REPORTED SPEECH

2 ways of quoting someone´s words:1. So he comes into a pub and says: “I´ll have a beer.“ = direct speech

: (colon) “ “(inverted commas - question marks)2. So he comes into a pub and says (that)he´ll have a beer. = indirect speech

reporting verb

A.If the reporting verb is in the PRESENT, FUTURE or PRESENT PERFECT, all the following tenses remain the same as in the original speaker´s verbs“I don´t want to go.”PRES. He saysFUT. He will probably say he doesn´t want to go.PR.P. He has already told me

B. If the reporting verb is in the PAST or PAST PERFECT, all the following tenses are backshifted = they go to the past

BUT!!!Some “eternal truths” are not backshifted:

“The earth goes around the sun.”=>Galileo proved that the earth goes (přít.čas!!!) around the sun.

In spoken English, if we report people saying things which are still true at the moment of reporting, we don´t have to use the backshift.“ I am only twenty.“=> She told me the other day, that she is only twenty.But, some speakers would prefer to use the backshift even here, however.

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH“ I like apples.” He said, he liked apples.“ I didn´t recognize you.“ He explained, he didn´t recognize me.“ I haven´t recognized you.“ - II -“ I´ll be late.“ He was afraid, he would be late.“ You could be right.” -podm.zp. = stejné He felt I could be right.“ You must stop smoking. =permanent ban The doctor said I must stop smoking.“ I must leave.” She said she have to / must leave.“ He must be her brother.” She believed he must be her brother.

1st Conditional:“When I see him, I´ll tell him.“ = He said that he would tell him when he saw him.

2ndConditional:“If I had a screwdriver, I would repair it.” - ale nemám, takže smůla = nereálné, že by se to dalo ještě opravit= He explained that if he had had a screwdriver, he could have repaired it.“If you came tomorrow, we would discuss it. = a reference to a possible future - mohlo by se to ještě splnit, zítřek teprve bude, tak ještě může přijít, ale jisté to není

SOUVĚTÍ V   MINULÉM ČASE When I was walking home, I saw an accident.

(hl.věta - the main word is backshifted)=> He said that when he was walking home, he had seen an accident.

QUESTIONSYes / No questions are backshifted with “whether” / ‘if”:

Do you like hamburgers?They asked me if / whether I liked hamburgers.= There is no question word “do“ and no question mark.

Wh-questions are reported with the question word:“What´s your name?“ - They wanted to know what my name was.“What time is it?“ - She asked what time it was.“Where do you live?”- They inquired where do we live.

“Can you tell me where the station is?” = He wanted to know where the station was. - polite phrase”can you tell me” = reporting verb”want”

COMMANDS AND REQUESTS:“Go away.” - He told me / ordered me (+inf.) to go away.“Please, help me.” She asked (požádala) me to help her.

PARAPHRASE:“Hi, how are you.” - He greeted me.“What a beautiful coat.” - She praised my coat.

Words like: yes, no, question tags, exclamations, interjections...are either left out or a paraphrase is used.

REFERENCE WORDS:All references to places or times have to be changed because the point of view has changed:“I like it here.” She said she liked it there.“I like this town (+object).” He said he liked the town.-ne that -nemá význam jako this chair, that chair!!× “We are meeting them this evening.” He claimed they were meeting them that evening.

today → that daytomorrow → the next / following daynext week → the next / following weekyesterday → the previous day / the day beforea week ago → the week beforenot yet → so far

“This / That is the last time.“ - He threatened it was the last time.“The chair is over there.” - They told where the chair was.

“May I use your phone?“ - She asked if she could use our phone.