The word now in reported speech changes into - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

Hello everyone,

A reporter was interviewing a celebrity and he wanted to ask another question when the security man said: «Sorry, Maria is leaving now.»

Now I’m supposed to use reported speech to report what the security man said. The key provides the following answer:

The security man told the reporter that Maria was leaving at that time and she didn’t answer the question.

To me it sounds a bit odd. That’s why I’d like to make sure if it’s OK to use ‘at that time’ to express ‘now’ when reporting a dialogue in the past tense.

Good question!
I would use ‘about to leave’ or ‘on the point of leaving’.
I might say ‘at that very moment’, but ‘at that time’ does sound strange.
What is the source? Is it ‘native speaker’ origin?

In that text, I would not have written ‘and she didn’t answer the question’, if that is part of what the security man said. It isn’t clear.

Thank you for the suggestions, Hermione.

What is the source? Is it ‘native speaker’ origin?

No, it was written by Polish authors, and I try to be careful when I use textbooks that were not prepared by native speakers.

In that text, I would not have written ‘and she didn’t answer the question’, if that is part of what the security man said. It isn’t clear.

Actually, you’re just supposed to write ‘Maria was leaving’ in the blank space. The rest of the text is already there. Of course I didn’t write the rest of the report that comes before this extract. I was just wondering about the phrase ‘at that time’ that I saw in the text.

It says in the grammar explanations in my textbook that the word ‘now’ changes to ‘then’ or ‘at that time’ in reported speech in the past tense. Is this a valid rule? Is it ever possible to apply this rule in real English?

grassy

In such transformation exercises one is indeed sometimes forced to devise unnatural sentences.

It says in the grammar explanations in my textbook that the word ‘now’ changes to ‘then’ or ‘at that time’ in reported speech in the past tense. Is this a valid rule? Is it ever possible to apply this rule in real English?

As PaulQ would say, it’s a useful guideline but doesn’t apply to every context.

it’s a useful guideline but doesn’t apply to every context

Hi, grassy. Can you think of any context where it does apply?

I agree that ‘at that time’ sounds a little unnatural, but ‘then’ works well for me. The thing is that in a standard transformation of direct speech to reported speech, all words indicating proximity to the circumstances of the speech and transformed to words indicating distance: ‘today’ become ‘that day’, ‘here’ becomes ‘there’ and so on.

If you don’t do those transformations, you get a mixed representation, sometimes called free indirect speech. Jane Austen employs it occasionally in her novels.

but ‘then’ works well for me

Thank you, natkretep. Do you mean it would sound natural if I said, ‘The security man told the reporter that Maria was leaving then and she didn’t answer the question’?

The security man told the reporter that Maria was leaving at that time and she didn’t answer the question.

This sentence doesn’t even need «at that time» (at what other time would it be?).

But in my opinion it reads okay as: The security man told the reporter that Maria was now leaving …

Thank you, natkretep. Do you mean it would sound natural if I said, ‘The security man told the reporter that Maria was leaving then and she didn’t answer the question’?

Yes, for me.

wandle

I’d like to make sure if it’s OK to use ‘at that time’ to express ‘now’ when reporting a dialogue in the past tense.

It is.

‘then’ works well for me.

it reads okay as: The security man told the reporter that Maria was now leaving

Yes. All the above are good. Here is meaning 4 in the OED:

now
4. At this time; at the time spoken of or referred to; then, next, by that time; at this point.

In other words, when referring to the past, ‘now’ can mean ‘then’.
Therefore it does not need to change in past reported speech. ‘Now’, ‘then’ or ‘at that point’ etc. are all valid in the present case.

Last edited: Nov 6, 2017

Thank you all for your help!

«Immediately» would work well in that situation.

The security man told the reporter that Maria was leaving immediately.

Hello, I thought that maybe my question would fit in this thread. How would you put «now» in the following sentences in reported speech?

1.
The context is a conversation at work. Somebody’s just been promoted to senior manager. A colleague jokingly says:

«So, I guess you’re my boss now, huh?»

My attempt: He joked that his colleague was/was going to be/would be his boss from then on.

2.
The context is an argument. Two teenagers used to be friends, but then the girl became popular at school and started ignoring the boy. He confronts her, saying:

«So what, you’re too cool to talk to me now?»

My attempt: He asked her if she was too cool to talk to him … <- I have no idea!

I’d say that «then» doesn’t sound right to me in either of these examples, because it sounds temporary and doesn’t get across the meaning of «there’s been a change, things are or will be different». In number two, I guess I could use «all of a sudden», but I’d rather remain as close to the original as possible.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for your time!

Your first sentence (was going to be/would be) sounds good.

For your second sentence, I would either just omit the ‘now’ or make it explicit. As you suggested ‘now’ packs in a fair amount of implied background knowledge. For instance, you could say, ‘He asked her if she was too cook to talk to him, now that she had gained popularity.’

How would you put «now» in the following sentences in reported speech?

«So, I guess you’re my boss now, huh?»

My attempt: He joked that his colleague was/was going to be/would be his boss from then on.

The “was” version doesn’t really work. The other two versions do both work, as what’s usually called “future in the past”.

«So what, you’re too cool to talk to me now?»

My attempt: He asked her if she was too cool to talk to him … <- I have no idea!

In this one, I think you can only use “now”. It works perfectly well.

Thank you very much natkretep and lingobingo! Just to make sure, would you also keep «now» while reporting the «conversation» Adele has with her ex in «Someone Like You»?

«I heard that (…) you’ve found a girl and you’re married now.»

She said she’d heard that he’d found a girl and he was married now.

I’d probably say, ‘… and he was already married’.

That’s a great idea! Thanks again! Have a great day!

… would you also keep «now» while reporting the «conversation» Adele has with her ex in «Someone Like You»?

«I heard that (…) you’ve found a girl and you’re married now.»

She said she’d heard that he’d found a girl and he was married now.

It’s very clumsy as reported speech, but it does work. I’d keep that now but move it, and delete the second “he”:

She said she’d heard that he’d found a girl and was now married.

now
4. At this time; at the time spoken of or referred to; then, next, by that time; at this point.

In other words, when referring to the past, ‘now’ can mean ‘then’.
Therefore it does not need to change in past reported speech.

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be correct and natural to report the first sentence from post 13 («So, I guess you’re my boss now, huh?») like this?

He joked that his colleague was his boss now.

… wouldn’t it be correct and natural to report the first sentence from post 13 («So, I guess you’re my boss now, huh?») like this?

He joked that his colleague was his boss now.

Yes, that’s the best way to say it. (But it’s not what you were asking in #13.)

See all the example sentences under definition 1.5 here: now | Definition of now in English by Oxford Dictionaries

Источник

When we report something, we may need to make changes to:

time (now, tomorrow)
place (here, this room)

direct speech	reported speech
She said, «I saw Mary yesterday.»	She said she had seen Mary the day before.
He said: «My mother is here.»	He said that his mother was there.

Don’t confuse time with tense. «Tense» is the grammatical form of the verb that in the reported clause we sometimes shift back (backshift). «Time» refers to the actual time that something happens, such as «today» or «now» or «5 weeks ago».

Time words

If we report something around the same time, then we probably do not need to make any changes to time words. But if we report something at a different time, we need to change time words. Look at these example sentences:

He said: «It was hot yesterday.» → He said that it had been hot the day before.
He said: «We are going to swim tomorrow.» → He said they were going to swim the next day.

Here is a list of common time words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech	reported speech
now	then, at that time
today	that day, on Sunday, yesterday
tonight	that night, last night, on Sunday night
tomorrow	the next day/ the following day, on Sunday, today
yesterday	the day before/ the previous day, on Sunday
last night	the night before/ the previous night, on Sunday night
this week	that week, last week
last month	the month before/ the previous month, in May
next year	the following year, in 2014
two minutes ago	two minutes before
in one hour	one hour later

Place words

If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any changes to place words. But if we are in a different place when we report something, then we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences:

He said: «It is cold in here.» → He said that it was cold in there.
He said: «How much is this book?» → He asked how much the book was.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech	indirect speech
here	there, in Starbucks
this	that
this book	the book, that book, War and Peace
in this room	in the room, in that room, in the kitchen

Contributor: Josef Essberger

Источник

Certain words denoting, adverbs, conjunctions, demonstrative pronouns etc … in direct speech will be changed, while being reported, as follows.

Direct Speech Indirect or reported speech

Now then

Next the coming/ the following

Today that day

Tonight that night

Yesterday the last day /the previous day

Tomorrow the next day

Last the previous

Ago before

So thus

This that

These those

Here there

Hence thence

To clear it, let’s look at the following questions and answers

I Mathew said, “ I am doing my homework now”

Mathew said that he was doing his homework then.

Here, the word ‘now’ is changed into ‘then’ along with the tense form and personal pronouns.

II His father said to Thomas, “ I am coming to your school next Friday”

His father told Thomas that he was coming to his school the coming Friday.

Here, the word ‘next’ is changed into ‘the coming’.

III Jancy said to her friend, “ My son is coming today”

Jancy told her friend that her son was coming that day

Here, we can see the word ‘today’ is changed into ‘that day’

IV George said to his wife, “ I will be late tonight”

George told his wife that he would be late that night

Here, the word ‘tonight’ is changed into ‘that night’.

V Kiran said “ Yesterday, I met my old friend Madhav”

Kiran said that the last day he had met his old friend Madhav

Here, the word Yesterday is changed into the last day.

VI Peter said to his daughter, “ Your friend has just called and informed that she is not coming to school tomorrow”

Peter told his daughter that her friend had just called and informed that she was not coming to school the next day.

Here, the word ‘tomorrow’ is changed into ‘the next day’.

VII Manuel said, “ I met with an accident last day”

Manuel said that he had met with an accident the previous day

Here, we can see the word ‘last’ is changed into ‘the previous’

VIII John said, “ My friend went abroad two years ago”

John said that his friend had gone abroad two years before

Here, we can see that the word ‘ago’ is changed into ‘before’

IX Shine said, “ I studied well in the exam. So, I got good marks”

Shine said that he had studied well in the exam. Thus, he had got good marks.

Here, the word ‘So’ is changed into ‘Thus’.

X Merlin said, “ I like this type of jeans”

Merlin said that she liked that type of jeans

Here, the word ‘this’ is changed into ‘that’

XI Tom said, “ These days will always remain in my memories”

Tom said that those days would always remain in his memories

Here, the word these is changed into those.

XII Rohit said, “ It is 4 years since I have come here”

Rohit said that it was 4 years since he had come there

We can see the word ‘here’ is changed into ‘there’

XIII Ashiq said, “ I work hard. Hence, I get money”

Ashiq said that he worked hard. Thence, he got money.

Here, the word ‘Hence’ is changed into ‘Thence’

Источник

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 речь

Anna 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.

Модальные глаголы, которые изменяются в косвенной речи

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.

Модальные глаголы, которые не изменяются в косвенной речи

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.

Основные случаи

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
today tomorrow yesterday next week/month/year last week/month/year now/just ago here this/these	that day/the same day the next day/the following day the day before/the previous day the following week/month/year the previous week/month/year then before there that/those

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.

Источник

Besides the changes in the tenses and the pronouns, words expressing nearness in direct speech are changed into words expressing distance in indirect speech. The rules are as follows:

This will change into that.
These will change into those.
Here will change into there.
Now/just will change into then.
Today will change into that day.
Yesterday will change into the previous day or the day before.
Last night will change into the previous night or the night before.
Tomorrow will change into the next day.
Ago will change into before.
The next day/week/year will change into the following day/week/year.
Hence will change into thence.
Thus will change into so or in that way.

Direct: He said, ‘I am too weak to work now.’
Indirect: He said that he was too weak to work then.
Direct: She said, ‘I will leave for New York tomorrow.’
Indirect: She said that she would leave for New York the next day.
Direct: He said, ‘I visited them yesterday.’
Indirect: He said that he had visited them the previous day.
Direct: She said, ‘I liked this bag.’
Indirect: She said that she liked that bag.
Direct: I said, ‘I am leaving tomorrow.’
Indirect: She said that she was leaving the next day.
Direct: She said, ‘These mangoes are rotten.’
Indirect: She said that those mangoes were rotten.
Direct: He said, ‘These are our dogs.’
Indirect: He said that those were their dogs.

Notes:

Adverbs of time or place do not normally change if the reporting verb is in the present or future tense.

Direct: She says, ‘My husband will come now.’
Indirect: She says that her husband will come now.
Direct: She will say, ‘I have to leave now.’
Indirect: She will say that she has to leave now.

If the adverbs now, this, here etc., refer to objects present at the time of reporting the speech, or to the place in which the reporter is at the time of the speech, they are not changed into then, that, there etc.

John said to me, ‘I have no time to talk to you now.’
John told me that he had no time to talk to me now. (Here the report is made immediately.)
Alice said, ‘This is my basket.’
Alice said that this was her basket. (Here the basket is right before us.)
He said, ‘I will speak here.’
He said that he would speak here. (Here the report is made on the same spot.)

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