Reported speech

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. 

SHE WAS ANGRY

2.- Use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, mention etc.)

2.- Change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

• PT 1: HE SAID (THAT)/ HE TOLD ME (THAT)

• HE ________ COFFEE

• HE TOLD ME THAT HE WANTED A COFFEE

I like your trousers.

She said she liked my trousers

-The tense changes are the same, and we keep the question word.

BUT we need to change the grammar to a normal positive sentence.

She asked me where Julie was.

She asked me who that fantastic man had been.

HE ASKED ME WHERE HIS MARBLES WERE

But, what if you need to report a 'yes / no' question? We don't have any question words to help us. Instead, we use 'if':

Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?

Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

He asked me if I loved him.

She asked me if I was living here.

• There is no backshift of tenses

• You only have to change the person and shift expressions of time/place

• affirmative commands → to + infinitive

• negative commands → not + to + infinitive

• He told me

• to do my homework

• Pt1. HE TOLD ME

• PT2. NOT TO SAY bad words

• HE TOLD ME NOT TO SAY BAD WORDS