Archive for September 2013
Introduction.
There two ways to convey a message of a person, or the words spoken by a person to other person.
Direct speech: John said, “I will give you a pen”.
Indirect Speech: John said that he would give me a pen.
In direct speech the original words of person are narrated (no change is made) and are enclosed in quotation mark. While in indirect speech some changes are made in original words of the person because these words have been uttered in past so the tense will change accordingly and pronoun may also be changed accordingly. In indirect speech the statement of the person is not enclosed in quotation marks, the word “that” may be used before the statement to show that it is indirect speech. Indirect speech is also called reported speech because reported speech refers to the second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person.
Reporting verb: The verb first part of sentence (i.e. he said, she said, he says, they said, she says,) before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.
Examples. In all of the following example the reporting verb is “said”.
He said, “I work in a factory” (Direct speech)
He said that he worked in a factory. (Indirect speech)
They said, “we are going to cinema” (Direct speech)
They said that they were going to cinema. (Indirect speech)
Reported Speech. The second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person (which is enclosed in quotation marks in direct speech) is called reported speech. For example, a sentence of indirect speech is, He said that he worked in a factory. In this sentence the second part “he worked in a factory” is called reported speech and that is why the indirect speech as a whole can also be called reported speech.
Example.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy.
Direct speech: I said to him, “you are intelligent”
Indirect Speech: I said him that he was intelligent. (“You” changed to “he” the person of object of reporting verb)
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy today”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy that day.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy. (Tense of reported speech changed)
Direct speech: He says, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he is happy. (Tense of reported speech didn’t change)
There two ways to convey a message of a person, or the words spoken by a person to other person.
- Direct speech
- Indirect speech
Direct speech: John said, “I will give you a pen”.
Indirect Speech: John said that he would give me a pen.
In direct speech the original words of person are narrated (no change is made) and are enclosed in quotation mark. While in indirect speech some changes are made in original words of the person because these words have been uttered in past so the tense will change accordingly and pronoun may also be changed accordingly. In indirect speech the statement of the person is not enclosed in quotation marks, the word “that” may be used before the statement to show that it is indirect speech. Indirect speech is also called reported speech because reported speech refers to the second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person.
Reporting verb: The verb first part of sentence (i.e. he said, she said, he says, they said, she says,) before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.
Examples. In all of the following example the reporting verb is “said”.
He said, “I work in a factory” (Direct speech)
He said that he worked in a factory. (Indirect speech)
They said, “we are going to cinema” (Direct speech)
They said that they were going to cinema. (Indirect speech)
Reported Speech. The second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person (which is enclosed in quotation marks in direct speech) is called reported speech. For example, a sentence of indirect speech is, He said that he worked in a factory. In this sentence the second part “he worked in a factory” is called reported speech and that is why the indirect speech as a whole can also be called reported speech.
Fundamental rules for indirect speech.
- Reported speech is not enclosed in quotation marks.
- Use of word “that”: The word “that” is used as a conjunction between the reporting verb and reported speech.
- Change in pronoun: The pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to the pronoun of reporting verb or object (person) of reporting verb (first part of sentence). Sometimes the pronoun may not change.
Example.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy.
Direct speech: I said to him, “you are intelligent”
Indirect Speech: I said him that he was intelligent. (“You” changed to “he” the person of object of reporting verb)
- Change in time: Time is changed according to certain rules like now to then, today to that day, tomorrow to next day and yesterday to previous day.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy today”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy that day.
- Change in the tense of reported speech: If the first part of sentence (reporting verb part) belongs to past tense the tense of reported speech will change. If the first part of sentence (reporting verb part) belongs to present or future tense, the tense of reported speech will not change.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy. (Tense of reported speech changed)
Direct speech: He says, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he is happy. (Tense of reported speech didn’t change)
This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this reason it is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'. However
it is useful to understand the difference between the two. The gerund
always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb),
so it can be used:
a. as the subject of the sentence:
- Eating people is wrong.
- Hunting tigers is dangerous.
- Flying makes me nervous.
b. as the complement of the verb 'to be':
- One of his duties is attending meetings.
- The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.
- One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.
c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition:
- Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
- She is good at painting.
- They're keen on windsurfing.
- She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.
- We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
- My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g. in spite of, there's no point in..:
- There's no point in waiting.
- In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.
d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a verb + preposition/adverb
Example:
to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on:
to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on:
- I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter)
- When are you going to give up smoking?
- She always puts off going to the dentist.
- He kept on asking for money.
NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive: - to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to. It is important to recognise that 'to' is a preposition in these cases, as it must be followed by a gerund:
- We are looking forward to seeing you.
- I am used to waiting for buses.
- She didn't really take to studying English.
It is possible to check whether 'to� is a preposition or part of a to-infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund:
- I am accustomed to it (the cold).
- I am accustomed to being cold.
e. in compound nouns
Example:
- a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-spotting
It is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb.
Example:
- the pool is not swimming, it is a pool for swimming in.
f. after the expressions:
can't help, can't stand, it's no use/good, and the adjective worth:
- She couldn't help falling in love with him.
- I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.
- It's no use/good trying to escape.
- It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.
