Reported Speech and Indirect Speech: Backshift of Tenses Quiz

Study Notes

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a form of speech used to convey what someone said or wrote at some point in the past. It is the third-person view of what someone has said, and it involves changing the tense, pronouns, and sometimes even the structure of the original sentence. In this article, we will discuss the subtopics of direct and indirect speech, verb tenses, backshift of tenses, and pronominal changes in reported speech.

Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct speech is the exact repetition of someone's words, using quotation marks. For example, "I'm going to the store," she said. In contrast, indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is a summary of someone's words, without using quotation marks. For example, she said that she was going to the store.

Verb Tenses

When reporting speech, the tense of the verb usually changes to reflect the time of the original statement. For example, simple present becomes simple past, past becomes past perfect, and present perfect becomes past perfect. For example, "I am going" becomes "she said that she was going," and "I have gone" becomes "I had gone."

Backshift of Tenses

The backshift of tenses is a rule in reported speech that involves changing the verb tense to match the tense of the reporting verb. This is to reflect the time difference between the original statement and the time of reporting. For example, if the original statement was made in the present, the verb tense in the reported speech will be in the past. For example, "I am going" becomes "she said that she was going."

Pronominal Changes

Pronouns may change in reported speech depending on who is speaking and who is being spoken to. For example, "I am hungry" becomes "she said she was hungry." The person who is reporting what was said is usually different from the person who made the original statement.

Reported speech is an important aspect of the English language as it allows us to accurately convey what someone else has said or written. By following the rules and grammar of reported speech, you can effectively report on what others said with the help of quotation marks and rules explained earlier in this reference.

Description

Learn about the rules and grammar of reported speech, including direct and indirect speech, verb tenses, backshift of tenses, and pronominal changes. Understand how to accurately convey what someone else has said or written in English.