1. Reported Speech
Indirect Speech

2. Direct Speech
• When we report people’s thoughts, beliefs etc, we can give
the exact words of the person who uttered these words.
This kind of structure is called “direct speech”. Before
telling someone’s words we use quotation marks to signal
that these words belong to someone else.
• She said “It is on the corner of the 5th and Elm streets. ”
• She said “ I know the answer”.
• She asked “ What is your name?”
• She asked “ Where are you staying?”
• She asked “ Do you want a drink?”
• She ordered “ Put this plate on the table.”

3. Indirect Speech
• If we, however, report somebody’s thoughts
and as well as speech as if they are a part of
our own sentence using the conjunction
“that” (here we also have to change the
pronoun, tense and time adverbs in the
sentence) then we are speaking in “indirect
speech” or “reported speech”.
• She said that it was on the corner of the 5th
and Elm streets and just walked away.

4. Indirect Speech
• She said she knew the answer.
• She asked me what my name was.
• She asked me where I was staying.
• She asked me if/whether I wanted a drink.
• She ordered me to put that plate on the table.
• She said she would take a trip to Spain next week.
• He said he had won an award for his successful
performance in sports
Direct and Indirect speech
• She said to me “I have got no money”
• She said to me that she had got no money.

5. Change of Situation
• In indirect speech because we are reporting someone’s
words that are spoken or thought at a different time in
a different place there must be a change (shift) in the
tense and the use of pronouns and time adverbs.
• (in the morning – Ali to Ahmet ) I don’t like this class. I
want to go home now.
• In the afternoon (Ahmet to the Teacher) : Ali said that
he didn’t like the class, and he wanted to go home.
• “I didn’t see Ayse last night at the party”
• She said she hadn’t seen Ayse the night before at the
party.

6. Reported Speech Shift in Tense
– Present tense _ Past tense
– Past tense _ Past Perfect Tense
– Present Continuous _ Past Continuous
– Past continuous – changes to past perfect continuous
– Present perfect – changes to past perfect
– Past perfect – remains past perfect
– Past perfect continuous – remains the same
– Will – changes to would
– Can – changes to could
– Have to – changes to had to
– Imperative _ Infinitive

7. Changes in Time expressions
• Yesterday _ the day before/ the previous day
• Today/tonight _ that day/night
• This (morning) _ That (morning)
• Last week/month _ The week/month/…before or the
previous week/month….
• tomorrow _ the next day/the following day
• Next month/year/… _ The following month/year/…
• This/These _ That /Those
• Here _ There
• Now _ Then/At that moment

8. Questions in Indirect Speech
• Wh/How – questions - Wh question remains
• He asked me, “Why do you love me ?”
• He asked me why I loved him.
• He asked me , “ How much do I have to pay ?”
• He asked me how much I had to pay .
• Yes/No questions _ If /Whether
• He asked me, “Do you have a mobile phone?”
• He asked me if I had a mobile phone.
• He asked me whether I had a mobile phone.

9. Change of tense and adverbs of time
and pronouns
• These differences in tense and
pronouns/adverbs are natural and logical.
• Examples of change in Tense:
• She said: “My mother is not very well”.
• She said that her mother was not very well.
• She said: “She is living in Istanbul at the
moment.”
• She said she was living in Istanbul now.

10. Shift in Tense in Indirect Speech
• She said: “ She ate sushi last night.”
• She said that she had eaten sushi the night
before.
• He said: “Halil and Paul were studying at the
library yesterday afternoon when he went there
to return the books he had borrowed.
• He said that Halil and Paul had been studying at
the library the day before in the afternoon when
he had been there to return the books he had
borrowed.

11. She said: “Her boy friend have given up his part time job at McDonalds.”
She said that her boy friend had given up his part time job at McDonalds.
They said: The cat have been sleeping on the sofa when they returned from the cinema.”
They said that the cat had been sleeping on the sofa when they had returned from the
cinema.
She said: “She will go to Ann’s birthday party tomorrow.”
She said that she would go to Ann’s birthday party the next day.
Tom said: “ I can speak Spanish.”
Tom said that he could speak Spanish.
Daniel said: I didn’t buy any tickets for the concert yesterday.
Daniel said that he hadn’t bought any tickets for the concert the day before/the previous
day.
He asked: “How old are you?”
He asked how old I was ?
He asked “ Are you married?”
He asked if/whether I was married?
He asked: “Where did you work before?”
He asked where I had worked earlier?
He asked: “Can you speak German or French?”
He asked if/whether I could speak German or French?”
He asked: “How much money do I want?”
He asked how much money I wanted.
He asked: “When can you start the job?”
He asked when I could start the job?”

12. He asked: “Do you have a driving license?”
He asked if I had a driving license?”
The police said: “You mustn’t smoke here.”
The police said that I mustn’t smoke there.”
He said: “He may go to university.”
He said that He might go to university.
Jack said: “ I will be a millionaire some day.”
Jack said that he would be a millionaire some day.