'What's the Time?
A tramp was sleeping on a park bench late at night. A man and a woman were walking past. One of them tapped him on tht shoulder and asked, "Excuse me! What's the time?" The tramp was very annoyed at being woken up. "I don't know!" he saic angrily. "I haven't got a watch." And he went back to sleep.
Some time later another man was passing. He woke the tramp up and said, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wonder if you couK* tell me what time it is."
Again the tramp said that he didn't know. By now he was ver fed up, so he got a pen and a piece of paper and wrote I DON'" KNOW WHAT THE TIME IS on it, and went back to sleep.
Half an hour later, a policeman was passing. He read the sigr woke the tramp up and said, "It's 2.30, sir."
I'd like to get some information
Rosie has just arrived at the railway station of a strange town. She goes to the tourist office to get some information.
A = Clerk in the tourist office R = Rosie
A: Good afternoon.
R: Hello. I wonder if you could help me. I've just arrived here, and I'm looking for somewhere to stay.
A: Uh huh.
R: Can you tell me where I can find a cheap hotel?
A: Certainly. There are a few around here, but the nearest and one of the nicest is just around the corner. It's called the Euro Hotel. Would you like me to phone to see if they have a room?
R: No, that's OK. I'll just wander round there myself. Ah! Another thing. I need to change some travellers' cheques, but I don't know what time the banks close.
A: They close at 7 o'clock in the evening.
R: Right, thanks. This is a very pretty town, isn't it? It looks terribly old. Have you any idea how old this town is?
A: Yes, it was founded in the thirteenth century.
R: Really? As old as that? Wow! Well, I'd better get going. Oh, I'm not sure if we're near the centre of town, because I've only just arrived.
A: Yes, this square out here is just about the centre.
R: Thanks very much. Thanks for your help. I'll go to... oh, sorry I can't remember which hotel you suggest.
A: The Euro Hotel.
R: The Euro. Thanks a lot. Bye.
A. Here is some more information that Rosie wants. Use the prompts to ask indirect questions.
1. When was the town founded? (Could you tell me...?) 2. What's the population of the town? (Do you know...?) 3. Where can I change some money? (I'd like to know...) 4. What's the exchange rate today? (Do you happen to know...?)?. Is there a dry cleaner's near here? (I wonder...) 6. Where is there a cheap place to eat? (Have you any idea...?) 7. How long does if take to get to the
centre of town from here? (Can you tell me...?) 8. Did it rain here yesterday? (Do you remember...?)
B. In pairs, ask and answer similar indirect questions about the town where you are now.
Poor Rosemary!
Rosemary Smith was robbed about an hour ago while she was walking home from work. She's at the police station now, and she's having a lot of trouble giving the police information. She knows that a man robbed her an hour ago, but she simply can't remember any of the details.
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She has forgotten how tall the man was. She isn't sure how heavy he was. She can't remember what colour hair he had. She has no idea what colour eyes he had. She doesn't remember what he was wearing. She doesn't know what kind of car he was driving. She can't remember what colour the car was. She has no idea what the license number was. And she doesn't even know how much money was taken!
Poor Rosemary! The police want to help her, but she can't remember any of the details.
Note: license . = licence
A. You 're a police officer. You 're trying to get information from Rosemary Smith about the robbery. Using this model, make questions and answers based on the story.
A: Can you tell me* how tall the man was? B: I'm sorry. I've forgotten how tall he was.
* Or. Do you know...?
Could you tell me...? Could you please tell me...? Could you possibly tell me...? Do you have any idea...? Do you by chance know...?
Reported speech
When we want to report what someone said, we can use "direct speech" or "reported speech":
Original statement: Ann: I'm hungry. Direct speech: Ann said, "I'm hungry."
Reported speech: Ann said (that) she was hungry. or Ann says (that) she is hungry.
There are three areas of reported speech:
1. Reported statements
He said he would see me tomorrow.
2. Reported commands
He told them to go back to work.
3. Reported questions
He asked me where I lived.
Reported statements
1. If the reporting verb is in the past tense (eg said, told), it is usual for the verb in the reported clause to move "one tense back".
present
present perfect past
past
past perfect
past (perfect)
eg "I'm going." He said he was going.
"She's passed her exams!" He told me she had passed her
exams.
"My father died when I was six." She said her father had
died when she was six. or She said her father died when
she was six.
The past simple (/ did) can usually stay the same in reported speech, or you can change it to the past perfect (/ had done}:
did
did or had done
Tom: "I woke up feeling ill and so I stayed in bed."
Tom said (that) he woke (or had woken) up feeling ill so he stayed (or had stayed) in bed.
2. If the reporting verb is in the present tense (eg says, asfo), there is no tense change.
"The train will be late." He says the train will be late. "I come from Spain." She says she comes from Spain.
3. The "one tense back" rule is not absolute. It is not always necessary to change the verb when you use reported speech. If you are reporting something and you feel that it is still true, you do not need to change the tense of the verb:
"I hate football." I told him I hate (or hated) football. "Horses are my favourite animals." Sarah said horses are (or were) her favourite animals.
Notice that even if the words are still true, it is also correct to change the verb into the past.
But you must use a past tense when there is a difference between what was said and what is really true. Study this example situation:
You met Ann. She said: "Jim is ill." Later that day you see Jim playing tennis and looking well. You say: "I'm surprised to see you playing tennis, Jim. Ann said that you were ill." (not "that you are ill," because he isn't ill)
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Absolute tense forms (referring to the present moment) are usually used in spoken English, especially if the speaker is reporting something immediately or soon after it was said.
Immediate reporting:
A: What did the teacher just say? I didn't hear him. B: He said he wants us to read Chapter Six.
Later reporting:
A: I didn't go to class yesterday. Did Mr Jones make any
assignments? B: Yes. He said he wanted us to read Chapter Six.
4. The "one tense back" rule also applies to reported thoughts and feelings.
I thought she was married, but she isn't.
I didn't know he was a teacher. I thought he worked in a
bank.
I forgot you were coming. Never mind. Come in.
I hoped you would ring.
5. Some modal verbs change.
can will may
could
would
might
"She can type well." He told me she could/can type well. "I'll help you." She said she'd help me. "I may come." She said she might come.
Other modal verbs don't change.
"You should go to bed." He told me I should go to bed. " It might rain." She said it might rain.
Must can stay as must, or it can change to had to. "I must go'" He said he must/had to go.
6. In more formal situations, we can use that after the reporting verb.
He told her (that) he would be home late. She said (that) she didn't know him.
7. There are many reporting verbs.
The commonest reporting verbs both in direct and in indirect (reported) speech are: say, tell, ask.
After tell we normally use a personal object (eg Sarah, me, us) to say who is told. We normally use say without a personal object.
Compare:
say + something
I said I was going home.
He says he can speak
French.
tell + someone + something I told Sarah I was going home. He tells me he can speak French.
If we want to put a personal object with soy, we use to.
I said to Sarah that I was going home, (rarely used) In a few expressions we can use tell without a personal object:
eg tell a lie, tell a story, tell the time, tell the truth.
Many verbs are more descriptive than say and tell, they indicate the underlying intention of the speaker.
eg Original statement Speech intention Reported speech "I'm sorry I'm late" an apology He apologized for
being late. "I won't go." a refusal She refused to go.
Here are some reporting verbs often used to report statements: say, tell (conveying information); promise (promise); explain (explanation); agree (agreement); disagree (disagreement); refuse (refusal); remark (casual remark); add (additional remark); warn (warning); remind (reminder); answer, reply (answer); assure (assurance); announce (announcement), deny (denial), recommend (recommendation), complain (complaint), admit (admission), insist (insistence), offer (offer), boast (boast), threaten (threat) and others.
Reporting verbs can take various different constructions. They can be followed by:
a clause introduced by that:
say, tell (+pronoun), explain, agree, remind (+ noun/ pronoun), complain, reply, admit, boast, etc. He said/told me/explained that they had left.
the infinitive with to:
agree, offer, promise, refuse, threaten The child refused to eat any food. He offered to lend me some money.
a verb in the -ing form:
apologize (+ for), admit, insist (+ ), accuse (+
somebody + of)
She apologized for telling a lie.
He admitted using my car.
a noun or pronoun:
accept, explain, greet, introduce, refuse, thank:
She explained the problem to him.
He introduced her to the other students.
two objects:
offer, refuse, promise
He offered me a lift.
He promised me a pay rise.
8. Pronouns (eg /, me) and possessive adjectives (eg my, your) often change in reported speech. Compare:
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Sue: "I'm on holiday with my friend."
Reported speech: Sue said (that) she was on holiday with
her friend.
9. People use the words like here, now, today to talk about the place where they are speaking and the time they are speaking. If we report these words in a different place or at a different time, they often change. For example:
Speaker's words
here
this
now
today
tonight
tomorrow
yesterday
next Monday
last Monday
Reported speech
there
that/the
then
that day
that night
the next day/the following day
the day before/the previous day
the following Monday
the previous Monday
The way these words change depends on the situation. For example, if someone was speaking a week ago and said "I'll see you tomorrow.", we shall report "He said he would see me the next/the following day. "But if someone was speaking yesterday, we shall say "He said he would see me today." If someone was speaking a week ago and said "I'll see you tonight", we shall report "He said he would see me that night." But if someone said it today, we shall say "He said he would see me tonight."
Reported questions
1. We report yes/no questions with if or whether.
"Is your husband in?" He asked if you were in.
"Has he gone to London'7" He wanted to know whether
you'd gone to London.
2. Reporting w/z-questions we use question words (which, why, where, etc.)
"Which train did he take?" He asked me which train you'd
taken.
"When does he usually get home?" He asked when you
usually got home.
3. The word order in a reported question is the same as in statements (eg you were in, you 'd gone to London, you 'd taken, you usually got home) and we do not use a question mark (?).
4. Reported questions can be introduced by the following verbs: ask, know, want to know, wonder, not know
asked me wanted to know wondered didn't know
where the key was.
Sometimes questions are reported by a simple sentence: "What's the time?" He asked me the time.
5. Tenses, adjectives, pronouns, etc. in reported questions change in the same way as in reported statements.
Reported commands
1. We often report orders, requests, warnings, advice and invitations using the structure verb + object + to-infinitive.
Speakerswords "Get out of my room."
Reported speech She told the man to get out of her room.
"Could you carry some
bags, Mike?
"Stay away from me."
"You should phone the
police."
"Would you like to have
dinner with us?"
I asked Mike to carry some bags.
He warned them to stay away
from him.
She advised him to phone the
police.
They invited me to have dinner
with them.
2. Notice the negative command. Use not before to.
He told me not to tell anyone.
The police warned people not to go out.
3. We can also report orders with a form of must or be to.
Doctor: Take the pills before meals.
The doctor told me to take the pills before meals. or The doctor said I must/had to take/was to take the
pills before meals.
Doctor: You mustn't smoke.
The doctor said I mustn't/was not to smoke.
or The doctor told me not to smoke. The doctor forbade me to smoke.
3. We can also report orders with gerunds.
"Let's go out." Tony suggested going out.
"We simply must take a taxi." Mrs Lee insisted on taking
a taxi.
4. The reporting verb can be in the passive.
I was told to take the pills before meals. You were asked not to leave the car there.
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