Reported Speech

​We use reported speech (непряму мову) when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.​

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He said he wanted to know about reported speech. - Він сказав, що хоче дізнатися про непряму мову.

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​​'I want to know about reported speech', he said

​He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

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​I want → he wanted.​

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Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could; will changes to would; etc.

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She said she was having the interview at four o’clock.

(Direct speech: 'I’m having the interview at four o’clock.')

They said they’d phone later and let me know.

(Direct speech: 'We’ll phone later and let you know.')

​present simple

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present continuous​

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present perfect​

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past simple​

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can​​

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will​

past simple

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past continuous​

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past perfect​

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past perfect​

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could​

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would​

​Apart from (окрім) changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns (займенники) and adverbs of time and place (прислівники часу та місця).

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​We went yesterday.' , she said. > She said they had been the day before.

​ we → she

yesterday → the day before

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'I’ll come tomorrow.' , he said. > 

He said he’d come the next day.

​ I → he

tomorrow → the next day

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• Here (тут) → there (там)

• This (цей) → that (той)

• These (ці) → those (ті)

• Now (зараз) → then (тоді)

• At the moment (в цей момент) →

  at that moment (в той момент)

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• Today (сьогодні) → that day (в той день)

• Yesterday (вчора) → the day before, the previous day (минулого, попереднього дня)

• Tomorrow (завтра) → the next day (наступного дня)

• Ago (до) → before (перед)

• Last (минулий) → previous (попередній)