1. A couple of weeks ago my son asked me to take him to the circus. I promised that we would go there (next week, the next week). 2. I ran into Mike last Sunday in a fast-food restaurant. It was a surprise to us that he was leaving (tomorrow, the next day) for Paris to participate in a forum. 3. John promised me yesterday that he will drop in on my parents (next, the following) Sunday and will tell them I‘m O.K.51. 4. They‘ve just announced that the exam on Linguistics will be put off till the end of (next, the next) term. 5. There was very strong hope that the wounded man would survive by (next, the next) morning. 6. Clare told Alan that they were allowed to pay the bills (in two days, two days later). 7. I had intended to visit Helen in hospital last Friday, but her husband phoned me on Thursday and said that the doctors would discharge her from hospital (the day after tomorrow, in two days time). 8. Last year he definitely promised his wife that (next, the next) summer they would spend at the seaside. 9. We arrived in Turin on Monday. (Next, the following) day we left for Rome. 10. That summer was very wet. (Next, the next) summer was even wetter. 11. I quite forgot that (the day after tomorrow, in two days time) we were leaving for the South. 12. The students understood they didn‘t have to leave until (the next day, tomorrow).
REPORTED (INDIRECT) SPEECH
We can report people‘s words by using direct speech or reported speech.
Direct speech is the exact words someone used. We use quotation marks in direct speech. e.g. „It’s nice to be home, Tom said.
Reported speech is the exact meaning of what someone said, but not the exact words. We do not use quotation marks in reported speech. We can either use the word that after the introductory verb (say, tell, etc.), or we can omit it. e.g. Tom said (that) it was nice to be home.
We can use the verbs say and tell both in direct and reported speech.
Tell is always followed by a personal object (told me).
Say is used with or without a personal object. When used with a personal object it is always followed by the preposition to (said to me).
Study the following examples:
| direct speech | reported speech |
| He said, „I’m Ted.”„ | He said (that) he was Ted. |
| He said to me, „I’m Ted.” | He said to me (that) he was Ted. |
| He told me, „I’m Ted.” | He told me (that) he was Ted. (NOT: He told that he was Ted) |
Say and tell are also used with the following expressions: say good morning/afternoon, etc., something/nothing, etc., one‘s prayers, so, a few words, say so, say no more, say for certain
tell the truth, a lie, a secret, a story, the time, the difference, sb one‘s name, sb the way, one from another, one‘s fortune
Reporting questions
When reporting a question, you should also change the question into an indirect question. In other words, you need to change this sentence so that it is a normal positive sentence, not a question.
You can use the words if or whether for YES / NO questions.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
| She asked, "Are you well?" | She asked if I was well. |
| "Where do you live?" he asked me. | He asked me where I lived. |
| "Why don't we meet?" she asked me. | She asked me why we didn't meet. |
| I asked, "How does she make them?" | I asked how she made them. |
| They asked, "Where is the mall?" | They asked where the mall is. |
Reporting orders and requests
When reporting an order or request we change them into an infinitive.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
| "Go home," she told me. | She told me to go home. |
| "Start talking," he told us. | He told us to start talking. |
| "Stop right there," they ordered us. | They ordered us to stop right there. |
| "Could you please open the door?" she asked me. | She asked me to open the door. |
| "Don't shout," I asked. | I asked them not to shout. |
EXERCISES
Indirect statements
