Reported Speech

Reported Speech

By Wong [T]

How well did you remember the story?

Let's recap...​

💬📖Your task today:

Be the narrator and retell the story!​

Some text here about the topic of discussion

One day, Mother Bear made porridge for breakfast but the porridge was too hot to eat. "We will leave it to cool while we go for our early morning walk," said Father Bear.

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"I'll just have a little peep inside now," said Goldilocks, a very naughty, mischievous girl living nearby.

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​Some text here about the topic of discussion.

What is direct speech?

Multiple Select

How much do you know about direct speech?

Tick every correct description of direch speech.

• They are put in quotation marks.

• They are direct quotes of what a person says.

• Exact wordings would be repeated.

• They are indirect.

Direct Speech

• Repeating exact wordings from a person

• Put quotation marks (" ") around the quoted words

• Separate the reporting clause and the reported clause with a comma (,)

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​What is reported speech?

Examples​

1. ​Father Bear said (that) they would leave it to cool while they went for their early morning walk.​

2. Goldilocks said (that) she would just have a little peep inside then.

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​

​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

-> Used​ to report what someone has said without repeating the exact words and without using quotation marks.

​

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What are the steps to follow

when forming sentences in

reported speech?

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​Step 1 - Using reporting verbs

said

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

told

agreed

admitted

suggested

explained

reported

exclaimed

stated

Step 1 - Using reporting verbs

Original sentence: “I’m looking for my car,” Dad said.

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Reported sentence: Dad said (that) ......

• Who was the teller?

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Subject (the teller) + reporting v. + (that) + ...

Step 1 - Using reporting verbs

Original sentence: “I’m looking for my car,” Dad told us.

​

Reported sentence: Dad told us (that) ......

• Who was the teller?

• Who was the teller talking to?

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Subject (the teller) + reporting v. + pronoun + (that) + ...

Multiple Choice

Change the following direct speech into reported speech:

"This chair is much too soft," said Goldilocks.

• Goldilocks told that this chair was much too soft.

• Goldilocks said that this chair was much too soft.

Open Ended

"I feel rather hungry now," Goldilocks complained.

Rewrite the above into reported speech:

at that time / she / Goldilocks complained that/ felt rather hungry /.

Step 2 - Backshifting tenses

Multiple Choice

Which of the following tense should be used when reporting the sentence?

Direct speech : "My bowl is empty," said Baby Bear.

Reported speech : Baby Bear said that his bowl ________ empty.

• was

• were

• has been

• had been

Multiple Choice

Which of the following tense should be used when reporting the sentence?

Direct speech : "Someone has been eating my porridge," exclaimed Baby Bear.

Reported speech : Baby Bear exclaimed that someone _____________ his porridge.

• has been eating

• had been eating

• ate

• has eaten

Special rules about backshifting tenses

Backshifting of T is NOT necessary when:

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❌ 1️⃣ the reporting v. is in simple present tense

e.g.​"I like Baby Bear's chair," says Goldilocks.

​--> Goldilocks says (that) she likes Baby Bear's chair.

​

❌2️⃣ The original sentence is a general statement or something that is still true

e.g. ​Father Bear said, "Goldilocks is a naughty girl."

​ --> Father Bear said (that) Goldilocks is a naughty girl.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

Backshifting of tenses is NOT necessary if the reporting verb is in the simple present tense.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Even if the original sentence is a general statement or something that is still true, we still have to backshift tenses no matter what.

• True

• False

Step 3 - Changing pronouns

​Step 3 - Changing pronouns

• Change pronouns depending on the situation

• Direct speech: uses speaker's point of view

• Reported speech: uses the reporter's point of view​

​

e.g. Mother Bear complained, "someone has been sleeping in my bed!"

💬--> Mother Bear complained that someone has been sleeping in her bed. ​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

Which pronoun should be used in the sentence?

Direct speech: "I'm sorry. I won't come again," said Goldilocks.

Reported speech: Goldilocks said _____ was sorry and _____wouldn't come again.

• she...I

• her...her

• she...she

• I...she

Special rules about changing pronouns

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

A change of pronoun is NOT necessary when:

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❌ 1️⃣ the reporter is the speaker of the original statement. (same point of view)

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Situation: I am Baby Bear.​

​I shouted to my family, "someone's been eating my porridge!"

-->💬 I shouted to my family that someone had been eating my porridge!

​

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​Step 4 - Changing time and place expressions (Bk p.148)

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Test your memory with this pairing game -

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https://learningapps.org/watch?v=psdv3tck522

​https://dotstorming.com/w/621a33cbd34fa625f5debacf