Unit 6- Grammar

Different types of sentences

When you use reported speech, you either report:

• statements
• questions
• requests / commands 
• other types

A. Reporting Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns 
• tense 
• place and time expression

1- Pronouns

In reported speech, you often have to change the pronoun depending on who says what.

Example:
She says, “My dad likes roast chicken.” – She says that her dad likes roast chicken.

                     2. Tenses

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Simple Present He said: "I am happy"	Simple Past He said that he was happy
Present Progressive He said: "I'm looking for my keys"	Past Progressive He said that he was looking for his keys
Simple Past He said: "I visited New York last year"	Past Perfect Simple He said that he had visited New York the previous year.
Present Perfect  He said: " I've lived here for a long time "	Past Perfect  He said that he had lived there for a long time
Past Perfect  He said: "They had finished the work when I arrived"	Past Perfect  He said that they had finished the work when he had arrived"
Past Progressive He said: "I was playing football when the accident occurred"	Past Perfect Progressive He said that he had been playing football when the accident had occurred
Present Perfect Progressive He said:"I have been playing football for two hours."	Past Perfect Progressive He said that he had been playing football for two hours
Past Perfect Progressive He said: "I had been reading a newspaper when the light went off"	Past Perfect Progressive He said that he had been reading a newspaper when the light had gone off
Future Simple (will+verb) He said: "I will open the door."	Conditional (would+verb) He said that he would open the door.
Conditional (would+verb) He said: "I would buy Mercedes if I were rich"	Conditional (would+verb) He said that he would buy Mercedes if he had been rich"

                         3- Place, demonstratives and time expressions

Place, demonstratives and time expressions change if the context of the reported statement is different from that of the direct speech. 

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Time Expressions
today	that day
now	then
yesterday	the day before
… days ago	… days before
last week	the week before
next year	the following year
tomorrow	the next day / the following day
Place
here	there
Demonstratives
this	that
these	those

B. Reporting Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns 
• place and time expressions 
• tenses

Also note that you have to:

• transform the question into an indirect question 
• use the question word (where, when, what, how) or if / whether

       C. Reporting requests / commands 

When transforming requests and commands, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns 
• place and time expressions

Example:

She said, “Sit down." - She asked me to sit down.

She said, "don't be lazy" - She asked me not to be lazy