Did in indirect speech in English. Reported speech (indirect speech)

Every person, sooner or later, is faced with the need to convey, orally or in writing, what he has been told. However, the method of quoting with putting speech in quotation marks is not always suitable, because few people remember the words of their interlocutor verbatim. Then the phenomenon of indirect speech comes to the rescue. In Russian it has some of its own characteristics, which will be discussed in the article. Let's look at this issue in more detail.

What is indirect speech

Indirect speech in Russian, this is one of the syntactic ways to communicate other people’s words in the flow of one’s own words, preserving the meaning of the original statement. It is conveyed by narrative, incentive and interrogative sentences. In form, indirect speech is a complex sentence. The main part of a sentence is the one that makes reference to the words of another person. For example, “he said”, “she asked”, “they asked”. The subordinate part is the one that directly reflects the words that are conveyed. For example, “that the weather is good”, “so that he goes outside”, “why do you need a passport there?” A comma is placed between the two parts: “He said the weather was fine,” “She asked him to go outside,” “They asked why a passport was needed there.”

Rules related to unions

Now it’s worth considering how indirect speech is expressed. The rules have their own characteristics. Let's look at the main ones. If the speaker simply shared information, then the preposition “what” should be used. For example, Ivan says: “Today I will go to the theater.” In the form of indirect speech it will look like this: “Ivan said that today he will go to the theater.” If the speaker asked the interlocutor to do something, then the preposition “to” is used. For example, Irina says: “Help me with my homework.” This can be conveyed as follows: “Irina told me to help her with her homework.”

When conveying speech in Russian, it uses two methods, which depend on the type of sentence. If the speaker, when asking, uses a question word (“where”, “when”, “why”, “why”, “how” and others), then it becomes a conjunction. For example, Anna asked: “Where can you eat delicious food in Moscow?” Then her words are conveyed as follows: “Anna asked where in Moscow she could eat deliciously.” And the second method is used when question word there wasn't. For example, Nikita asked: “Are you going to the cinema today?” This is conveyed using the particle “li”: “Nikita asked if you would go to the cinema today.”

Rules related to pronouns

It is worth noting how pronouns usually change in indirect speech. Thus, “I”, “we” are replaced by “he/she” and “they”, respectively, because the one whose speech is being conveyed will no longer be the active subject of the conversation. But “you” and “you/you”, on the contrary, are replaced by “we” and “I”. “He/she” and “they” can sometimes also be replaced. If a person said something about someone, and then his words are conveyed to this person or these people, then “you/you” or “you” are used.

Also, if necessary, pronouns are added to a person’s speech. For example, if the boss gives the order: “Complete this work by Thursday,” then the speaker will add the pronoun “we”: “The boss ordered us to complete this work by Thursday.”

Rules related to verbs

Also, sometimes indirect speech in Russian requires some grammatical manipulations with verbs. For example, the incentive mood is replaced by the indicative in the past tense. Let’s say Victor asked: “Pass me the pen.” In indirect speech it will look like this: “Victor asked me to give him a pen.”

Also, sometimes you need to change the tense of the verb - present to past. For example, Daria said: “Today I’m going to cook borscht.” If her words are conveyed the next day, then we can say this: “Daria said that yesterday she was going to cook borscht.” The adverb “today” is logically replaced by “yesterday”.

Exercises to understand indirect speech

It is not immediately easy to get used to such a feature of the Russian language as indirect speech. The exercises below will help you figure this out faster.

You can try to translate the following simple sentences into indirect speech:

• Tyutchev wrote: “I love thunderstorms at the beginning of May.”
• Irina asked: “Pass me the salt.”
• Nietzsche stated: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”
• Dmitry asked: “What should I do with this cat now?”
• Elina asked: “Are you coming to the university today?”
• Katya thought: “Do I need to go there tomorrow?”
• Konstantin thought: “I wonder if she likes me?”

Conclusion

As a conclusion, it is worth saying that, of course, such a phenomenon as indirect speech has its pitfalls. The Russian language is rich in various tricks that are difficult for a foreigner, and sometimes even a native speaker, to understand. However, it is precisely this phenomenon that always obeys rules that do not even contain exceptions. So it’s easy enough to understand the patterns by which indirect speech is formed. And when understanding comes, it will become much easier to use these rules in practice. Try it and you will see that everything is much simpler than it seemed at first glance.

Direct speech V English (Direct Speech), literally quoting a statement. The response is enclosed in quotation marks on both sides, and you add the words of the author to it, e.g. He says: “I swim well”.

Indirect speech in English ( Reported Speech/ Indirect Speech), conveying the content of the conversation from a third person. In this case, the accuracy of the statement is violated: you change the tense forms and word order in the sentence.

Let's take a look Reported Speech rule and learn how to correctly express the opinion of your interlocutor without lying anything.

Indirect speech in English always depends on what tense is used in the author's words. If it’s real, then you can breathe out and relax: you won’t have to change almost anything. Time in subordinate clause will remain the same, just watch the verb form and capricious pronouns:

Melissa says: “ I am a good cook.” – Melissa says that she is a good cook.

Jack said:"I like cats.” (Present Simple) – Jack said that he liked cats. (Past Simple)

We will look at time coordination in more detail ( Sequence of Tenses) separately.

Examine the Reported Speech table. With it you will be able to express yourself grammatically correctly. And one more piece of advice - always try translate sentences into Russian, it will tell you which words will have to be replaced.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Affirmative sentences turn into complex sentences with the conjunction That (that). Please note whether it is known who we are addressing. If yes, then the verb to say needs to be changed to to tell.
They say: "Annie, we read a lot of books."	They tell Annie that they read a lot of books.
When you translate negative sentences into indirect speech in English, pay special attention to the form of the verb and do not lose the not particle.
Mark says: “I don’t like computer games.”	Mark says that he doesn’t like computer games.
Imperative sentences, namely orders and requests, become infinitives. In this case, in the main sentence, use the verbs to ask - to ask, to tell - to say, command, to order - to order, etc. and indicate the person to whom you are addressing.
Mother said: “Open the window.”	Mother asked me to open the window.
Questions become subordinate clauses with direct word order. a) General questions are introduced by a subordinate clause using the conjunctions if and whether
Jim asks me: “Do you watch TV?”	Jim asks me if I watch TV.
b) Special questions are attached to the main sentence with the interrogative words that are used in them.
Tony wonders: “What is your favorite food?”	Tony wonders what my favorite food is.

If the sentence you are translating into indirect speech in English has demonstrative pronouns or adverbs of time and place, then our table will help to replace them correctly:

To master this vast topic, all you need is Reported Speech table, list of adverbs and your brain ready for work and defense. Keep in mind that exercises to translate direct speech into indirect speech(Reported Speech Exercises) are found in every type of paper and exam you can imagine. Moreover, without this knowledge, you will get stuck and will not progress in learning English.

Direct speech in English ( Direct Speech), literally quoting a statement. The response is enclosed in quotation marks on both sides, and you add the words of the author to it, e.g. He says: “I swim well”.

Indirect speech in English ( Reported Speech/ Indirect Speech), conveying the content of the conversation from a third person. In this case, the accuracy of the statement is violated: you change the tense forms and word order in the sentence.

Let's take a look Reported Speech rule and learn how to correctly express the opinion of your interlocutor without lying anything.

Indirect speech in English always depends on what tense is used in the author's words. If it’s real, then you can breathe out and relax: you won’t have to change almost anything. The tense in the subordinate clause will remain the same, just watch the verb form and capricious pronouns:

Melissa says: “I am a good cook.” – Melissa says thatshe is a good cook.

Jack said:"Ilike cats.”(Present Simple) – Jack said that heliked cats.(Past Simple)

We will look at time coordination in more detail ( Sequence of Tenses) separately.

Examine the Reported Speech table. With it you will be able to express yourself grammatically correctly. And one more piece of advice - always try translate sentences into Russian, it will tell you which words will have to be replaced.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Affirmative sentences turn into complex sentences with the conjunction That (that). Please note whether it is known who we are addressing. If yes, then the verb to say needs to be changed to to tell.
They say: "Annie, we read a lot of books."	They tell Annie that they read a lot of books.
When you translate negative sentences into indirect speech in English, pay special attention to the form of the verb and do not lose the not particle.
Mark says: “I don’t like computer games.”	Mark says that he doesn’t like computer games.
Imperative sentences, namely orders and requests, become infinitives. In this case, in the main sentence, use the verbs to ask - to ask, to tell - to say, command, to order - to order, etc. and indicate the person to whom you are addressing.
Mother said: “Open the window.”	Mother asked me to open the window.
Questions become subordinate clauses with direct word order. a) General questions are introduced by a subordinate clause using the conjunctions if and whether
Jim asks me: “Do you watch TV?”	Jim asks me if I watch TV.
b) Special questions are attached to the main sentence with the interrogative words that are used in them.
Tony wonders: “What is your favorite food?”	Tony wonders what my favorite food is.

If the sentence you are translating into indirect speech in English has demonstrative pronouns or adverbs of time and place, then our table will help to replace them correctly:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
This - this	That - that
Here - here	There - there
Now - now	Then - then
Today - today	That day - on that day
Tomorrow - tomorrow	The next day - the next day
Yesterday - yesterday	The day before - the day before
The day after tomorrow - the day after tomorrow	Two days later - two days later
The day before yesterday - the day before yesterday	Two days before - two days before
Ago - ago	Before - before
Next month - next month	The next month, the following month – a month later
Last week - last week	The previous week - the week before

Sentences with direct speech do not pose any difficulty. We simply translate them using the tenses we see fit.

For example:

Cinderella said: "I will marry this prince."

Cinderella said: “I will marry this prince.”

The director said: “Yesterday you did a very good job.”

Director said: “Yesterday you worked very well.”

The writer says: “I write new book every year."

A writer says: “I write a new book every year.”

There's really nothing complicated about it.

It's a little more complicated with sentences in which we convey other people's words. Here, first of all, you need to pay attention to the words of the author, like "She says", "He asked", "The director will tell" etc. If these words are in the present tense ( "she says"- now or usually), then when changing direct speech into indirect speech, we do not change the tense.

For example:

Mom often says that we are not very attentive.

Mother often says that we are not very careful.

The doctor says that at this time of year many people get sick.

Doctor says that many people get ill in this season.

She says he hasn't called her yet.

She says that he hasn’t called her yet.

But it is possible that the words that we want to convey using indirect speech were said earlier. And the author's words refer to the past ( "we said", "they asked", "he advised" etc.).

For example:

The store clerk said yesterday: “This bread is fresh.”

The seller said yesterday that this bread is fresh.

The teacher said last week: “Tomorrow we will write a test.”

The teacher said last week that tomorrow we will write a test.

And in this case "into the game" enters TIME CONSISTENCY RULE.

Since information about fresh bread and test work has been given in the past, there is a need to slightly change the tenses in the part that reads from the word "WHAT".

For example, if in a sentence with direct speech time was used Present Simple, then, having converted the sentence into indirect speech, we will use Past Simple.

He said: " I LIKE to read newspapers in the morning.” – He said that he LIKED to read newspapers in the morning.*

*Please note that when you change a sentence to indirect speech, the subject changes! He says:"I'm coming." - He says he's coming.

The entire sequence of changing times according to this principle is given in the table below:

Sequence of Tenses

TIME IN A SENTENCE WITH DIRECT SPEECH	TIME IN A SENTENCE WITH INDIRECT SPEECH
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
Present Perfect
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
All Future tenses	All Future-in the Past tenses*

* Future-in the Past tenses are formed using an auxiliary verb "WOULD", which we simply use instead of the auxiliary verb "will".

For example, “will go” (Future Simple) – “would go” (Future Simple – in the Past).

For example:

He said: “My friends usually come at 5.”

He said that his friends usually came at 5.

She told her sister: “I am reading a very interesting book.”

She told her sister that she was reading a very interesting book.

Mary said to the man: “I have not decided anything yet.”

Mary said to the man that she had not decided anything yet.

I told them: “I will do this job in two days.”

I told them that I would do this job in two days.

In speech we quite often use time markers ( yesterday, today, in two days, tomorrow) or words like “here”, “there”, “this”, “that” etc.

In English, when “translating” a sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, if the author's words stand in the past tense, such words should be replaced as follows:

For example:

He said: “I will not begin now.”

He said he would not begin then.

The President said: “I didn’t know about it last week.”

The President said he hadn’t known about it the week before.

She said: “My husband will be here tomorrow.”

She said her husband would be there the next day.

Words in direct speech and indirect speech

This / these That / those

• Yesterday The day before

• Tomorrow (the) next day / the following day

• Last week/year

  The week / year before

  The previous week/year

  Next week/year

  The following week / year

  The next week / year

In indirect speech we can convey orders, commands or requests. In order to figure out how to do this in English, let's see how we do it in Russian.

She told us: "Don't stand here!"

She told us not to stand here.

The director ordered the employee: “Do it immediately!”

The director ordered the employee to do this immediately.

We asked the teacher: “Explain this rule to us again, please!”

We asked the teacher to explain this rule to us again.

As you noticed, when we “translate” a command, request or order into indirect speech, then instead of the form “Do it!” the form “to do” is used, i.e. infinitive (infinitive form of the verb). In English this situation is repeated.

So, when conveying a command, request or order in indirect speech in English, we use the infinitive of the verb with the particle “to” – “to go”, “to stand”, “to read”, “to do”, etc.

For example:

She told us: "Stand there!"

She told ustostand there.

He asked his friend: “Bring me, please, that book!”

He asked his friendtobring him that book.

Teacher said to the students: “Rewrite this exercise!”

Teacher told students to rewrite that exercise. Sometimes a command, request or order is negative. Those. we tell someone not to do something. Then, when “translating” such a command into indirect speech, we will put the negative particle NOT immediately before the infinitive.

For example:

He told her: “Don’t go there anymore!”

He told her NOT TO GO there anymore.

The teacher told the student: “Don’t be late for the next lesson!”

The teacher told the student NOT TO BE late for the next lesson.

She told her boyfriend: "Leave! And don’t come again!”

She told her boyfriend to leave and NOT TO COME again.

And in order not to repeat “he told” or “she asked” all the time, use other words.

Clue:

To order

To offer

To suggest

To demand

To warn

To advise

SMALL SECRETS OF INDIRECT SPEECH. =))

Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out how to convey certain sentences in indirect speech. For example, how to say in indirect speech the sentence “He said: “Hello!”, or “She said: “No!”?

Let's give you a little hint:

He said: "Hello, everybody!" – He greeted everyone.

She said to him: “No, I will not go with you!” – She refused to go with him.

They said: "Yes!" - They agreed.

Questions in indirect speech in English They convey only the content of the question of direct speech, but they themselves are not questions as such. Based on this, the word order in indirect questions is the same as in affirmative sentences, that is, the subject comes before the predicate, auxiliary verbs ( do, did) are not used, and there is no question mark at the end of such questions.

For example: He said, "When are you leaving?" – He asked me when I was leaving. (AND NOT When I was leaving?) He asked: “When are you leaving?” - He asked me when I was leaving. I said, "Where are you staying?" – I asked her where she was staying. I asked, “Where are you staying?” - I asked her where she was staying. "Where does John live"She asked me. – She asked me where John lived. "Where does John live?" she asked me. “She asked me where John lived. John asked, "Where did you go last weekend?" – John asked where I had gone the previous weekend. John asked, “Where did you go last weekend?” - John asked where I went last weekend. He asked, "Why are you staring at me?" – He asked me why I was staring at him. He asked, “Why are you looking at me?” - He asked me why I was looking at him.

General and alternative questions are introduced into a sentence by conjunctions if / whether:

"Do you speak English?" she asked him. – She asked him if he spoke English. "Do you speak English?" she asked him. – She asked him if he spoke English. "Are you British or French?" they asked me. – They asked me whether I was British or French. “Are you from Britain or France?” they asked me. “They asked me whether I was from Britain or France. "Did you come by train?" she required. – She required if I had come by train. “Did you come by train?” she asked. “She asked if I came by train.

Special questions are introduced with a question word ( when, where, why, etc.):

"What is your name?" he asked me. – He asked what was my name. "What is your name?" he asked me. - He asked me what my name was. "How old is your mother?" he asked her. – He asked her how old her mother was. “How old is your mother?” he asked her. “He asked her how old her mother was.”

What is this - an indirect question?

First, let's compare Direct and Indirect questions. If you want to literally reflect someone’s statement or quote it, then it is better to use ordinary questions using direct speech (read more in “Types of questions in English”). But, to convey other people's words, you can use Inderect questions, which consist of two parts: the main one, where it is reported “who asked, inquired” and the secondary one - “what exactly, the question itself,” and they are connected by a conjunction or a pronoun. But that's not all. It is necessary to grasp the essence of only two rules:

Valid tense agreement rule (the entire diagram can be found in the article “Time Coordination Table”). In other words, the time used in the main part of the sentence must be sent one step back, into the past. This way we remove the quotes, and the logical chain of events is not interrupted. Please note that neither do nor does can be used in this case. For example: in the main sentence we have the verb “speak” - Present Simple - in quotation marks. According to the transition of tenses, Present Simple changes to Past Simple: spoke.

I would also like to remind you about pronouns, which change from direct speech to indirect speech according to the same principle as in Russian.

He said: "Have youtranslated this article? -He said: « You transferred article? (Present Perfectgoes over according to rule VPast Perfect).

He asked if Ihad translated that article.- He asked if I translated the article.

Although we call such sentences questions, we do not observe the familiar violation of word order. Namely: the structure of the affirmative sentence is preserved: subject + predicate + object + etc.

She said: "Where didshe ski in summer? - She said: “Where did she ski in the summer?”

She asked whereshe had skied in summer. - She asked where she skied in the summer.

Two models of indirect questions in English

So, we know that there are several types of questions: general, special, alternative, dividing and question to the subject. In indirect speech we can construct only some of them.

1. General and alternative indirect question is constructed using the conjunctions if or whether, which in Russian sound like the particle “li”. Thus, maintaining the direct word order, we can derive the following diagram:

Subject + predicate + if (whether) + subject + predicate + minor members

Direct Speech
"Is anybody at home?" he asked. - “Is anyone home?” he asked.	He asked if anybody was at home. - He asked if there was whether someone's home.
Past Simple - Past Perfect
She asked: “Were she at school yesterday?” - She asked: “Was she at school yesterday?”	She asked if she had been at school the day before. - She asked if there was whether she was at school yesterday.
Future Simple - Future in the Past
He said: “Will you go to the theater tomorrow?” - He asked: “Are you going to the theater tomorrow?”	He asked if I would go to the theater the next day. - He asked if I would go whether I'm going to the theater tomorrow.
My mother said: “Are you laughing at me?” - Mom said: “Are you laughing at me?”	My mother asked if I was laughing at her. - Mom asked, I laugh whether I'm over her.
He said: “Have you heard about the latest events?” - He asked: “Have you heard about the latest events?”	He asked if I had heard about the latest events. - He asked, heard whether I'm talking about the latest events.
Present Perfect Continuous - Past Perfect Continuous
My friends asked: “Have you been living in this old house for a year?” - My friends asked: “Have you lived in this old house for a year?”	My friends asked if I had been living in that old house for a year. My friends asked if he lived whether I've been in that old house for a year.
Can-could
He asked: “Can you play tennis?” - He asked: “Can I play tennis?”	He asked if I could play tennis. - He asked if I can whether I play tennis.
Must - had to
She said: “Must I write it today?” - She said: “Should I write this today?”	She asked if she had to write it that day. - She asked if she should whether she will write this today.

2. B special indirect question two parts are connected by interrogative words: what, why, where, which, whose (in the article “Interrogative words” you will find complete information about use and meaning). And everything else is the same as in the previous model.

Subject + predicate + question word + subject + predicate + minor members

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Present Simple - Past Simple
He asked: “Where is the underground?” - He asked: “Where is the metro?”	He asked where the underground was. -He asked where the metro was.
Present Continuous - Past Continuous
Mary said: “What are you playing now?” - Mary said: “What are you playing now?”	Mary asked what I was playing than. - Mary asked what I was playing.
Present Perfect - Past Perfect
She asked: “Where has he been?” - She asked: “Where was he?”	She wanted to know where he had been. She wanted to know where he was.
Past Simple - Past Perfect
His parents asked: “Whose hat have you been wearing?” - His parents asked: “Whose hat were you wearing?”	His parents asked whose hat I had been wearing. - His parents asked whose hat I was wearing.

A few more secrets! =)))) (what jokers)

must be distinguished if in subordinate clauses and If in indirect questions. So, in the first case we translate with the meaning “if”, and in the second - with the particle “whether”.

If you come home late, we will have to punish you. - If you come home late, we will be forced to punish you.

She asked me if I would come home late the next day. -She asked, I'll come whether I late Tomorrow.

short answers Indirect questions in English are answered using auxiliary or modal verbs, as in direct speech, but taking into account the rule of tense agreement. And the connection of two parts in this model occurs due to the conjunction “that”, and yes/no are omitted.

“Does she live in the hostel?” - she asked. -Yes, she does (No, she doesn’t).

She asked if she lived in the hostel. -I answered that she did (she didn’t).

The speech of a person, transmitted as his original words, is called direct.

If only its content is conveyed, for example, in the form of additional subordinate clauses, then it is called indirect speech.

Direct speech is highlighted in quotation marks and is considered a separate sentence. Please note that, unlike Russian, quotation marks in English are written at the top of the line. Words introducing direct speech are usually followed by a comma, and the first word of direct speech is capitalized. At the end of direct speech, a period or other punctuation mark is placed inside quotation marks:

He said, “I need my glasses.”
He said, “I need my glasses.”

She told me, “It’s snowing.”
She told me: "It's snowing."

Transition from direct speech to indirect speech

In order to convert direct speech into indirect speech, you need to omit the comma after the words introducing direct speech and the quotation marks. Often indirect speech in English is introduced by the conjunction that, which, however, can be omitted:

I said, “It is June.”
I said, “It’s June.”

I said that it was June. (I said it was June.)
I said it was June.

All personal and possessive pronouns should be changed depending on the person from whom the narration is being told:

Tom and Bob told me, “ We need your dictionary.”
Tom and Bob said, “We need your dictionary.”

Tom and Bob told me that they need my dictionary.
Tom and Bob said they needed my dictionary.

All demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of time and place in the subordinate clause must be changed according to the meaning of the sentence:

these —> those

today —> that day

tomorrow —> next day

the day after tomorrow —> 2 days later

yesterday —> the day before

the day before yesterday —> 2 days before

She told me, “I will come to see you tomorrow.”
She told me: “Tomorrow I will come to see you.”

She told me she would come to see me the next day.
She said that she would come to see me the next day.

If the predicate in the main clause is expressed by a verb in the past tense, then the form of the verb in the subordinate clause must also be changed to one of the past tenses. This process is called tense matching.

Questions in indirect speech

In indirect speech, questions have direct word order, and the question mark at the end of the sentence is replaced by a period.

General questions are introduced by unions if And whether:

I asked, “Have you seen my pen?”
I asked, “Have you seen my pen?”

I asked him if he had seen my pen. (I asked him whether he had seen my pen.)
I asked if he had seen my pen.

Special questions are introduced with question words:

He wondered: “Who on earth will buy this junk?”
He was surprised: “Who would buy this junk?”

He didn't wonder who on earth would buy that junk.
He wondered who would buy this junk.

A short answer to the question of indirect speech is introduced by the conjunction that without words yes / no.

Everyone has probably heard about direct and indirect speech in Russian lessons. In the English language it also exists, and if so, then there are rules. If you've forgotten a little what it is:

Direct speech is a person’s words, without any changes, written in quotation marks. Pay attention to the format of direct speech in English:

‘I want to buy a new car', said my friend. ( Look, after direct speech, here the predicate comes first, and then the subject: this happens when direct speech precedes the words of the author).

or

My friend said, ' I want to buy a new car’. (Here, as you can see, the author’s word order is normal)

By the way, about word order in English sentences read . Now let’s move on to the theory with clear examples and explanations.

Content:

Indirect speech in English is also someone’s words, but not spoken personally, but conveyed by another person (by the way, this is how rumors are born, someone said something, someone misunderstood, and off we go...:- )). To prevent this from happening to you, you need to follow certain rules, especially when it comes to times. But more on that a little later. Read carefully.

Sonya always asks me to help her...

In indirect speech we often use the words: answer, reply, tell, suggest, mention, ask, promise and others. The most commonly used are say and tell. It is with these two verbs that confusion often occurs.

When to choose tell and when say ?

• In direct speech it is used say(to smb.).

I always say (to him), ‘ Be careful!’

• And in indirect speech, when we mention the person we are addressing, we take tell . For example,

My teacher told me (that) I could finish the work later.

Note: word that V English version you can calmly release, and the proposal will also be correct. When translated into Russian, this word is still more often present.

• Also tell used in stable expressions, such as: tellastory,tellthetruth,tella lie.
• Say used when we do not name the person to whom direct speech was addressed. For example:

The teacher said I could finish the work later.

Replacing words

When translating direct speech into indirect speech, we replace the following words:

I ⇒ he/she(depending on context)

My ⇒ his/her(depending on the context)

Here ⇒ there

This ⇒ that

These ⇒ those

Now ⇒ then, at that time

Today ⇒ that day

Yesterday ⇒ the day before, the previous day

The day before yesterday ⇒ two days before

Tomorrow ⇒ the next/following day

The day after tomorrow ⇒ two days later

Next year ⇒ the following year

This week ⇒ that week

Last week ⇒ the week before, the previous week

An hour ago ⇒ an hour before / earlier

Bob said: ' I"d prefer these cards’⇒ Bob said that he"d prefer those cards.

But we must remember that all replacements occur within the meaning of the phrase or sentence. Here it would be a good idea to turn to the Russian translation of the sentence in order to correctly change the necessary words.

How to translate direct speech into indirect speech, or the rule of tense agreement

To convey the meaning of what another person said, we add introductory part, For example, he (say) said, What... or she (ask) asked about so-and-so... etc., i.e. We seem to distance ourselves from the words of the other person, and then we retell what we heard.

If this the introductory part is in the present tense, then from time to time everything is simple: as it was in direct speech, we leave it in indirect speech.

BUT when we use past tense, i.e. said / told and other verbs, then it begins to act tense agreement rule , i.e. We replace the tense (and therefore the verb) from direct speech with another. The table below lists the tenses of direct speech and their analogues in indirect speech:

Present Simple ⇒ Past Simple	‘I am happy’ ⇒ He said he was happy.
Present Continuous ⇒ Past Continuous	‘I am reading’ ⇒ He said he was reading.
Present Perfect ⇒ Past Perfect	‘I have written’ ⇒ He said he had written.
Past Simple ⇒ Past Perfect	‘I went to the theatre’ ⇒ He said he had gone to the theater.
Past Perfect ⇒ Past Perfect ( does not change)	‘I had gone home’ ⇒ He said he had gone home.
Future Simple ⇒ Future in the Past	‘I will go home’ ⇒ He said he would go home.

Modal verbs are also subject to change:

Can ⇒ could	'I can do it' ⇒ He said he could do it.
May ⇒ might	‘You may leave’ ⇒ He said she might leave.
Must ⇒ had to	‘I must go home’ ⇒ Sue said she had to go home.

If the modal verbs were already in the form could, ought to, should, would, then they remain in this form.

‘I couldn't know anything about it’ ⇒ He said he couldn’t know anything about it.

Translating questions from direct speech to indirect speech

Any questions in English are translated into indirect speech using verbs askwanttoknowwonder...

• Translating questions from question words, Question words are retained. And here the rule of timing also applies.

‘Why is she crying?’ ⇒ He asked why she was crying.

• When transferring general questions in indirect speech, we must add words such as: if /whether (=whether). Don't be confused whether And weather !

‘Can you help me?’ ⇒ She asked me if /whether I could help her.

Word order

• When we translate question into indirect speech, it ceases to be a question, therefore word order also changes, no auxiliary verbs required(note that exactly auxiliary, for example, did, and those that are originally part of the predicate, they, of course, are preserved).

‘When did you come home?’ ⇒ His mother wanted to know when he had come . (We see that after the question word, the word order changes to normal, as in a sentence, and of course, an auxiliary verb is no longer required. In addition, we also observe here the coordination of times)

• Incentive offers are also easily transformed into indirect speech, namely by turning a verb into an infinitive with the particle to. At the same time tell means "command", ask - « ask". Verbs are also possible order, forbid, allow etc.

‘Be careful!’ ⇒ Her mother told the child to be careful.

The negative form is formed through not.

‘Please don’t call me late’ ⇒ She asked him not to call her late.

Here is such a theory, which at first glance seems sophisticated and incomprehensible. But I think after doing a couple of exercises everything will fall into place. Therefore, I suggest you start practicing right now!