFO.” | He claimed that he had seen the UFO. |
| complain | жаловаться | “You never share any secrets with me!” | She complained that I never share any secrets with her. |
| admit | признавать | “I was really unfriendly to him.” | She admitted that she had been unfriendly to him. |
| deny | отрицать | “I didn’t break your favorite cup!” | He denied that he had broken the cup. |
| exclaim | воскликнуть | “I am so happy!” | She exclaimed that she was very happy. |
| explain | объяснить | “You see, there’s no point in going there right now.” | He explained that there was no point in going there at that very moment. |
| recommend | советовать | “You’d better stay at home.” | She recommended that we stayed at home. |
| prove | доказывать | “See, the system works.” | He proved that the system worked. |
| insist | настаивать | “You do need to be present at the meeting.” | They insisted that I need to be present at the meeting. |
| regret | сожалеть | “If only I could go on a vacation this year.” | She regrets that she can’t go on a vacation this year. |
| state | утверждать | “I have never seen the young man before.” | The witness stated that she had never seen the young man before. |
| promise | обещать | “I will be back no later than eight o’clock.” | Dad promised that he will be back no later than eight o’clock. |
| suggest | предлагать | “Shall we spend the evening together?” | He suggested that they spent the evening together. |
| assert | утверждать | “Nuclear power is a safe and non-polluting kind of energy.” | The scientists asserted that nuclear power is a safe and non-polluting kind of energy. |
| contend | заявлять | “The Earth may be much younger than previously thought.” | Some astronomers contend that the Earth may be much younger than previously thought. |
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Заключение
Косвенная речь и согласование времен довольно сложные темы, над которыми нужно практиковаться. Вы можете, например, пересказывать эпизод из сериала или передавать по-английски свои беседы с друзьями. Тренируясь делать это, не забывайте о синонимах к словам «say» и «ask», чтобы ваш пересказ не был однообразным.
Большая и дружная семья EnglishDom
Indirect speech in English: rules, examples, exceptions
›Grammar and Rules› Sentencing ›Indirect Speaking in English: Rules, Examples and Exceptions in Various Temporal Forms
Communicating with people, we constantly receive some information from them, which we subsequently pass on to someone else. Several options can be used to transmit it. Of course, you can simply explain the thought in your own words the way you understood it.
Or you can make it clear that the idea is not yours. In such cases, direct or indirect speech is used. And if the direct one is quite easy to use, indirect speech in English has a number of features that should be taken into account.
Today we will talk about them.
Indirect speech in English: direct speech indirect speech
First, let’s figure out what is the difference between direct and indirect speech in English. Direct speech or direct speech expresses a person’s phrase verbatim. This is a kind of quote that cannot be changed in any way. As in Russian, direct speech is surrounded by quotation marks. But instead of a colon in front of the author’s words at the beginning or a comma with a dash at the end, one simple comma is usually used:
| Direct speech sentence schemes | |
| Author’s words, | «direct speech.» |
| «Direct speech», | the words of the author. |
Please note that the period at the end of the sentence in the first case is placed before the quotation mark, and not after, as in Russian. In addition, quotation marks are always placed on top in English.
examples:
- She asked, “Do you feel comfortable here?” — She asked: «Are you comfortable here?»
- “I will not accept his apology”, she said. “I won’t accept his apology,” she said.
Note that question marks and exclamation marks are not used in indirect speech.
All sentences can be translated from direct speech to indirect speech. Indirect speech or indirect speech (lit. «indirect speech» or Reported speech), in turn, expresses the content of the phrase, without preserving the literalism and stylistic features.
All sentences that have indirect speech are complex, where the author’s words are used in the main sentence, and the indirect speech itself is used in the subordinate clause.
As a rule, the main sentence is put first, and after it there is a subordinate clause, which in such speech constructions is often introduced by a union or a pronoun.
| Scheme of sentences of indirect speech | ||
| Author’s words | introduction | indirect speech. |
It should be noted that the comma after the words of the author is not used in English.
- She asks when you’ll be free. — She asks when you will be free.
- He said (that) they d everything very much. — He said (that) they liked everything very much.
At first glance, everything is simple, what is the catch then?
Indirect speech in English: alignment of times
The point is that if the main sentence is in the past tense, the clause will also have to change its time to the appropriate one. Timing works here. Probably, this did not explain anything to you at all, and therefore let’s turn to examples for clarity.
Let’s say you have a direct speech sentence:
| He said, «I have never been to South Korea.» | He said, «I’ve never been to South Korea.» |
Source: https://speakenglishwell.ru/kosvennaya-rech-v-anglijskom-yazyke/
Gossip and indirect speech in English ⋆ Speakingo online
Indirect speech in English is not only a torment for graduates and those who are approaching various English language exams. Despite this appearance, this topic is quite logical and even useful in gossip!
Do you want to tell your friend what he said?
Do you want to explain to your friend what she thinks of him?
This will be impossible without indirect speech!
What is indirect speech in English?
Reported speech, also known as a sequence of tenses, all of these sentences begin with «he said that», «she asked, or».
In these sentences, we quote or report someone’s statement (therefore, indirect speech in English is reported speech). Exactly what you need for good gossip!
The only problem with indirect speech in English is that it is built differently than in Russian. If we haven’t listened to English well enough or forgot to apply the learned grammar rules, our intuition in Russian will simply mislead us.
So let’s start from the very beginning:
My face when I hear indirect speech
How do we use indirect speech in Russian?
Let’s see what indirect speech looks like in Russian using the example of the following five cases:
a) «I want a banana.» → She said she wanted a banana.
b) «I will marry you.» → He promised that he would marry her.
c) «Katya had a good bust.» → He mentioned that Katya had a good bust.
d) «Smoking is not a good idea.» → My doctor always advises me that smoking is not a good idea.
e) «Impossible!» → A spoon for that «impossible!»
In each of these cases, in the second sentence (which is exactly the same indirect speech), much does not change. What is most important from our point of view — time in Russian does not change in indirect speech.
As we will now see, indirect speech in English is governed by completely different laws.
Source: https://speakingo.com/ru/kosvennaya-rech-v-angliyskom-yazyke/
Download this online tutorial in PDF
In English, the transmission of someone else’s utterance is carried out in two ways: with the help of indirect and direct speech… In direct occurrence, the speech of another person is transmitted without various changes. If we use indirect speech in English, then the utterance will be transmitted from a third person, while the word order changes and other temporary forms can be used. Indirect speech is written in the form of a subordinate clause.
In what cases and how is indirect speech used
With the help of indirect speech, you can convey questions, statements, requests and orders… If you use a statement, then the sentence must be made a clause and use union that… If the sentence is in the past tense, then it will be slightly changed, according to the rules for the coordination of tenses. These rules have their own characteristics, so it is better to consider the timing of times separately from indirect speech.
If you transfer other people’s words or thoughts, then the verb will also change, namely the correct choice of its form. Undoubtedly, if the sentence contains the person to whom the appeal is directed, then the verb is replaced from say to tell… The question in indirect speech has a direct word order, and at the end of the sentence, the question mark is replaced with a period.
A special question in indirect speech is presented in the form of an additional subordinate clause, which is connected by interrogative words with the main part.
Converting direct speech to indirect speech
To convert direct speech into indirect speech, it is necessary to omit commas and quotation marks after words that are included in direct speech. All possessive and personal pronouns change depending on the person who is leading the story. If the imperative mood is used in direct speech, then we will have to transform the verb in indirect speech into an infinitive.
And if we use interrogative sentences, then we will have to transform these sentences according to the rule into subordinate clauses. When posing a general question, you should use subordinate clauses with introductory unions whether, if… All adverbs of tense and demonstrative pronouns must be changed in the relative clause according to the meaning.
Now let’s bring the whole theory down to chart.
Rules for translating direct speech into indirect speech: table
| Changing a sentence in indirect speech | Direct speech | Indirect speech (present) | Indirect speech (past tense) |
| I. The imperative mood in direct speech is changed → to an infinitive in indirect speech | Mother says to me: «Come back as soon as you can!» | Mother asks me to come as soon as I can. | Mother asked me to come as soon as I could. |
| II. A declarative clause → a subordinate clause with the conjunction that | She says: «You may choose any dress you.» | She says that I may choose any dress I. | She said that I might choose any dress I (d). |
| III. Interrogative clause → subordinate clause, while: | |||
| a) general questions are joined to the subordinate clause by unions if, whether | She says to her: «Has Kate been here long?» | She asks her if Kate has been there long. | She asked her if Kate had been there long. |
| b) in special questions, only the order of words on the line changes. | The child asks mother: «What holiday is it?» | The child asks his mother what holiday it is. | The child asked his mother what holiday it was. |
When translated from direct speech into indirect speech, personal pronouns change in meaning; the following pronouns change too:
this — thattoday — that daythese — thosethis week — that weekhere — thereyesterday — the day before yesterdaynow — then
tomorrow — the next day (the following day)
In indirect speech of the past tense (starts with somebody said, not says) you should also watch out for the times:
Time alignment in indirect speech
Source: http://englishgu.ru/kosvennaya-rech/
Translation of Affirmative (Negative) and Imperative sentences into indirect speech
Direct speech — this is the transmission of the speech of a person without changes, as it was pronounced.
Indirect speech is not a verbatim transmission of a person’s speech using additional subordinate clauses.
When translating direct speech, a number of natural grammatical, lexical и syntactic changes.
In a sentence with indirect speech, there is a main sentence and a subordinate clause. This structure is clearly visible in Russian:
He said he wouldn’t go fishing tomorrow.
The predicate in the main clause determines (according to the Tenses Matching rule) the grammatical tense in the subordinate clause.
Indirect speech in English «works» according to the rule of Time Coordination. Therefore, a good knowledge of this rule will greatly facilitate the understanding of the functioning of indirect speech.
The work of indirect speech will be disassembled according to the following points: affirmative (negative) offer, imperative offer, interrogative sentence.
The most noticeable changes in the translation of direct speech into indirect speech and vice versa are changes in word order (syntactic) and in vocabulary. We will pay attention to them, first of all. And the grammatical changes fully comply with the rule of the Concordance of Times.
Topic 1. Translation of Affirmative (Negative) and Imperative sentences into indirect speech
The most common verb used to introduce indirect speech is say. Along with this verb, many others are used: tell, inform, announce, inquire, exclaim The choice of the verb depends on the semantic coloring that you want to add to the sentence.
The clause usually begins with a conjunction That.
He says That he wants to find a good wife. — He says, that wants to find a good wife.
Affirmative sentences
During the transition from direct to indirect speech, a number of lexical and grammatical changes occur. The pronoun that is usually placed before the relative clause. For example, personal and possessive pronouns change:
Mary says: «I do my homework every day.»
Mary says that she does her homework every day.
Mary says: «I am not going to the cinema tomorrow».
Mary says that she is not going to the cinema tomorrow.
Imperative sentences
When translating an imperative sentence from direct speech into an indirect predicate, it takes the form of an infinitive with a particle to.
An imperative sentence can be introduced into indirect speech using verbs tell, order, ask for a more accurate semantic and emotional transmission of details.
«Join my pray», the preacher asks the people.
The preacher asks the people to join his pray.
If in direct speech the predicate has a negation, then in indirect speech it is displayed as a particle Note before to + the infinitive of the verb.
Source: https://www.study.ru/courses/intermediate/perevod-v-kosvennuyu-rech
Indirect speech in English table
In order to convey the speech of the speaker, that is, to quote him, we use indirect speech.
Example:
My mother says «I want a new dress» — My mother says: «I want a new dress.» (direct speech)
My mother says that she wants a new dress — My mother says that she wants a new dress. (indirect speech)
Remember that when we transmit indirect speech in the past tense, we follow the rules of tense matching.
(Read the article «Rules for Time Alignment»)
Example: My mother said she wanted a new dress. — My mom said she wants a new dress.
Indirect speech (statements)
The following verbs are used for approval: to explain — to explain, to say — to speak, to notice — to notice, to add — to add, to tell — to tell, to remark — to mark, to remind — to remind, to inform — to inform, and so on.
Examples: He told that he didn`t know about it- He told that he didn`t know about it.
Remember the use of the preposition: to say smth to smb- to say something to someone. (I said the truth to him — I told him the truth); to tell smb smth — tell someone something (Tell me please about your life- Please tell me about your life)
Introductory words are often used in the present tense when:
(Read the article «Present Present Simple»)
1) We read aloud, inform: The magazine says that you should work out 3 times a week.
2) We pass the message: What does she say? — She says you have to go
3) We talk about what someone often says: They are always telling how they are happy together.
Orders and requests
In this case, we use the infinitive and introductory words: to command — to command, to ask — to ask, to beg / to implore — to beg, to urge — to insist, to order — to order, to tell — to speak, and so on.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| He said to me: «Don`t go» — He said to me: «Don’t go» | He begged me not to go. — He begged me not to leave |
| My mother said: «Don`t forget to take umbrella» — My mother said: «Don’t forget the umbrella» | My mother reminded me to take umbrella — My mother reminded me to take an umbrella. |
| He said to them: «Take your stuff and get out» — He told them: «Take your stuff and get out.» | He ordered them to take their stuff and fet out. — He ordered them to take their stuff and leave. |
Questions
General questions (Read the article «Types of interrogative sentences in English)
In indirect speech, direct word order is used to form general questions.
Formed by a particle if / whether translated as Russian particle «Whether». Introduced by the words to ask — ask, to want to know — want to know, and so on.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| She asked me: «Are you ill?» — She asked me: «Are you sick?» | She asked me if / whether I was ill- She asked me if I was ill. |
| They asked him: «Do you know her?» — They asked him «Do you know her?» | They asked him if / whether he knew her. — They asked him if he knew her. |
| My parents asked me: «Are you ready?» — My parents asked me: «Are you ready?» | My parents asked me if / whether I was ready- My parents asked me if I was ready. |
Special Issues
For the formation of special questions in indirect speech, direct word order is also used. Introductory question words: why- why, when- when, which- which, and so on.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Mary asked me: “What are you reading?” — Mary asked me: “What are you reading? | Mary asked me what I was reading. — Mary asked me what I was reading. |
| Parents asked him: «When did come home?» — Parents asked him: «When did you come home?» | Parents asked him when he had came home- Parents asked him when he came home. |
| I asked her: «What do you do?» — I asked her: «What are you doing?» | I asked her what she did. — I asked her what she did. |
Source: http://enjoyeng.ru/grammatika/kosvennaya-rech-v-anglijskom-yazyke-tablica
In indirect speech, statements, questions, orders and requests can be conveyed
- If we are talking about a statement (declarative clause), then we transform it into a subordinate clause with the conjunction that. In the past tense, this proposal will undergo some changes according to the rule of timing. The topic «Reconciliation of tenses in English» has its own characteristics and rules, it should be considered separately from indirect speech.
For more information on timing in English, see the article of the same name on our blog. When transmitting other people’s words or thoughts, changes may affect the verb, namely its correct choice. After all, if there is a person in the sentence who is being addressed, we replace the say verb with tell.
He says, “I am thirsty”. — He tells me that he is thirsty.
He says, «I am thirsty.»— He tells me that he is thirsty.
- If we are talking about the imperative mood in direct speech, then we transform the verb in such sentences into the infinitive in indirect speech.
The teacher says to the students, “Do all the homework in time”. — The teacher asks her students to do all the homework in time.
The teacher tells the students, «Do your homework on time.» — The teacher asks students to do their homework on time.The instructor says, “Do not turn on this road”. — The instructor warns not to turn on that road.
The instructor says, «Don’t turn onto this road.» — The instructor warns me not to turn on that road. - If we are talking about interrogative sentences (for more details about what types of sentences there are, you can learn from the article «Types of sentences in English»), then we transform such sentences into subordinate clauses according to the following rule:
- General questions — the subordinate clause is introduced by the unions if, whether. Word order is straight. He asks us, «Do you believe me?» — He asks whether we believe him. He asks us: «Do you believe me?» — He asks if we believe him.
Source: https://engblog.ru/indirect-speech
Indirect speech in English, tables and exercises
To understand what indirect speech is in English grammar, you first need to understand what direct speech is.
Direct speech is a phrase of any subject, it sounds directly from the first mouth and is enclosed in quotation marks in writing
Direct speech is a separate sentence, so after opening the quotes, we write the first word with a capital letter. In English, a comma is placed after the words indicating who is speaking. Whereas in Russian we put a colon:
- He said, «I will return your book tomorrow.»
He said, «I will return your book tomorrow.»
Indirect speech is a way of transmitting words spoken by another person, while the transmitter transforms other people’s words grammatically and meaningfully, so that it is clear to whom they belong, while maintaining the general content of what was said.
- He said he would return my book the next day.
He said that he would return my book the next day.
Secrets of English indirect speech
Indirect speech — converted direct
In the declarative sentences of the English language, a number of changes occur when direct speech is converted into indirect speech:
-
- After the words that enter the phrase of the author, the comma is no longer put
- After the introductory words, the union that (what) is put, sometimes you can do without it
- If there is a verb to say in the introductory words, it is replaced by to tell, if it is followed by an addition indicating to whom the phrase is addressed
The following table with illustrative examples will help you understand the rules listed above.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Rose says, “I hate liars.” Rose says, «I hate liars.» | Rose says that she hates liars. Rose says she hates liars. |
| Ann says to me, “I my job.” Anna tells me: “I love my job.” | Ann tells to me that she s her job. Anna tells me that she loves her job. |
The main sentences are precisely those introductory words, such as «Luke said,» «she claims,» »parents answered,» and so on. They retain their temporary shape:
- Present Indefinite
- Present Perfect
- Future Indefinite, even being part of indirect speech
The table with examples will again help you understand this rule.
| Tomas says (has said, will say), “I love my country.” Thomas says (said, will say): «I love my country.» | Tomas says (has said, will say) that he loves his country. Thomas says (said, will say) that he loves his country. |
Coordination of tenses in indirect speech
Gradually, we came to an important point of grammar, which must be parsed in order to understand how indirect speech is formed in English. I mean the rules for reconciling the tenses of the English language in indirect speech. The following table conveys the principle of the transition of times (in the upper column — the time that is used in direct speech, in the lower column — the time that needs to be used in indirect speech).
Using examples, we will consider how time can change when converting speech.
- Present Simple
Source: https://englishfull.ru/grammatika/angliyskaya-kosvennaya-rech.html
Direct and indirect speech in English
In spoken and written speech, it is often necessary to convey the words of another person, this can be done in two ways:
- Direct speech — the statement of another person is transmitted verbatim, in an exact quote. In English, as in Russian, direct speech in writing is enclosed in quotation marks.
- Indirect speech — words are transmitted in retelling, in the form of subordinate clauses.
For example:
Direct speech is a separate sentence enclosed in quotation marks. It can be narrative, interrogative, imperative. In terms of punctuation, as you can see from the example above, there are slight differences from direct speech in Russian:
- Direct speech in English is preceded by a comma, not a colon.
- At the end of direct speech, a period is placed before the closing quotation mark, not after.
- In the English language, “upper quotation marks” are used.
The transition of direct speech to indirect speech (declarative sentence)
To begin with, let’s remember how indirect speech is built in Russian.
In Russian, when we want to translate direct speech into indirect speech, we omit the quotes, add the conjunction «what» and, as it were, retell the content of direct speech from a third person.
Direct speech Indirect speech
| Victoria said, «I don’t think so.» | Victoria said she didn’t think so. |
As you can see, we have replaced the meaning of the pronoun “I” with “she”, and the verb “think” with “thinks”, so that indirect speech does not sound like a quote, like speech in the first person.
In English, direct speech is translated into indirect speech in about the same way.
Direct speech Indirect speech
| Victoria said, “I don’t think so.” | Victoria said that she did not think so. |
The main difference is that between the main and the subordinate clauses of the sentence, the timing is agreed (see paragraph 6 below).
Source: https://langformula.ru/english-grammar/indirect-speech/
What did he say or such a difficult indirect speech
To tell them. what a beloved granddaughter or presenter said on TV, people use indirect speech «He said that.» In Russian, we, as native speakers, do not even think about how complex the transformation from direct speech to indirect speech is, but we understand this problem only when we encounter it in English.
Basic Concepts
Direct speech — this is what the person himself says. In written speech, it is easily recognizable by quotation marks. In English terminology, it is called Direct Speech.
Indirect speech — this is when someone conveys someone else’s words using a complex sentence. In English, this is called Reported or Indirect Speech.
Author’s words Are words that indicate who is making a speech. (He said My mom said Auntie Polly said)
Consider the following examples:
direct speech: Kitty always says, “I am the cleverest girl in the world.”
Indirect speech: Milly said they were in the park and fed ducks and pigeons.
Differences between English direct and indirect speech from Russian
In direct speech:
- In English, in direct speech, quotation marks, unusual for a Russian-speaking person, are put on top.
- In Russian, you need to put a colon after the words of the author, and the British replaced it with a comma. Pay attention to the punctuation marks at the end of the sentence. According to the rules of the Russian language, the period is placed after the final quotation mark, and according to the rules of the English language, the period is placed before the quotation mark. If the author’s words come after direct speech, then the comma is put in quotation marks in English.
For example: My sis told me, “My boyfriend is boring.«
In indirect speech:
- Despite the fact that a sentence in indirect speech turns out to be complex and a comma is necessarily put in Russian, this rule is not observed in English. No commas!
- The conjunction “what” is always used in Russian, but native speakers of English, on the contrary, do not use it more often.
For example: Nellie said, that he likes to fish. Nelly said (that) she d fishing.
But these features are not the worst thing in indirect speech in English, the horror for foreign language learners is another phenomenon — this is the coordination of times, which we will talk about further.
Time alignment in indirect speech
Immediately it should be noted that before mastering indirect speech, remember, repeat, refresh in your memory the rules for the formation of tenses, since without this topic you will not advance far in the topic of our article! What is the timing rule? Explaining in simple terms, if one part of a sentence is in the past tense, then all other actions in this sentence will also be expressed in the past tense. Considering sentences in direct speech, you can see that the words of the author can stand both in the present and in the past.
The author’s words in the present tense
If the author’s words are in Present Simple, Present Perfect or Future Simple, i.e. have said / has said / say / says / will say, etc., then no timing is required. For example:
My parents tell me, “You must enter the local university.” — My parents tell me I must enter the local university.
Author’s words in the past tense
Source: https://englishfun.ru/grammatika/kosvennaya-rech-v-anglijskom-yazyke
Indirect speech in English. Timing Coordination
Hey! To understand what indirect speech is in English grammar, you first need to understand what direct speech is.
Direct speech is a phrase of any subject, it sounds directly from the first mouth and is enclosed in quotation marks in writing
Direct speech is a separate sentence, so after opening the quotes, we write the first word with a capital letter. In English, a comma is placed after the words indicating who is speaking. Whereas in Russian we put a colon:
- He said, «I will return your book tomorrow.»
He said, «I will return your book tomorrow.»
For example:
Direct speech Indirect speech
| He said, “I was in bad mood.” He said, “I was in a bad mood.” | He said that he was in bad mood. |
Indirect speech. Past tense
Alas, in the past tense, things are not as simple as we would like.
Direct speech. He said, “The weather is fine. ” — He said: «The weather is good.»
Indirect speech. He said (that) the weather was fine. — He said the weather is good.
Have you noticed that the tense of the English verb has changed in indirect speech? (In direct speech — is, in indirect — was?) In English, this is called «Timing»… It’s hard for us to understand, we just need to remember!
Time alignment in English
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Present indefiniteHe said, “I go to school. « |
Source: http://englishfox.ru/kosvennaya-rech-v-anglijskom-yazyke.html
Direct and indirect speech in English
DIRECT SPEECH in English (Direct Speech) is speech that conveys the speech of the speaker verbatim.
Doesn’t say, «You are the most beautiful girl in the world.»
He says: «You are the most beautiful girl in the world.»
Indirect / Reported Speech is speech that does not convey the speech of the speaker verbatim, but its content.
Doesn’t say (that) she is (I am) the most beautiful girl in the world. He says that she (I) is the most
beautiful girl in the world.
Rules for translating direct speech into indirect speech
- 1. The comma separating the speaker’s words from direct speech, and quotation marks, in which direct speech is taken, are omitted.
Direct Speech: She says, «The lessons begin at 9 o’clock». She says: «Classes start at 9 o’clock.»
Indirect Speech: She says that the lessons begin at 9 o’clock. She says that classes are starting
are served at 9 o’clock.
Direct Speech: She said, «The lessons begin at 9 o’clock.» She said, «Classes start at 9 o’clock.»
Indirect Speech: She said (that) the lessons began at 9 o’clock. She said that classes start at 9 o’clock.
Direct Speech: Ann said, “I bought two tickets for the theater. » Anna said, «I bought two theater tickets.»
Indirect Speech: Ann said (that) she had bought two tickets for the theater.
Anna said she bought two theater tickets.
- 3. All personal and possessive pronouns in direct speech change: the first and second person pronouns are replaced by the third person pronouns, except when the speaker conveys his own words.
Direct Speech: She said, «I began to work at the age of 16.» She said, «I started working at the age of 16.»
Indirect Speech: She said that she had begun to work at the age of 16. She said she started working at the age of 16.
Direct Speech: The stranger said, «I am looking for a job for my son.» The stranger said, «I’m looking for a job for my son.»
Indirect Speech: The stranger said that he was looking for a job for his son. The stranger said he was looking for a job for his son.
Direct Speech: I said, «I’ll help him.» I said, «I will help him.»
Indirect Speech: I said that I should / would help him. I said that I would help him. (The speaker transmits his own words.)
- 4. If after the verb to say there is a prepositional addition, then when translated into indirect speech, the verb to say changes to to tell, the preposition to is omitted.
No said to me -> Not told me that
Examples of translating adverbs from direct speech to indirect speech in the table
In direct speech In indirect speech
| now — now | then — then |
| today — today | that day — that day |
| tomorrow — tomorrow | the next day, the following day — the next day |
| the day after tomorrow — the day after tomorrow | two days later — two days later |
| yesterday — yesterday | the day before, the previous day — the day before |
| the day before yesterday — the day before yesterday | two days before — two days before two days earlier — two days earlier |
| ago — ago | before, earlier — earlier |
| next week — next week | the next week, the following week — next week |
| next year — next year | the next year, the following year — next year |
| last week — last week | the previous week, the week before — last week |
| last year — last year | the previous year, the year before — last year |
| here — here | there — there |
| this — this | that — that |
| these — these | those — those |
BUT: Such a replacement is carried out only if the time and place mentioned in direct speech would change when translating direct speech into indirect speech.
Direct Speech: Not said to me, «I shall take the examination tomorrow.» He told me: «Tomorrow I will take the exam.»
Indirect Speech: He told me that he would take the examination the next day. He told me that he would take the exam the next day.
(The adverb tomorrow has been replaced in indirect speech with the next day, since the speaker’s words are not transmitted on the same day, but on another.)
Direct Speech: She said to him, «I have seen this film the day before yesterday.» She told him, «I saw this movie the day before yesterday.»
Indirect Speech: She told him that she had seen that film two days before. She told him that (she) had seen this film two days before (the day before yesterday).
- 6. If in direct speech there are verbs would, should, ought, might, could, must, had better and used to, then they are transferred into indirect speech without changes.
Direct Speech: Not said, «I could answer this question.» He said, «I could answer that question.»
Indirect Speech: He said that he could answer that question. He said that he could answer this question.
Direct Speech: Not said, «You must
Source: https://catchenglish.ru/grammatika/pryamaya-i-kosvennaya-rech.html
Reported Speech. Rules (Indirect speech in English for beginners)
Indirect speech is called a speech in which the content of what was said by someone is conveyed.
EXAMPLE
- The teacher say, «I am your teacher.» (direct speech)
- The teacher says that he is their teacher. (indirect speech)
We will study the topic Reported Speech rules for transmitting indirect speech in English in the following sequence:
Reported Speech (rules for beginners)
Rule 1. When translating any types of sentences into indirect speech at any time, replacement of pronouns by meaning:
Next, we’ll take a look at Reported Speech, namely Rulestranslation of sentences from direct speech into indirect speech in the present and past tense. After each section, you will be able to do the exercises.
Rules for translation into indirect speech in the present tense
Rule 2. When translating from direct speech to indirect speech, you need to remember that the transmission
- declarative (affirmative) sentences are carried out using the verbs: say that — to say that (1 — when it is not known who is being addressed), tell smb that. — to tell someonethat (2);
- interrogative with a verb ask — ask (3);
- answers using a verb answer — answer (4).
EXAMPLES
Direct speech — Indirect speech
1. Nick says, “I go home”. — Nick says that he goes home.
2. Nick says to me, “I go home”. — Nick tells me that he goes home.
* * *
Rule 3… When translating any questions into indirect speech, the word order in them changes to a straight line.
EXAMPLES
He says, “ What are you doing here, boys? «
He asks the boys what they are doing here.
* * *
Rule 4. The interrogative sentence is attached to the main sentence with the appropriate V.sl., and if it does not exist (for example, in the intonation question) using unions «If», «whether» — whether.
EXAMPLES
He says, «Where are they?» (special question)
He asks Where they are.
Source: http://englishinn.ru/reported-speech-kosvennaya-rech-pravila-dlya-nachinayushhih.html
Indirect speech in English. Reported Speech
In English, as in Russian, there are concepts of direct speech and indirect speech:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| the speech of a person transmitted by another person without changes, that is, accurately reproduced someone else’s speech. | someone else’s speech, transmitted with a change in the order of words, temporal forms, intonation, but with the preservation of the main content. |
| He said, «I am busy.»He said, «I’m busy.» | He said (that) he was busy.He said he was busy. |
Pay attention to the setting of punctuation marks in sentences with direct speech. In English, direct speech is also enclosed in quotation marks, which are placed at the top of the line (“”). A period or other punctuation marks are placed inside quotation marks. The words of the author can precede direct speech, or can follow it. In either case, they are separated from direct speech by a comma. He said, “I am busy today.” / “I’m busy today,” he said.
He asked me, “Are you busy?” / «Are you busy?» he asked me.
He said, “What a nice weather today!” / «What a nice weather today!» he said.
Features of the translation of direct speech into indirect
To convey someone else’s statement in indirect speech, it is necessary to take into account what direct speech is: a statement, a question or an order / request. Below we will consider the features of the transmission of declarative sentences in indirect speech.
Statements in indirect speech
If someone else’s statement is a statement (that is, an ordinary declarative sentence), then in order to convey it in indirect speech, you need to pay attention to the following:
That in indirect speech / verbs introducing indirect speech
Indirect speech is introduced by the union that (what)which is often omitted:
He says, “I am busy.” — He says That he is busy. / He says he is busy.
He says, «I’m busy.» — He says, that He is busy.
If in the words that introduce direct speech (that is, in the words of the author), the verb is used say without an addition indicating the person to whom the speech is being addressed, then say persists; if the verb say used with an addition (necessarily with to), for example, said to me, then say changes to tell + addition without the preposition to (told me):
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| He says, “I am busy.” He says, “I’m busy.” He said, “I am busy.” He said, “I’m busy.” | He says that he is busy. said that he was busy. |
| He says to me, “I am busy.” He tells me, “I’m busy.” He said to me, “I am busy.” He told me, “I’m busy.” | He tells me that he is busy. told me that he was busy. |
Personal and possessive pronouns
All personal and possessive pronouns of direct speech are replaced by meaning:
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Ann says, “I have just met my friend in the street. ”Ann says:“Я just met of my (his) friend on the street. « | Ann says that she has just met here friend in the street. Ann says that it just met her (his) friend on the street. |
| Please note that when we changed the pronoun I to she, we also changed the verb have to its form in the 3rd person singular. has. |
Present tense of the verb that introduces indirect speech
If verb (in the main sentence), introducing indirect speech, used present or the future of time (Present Simple, Present Perfect, Future Simple), then the verb in indirect speech (in the subordinate clause) remains in the same tense in which it was in direct speech:
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| He says, “My name is Nick. ”He says,“ My name is Nick. ”He will say,“ I didn’d do it. ”He will say,“ I didn’t do it. ” | He says (that) his name is Nick. He says his name is Nick. He will say (that) he didn’t do it. He will say that he did not. |
Past tense of the verb that introduces indirect speech
If verb (in the main sentence), introducing indirect speech, used in one of the past tenses, then the tense of the verb of direct speech changes in indirect speech (in the subordinate clause) to another appropriate tense according to the rule of aligning tenses in English:
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Present simpleHe said, “I work every day. ”He said,“ I work every day. ” |
Source: https://myefe.ru/reference/reported-speech
Indirect speech in English (Reported Speech)
Consider when Indirect speech is used in English. The concept of «indirect speech» refers to sentences that tell us information from the words of another person. Such sentences are almost always used in spoken English.
If the verb that conveys the speaker’s words to us is in the form of the past tense (i.e. said), then the part of the sentence that actually contains the speaker’s words will also be in the form of the past tense. Thus, we kind of take a «step back» from the verb form in the initial sentence
| Example: | He said the test was difficult | He said the test was difficult |
| She said she watched TV every day | She said she watched TV every day | |
| Jack said he came to school every day | Jack said he went to school every day |
Present tense form
If the verb that conveys the speaker’s words to us is in the form of a present simple, present perfect or future tense (for example, says), then the temporal form of the verb in the part of the sentence that actually contains the speaker’s words remains unchanged.
| Example: | He says the test is difficult | He says the test is hard |
| She has said she watches TV every day | She said she watches TV every day | |
| Jack will say he comes to school every day | Jack says he goes to school every day |
Undeniable facts
If we transmit someone’s words containing indisputable facts, then in the part of the sentence, which actually contains the speaker’s words, the form of the present tense is also preserved.
| Example: | The teacher said that phrasal verbs are very important | The teacher said that phrasal verbs are very important |
When we transform a sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, it is often necessary to replace the pronoun so that it coincides in form with the subject.
| Example: | She said, «I want to bring my children.» → She said she wanted to bring her children |
| Jack said, «My wife went with me to the show.» → Jack said his wife had gone with him to the show |
Changes in the adverb of time
It is also important to replace the adverbs of the time so that they coincide with the moment of speech. Therefore, translating a sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, we replace adverbs with a suitable one in meaning.
today, tonight → that day, that night
Tomorrow → the day after / the next day / the following day
yesterday → the day before / the previous day
now → then / at that time / immediately
this week → that week
next week → the week after / the following week
last week → the week before / the previous week
August → before
here → there
| Example: | She said, «I want to bring my children tomorrow.» → She said she wanted to bring her children the next day |
| Jack said, «My wife went with me to the show yesterday.» → Jack said his wife had gone with him to the show the day before |
Questions in indirect speech
When we use indirect speech to convey questions, special attention should be paid to conjunctions and word order in the sentence. Note that when we submit general questions that imply a yes or no answer, we are linking the actual question to the author’s words with ‘if’. If we pass questions using question words (why, where, when, etc.), we use this question word.
| Example: | She asked, «Do you want to come with me?» → She asked me if I wanted to come with her |
| Dave asked, «Where did you go last weekend?» → Dave asked me where I had gone the previous weekend |
Additional materials:
Source: https://www.activeenglish.ru/grammar/reported-speech-indirect-speech/
Change the following sentences into direct speech according to the model. He said that he lived in the countryside. — He said: «I live in the countryside.
My sister said that she had found a gond book the previous day.
He said that he was a bad runner.
They confessed that they didn’t like the performance
Kira promised that she would help her mother to do the house.
She said that she had never been to Italy
Sam complained that he had a very busy day.
Orlando said that he was doing his homework.
Miranda said that she would not go to the cinema that day.
Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
My father asked me: «Where did you lose your keys?»
. I wondered: «Why did they cancel the performance?»
He asked me: «Where will you go for your holidays?»
She asked her friend: «Can you help me, please?»
Stacy wondered: «When did he come back?»
They asked me: «Do you like it here?»
He inquired: «Will they be here next week?»
Boris asked his father: «Why do you like football?»