Unit 46. Reported speech (1) (He said that …)
(косвенная речь 1)
Study this example situation:
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When we use reported speech, the main verb of the sentence is usually past (Tom said that… / I told her that… etc.). The rest of the sentence is usually past too:
- Tom said that he was feeling ill.
- I told her that I didn't have any money.
You can leave out that:
- Tom said (that) he was feeling ill.
- I told her (that) I didn't have any money.
In general, the Present form in direct speech changes to the Past form in reported speech:
am/is -> was are -> were |
do/does -> did have/has -> had |
will -> would can -> could |
want/like/know/go etc. -> wanted/liked/knew/went etc. |
Compare direct speech and reported speech:
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The Past Simple (did / saw / knew etc.) can usually stay the same in reported speech, or you can change it to the Past Perfect (had done / had seen / had known etc.):
direct | Tom said: ‘I woke up feeling ill, so I didn't go to work.’ |
reported | Tom said (that) he woke up feeling ill, so he didn't go to work. or Tom said (that) he had woken up feeling ill, so he hadn't gone to work. |
See Unit 47 Reported speech (2)
(косвенная речь 2)
See Unit 49 Questions (2) (Do you know where …? / She asked me where …)
(вопросы 2)