Grammar Session #1
Reported Speech
Direct Speech
• Saying exactly what someone has said.
• 2nd name: quoted speech
• Give within quotations.. word-for-word
• He said, “You should sell your GGLC stocks, they are
about to plummet.”
Indirect Speech/Reported Speech
• Doesn’t use quotation marks to enclose the
statement
• Not word for word
• Does change tense!!
• Direct speech
• "I'm going to the cinema", he said.
• Indirect speech
• He said he was going to the cinema
• 1. Present - past
• "I never understand you," she told me. - She
told me she never understood me.
• "We are doing exercises," he explained. - He
explained that they were doing exercises.
2. Present perfect - past perfect
• "I have broken the window," he admitted. - He
admitted that he had broken the window.
• "I have been waiting since the morning," he
complained. - He complained that he had been
waiting since the morning.
3. Past - past perfect
• "She went to Rome," I thought. - I thought
that she had gone to Rome.
• "He was thinking of buying a new car," she
said. - She said he had been thinking of buying
a new car.
4. Will - conditional
• Will changes into the conditional.
• "I will come on Sunday," he reminded me. - He
reminded me that he would come on Sunday.
• Shall becomes would
• Should (we should) becomes would
• May becomes might
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this (evening)
Today
these (days)
Now
(a week) ago
last weekend
• Here
• next (week)
• Tomorrow
that (evening)
yesterday ...
those (days)
then
(a week) before
the weekend before last /
the previous weekend
there
the following (week)
the next/following day
Pronouns
• Make sure you change the pronoun..
Example:
“We are the best students,” he said.
He said they were the best students.
“They called us,” he said.
He said they called them.
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Present continuous
Present simple
Present perfect
Past perfect
Past simple
Past continuous
Shall/will
Can
Could
Must
Should
Ought to
May
Imperative
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Past continuous
Past simple
Past perfect
No change
Past perfect
No change (usually)
Would
Could
No change
Had to or No change
No change
No change
Might
Infinitive
* "We have moved into our new flat", said my friend.
* "Japan is a densely populated city", the teacher said.
* "You have got my coat", I said crossly.
* "I know exactly what she did", the private detective explained to his client.
* He said : "My wife wants to take a job".
* "If you saw my brother, you'd recognize him at once", Mary said.
* "I don't know what your father will say when he sees your school report", she said.
* "I'll help you with those exercises", Tony said
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He said that they had moved into their new flat.
They said that Japan was a densely populated city.
You crossly said that you had gotten your coat.
He explained to him that he knew exactly what she did.
He said his wife wanted to take a job.
She said that if we had seen her brother then we’d
have recognized him at once.
• She said that she didn’t know what my father would
say when he saw my school report.
• He said that he’d help me with those exercises.
• My name is Arthur Tann. I was born in 1952 and
educated at Wallingford Grammar School, where
I passed five O-levels. I left school in 1970 and
went to work for an insurance company. Then I
came to live in Middleford and got a job at the
library. I've been there for about three years but I
don't think I'll stay there much longer.At the
moment I'm living in Gladstone Avenue but I may
leave soon. I want to do a Management course
but I can't do it until I've passed some A-levels.
• He said his name was Arthur Tann. He was born in
1952 and he was educated at Wallingford Grammar
School, where he had passed five O-levels. I had left
the school in 1970 and had gone to work for an
insurance company. He then had come to live in
Middleford and had gotten a job at the library. He had
been there for about three years but He didn’t think
he’d stay there much longer. At the time, he was living
on Gladstone Avenue but he might leave soon. He said
he wanted to do a Management course but he won’t
be able to do it until he had passed some A-levels.