Now that you know some of the reported speech rules about backshift, let’s learn some exceptions.
There are two situations in which we do NOT need to change the verb tense.
For example, if someone says “I have three children” (direct speech) then we would say “He said he has three children” because the situation continues to be true.
If I tell you “I live in the United States” (direct speech) then you could tell someone else “She said she lives in the United States” (that’s reported speech) because it is still true.
When the situation is still true, then we don’t need to backshift the verb.
He said he HAS three children
But when the situation is NOT still true, then we DO need to backshift the verb.
Imagine your friend says, “I have a headache.”
We also don’t need to backshift to the verb when somebody said something about the future, and the event is still in the future.
Here’s an example:
Let’s look at a different situation:
Quick review:
Those were the rules for reported statements, just regular sentences.
What about reported speech for questions, requests, and orders?
For reported requests, we use “asked (someone) to do something”:
For reported orders, we use “told (someone) to do something:”
The main verb stays in the infinitive with “to”:
For yes/no questions, we use “asked if” and “wanted to know if” in reported speech.
The main verb changes and back shifts according to the rules and exceptions we learned earlier.
Notice that we don’t use do/does/did in the reported question:
For other questions that are not yes/no questions, we use asked/wanted to know (without “if”):
Again, notice that we don’t use do/does/did in reported questions:
Also, in questions with the verb “to be,” the word order changes in the reported question:
Learn more about reported speech:
If you want to take your English grammar to the next level, then my Advanced English Grammar Course is for you! It will help you master the details of the English language, with clear explanations of essential grammar topics, and lots of practice. I hope to see you inside!
I’ve got one last little exercise for you, and that is to write sentences using reported speech. Think about a conversation you’ve had in the past, and write about it – let’s see you put this into practice right away.
About the author.
Shayna Oliveira is the founder of Espresso English, where you can improve your English fast - even if you don’t have much time to study. Millions of students are learning English from her clear, friendly, and practical lessons! Shayna is a CELTA-certified teacher with 10+ years of experience helping English learners become more fluent in her English courses.
If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options:
direct speech (exact words) | reported speech (my words) |
---|---|
He said: "I love you." | He said that he loved me. |
In this lesson we learn about reported speech , the structure that we use when we report what another person has said, and reported speech rules.
Now we will look at:
Reported speech is called "indirect speech" by some people. Other people regard reported speech simply as one form of indirect speech. Other forms are, for example:
Speech can be direct and indirect, or reported.
When you express your thought orally or in writing, it is direct speech. We usually put it in quotes.
When you communicate what someone else said, it is reported speech.
Sue: "I am hungry."
Sue says (that) she is hungry.
To transfer a positive or a negative sentence to reported speech, we need two parts:
Pay attention
In the reported speech, we must replace the pronouns. Otherwise, we won't keep the meaning.
Mary: "I am glad to help you!"
Mary says she is glad to help me . BUT NOT Mary says I am glad to help you.
You should also be careful with time indicators (today, now, next week etc.) not to lose the idea of the original direct statement.
The word that can be used or left out, both options are correct.
When we have a sentence that consists of the main and the dependent part we need to be careful with the verb tenses. The tense in the main part affects the tense in the dependent part. This is called backshifting.
If the main part is in the present simple (e.g., "she says...", "he tells me..."), the dependent part remains unchanged.
John: "I have just got up."
John says he has just got up. "Says" is the present simple → no backshifting
If the main part is in the past simple, we have to do the backshifting. Its basic principle is that the past simple in the main part "pushes" the tense of the dependent part one step back in time. This way we balance both parts of the sentence.
tense | changes to | direct speech | he said... |
---|---|---|---|
present simple → | past simple | I don't have a pen | He he a pen |
present continuous → | past continuous | I am having a shower | He he a shower |
present perfect → | past perfect | I haven't finished yet | He said he yet |
past simple → | past perfect OR doesn't change | I didn't like the film | He said he hadn't liked the film OR He said he didn't like the film |
past continuous → | past perfect continuous | I was reading a book | He said he a book |
will → | would | I will help you | He said he me |
can → | could | I can ride a horse | He said he a horse |
You can view the topic ' reported statements ' with an explanation and exercises.
If the direct question began with a question word (when, what, how, why and so on), then in the reported speech:
"Why did you leave the door open?" → She asked me why I had left the door open.
"Where have you been?" → She asked me where I had been.
If the direct question didn't have a question word (it was a yes/no question), we add the word "if" to transform it into reported speech. The rules of backshifting are the same.
"Will it rain tomorrow?" → They wanted to know if it would rain the next day.
"Can I lend your pen for a second?" → I asked if I could lend his pen for a second.
You can also view the topic ' reported questions ' for a detailed explanation and exercises.
If we want to transform somebody's demand or request into reported speech, we say:
If the imperative was negative (don't go, don't do), we put "not" before "to": tell somebody not to do something.
"Do not cross the red line, please!" → The officer told us not to cross the red line.
"Could you put the flowers in the vase, please?" → She asked me to put the flowers in the vase.
You can also view the topic ' reported requests & demands ' for a detailed explanation and exercises.
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“Reported speech” might sound fancy, but it isn’t that complicated.
It’s just how you talk about what someone said.
Luckily, it’s pretty simple to learn the basics in English, beginning with the two types of reported speech: direct (reporting the exact words someone said) and indirect (reporting what someone said without using their exact words ).
Read this post to learn how to report speech, with tips and tricks for each, plenty of examples and a resources section that tells you about real world resources you can use to practice reporting speech.
How to report indirect speech, reporting questions in indirect speech, verb tenses in indirect reported speech, simple present, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, simple future, future continuous, future perfect, future perfect continuous, authentic resources for practicing reported speech, novels and short stories, native english videos, celebrity profiles.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Direct speech refers to the exact words that a person says. You can “report” direct speech in a few different ways.
To see how this works, let’s pretend that I (Elisabeth) told some people that I liked green onions.
Here are some different ways that those people could explain what I said:
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” Elisabeth said.
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” she told me. — In this sentence, we replace my name (Elisabeth) with the pronoun she.
In all of these examples, the part that was said is between quotation marks and is followed by a noun (“she” or “Elisabeth”) and a verb. Each of these verbs (“to say,” “to tell [someone],” “to explain”) are ways to describe someone talking. You can use any verb that refers to speech in this way.
You can also put the noun and verb before what was said.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like spaghetti.”
The example above would be much more likely to be said out loud than the first set of examples.
Here’s a conversation that might happen between two people:
1: Did you ask her if she liked coffee?
2: Yeah, I asked her.
1: What did she say?
2. She said, “Yeah, I like coffee.” ( Direct speech )
Usually, reporting of direct speech is something you see in writing. It doesn’t happen as often when people are talking to each other.
Direct reported speech often happens in the past. However, there are all kinds of stories, including journalism pieces, profiles and fiction, where you might see speech reported in the present as well.
This is sometimes done when the author of the piece wants you to feel that you’re experiencing events in the present moment.
For example, a profile of Kristen Stewart in Vanity Fair has a funny moment that describes how the actress isn’t a very good swimmer:
Direct speech: “I don’t want to enter the water, ever,” she says. “If everyone’s going in the ocean, I’m like, no.”
Here, the speech is reported as though it’s in the present tense (“she says”) instead of in the past (“she said”).
In writing of all kinds, direct reported speech is often split into two or more parts, as it is above.
Here’s an example from Lewis Carroll’s “ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ,” where the speech is even more split up:
Direct speech: “I won’t indeed!” said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject of conversation. “Are you—are you fond—of—of dogs?” The Mouse did not answer, so Alice went on eagerly: “There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you!”
Reporting indirect speech is what happens when you explain what someone said without using their exact words.
Let’s start with an example of direct reported speech like those used above.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like coffee.”
As indirect reported speech, it looks like this:
Indirect speech: Elisabeth said she liked coffee.
You can see that the subject (“I”) has been changed to “she,” to show who is being spoken about. If I’m reporting the direct speech of someone else, and this person says “I,” I’d repeat their sentence exactly as they said it. If I’m reporting this person’s speech indirectly to someone else, however, I’d speak about them in the third person—using “she,” “he” or “they.”
You may also notice that the tense changes here: If “I like coffee” is what she said, this can become “She liked coffee” in indirect speech.
However, you might just as often hear someone say something like, “She said she likes coffee.” Since people’s likes and preferences tend to change over time and not right away, it makes sense to keep them in the present tense.
Indirect speech often uses the word “that” before what was said:
Indirect speech: She said that she liked coffee.
There’s no real difference between “She said she liked coffee” and “She said that she liked coffee.” However, using “that” can help make the different parts of the sentence clearer.
Let’s look at a few other examples:
Indirect speech: I said I was going outside today.
Indirect speech: They told me that they wanted to order pizza.
Indirect speech: He mentioned it was raining.
Indirect speech: She said that her father was coming over for dinner.
You can see an example of reporting indirect speech in the funny video “ Cell Phone Crashing .” In this video, a traveler in an airport sits down next to another traveler talking on his cell phone. The first traveler pretends to be talking to someone on his phone, but he appears to be responding to the second traveler’s conversation, which leads to this exchange:
Woman: “Are you answering what I’m saying?”
Man “No, no… I’m on the phone with somebody, sorry. I don’t mean to be rude.” (Direct speech)
Woman: “What was that?”
Man: “I just said I was on the phone with somebody.” (Indirect speech)
When reporting questions in indirect speech, you can use words like “whether” or “if” with verbs that show questioning, such as “to ask” or “to wonder.”
Direct speech: She asked, “Is that a new restaurant?”
Indirect speech: She asked if that was a new restaurant.
In any case where you’re reporting a question, you can say that someone was “wondering” or “wanted to know” something. Notice that these verbs don’t directly show that someone asked a question. They don’t describe an action that happened at a single point in time. But you can usually assume that someone was wondering or wanted to know what they asked.
Indirect speech: She was wondering if that was a new restaurant.
Indirect speech: She wanted to know whether that was a new restaurant.
It can be tricky to know how to use tenses when reporting indirect speech. Let’s break it down, tense by tense.
Sometimes, indirect speech “ backshifts ,” or moves one tense further back into the past. We already saw this in the example from above:
Direct speech: She said, “I like coffee.”
Indirect speech: She said she liked coffee.
Also as mentioned above, backshifting doesn’t always happen. This might seem confusing, but it isn’t that difficult to understand once you start using reported speech regularly.
What tense you use in indirect reported speech often just depends on when what you’re reporting happened or was true.
Let’s look at some examples of how direct speech in certain tenses commonly changes (or doesn’t) when it’s reported as indirect speech.
To learn about all the English tenses (or for a quick review), check out this post .
Direct speech: I said, “I play video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I played video games (simple past) or I said that I play video games (simple present).
Backshifting into the past or staying in the present here can change the meaning slightly. If you use the first example, it’s unclear whether or not you still play video games; all we know is that you said you played them in the past.
If you use the second example, though, you probably still play video games (unless you were lying for some reason).
However, the difference in meaning is so small, you can use either one and you won’t have a problem.
Direct speech: I said, “I’m playing video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I was playing video games (past continuous) or I said that I’m playing video games (present continuous).
In this case, you’d likely use the first example if you were telling a story about something that happened in the past.
You could use the second example to repeat or stress what you just said. For example:
Hey, want to go for a walk?
Direct speech: No, I’m playing video games.
But it’s such a nice day!
Indirect speech: I said that I’m playing video games!
Direct speech: Marie said, “I have read that book.”
Indirect speech: Marie said that she had read that book (past perfect) or Marie said that she has read that book (present perfect).
The past perfect is used a lot in writing and other kinds of narration. This is because it helps point out an exact moment in time when something was true.
The past perfect isn’t quite as useful in conversation, where people are usually more interested in what’s true now. So, in a lot of cases, people would use the second example above when speaking.
Direct speech: She said, “I have been watching that show.”
Indirect speech: She said that she had been watching that show (past perfect continuous) or She said that she has been watching that show (present perfect continuous).
These examples are similar to the others above. You could use the first example whether or not this person was still watching the show, but if you used the second example, it’d probably seem like you either knew or guessed that she was still watching it.
Direct speech: You told me, “I charged my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had charged your phone (past perfect) or You told me that you charged your phone (simple past).
Here, most people would probably just use the second example, because it’s simpler, and gets across the same meaning.
Direct speech: You told me, “I was charging my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had been charging your phone (past perfect continuous) or You told me that you were charging your phone (past continuous).
Here, the difference is between whether you had been charging your phone before or were charging your phone at the time. However, a lot of people would still use the second example in either situation.
Direct speech: They explained, “We had bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Indirect speech: They explained that they had bathed the cat on Wednesday. (past perfect)
Once we start reporting the past perfect tenses, we don’t backshift because there are no tenses to backshift to.
So in this case, it’s simple. The tense stays exactly as is. However, many people might simplify even more and use the simple past, saying, “They explained that they bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Direct speech: They said, “The cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time!”
Indirect speech: They said that the cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time. (past perfect continuous)
Again, we don’t shift the tense back here; we leave it like it is. And again, a lot of people would report this speech as, “They said the cat was going outside and getting dirty for a long time.” It’s just a simpler way to say almost the same thing.
Direct speech: I told you, “I will be here no matter what.”
Indirect speech: I told you that I would be here no matter what. (present conditional)
At this point, we don’t just have to think about tenses, but grammatical mood, too. However, the idea is still pretty simple. We use the conditional (with “would”) to show that at the time the words were spoken, the future was uncertain.
In this case, you could also say, “I told you that I will be here no matter what,” but only if you “being here” is still something that you expect to happen in the future.
What matters here is what’s intended. Since this example shows a person reporting their own speech, it’s more likely that they’d want to stress the truth of their own intention, and so they might be more likely to use “will” than “would.”
But if you were reporting someone else’s words, you might be more likely to say something like, “She told me that she would be here no matter what.”
Direct speech: I said, “I’ll be waiting for your call.”
Indirect speech: I said that I would be waiting for your call. (conditional continuous)
These are similar to the above examples, but apply to a continuous or ongoing action.
Direct speech: She said, “I will have learned a lot about myself.”
Indirect speech: She said that she would have learned a lot about herself (conditional perfect) or She said that she will have learned a lot about herself (future perfect).
In this case, using the conditional (as in the first example) suggests that maybe a certain event didn’t happen, or something didn’t turn out as expected.
However, that might not always be the case, especially if this was a sentence that was written in an article or a work of fiction. The second example, however, suggests that the future that’s being talked about still hasn’t happened yet.
Direct speech: She said, “By next Tuesday, I will have been staying inside every day for the past month.”
Indirect speech: She said that by next Tuesday, she would have been staying inside every day for the past month (perfect continuous conditional) or She said that by next Tuesday, she will have been staying inside every day for the past month (past perfect continuous).
Again, in this case, the first example might suggest that the event didn’t happen. Maybe the person didn’t stay inside until next Tuesday! However, this could also just be a way of explaining that at the time she said this in the past, it was uncertain whether she really would stay inside for as long as she thought.
The second example, on the other hand, would only be used if next Tuesday hadn’t happened yet.
Let’s take a look at where you can find resources for practicing reporting speech in the real world.
One of the most common uses for reported speech is in fiction. You’ll find plenty of reported speech in novels and short stories . Look for books that have long sections of text with dialogue marked by quotation marks (“…”). Once you understand the different kinds of reported speech, you can look for it in your reading and use it in your own writing.
Writing your own stories is a great way to get even better at understanding reported speech.
One of the best ways to practice any aspect of English is to watch native English videos. By watching English speakers use the language, you can understand how reported speech is used in real world situations.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
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Celebrity profiles, which you can find in print magazines and online, can help you find and practice reported speech, too. Celebrity profiles are stories that focus on a famous person. They often include some kind of interview. The writer will usually spend some time describing the person and then mention things that they say; this is when they use reported speech.
Because many of these profiles are written in the present tense, they can help you get used to the basics of reported speech without having to worry too much about different verb tenses.
While the above may seem really complicated, it isn’t that difficult to start using reported speech.
Mastering it may be a little difficult, but the truth is that many, many people who speak English as a first language struggle with it, too!
Reported speech is flexible, and even if you make mistakes, there’s a good chance that no one will notice.
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Table of Contents
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) gives the meaning of what someone said, not the exact words, while direct speech gives the exact words of the speaker, enclosed in quotation marks (or inverted commas.
With reported speech, we do not use quotation marks.
We use that to connect the introduction with the reported words. Using the connecting word that is optional.
There are certain verbs that we use to introduce reported speech. Here are the most common of them. (More introductory verbs with examples are given below.)
Note: Unlike told and asked , with the verb said , we do not mention the person to whom the words were said.
Because speech is often reported after it was said, verb tenses in the original statements change.
Here is a summary of tense changes with examples
Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
---|---|
"I swim daily," he said. | He said he swam daily. |
"I swam daily," he said. | He said he had swum daily. |
"I am swimming now," he said. | He said he was swimming then. |
| |
"I was swimming," he said. | He said he had been swimming. |
"I have already swum," he said. | He said he had already swum. |
"I had swum," he said. | He said he had already swum. |
"I will swim tomorrow," he said. | He said he would swim the following day. |
"I must swim every day," he said. | He said he had to swim every day. |
"I should swim every day," he said. | He said he should swim every day. |
If the speech is reported immediately , the tense does not change.
If the introductory verb used is in the present simple, future simple or present perfect , we do not change verb tense.
In addition, tense does not change when we talk about general truths, permanent states, and conditions .
We do not change verb tense when we report wishes, preferences, and unreal past.
⇔ Try this quiz on reporting statements.
To report imperative verbs (commands, requests, suggestions), we use an infinitive verb and we use tell / told or ask / asked , but not say / said.
Other verbs that can be used to report imperatives are: a dvise, order, beg, etc.
To report a negative imperative, we use not to infinitive .
With the verb suggest, we use that-clause or verb-ing.
⇔ Take a quiz on how to report imperatives.
When we report questions we change the helping verb-subject order to subject-helping verb/verb .
We follow the same rules of tense changes.
We use if or whether to connect the introduction with reported words.
⇔ Take a quiz on how to report questions.
Because the time of reported speech is later than that of direct speech, time reference will be different. As a result, time expressions in reported speech change according to the context.
This is a table of the most common time expressions and how they change.
Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
---|---|
tonight, today, this week / month / year | that night, that day, that week / month / year |
now | then, at the time, at once, immediately |
yesterday, last night / week / month / year | the day before. the previous night / week / month / year |
tomorrow | the following day, the day after, the next day |
next week/month/year | the following / the next week / month / year |
two days / weeks / months / years ago | two days/ weeks / months / years before |
Sometimes we use verbs other than say , tell , ask to introduce reported speech. We need to choose an appropriate reporting verb because each verb expresses how the reporting person interprets the speech. Here are some of these verbs with examples.
advise somebody to infinitive
accuse somebody of verb-ing
admit verb-ing
apologize for + verb-ing
complain that
demand that
deny verb-ing
encourage somebody to infinitive
inform somebody that
insist that
refuse to infinitive
remind somebody to
threaten to infinitive
suggest verb-ing
warn somebody to infinitive
Reported Speech (Statements) Quiz
Verb Tenses: A Complete Guide
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Sometimes we may wish to report the words of others. In fact, this is quite a regular occurrence in any language.
There are two ways to do this: reported (indirect) speech, and direct speech.
Here’s how they work.
As the name would suggest, direct speech is when you directly report the words of another person.
“I’ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,” he said.
Direct speech can always be identified in written speech through the use of speech marks (sometimes known as quotation marks). Please note that single or double marks can be used depending on the habit of the individual user.
Direct speech is the easier of the two options because it does not involve any grammatical or structural changes to the original sentence.
Reported speech involves grammatical, and sometimes structural, changes.
Here is an example of the same sentence as above but this time delivered in reported speech.
“I’ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,” he said. (direct speech)
He said (that) he would see me at the meeting today. (reported/indirect speech)
Aa can be seen, considerable changes have been made to the original sentence. First of all, the speech marks have been removed. Next, we must consider the verb tense used. Fortunately, the rules covering this are written in stone:
1) Present simple | Past simple |
2) Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
3) Present continuous | Past continuous |
4) Past simple | Past Perfect |
5) Past continuous | Past perfect continuous |
6) Past perfect | Past perfect (no change) |
7) Past perfect continuous | Past perfect continuous (no change) |
8) Future simple (will) | Would |
9) Can | Could |
10)All other Modal Verbs (might/may/could/should/would) | No change |
As can be seen from the above table, the original verb tense must be adapted accordingly. Let us look at the original examples once more:
The verb tense in the original, direct speech sentence (‘will’) has been adapted to ‘would’ as necessary. This reflects the difference in time between when the comment was originally made, and when it was reported.
This fact is made most obviously clear when the present tense is adapted to the past, as follows:
“I want to talk to you,” she said.
She said that she wanted to talk to me.
As is dictated, ‘want’ has become wanted’ because the request is now clearly in the past.
Please note that, on some occasions, adapting the present tense to the past tense may not be necessary. For example:
“I like pizza,” she said.
She said she likes/liked pizza.
Because we can assume the state to still be true, the present tense is also correct in the reported sentence.
Let us look once more at the original pair of sentences:
As well as the verb tense, both the subject and object have been adapted, and so has the time expression.
Of course, these amendments are all relative. Who was talking to who, and what is the time relationship between when the original sentence was communicated, and when it was reported? Always bear in mind these considerations when using reported speech.
Questions are a little bit different, and must be adapted in their own unique way. Generally speaking, there are two types of questions, and each must be considered separately.
The first question is an ‘information’ question, requiring some kind of specific detail in the answer. The second question, meanwhile, is quite simply a ‘yes/no’ question, where detail is optional.
Here are the changes that must be made to each question in reported (indirect) speech
In the ‘information’ question, the original sentence must be restructured so it is now no longer a question, but an affirmative statement. That is because, when reported, it is no longer a question. The verb tense should also be adapted as per the rules with all reported speech transitions.
In the ‘yes/no’ question, the sentence must also be adapted, with the word ‘if’ (or ‘whether’) replacing the auxiliary. Again, the verb tense must be changed accordingly.
In the examples in this article we have included the classic reporting verbs ‘said’ and ‘asked’. ‘Tell’ is another classic.
In truth, these verbs are incredibly uninformative. In reality, they tell us nothing about the emotion or feeling of what was communicated.
Therefore, it is better to run through the many options of reporting verbs we have at our disposal to select an option which best describes the sentiment of the words. Of course, in formal or business English you may want to stay with the neutral words of ‘say’, ‘ask’ and ‘tell’, but to be a little more descriptive, why not check out some of these options:
There are almost countless others. Give your language more color by choosing something more descriptive.
And don’t forget, the Linguix AI-powered writing assistant can provide you not only with the grammatical and structural amendments that you need to be correct in your writing, but can also be used to adapt your style so it is suitable to your audience. Get lists of synonyms to help you identify the perfect word, too.
How to use reported speech.
Learn about Reported Speech in English grammar. Clear and simple explanation of meaning and use, with examples.
We use reported speech to tell someone what another person said:
Jim says to you:
“I don’t feel well.” “I can’t drive.” “My parents have gone on holiday.” “I’m going out now so you will have to wait until I get back.” “I’ll help you.”
Later, you tell your friend what Jim said:
Jim said (that) he didn’t feel well. He said (that) he couldn’t drive. He said (that) his parents had gone on holiday. He said (that) he was going out now so I would have to wait until he got back. He said that he would help me .
See the phonemic chart for IPA symbols used below.
If we use that in reported speech, we pronounce the weak form.
Reported Questions Reporting Verbs Say and Tell
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Keith Taylor
Keith is the co-founder of Eslbase and School of TEFL . He's been a teacher and teacher trainer for over 20 years, in Indonesia, Australia, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Poland, France and now in the UK.
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Hello, I’m not a teacher, I’m an ESL class student. So, I’m here to ask you guys a question about wich is still making me to be confused. I asked my teacher, ”if you say, ”I am a teacher”, should I make it a reported speech as ” she said she was a teacher?”. she answered that I needed to say ,” she said she is a teacher”. One more thing: I found a sentence in worksheet written , ”He told his birthday is next week”. Is it correct? I thought it had to be ” he told his birhday would be next week” So, is this modern English rule? Is that a difference? Can you pleeease, explain and help me to make sure to correct this hesitation.
Thanks for your questions.
1. “She said she was a teacher” and “She said she is a teacher” are both correct. Often we don’t change the tense if the fact that we are reporting is still true. So, if it is still true that she is a teacher, then she can report it with “She said she is a teacher” (see Additional point number 1 above).
2. “He told his birthday is next week”. First of all, if you use “told” then you must add a direct object, like this: “He told me his birthday is next week”.
Now, let’s look at the different ways we can use reported speech for this. If the person says “My birthday is next week” then we can report it like this: – He told me his birthday was next week – He told me his birthday is next week (it’s still true so we don’t need to change the tense)
If the person says “My birthday will be next week” then we can report it like this: – He told me his birthday would be next week.
I hope that helps!
This is what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot!
I ask one of my students to introduce him/herself (name, age, hobbies)… and ask other students to take notes. When they are finished, I ask “What did he say?”
I tell students to think about what happened to them before they came to class. For example, “what did your mom, dad, husband, wife say to them? They write down the direct speech and then the reported speech.
I prepare cards with several questions in different tenses, such as:
“What were you doing yesterday at 6?” “How long have you been studying English?” “Will you do your homework for tomorrow?”
I put my students in pairs and ask them to interview each other using the questions on the cards. Once they’ve got their answers, they change partners and share everything they’ve learnt about the previous student.
Cut a dialogue into four parts. Paste it on four walls. Students work in pairs. One of them is the messenger and the other one is a receiver. The messenger runs to the walls and remembers the sentences, comes back and narrates the same to the receiver.
I did a “Find someone who…” mingling activity with my students and then divided the group into two teams. I asked a member from the first team to report one of the replies to a question they had asked. If their reply was correctly put into reported speech, they got a point for their team. I repeated the process until I had covered all the responses from the activity. The team with the most points won the game and was rewarded with cream eggs!
I have students make 10 questions they would ask their favourite actor or actress. Then, they use these questions to interview another partner who pretends to be that famous person. He or she will answer those questions the same way the famous person would. Students end up reporting their answers to the teacher. In that way, they can practice reported speech in an interesting form.
If you have the resources, you can play a short listening/video about an important event, news, etc. Students then have to report to the teacher what they heard.
I show them some debate shows on the Internet after advising them to make notes of the main points. Then I ask them to report what different participants opined. SBS insight has nice discussions to be used for this purpose.
I showed some slides about a fire at a petrol station and the group had to make up a conversation between two witnesses to the fire. We then wrote it as a newspaper report.
I put students in groups of three. Two in the group are a couple quarrelling, but who will not speak to each other. The middle man/woman receives information from one and uses reported speech to relay the message(s).
I ask students to think of a fun sentence. I put them all in a line and the student at the end whispers their sentence to the one beside them, this student then reports the sentence to the following student, and so on. The last student says the sentence aloud and we see if they did it correctly… it is like the “telefono descompuesto” in Spanish.
I ask students to tell their partner three secrets. Then, this student tells other students in the class (a good way to explain the word: gossip!). This activity helps students practice reporting but in a fun way!
I give the students comic strips from the funny pages, and they have to summarize the direct speech. There are always lots of questions, and that makes especially good practice.
StoryLearning
Learn A Language Through Stories
There are times when someone tells you something and you’ll have to report what they said to someone else.
How can you do this in English?
You’ll need to know how to use what's called reported speech in English and this is what you’ll learn in this blog post.
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words.
For example, let’s say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon.
Jon, however, is not feeling well. He says to you, “Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today.”
A few days after the party, you meet Sarah. She’s another one of your friends and she was at the party too, but she arrived late – a moment before you left. You only had time to say hello to each other.
She asks you, “I saw you at the party but I didn’t see Jon. Where was he?”
When Sarah asks you, “Where was Jon?” you can say,
“Jon said, ‘Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today’.”
However, it would be more natural to use indirect speech in this case. So you would say, “Jon said he couldn’t come to the party. He had spent all day working outside under the rain and he felt ill that day .”
Did you notice how the sentence changes in reported speech?
Here’s what happened:
Let’s take a closer look at how we form reported speech.
To form reported speech, you might have to make a few changes to the original sentence that was spoken (or written).
You may have to change pronouns, verb tenses, place and time expressions and, in the case of questions, the word order.
There are certain patterns to learn for reporting promises, agreements, orders, offers, requests, advice and suggestions.
Let’s have a look at all these cases one by one.
In general, when we use reported speech, the present tenses become past tenses.
We do this because we are often reporting someone else’s words at a different time (Jon’s words were spoken 3 days before you reported them to Sarah).
Here’s an example:
Jenny (on Saturday evening) says, “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”(present tenses)
Matt (on Sunday morning) talks to James and says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home. (past tenses)
So this is how different verb tenses change:
DIRECT: I need money.
INDIRECT: She said she needed money.
DIRECT: My French is improving.
INDIRECT: He said his French was improving.
DIRECT: This has been an amazing holiday.
INDIRECT: She told me that it had been an amazing holiday.
What if there is a past simple form of the verb in direct speech? Well, in this case, it can stay the same in reported speech or you can change it to past perfect .
DIRECT: I didn’t go to work.
INDIRECT: Mary said that she didn’t go to work / Mary said that she hadn’t gone to work
DIRECT: I arrived late because I had missed the bus.
INDIRECT: He said he arrived (or had arrived) late because he had missed the bus.
Modal verbs like “can,” “may,” and “will” also change in reported speech.
DIRECT: The exam will be difficult.
INDIRECT: They said that the exam would be difficult.
DIRECT: I can’t be there.
INDIRECT: He told me he couldn’t be there.
DIRECT: We may go there another time.
INDIRECT: They said they might go there another time.
However, past modal verbs don’t change (would, must, could, should, etc.) don’t change in reported speech.
DIRECT: It would be nice if we could go to Paris.
INDIRECT: He said it would be nice if we could go to Paris.
Here are some other examples:
“I am going to the store,” said John. | John said that he was going to the store. |
“I love pizza,” said Jane. | Jane said that she loved pizza. |
“I will finish the project today,” said Mary. | Mary said that she would finish the project that day. |
“I can't come to the party,” said Tom. | Tom said that he couldn't come to the party. |
“I have a headache,” said Sarah. | Sarah said that she had a headache. |
“I saw a movie last night,” said Peter. | Peter said that he had seen a movie the previous night. |
“I want to learn Spanish,” said Emily. | Emily said that she wanted to learn Spanish. |
“I have been working on this project for a week,” said Sam. | Sam said that he had been working on the project for a week. |
“I don't like this food,” said Mark. | Mark said that he didn't like that food. |
“I am not feeling well,” said Alice. | Alice said that she was not feeling well. |
So, in summary,
You make these verb tense shifts when you report the original words at a different time from when they were spoken. However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker’s tenses when the situation is still the same.
For example,
1. DIRECT: I am feeling sick.
INDIRECT: She said she is feeling sick.
2. DIRECT: We have to leave now.
INDIRECT: They said they have to leave now.
3. DIRECT: I will call you later.
INDIRECT: He said he will call me later.
4. DIRECT: She is not coming to the party.
INDIRECT: He said she is not coming to the party.
5. DIRECT: They are working on a new project.
INDIRECT: She said they are working on a new project.
What about conditional sentences? How do they change in reported speech?
Sentences with “if” and “would” are usually unchanged.
DIRECT: It would be best if we went there early.
INDIRECT: He said it would be best if they went there early.
But conditional sentences used to describe unreal situations (e.g. second conditional or third conditional sentences) can change like this:
DIRECT: If I had more money I would buy a new car.
INDIRECT: She said if she had had more money, she would have bought a new car OR She said if she had more money, she would buy a new car.
In reported speech, because you’re reporting someone else’s words, there’s a change of speaker so this may mean a change of pronoun.
An example:
Jenny says, “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”
Matt says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home.”
In this example, Jenny says “I” to refer to herself but Matt, talking about what Jenny said, uses “she”.
So the sentence in reported speech becomes:
Some other examples:
1 . DIRECT: I have been studying for hours.
INDIRECT: He said he had been studying for hours.
2. DIRECT: I don’t like that movie.
INDIRECT: She said she didn’t like that movie.
3. DIRECT: He doesn't like coffee.
INDIRECT: She said he doesn't like coffee.
4. DIRECT: We have a new car.
INDIRECT: They told me they had a new car.
5. DIRECT: We are going on vacation next week.
INDIRECT: They said they are going on vacation next week.
When you’re reporting someone’s words, there is often a change of place and time. This may mean that you will need to change or remove words that are used to refer to places and time like “here,” “this,” “now,” “today,” “next,” “last,” “yesterday,” “tomorrow,” and so on.
Check the differences in the following sentences:
DIRECT: I'll be back next month.
INDIRECT: She said she would be back the next month , but I never saw her again.
DIRECT: Emma got her degree last Tuesday.
INDIRECT: He said Emma had got her degree the Tuesday before.
DIRECT: I had an argument with my mother-in-law yesterday .
INDIRECT: He said he’d had an argument with his mother-in-law the day before .
DIRECT: We're going to have an amazing party tomorrow.
INDIRECT: They said they were going to have an amazing party the next day.
DIRECT: Meet me here at 10 am.
INDIRECT: He told me to meet him there at 10 am.
DIRECT: This restaurant is really good.
INDIRECT: She said that the restaurant was really good.
DIRECT: I'm going to the gym now.
INDIRECT: He said he was going to the gym at that time.
DIRECT: Today is my birthday.
INDIRECT: She told me that it was her birthday that day .
DIRECT: I'm leaving for Europe next week.
INDIRECT: She said she was leaving for Europe the following week.
What if you have to report a question? For example, how would you report the following questions?
In reported questions, the subject normally comes before the verb and auxiliary “do” is not used.
So, here is what happens when you're reporting a question:
DIRECT: Where’s Mark?
INDIRECT: I asked where Mark was.
DIRECT: When are you going to visit your grandmother?
INDIRECT: He wanted to know when I was going to visit my grandmother.
DIRECT: What do I need to buy for the celebration?
INDIRECT: She asked what she needed to buy for the celebration.
DIRECT: Where are your best friend and his wife staying?
INDIRECT: I asked where his best friend and his wife were staying.
DIRECT: Do you like coffee?
INDIRECT: I asked if she liked coffee.
DIRECT: Can you sing?
INDIRECT: She asked me if I could sing.
DIRECT: Who’s your best friend?
INDIRECT: They asked me who my best friend was.
DIRECT: What time do you usually wake up?
INDIRECT: She asked me what time I usually wake up.
DIRECT: What would you do if you won the lottery?
INDIRECT: He asked me what I would do if I won the lottery.
DIRECT: Do you ever read nonfiction books?
INDIRECT: She asked me if I ever read nonfiction books.
You might have noticed that question marks are not used in reported questions and you don’t use “say” or “tell” either.
When you’re reporting these, you can use the following verbs + an infinitive:
Here are some examples:
DIRECT SPEECH: I’ll always love you.
PROMISE IN INDIRECT SPEECH: She promised to love me.
DIRECT SPEECH: OK, let’s go to the pub.
INDIRECT SPEECH: He agreed to come to the pub with me.
DIRECT SPEECH: Sit down!
INDIRECT SPEECH: They told me to sit down OR they ordered me to sit down.
DIRECT SPEECH: I can go to the post office for you.
INDIRECT SPEECH: She offered to go to the post office.
DIRECT SPEECH: Could I please have the documentation by tomorrow evening?
INDIRECT SPEECH: She requested to have the documentation by the following evening.
DIRECT SPEECH: You should think twice before giving him your phone number.
INDIRECT SPEECH: She advised me to think twice before giving him my phone number.
All right! I hope you have a much clearer idea about what reported speech is and how it’s used.
And the good news is that both direct and indirect speech structures are commonly used in stories, so why not try the StoryLearning method ?
You'll notice this grammatical pattern repeatedly in the context of short stories in English.
Not only will this help you acquire it naturally, but you will also have a fun learning experience by immersing yourself in an interesting and inspiring narrative.
Have a wonderful time learning through books in English !
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Definition of reported speech noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
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Indirect speech is paraphrasing what someone said or wrote. In writing, it functions to move a piece along by boiling down points that an interview source made. Unlike direct speech, indirect speech is not usually placed inside quote marks. However, both are attributed to the speaker because they come directly from a source.
In the first example below, the verb in the present tense in the line of direct speech ( is) may change to the past tense ( was ) in indirect speech, though it doesn't necessarily have to with a present-tense verb. If it makes sense in context to keep it present tense, that's fine.
Keeping the present tense in reported speech can give the impression of immediacy, that it's being reported soon after the direct quote,such as:
An action in the future (present continuous tense or future) doesn't have to change verb tense, either, as these examples demonstrate.
Indirectly reporting an action in the future can change verb tenses when needed. In this next example, changing the am going to was going implies that she has already left for the mall. However, keeping the tense progressive or continuous implies that the action continues, that she's still at the mall and not back yet.
With a past-tense verb in the direct quote, the verb changes to past perfect.
Note the change in first person (I) and second person (your) pronouns and word order in the indirect versions. The person has to change because the one reporting the action is not the one actually doing it. Third person (he or she) in direct speech remains in the third person.
In free indirect speech, which is commonly used in fiction, the reporting clause (or signal phrase) is omitted. Using the technique is a way to follow a character's point of view—in third-person limited omniscient—and show her thoughts intermingled with narration.
Typically in fiction italics show a character's exact thoughts, and quote marks show dialogue. Free indirect speech makes do without the italics and simply combines the internal thoughts of the character with the narration of the story. Writers who have used this technique include James Joyce, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Zora Neale Hurston, and D.H. Lawrence.
Snopes fact-checked the presidential debate live!
One moment in particular from a june 2024 los angeles fundraiser for u.s. president joe biden's reelection campaign caught the eye of politicos., jordan liles, published june 19, 2024.
In June 2024, online users and some news publishers shared videos claiming to show U.S. President Joe Biden "freeze up" for seven seconds at the conclusion of a campaign fundraiser with former President Barack Obama. With the 2024 election on the horizon and the first presidential debate set for June 27, the videos became a hot topic of discussion in the world of American politics.
That fundraiser rumor followed two other recent videos of Biden: one that users said showed him standing still at a Juneteenth concert at the White House, and another where users claimed he wandered to the edge of a camera's shot while viewing skydivers in a demonstration at the G7 summit in Italy.
The apparent implication of the claims presented alongside these videos was simply the latest chapter in the unproven rumor the president, who is 81, experiences symptoms of an undisclosed medical diagnosis or other type of mental issue related to his age. For the record, Biden has not been diagnosed with any cognitive issues related to his age. Further, in a situation like this one where users imply Biden experienced a symptoms of a larger mental issue causing him to "freeze up," the people who started the rumor own the responsibility of providing worthy evidence to lend credibility to their implied claim. They have presented no such evidence.
The White House has addressed these rumors by labeling them as "cheap fakes." The Poynter Institute's initiative known as MediaWise defines cheap fakes as "photos or videos that have been manipulated using cheaper, more accessible video editing software." MediaWise continued: "Cheap fakes can also edit out important context or maybe reorder clips to alter the narrative to deceive you and shape your opinion."
In this story, we'll dial through all the facts specific to the viral fundraiser moment. We'll also look at the statements the White House has publicly issued in response to the claim. In our own email outreach to the White House, we asked whether someone asked Biden what he remembers from the seven seconds he stood still on stage with Obama. We did not receive a response within 24 hours.
The campaign fundraiser featuring Biden and Obama occurred the evening of June 15 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times reported the fundraiser brought in more than $30 million for Biden's reelection efforts. Tickets ranged from $250 all the way up to $500,000. Actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts also headlined the evening, and comedian Jimmy Kimmel served as moderator.
Readers seeking further context of the fundraiser might be interested to learn the White House published a full transcript of the discussion between Kimmel, Biden and Obama.
A video originally published by Chris Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter showed the conclusion of the fundraiser, including Biden's purported "freeze up" moment. Gardner shared the post hours after the event ended, simply writing, "Former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden offer final waves to Peacock Theater crowd as Obama then grabs Biden's hand to lead him offstage following 40-minute conversation with Jimmy Kimmel."
Other users and publishers shared Gardner's video on X and other websites. For example, the British tabloid The Sun posted the clip on YouTube, giving it the title, "Embarrassing moment Joe Biden appears to FREEZE again before Barack Obama pulls him off-stage."
Gardner's video showed that, at the end of the fundraiser, the audience applauded while Biden, Obama and Kimmel stood on stage. A live band played while Biden applauded and waved at the audience. Obama waved as well. Audience members held their phones high in the air to capture photos and videos. Around 10 seconds into Gardner's video, Biden turned left, smiled and began standing still for about seven seconds. Biden began moving again only after Obama reached out his hand, held Biden by the wrist and then patted Biden on the back. The two men then walked off the stage together with Obama's hand on Biden's back. (Obama did not "pull" Biden off of the stage, as The Sun claimed.)
On June 16 — the day after the fundraiser — the New York Post reported, "Biden appears to freeze up, has to be led off stage by Obama at mega-bucks LA fundraiser." The top of the Post's story featured Gardner's video but omitted the first 10 seconds of Biden waving and applauding. However, the Post also embedded Gardner's original X post with the unedited video three paragraphs into the article.
Similarly, The Gateway Pundit published a post titled, "YIKES! Biden Freezes as Obama Grabs His Arm and Leads Him Off Stage During California Fundraiser (VIDEO)." Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk also posted on X, "Whoa! Biden completely freezes on stage at Los Angeles fundraiser as Barack Obama has to grab his arm and escort him back stage." The Gateway Pundit and Kirk both featured Gardner's full and unedited video.
Meanwhile, The Daily Beast published an article with a headline from a viewpoint opposite that of the aforementioned conservative sources. That headline appearing in Google search results read, "No, President Biden Didn't 'Freeze' at Star-Studded Hollywood Fundraiser." The Associated Press also reported of the matter, "FACT FOCUS: Biden's pause as he left a star-studded LA fundraiser becomes a target for opponents."
The AP published a video it obtained from Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer that showed a second angle providing a longer look at the moment in question. That angle appeared to show Biden possibly looking slightly down in the direction of audience members. The existence of the second angle did not appear to change any of the known facts.
The Daily Beast published a quote from Andrew Bates, White House senior deputy press secretary, who rebutted the Post's article, saying, "Fresh off being fact checked by at least 6 mainstream outlets for lying about President Biden with cheap fakes, Rupert Murdoch's sad little super pac, the New York Post, is back to disrespecting its readers & itself once again. Their ethical standards could do with a little unfreezing."
Bates continued, "By pretending the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds is somehow wrong, all they're really admitting—once again—is they can't take on the leadership that's fueling the strongest economic growth in the world, bringing violent crime to a 50-year low, restoring manufacturing jobs from overseas and strengthening our alliances." (Posts on Bates' X account reiterated the same sentiment.)
On June 17, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the fundraiser "freeze up" rumor during a daily briefing. Jean-Pierre answered a reporter's question by referencing a statement purportedly released by Obama after the fundraiser. We reached out to Obama's team to obtain a copy of the statement but did not yet receive a response.
Jean-Pierre referred to the three videos from the Juneteenth concert, skydiving demonstration in Italy and fundraiser moment as "cheap fakes." She also falsely referred to them as "deepfakes." A deepfake involves a video displaying a manipulation of lip movement and possibly a full face replacement. The aforementioned three videos of Biden were not deepfakes.
For further official statements from Jean-Pierre's briefing, the White House published a full transcript . An official White House YouTube video also displays the moments Jean-Pierre addressed the videos, beginning at the 53:28 mark.
We will update this story if we find or receive any further facts or official statements to add to the article.
Bachman, Brett. "White House Fumes at Trumpworld's Latest 'Cheap Fake' Video." The Daily Beast , 16 June 2024, https://www.thedailybeast.com/no-president-biden-didnt-freeze-at-star-studded-hollywood-fundraiser.
"Cheap Fakes vs. Deepfakes." Poynter , https://www.poynter.org/mediawise/is-this-legit-digital-media-literacy-101/cheap-fakes-vs-deepfakes/.
Crowley, Kinsey, and Gabe Hauari. "When Is the First 2024 Presidential Debate between Trump and Biden? Date, Time, Moderators, How to Watch." USA TODAY , 19 June 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/18/trump-biden-presidential-debate-2024/74135958007/.
Frame.io . https://app.frame.io/presentations/f80f9fa4-1519-4b3e-abf2-dd771232332b.
Gardner, Chris. X , 16 June 2024, https://x.com/chrissgardner/status/1802239454314410096.
Goldin, Melissa. "FACT FOCUS: Biden's Pause as He Left a Star-Studded LA Fundraiser Becomes a Target for Opponents." The Associated Press , 17 June 2024, https://apnews.com/article/biden-fundraiser-freeze-misinformation-election-efe67fe51ab189cbcbc850332969fd46.
Mehta, Seema, and Liam Dillon. "Biden, Obama Raise More than $30 Million at Glitzy L.A. Event." Los Angeles Times , 16 June 2024, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2024-06-15/biden-obama-celebrities-raise-millions-in-l-a-for-presidents-reelection-bid.
Nesi, Chris. "Biden Appears to Freeze up, Has to Be Led off Stage by Obama at Mega-Bucks LA Fundraiser." New York Post , 16 June 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/06/16/us-news/biden-appears-to-freeze-up-has-to-be-led-off-stage-by-obama-at-mega-bucks-la-fundraiser/.
"President Biden in Los Angeles This Weekend for High-Priced Fundraiser." ABC7 Los Angeles , 14 June 2024, https://abc7.com/post/president-biden-los-angeles-weekend-high-priced-fundraiser/14952573/.
"Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby." The White House , 17 June 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/06/17/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-national-security-communications-advisor-john-kirby-6/.
"Remarks by President Biden and President Obama in a Moderated Conversation with Jimmy Kimmel at a Campaign Reception | Los Angeles, CA." The White House , 16 June 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/06/15/remarks-by-president-biden-and-president-obama-in-a-moderated-conversation-with-jimmy-kimmel-at-a-campaign-reception-los-angeles-ca/.
Weedston, Lindsey. "Joe Biden Freezes During White House Juneteenth Event, Becomes A Solid Meme." The Daily Dot , 12 June 2024, https://www.dailydot.com/memes/joe-biden-freezes/.
Williams, Michael, and Samantha Waldenberg. "Right-Wing Media Outlets Use Deceptively Cropped Video to Misleadingly Claim Biden Wandered off at G7 Summit | CNN Politics." CNN , 14 June 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/14/politics/media-outlets-use-deceptively-edited-video-to-claim-biden-wandered-off-at-g7-summit/index.html.
Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.
ATLANTA — President Joe Biden was supposed to put the nation’s mind at ease over his physical and mental capacity with his debate showing Thursday night.
But from the onset of the debate, Biden, 81, seemingly struggled even to talk, mostly summoning a weak, raspy voice. In the opening minutes, he repeatedly tripped over his words, misspoke and lost his train of thought.
In one of the most notable moments, Biden ended a rambling statement that lacked focus by saying, “We finally beat Medicare,” before moderators cut him off and transitioned back to former President Donald Trump.
While Biden warmed up and gained more of a rhythm as the debate progressed, he struggled to land a punch against Trump, much less fact-check everything Trump said as he unleashed a torrent of bad information.
Trump also pounced on Biden, saying at one point that he didn’t understand what Biden had just said with regard to the border.
“I don’t know if he knows what he said, either,” Trump said.
Nearly an hour into the debate, a Biden aide and others familiar with his situation offered up an explanation for his hoarseness: He has a cold.
But there were problems aside from the shakiness of Biden's voice. When he wasn't talking, he often stared off into the distance. Trump frequently steamrolled over Biden, accusing him of being a criminal and of peddling misinformation — many times without a response from Biden, though he did fire back with a handful of one-liners throughout.
The Biden campaign acknowledged that the debate would be a critical moment in the election, with officials hoping it could shake up the race to his benefit. Most polls have found the race to be neck and neck, with razor-thin margins that have moved negligibly for months, even after a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts .
Questions about Biden’s age and frailty have dragged down his polling numbers for months. The public concerns are exacerbated by deceptively edited videos , some of which have gone viral, that cut off relevant parts of an event, making it appear as if Biden is wandering or confused. This was Biden’s first opportunity since the State of the Union speech to dispel that narrative.
Instead of a new beginning, many Democrats saw it as a moment for panic.
“Democrats just committed collective suicide,” said a party strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns. “Biden sounds hoarse, looks tired and is babbling. He is reaffirming everything voters already perceived. President Biden can’t win. This debate is a nail in the political coffin.”
“It’s hard to argue that we shouldn’t nominate someone else,” a Democratic consultant who works on down-ballot races said.
Biden did ramp up as the debate progressed.
“Only one of us is a convicted felon, and I’m looking at him,” Biden said to Trump. That was one moment that tested particularly well in the Biden campaign's internal real-time polling at the time of the debate, according to a person familiar with the polling.
An aide said that it was “not an ideal start” for Biden at the beginning of the debate but that there was “no mass panic” at the campaign headquarters in Delaware.
The muting of the candidates' microphones at the debate, a stipulation both campaigns agreed to before the debate, added a new dimension to the faceoff. The first Biden-Trump match-up in 2020 was marked by repeated interruptions by Trump, leading to moments of frustration for Biden.
“Will you shut up, man?” Biden complained at that first Cleveland debate.
“I’m thinking the Democrats are thinking about who the Barry Goldwater is who can walk in tomorrow and tell the president he needs to step aside,” said Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party.
In 1974, after key Watergate tapes were made public, Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., went to see President Richard Nixon alongside other prominent lawmakers, telling Nixon that he would be convicted by the Senate and that he should step aside — which he did.
Biden’s campaign defended his performance, saying he offered a “positive and winning vision” for America.
“On the other side of the stage was Donald Trump, who offered a dark and backwards window into what America will look like if he steps foot back in the White House: a country where women are forced to beg for the health care they need to stay alive. A country that puts the interests of billionaires over working people,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. “And a former president who not once, not twice, but three times, failed to promise he would accept the results of a free and fair election this November.”
Some Democrats also defended Biden presidency more broadly after the debate, pointing to his policies over Trump's.
"One thing this debate won’t change is Trump’s base instinct to sell out anyone to make a quick buck or put his own image on a steak, golf course or even the Holy Bible," said Brandon Weathersby, a spokesman with the pro-Biden American Bridge 21st Century super PAC. "Trump puts himself first every time, and that won’t change if he becomes president again."
Trump, meanwhile, has fended off his own questions over whether he’s diminished by age, including his struggles to stay on topic and his meandering when he’s speaking . Biden has posited that Trump “snapped” after his 2020 election loss and is unstable, which he aired again Thursday night.
Trump often gave his typical rambling responses and seemed at times to make up factoids and figures.
“During my four years, I had the best environmental numbers ever, and my top environmental people gave me that statistic just before I walked on the stage, actually,” Trump said.
Trump also said he would lower insulin prices for seniors, but it was Biden who signed legislation in 2022 that lowered out-of-pocket costs for people on Medicare to $35 a month and covered all insulin products.
The first debate during the 2020 election cycle was in early September, meaning the first 2024 general election debate was significantly earlier than usual — more than two months ahead of Labor Day, which is often seen as the point when most voters start to pay attention to presidential contests.
“Debates move numbers,” said Matt Gorman, a longtime Republican strategist who worked for presidential campaign of Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. “And with this so early — and the next one not until September — you’re stuck with the narrative for four long months.
“And one and the other’s performance will set the tone for the next one,” he added.
For months, Trump’s team has been hammering Biden’s mental acuity, a strategy that is at odds with how campaigns generally handle the lead-up to debates, when they try to build up opponents as deft debaters to set expectations.
The expectations for Biden were low, and by almost all estimates he was unable to clear them.
“Biden just had to beat himself; unfortunately the stumbling and diminished Joe Biden the world has come to know made Trump look competent and energetic,” said a former Trump campaign official who isn’t working for his campaign this year. “I expect there will be some loud calls from Democrats for a change on the top of the ticket.”
“The floor for Biden was so low,” the person added. “After Biden’s debate performance, it seems the floor is 6 feet under.”
The 90-minute debate hit on a wide variety of topics, but many of the most dominant themes were centered on those that have been most prominent on the campaign trail over the past few months.
Trump hit Biden on two big policy fights that have stubbornly dogged his campaign: immigration and inflation.
Since Biden took office, 15 million jobs have been created and the unemployment rate sits at a relatively low 4%, but prices for consumer goods have remained high, and they provided a consistent line of attack from the Trump campaign and Republicans more broadly.
In one heated exchange, Trump point-blank said “he caused the inflation.” Biden said in response there was less inflation under Trump because he tanked the economy.
“There was no inflation when I came into office,” Biden said before that rejoinder — a quote Republicans quickly used as evidence that all of the current price hikes happened on Biden’s watch.
Trump continued to attack Biden over his border policies, which his campaign has used as one of its biggest lines of attack throughout the campaign. That often including amplifying each time an undocumented migrant commits a crime even though the data doesn’t support the idea of a migrant crime wave .
“ We have a border that is the most dangerous place anywhere in the world,” Trump said.
Earlier this year, Trump used his influence over congressional Republicans to block a bipartisan border deal that Biden supported.
Biden also tried to land a punch about Jan. 6, trying to build on the oft-discussed idea that Trump’s returning to the White House would be a threat to democracy.
“He encouraged those folks to go up to Capitol Hill,” Biden said. “He sat there for three hours being begged by his vice president and many colleagues on the Republican side to do something.”
Trump deflected, arguing the Biden should be “ashamed” for arresting those who participated in the attempted insurrection.
Natasha Korecki is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.
Matt Dixon is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Florida.
Jonathan Allen is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.
The case turned on whether the biden administration had been using the bully pulpit or was actually bullying when officials urged removal of controversial posts on covid vaccines and other issues..
WASHINGTON −The Supreme Court on Wednesday handed the Biden administration an election-year victory, throwing out a conservative challenge to government efforts to have social media companies remove posts it considered misinformation.
The 6-3 decision, led by Justice Amy Coney Barrett , was a response to a suit that came during a hot-button period when social media was thick with contentious posts over COVID-19, vaccines, top government scientist Anthony Fauci , and other emotional topics. Justices Samuel Alito , Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Barrett, writing for the majority, said the challengers argued that unfettered speech on social media is critical to their work as scientists, pundits and activists.
“But they do not point to any specific instance of content moderation that caused them identifiable harm,” Barrett wrote . “They have therefore failed to establish an injury that is sufficiently ‘concrete and particularized.’”
More: Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks for guns
In the dissent, Alito complained that the majority "unjustifiably refuses to address this serious threat to the First Amendment."
"For months, high-ranking Government officials placed unrelenting pressure on Facebook to suppress Americans’ free speech," Alito wrote.
Alito highlighted as problematic an email sent from a Biden COVID adviser to a Facebook official in March of 2021 complaining that the platform was not being responsive to the administration’s concerns and “we have been considering our options on what to do about it.”
By dismissing the case without deciding the underlying First Amendment issue, the justices avoided saying when governments go too far in interacting with media platforms about their content.
The Republican-led states of Missouri and Louisiana and five individual users of social media had charged the White House, the surgeon general and others with violating their free speech rights by coercing Facebook, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) to remove or downgrade posts.
The Department of Justice said government agencies weren’t improperly threatening social media companies , but instead, were encouraging them to remove harmful or false information, including about vaccines. There was no retaliation when the platforms did not comply, the DOJ said.
In July 2023, a district court in Louisiana sided against the administration, imposing sweeping restrictions on the government’s interaction with social media platforms.
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals narrowed the restraints . But the DOJ said that would still place unprecedented limits on how government officials can speak about matters of public concern, address national security threats, or relay public health information.
The restrictions were on hold while the Supreme Court reviewed the case.
Related Supreme Court defines when public officials may block critics on personal social media accounts
Experts had called the case , Murthy v. Missouri, a unique chance for the court to define how far governments may go to protect against online distribution of harmful content.
Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said it was disappointing the high court didn't provide more guidance on the limits the First Amendment places on the government’s pressure campaigns.
“This guidance would have been especially valuable in the months leading up to the election,” he told USA TODAY.
But the Supreme Court said the challengers failed to show enough of a connection between the Biden administration’s communications with social media companies and restrictions on their postings.
"To be sure, the record reflects that the Government defendants played a role in at least some of the platforms’ moderation choices," Barrett wrote. "But the Fifth Circuit, by attributing every platform decision at least in part to the defendants, glossed over complexities in the evidence."
Even if there was a link, Barrett wrote, the challengers didn’t show enough likelihood that they would be harmed in the future.
Platforms have continued to enforce their own policies against COVID-19 misinformation, so blocking the government from communicating with the companies is unlikely to make a difference, the majority said.
“In my opinion, the plaintiffs were right on one issue – the potential for government pressure to implicate First Amendment rights warrants careful consideration from the courts,” said Gautman Hans, who helps lead the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic. "But this case was obviously the wrong one for the Court to assess those free speech questions."
The high court also heard another case this year about content moderation, examining the constitutionality of laws passed by Florida and Texas to limit the ability of social media giants to regulate user content.
Both cases grew out of concern from conservatives that their views were being suppressed, including claims of 2020 election fraud, the origin of and treatments for COVID-19.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, who has argued the Biden administration pressured social media companies to censor posts about Hunter Biden’s laptop and COVID-19 vaccines, said Wednesday the high court’s decision demonstrated the need for legislation to protect the freedom of expression.
“Our country benefits when ideas can be tested and debated fairly on their merits, whether online or in the halls of Congress,” said Jordan, R-Ohio.
“While we respectfully disagree with the Court's decision, our investigation has shown the need for legislative reforms, such as the Censorship Accountability Act, to better protect Americans harmed by the unconstitutional censorship-industrial complex. Our important work will continue."
Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech , the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command.
direct | indirect | reported clause | |
statement | ) I was tired. | -clause | |
question | . . | clause clause clause | |
command | . | -infinitive clause |
Indirect speech: reporting statements
Indirect reports of statements consist of a reporting clause and a that -clause. We often omit that , especially in informal situations:
The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane came in to land. (The pilot’s words were: ‘The weather was extremely bad as the plane came in to land.’ )
I told my wife I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday. ( that -clause without that ) (or I told my wife that I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday .)
Reporting yes-no questions and alternative questions.
Indirect reports of yes-no questions and questions with or consist of a reporting clause and a reported clause introduced by if or whether . If is more common than whether . The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:
She asked if [S] [V] I was Scottish. (original yes-no question: ‘Are you Scottish?’ )
The waiter asked whether [S] we [V] wanted a table near the window. (original yes-no question: ‘Do you want a table near the window? )
He asked me if [S] [V] I had come by train or by bus. (original alternative question: ‘Did you come by train or by bus?’ )
Questions: yes-no questions ( Are you feeling cold? )
Indirect reports of wh -questions consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a wh -word ( who, what, when, where, why, how ). We don’t use a question mark:
He asked me what I wanted.
Not: He asked me what I wanted?
The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:
She wanted to know who [S] we [V] had invited to the party.
Not: … who had we invited …
In indirect questions with who, whom and what , the wh- word may be the subject or the object of the reported clause:
I asked them who came to meet them at the airport. ( who is the subject of came ; original question: ‘Who came to meet you at the airport?’ )
He wondered what the repairs would cost. ( what is the object of cost ; original question: ‘What will the repairs cost?’ )
She asked us what [S] we [V] were doing . (original question: ‘What are you doing?’ )
Not: She asked us what were we doing?
We also use statement word order (subject + verb) with when , where, why and how :
I asked her when [S] it [V] had happened (original question: ‘When did it happen?’ ).
Not: I asked her when had it happened?
I asked her where [S] the bus station [V] was . (original question: ‘Where is the bus station?’ )
Not: I asked her where was the bus station?
The teacher asked them how [S] they [V] wanted to do the activity . (original question: ‘How do you want to do the activity?’ )
Not: The teacher asked them how did they want to do the activity?
Questions: wh- questions
Indirect reports of commands consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a to -infinitive:
The General ordered the troops to advance . (original command: ‘Advance!’ )
The chairperson told him to sit down and to stop interrupting . (original command: ‘Sit down and stop interrupting!’ )
We also use a to -infinitive clause in indirect reports with other verbs that mean wanting or getting people to do something, for example, advise, encourage, warn :
They advised me to wait till the following day. (original statement: ‘You should wait till the following day.’ )
The guard warned us not to enter the area. (original statement: ‘You must not enter the area.’ )
Verbs followed by a to -infinitive
We can use the reporting verb in the present simple in indirect speech if the original words are still true or relevant at the time of reporting, or if the report is of something someone often says or repeats:
Sheila says they’re closing the motorway tomorrow for repairs.
Henry tells me he’s thinking of getting married next year.
Rupert says dogs shouldn’t be allowed on the beach. (Rupert probably often repeats this statement.)
We often use the present simple in newspaper headlines. It makes the reported speech more dramatic:
JUDGE TELLS REPORTER TO LEAVE COURTROOM
PRIME MINISTER SAYS FAMILIES ARE TOP PRIORITY IN TAX REFORM
Present simple ( I work )
Reported speech
Reported speech: direct speech
In indirect speech, we can use the past continuous form of the reporting verb (usually say or tell ). This happens mostly in conversation, when the speaker wants to focus on the content of the report, usually because it is interesting news or important information, or because it is a new topic in the conversation:
Rory was telling me the big cinema in James Street is going to close down. Is that true?
Alex was saying that book sales have gone up a lot this year thanks to the Internet.
‘Backshift’ refers to the changes we make to the original verbs in indirect speech because time has passed between the moment of speaking and the time of the report.
direct speech | indirect speech |
not very happy at work.’ | not very happy at work. |
going home.’ | going home. |
be late.’ | be late. |
been working,’ she said. | . |
to make her so angry?’ he asked. | to make her so angry. |
In these examples, the present ( am ) has become the past ( was ), the future ( will ) has become the future-in-the-past ( would ) and the past ( happened ) has become the past perfect ( had happened ). The tenses have ‘shifted’ or ‘moved back’ in time.
direct | indirect | |
present simple | → | past simple |
present continuous | → | past continuous |
present perfect simple | → | past perfect simple |
present perfect continuous | → | past perfect continuous |
past simple | → | past perfect simple |
past continuous | → | past perfect continuous |
future (will) | → | future-in-the-past (would) |
past perfect | ↔ | past perfect (no change) |
The past perfect does not shift back; it stays the same:
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| already left. |
Some, but not all, modal verbs ‘shift back’ in time and change in indirect speech.
direct speech | indirect speech | change | |
| be there,’ he promised. | be there. | becomes |
| need more money.’ I open it?’ she asked. | need more money. open it. | usually becomes in reported questions, becomes |
| see you at 2.30,’ he added. | see me at 2.30. | becomes |
| be back later,’ she said. wait in the hallway,’ he said. | be back later. wait in the hallway. | (possibility) becomes (permission) becomes |
| pay by 30th April.’ be awful to live in such a noisy place,’ she said. | pay by 30th April. be awful to live in such a noisy place. | (obligation) usually becomes (speculation) does not change |
| sell it for about 2,000 euros,’ he said. | sell it for about 2,000 euros. | no change |
| go there immediately,’ she said. | go there immediately. | no change |
| buy it if I had the money,’ he said. | buy it if he had the money. | no change |
| snow tonight,’ he warned. | snow that night. | no change |
| come till six o’clock,’ he said. | come till six o’clock. | no change |
We can use a perfect form with have + - ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past:
He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ )
He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’ )
Used to and ought to do not change in indirect speech:
She said she used to live in Oxford. (original statement: ‘I used to live in Oxford.’ )
The guard warned us that we ought to leave immediately. (original statement: ‘You ought to leave immediately.’ )
We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if what a person said is still true or relevant or has not happened yet. This often happens when someone talks about the future, or when someone uses the present simple, present continuous or present perfect in their original words:
He told me his brother works for an Italian company. (It is still true that his brother works for an Italian company.)
She said she ’s getting married next year. (For the speakers, the time at the moment of speaking is ‘this year’.)
He said he ’s finished painting the door. (He probably said it just a short time ago.)
She promised she ’ll help us. (The promise applies to the future.)
Changes to personal pronouns in indirect reports depend on whether the person reporting the speech and the person(s) who said the original words are the same or different.
direct | indirect | |
don’t want to shock people,’ Tom said. | said he didn’t want to shock people. | different speakers ( changes to ) |
’ll look after Toby,’ I said. | said I would look after Toby. | same speaker (no change) |
need to be here at nine o’clock,’ George told Beatrice. | told Beatrice she needed to be there at nine o’clock. | different speakers ( changes to ) |
hope you will join us tonight,’ I said to James. | told James I hoped he would join us that night. | same speaker (no change to ; changes to ) |
We often change demonstratives ( this, that ) and adverbs of time and place ( now, here, today , etc.) because indirect speech happens at a later time than the original speech, and perhaps in a different place.
direct speech | indirect speech |
.’ | the next/following day. |
this moment in time.’ | . |
.” | . |
,’ the boy protested. | . |
direct | indirect | |
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The word order in indirect reports of wh- questions is the same as statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order:
She always asks me where [S] [V] I am going .
Not: She always asks me where am I going .
We don’t use a question mark when reporting wh- questions:
I asked him what he was doing.
Not: I asked him what he was doing?
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Mr. Trump said his suggestion to Dana White, who runs the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was not well received. But, he added, “It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever had.”
By Chris Cameron
Former President Donald J. Trump said in an address to an evangelical group that he had suggested starting a sports league for migrants to fight one another.
Appearing at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s conference in Washington on Saturday, Mr. Trump described migrants with the dehumanizing terms he often uses to refer to them, saying they were “tough,” “come from prisons” and are “nasty, mean.”
Mr. Trump then said that he had suggested to Dana White, an ally of the former president’s who is the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , “Why don’t you set up a migrant league of fighters?”
He continued, referring to the U.F.C.: “And then you have the champion of your league — these are the greatest fighters in the world — fight the champion of the migrants? I think the migrant guy might win! That’s how tough they are.”
Mr. Trump said that Mr. White “didn’t like the idea too much.” But, he added, “It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever had. These are tough people.”
Mr. White, asked about Mr. Trump’s comment at a U.F.C. event on Saturday, confirmed that the former president had made the proposal, but said, “It was a joke, it was a joke. I saw everybody going crazy online. But yeah, he did say it.”
The Biden campaign denounced Mr. Trump’s comments, attacking what it called “a rambling, confused tirade,” at what it said was intended to be “a conference for Christian values.”
“Trump’s incoherent, unhinged tirade showed voters in his own words that he is a threat to our freedoms and is too dangerous to be let anywhere near the White House again,” Sarafina Chitika, a spokeswoman for the Biden campaign, said in a statement.
Mr. Trump has made immigration a central part of his platform in the 2024 presidential election, as it was in his two previous campaigns. He has pledged to carry out sweeping raids and to use military funds to erect camps to hold undocumented detainees. He has also escalated his rhetoric against migrants, at times using language that invokes the racial hatred of Hitler by describing migrants as “poisoning the blood of our country.”
“Fantasies about cage matches are a distraction from the very real plans Trump and his team are making to deport millions of people who have lived here for decades and the resulting inflation, joblessness and economic devastation,” said Douglas G. Rivlin, a spokesman for America’s Voice, an immigrant-rights advocacy group that has been tracking the escalation of Republican rhetoric on the issue. “Republican politicians are going to find that hard to defend while campaigning this year.”
Jazmine Ulloa contributed reporting.
Chris Cameron covers politics for The Times, focusing on breaking news and the 2024 campaign. More about Chris Cameron
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Definition of Reported Speech. Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner's Dictionary, is defined as "a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words." The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as "speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person's actual words." ...
Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then. In this example, the pronoun "I" is changed to "she" and the adverb "now" is changed to "then.". 2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here's an example:
What Does Reported Speech Mean? Reported speech is a term we use when telling someone what another person said. You can do this while speaking or writing. There are two kinds of reported speech you can use: direct speech and indirect speech. I'll break each down for you. A direct speech sentence mentions the exact words the other person said.
Reported speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
Reported speech: He asked if he would see me later. In the direct speech example you can see the modal verb 'will' being used to ask a question. Notice how in reported speech the modal verb 'will' and the reporting verb 'ask' are both written in the past tense. So, 'will' becomes 'would' and 'ask' becomes 'asked'.
Watch my reported speech video: Here's how it works: We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence: Direct speech: I like ice cream. Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.
For reported requests, we use "asked (someone) to do something": "Please make a copy of this report." (direct speech) She asked me to make a copy of the report. (reported speech) For reported orders, we use "told (someone) to do something:". "Go to the bank." (direct speech)
Reported Speech. If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options: We can use the person's exact words - in quotation marks "..." if we are writing ( direct speech ). We can change the person's words into our own words ( reported speech ). He said: "I love you." He said that he loved me.
In the reported speech, we must replace the pronouns. Otherwise, we won't keep the meaning. Example. Mary: "I am glad to help you!" Mary says she is glad to help me. BUT NOT Mary says I am glad to help you. You should also be careful with time indicators (today, now, next week etc.) not to lose the idea of the original direct statement.
Learn to master reported speech in English! "Reported speech" means talking about the things that other people have said. Read this post to learn about direct and indirect reported speech in English. Reported speech is an essential skill for gossiping, chatting with friends and keeping up with the news.
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) gives the meaning of what someone said, not the exact words, while direct speech gives the exact words of the speaker, enclosed in quotation marks (or inverted commas. With reported speech, we do not use quotation marks. We use that to connect the introduction with the reported words.
Reported Speech. Reported speech is the report of one speaker or writer on the words spoken, written, or thought by someone else. Also called reported discourse . Traditionally, two broad categories of reported speech have been recognized: direct speech (in which the original speaker's words are quoted word for word) and indirect speech (in ...
Direct speech is the easier of the two options because it does not involve any grammatical or structural changes to the original sentence. Reported (indirect) speech. Reported speech involves grammatical, and sometimes structural, changes. Here is an example of the same sentence as above but this time delivered in reported speech.
Direct speech: "I like this car." Reported speech: He said (that) he liked that car. Direct speech: "I went to Tokyo last week." Reported speech: She said (that) she'd been to Tokyo the week before. Meaning. We use reported speech to tell someone what another person said: Jim says to you: "I don't feel well." "I can't drive."
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words. For example, let's say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon. Jon, however, is not feeling well.
What is reported speech? Also known as indirect speech.. Unlike direct speech, which relies on speech-marks to directly quote what someone has said, reported speech relays the same information without quoting the speaker.. Examples. Direct speech 'I'm going to buy some milk.' Reported speech. He told me he was going to buy some milk.
Definition of reported speech noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
In nonfiction writing or journalism, direct speech can emphasize a particular point, by using a source's exact words. Indirect speech is paraphrasing what someone said or wrote. In writing, it functions to move a piece along by boiling down points that an interview source made. Unlike direct speech, indirect speech is not usually placed inside ...
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REPORTED SPEECH definition: 1. → indirect speech specialized 2. → indirect speech specialized 3. a description of what someone…. Learn more.
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Reported speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
Reported speech: indirect speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
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