Introduction
Do you have friends in other (countries)? How often do you speak to them? What do you usually talk about?
Grammar 1
Here is something my friend (in California) told me on the phone.
("Yesterday was a hot and sunny day.")
When I told people what my friend said, I said:
(My friend said that yesterday had been a hot and sunny day.)
How were the two sentences different? The second sentence is in reported speech.
When do we use reported speech?
(We use reported speech to tell others about things people said.)
Here are some things to remember about reported speech:
(1. We use ' tell ' or ' say ' in the past tense.)
For example:
(Jill told me (that) she..., Jill said (that)...)
(2. When we report something about the past...
...we can use either the past tense or the past perfect tense.)
For example:
(Jill: "I finished my homework."
> She said that she finished / had finished her homework.)
(3. To report a question with modal verbs, we use if or whether.)
Modal verbs: be, do, have, can, must, will, shall, etc.
For example:
(Peter: "Can I borrow the car?"
> He asked me if he can borrow the car. Or... He asked me whether he can borrow the car (or not).)
Note how the pronouns may change, depending on who is doing the reporting and that (modal) verbs (e.g. can, will, must) may change as well:
(Peter: "Can I borrow the car?"
> He asked me if he can / may / might borrow the car.)
Here is another example:
(Mr. Brown: "You must study harder!"
> He said that I must / have to / should study harder!)
Controlled Practice 1
Change the following into reported speech.
For example:
(Kathy: "I should get some advice from Ed."
> Kathy told me / said that she should / has to / must get some advice from Ed.)
Doctor: "You should eat less meat."
David: "I'll call you later."
Boss: "You type carelessly!"
Harry: "We should leave at 3:00."
Terry: "The movie made me cry."
Carrie: "Do you like Italian food?"
Jane: "I lost my wallet today."
Joe: "Are you coming to the party?"
Language in Use 1
“30 seconds" game: S1 ask S2, Have a 30-second conversation. S3, Listen carefully and report their conversation back to me. Write the following on the whiteboard to help students, if necessary: Weather, food, music, TV, English, weekend, vacation, family.
“Correction" game: S1, Say three things which are untrue about S2. Ensure you use the present tense and direct speech.
S3, Correct what S1 just said about S2. Ensure you use the past tense and reported speech.
e.g. S1: Tony works in a supermarket. He is a butcher. He lives in New York.
S3: I thought Tony said he worked in a department store! He also said that he was a butcher and lived in New York.
Have students switch roles.
Grammar 2
Two weeks ago, my friend said:
("I'm going to quit smoking.")
I told our friends:
(He said that he is going to quit smoking.)
However, I saw him with a cigarette last week. I was angry. I said:
(What are you doing?! You said you were going to quit smoking!)
The past tense should always be used when there is a difference between what is said and what is really true.
For example:
(On Sunday, Jack said, "I love Jill.")
Later that day:
(Linda said, "Jack said that he loved Jill, but I think he's lying!")
Here is another example:
(On Saturday, Jason said, "I'm going to the office.")
Later that day:
(Laura said, "Jason said that he was going to the office... but I think he changed his mind.")
Controlled Practice 2
Look at these examples:
(John: "I am going to the concert." But...
...it was just canceled.
> John said that he was going to the concert but it was just canceled.)
Follow the examples, and change the following into reported speech:
Alan: "This is a terrible movie!" But...
(...it was interesting.)
George: "Rick is at the library." But...
(...we couldn't find him.)
Ann: "This is really easy!" But...
(...it was difficult!)
Tim: "I am going to watch the baseball game." But...
(...it had already finished.)
Karl: "The train is leaving at 6 p.m." But...
(...it had already left at 5:30 p.m.)
Tara: "I'm going to be late." But...
(...she arrived on time.)