REPORTED SPEECH : ORDERS AND COMMANDS

REPORTED SPEECH : ORDERS AND COMMANDS

1. Orders and commands are normally reported by “tell /

order / ask + object pronoun + infinitive”:

“Go to bed immediately!” The father said.

The father told / ordered the child to go to bed immediately.

“Switch that mobile phone off!” The teacher said.

The teacher told / ordered the student to switch the mobile

phone off.

“Be on time for the meeting!” The boss said.

The boss told / ordered me to be on time for the meeting.

“Sit down!” The secretary said.

She told / ordered me to sit down.

She said, “Go away.”

She told / ordered me ( him / her / us / them ) to go away.

"Stay in bed if you want to recover quickly,” my mother said

to me.

My mother told /ordered / commanded me to stay in bed if I

wanted to recover quickly .

“Study regularly if you want to pass the exam,” the teacher said.

The teacher told / urged us to study if we wanted to pass the

exam.

2. When the commands / orders are negative, “not” is introduced

before “to” of the infinitive:

“Don’t worry! Be happy!” He said.

He told / ordered her not to worry but to be happy.

“Don’t smoke here!” The nurse said.

He told / ordered us not to smoke there.

“Don’t read it,” She said.

She told /ordered me not to read it.

“Don’t touch me, “She said.

She told /asked / ordered me not to touch her.

“Don't talk to your neighbour,” the teacher said.

3. Military orders and commands are reported in most cases by:

a. “command + object + infinitive”

b. “command + that + subject + should + verb + …”

c. “command + that + subject + verb (subjunctive) + …”

“Fire,” shouted the officer.

The officer commanded his men to fire.

The officer commanded that his men should fire.

The officer commanded that his men fire.

He commanded his troops to attack.

“Stop the car,” said the police.

The police commanded the driver to stop the car.

The police commanded that the driver should stop the car.

The police commanded that the driver stop the car.

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REPORTED SPEECH : REPORTING SUGGESTIONS

REPORTED SPEECH : REPORTING SUGGESTIONS

Suggestions can be reported as follows:

A. Suggest + should = to suggest that someone should do something

B. Suggest + Gerund = to suggest doing something

C. Suggest + possessive adjective + gerund = to suggest

(my / your / his / her…) doing something

D. Suggest + Simple Past = to suggest that someone did something

1. "Why don't you go home?"

He suggested that I should go home.

He suggested that I went home.

He suggested going home.

He suggested my going home

2. "Why don't we go to Paris for our holidays?"

I suggested going to Paris for our holidays.

I suggested our going to Paris for our holidays.

I suggested that we should go to Paris for our holidays.

I suggested that we went to Paris for our holidays.

3. He said, “Let’s go to the cinema.”

He suggested going to the cinema.

He suggested we went to cinema.

He suggested we should go to the cinema.

He suggested our going to the cinema.

4. When “let’s” is used in the negative, in most cases it is

reported as follows:

“Let’s not say anything about it,” he said.

He suggested not saying anything about it.

OR

He suggested saying nothing about it.

5. “Shall we meet at the theatre?”

He suggested we should meet at the theatre.

He suggested meeting at the theatre.

He suggested our meeting at the theatre.

He suggested we met at the theatre.


6. “How about” and “what about” introduce a suggestion and are

then reported by “suggest + gerund”.

“How about flying to Dakar?” she said.

She suggested flying to Dakar.

“What about having a drink?” I said.

I suggested having a drink.

7. “Why not” can be reported by “suggest + gerund”.

“Why not go to the beach?” he said

He suggested going to the beach.

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REPORTED SPEECH : REPORTING REQUESTS AND OFFERS

REPORTED SPEECH : REPORTING REQUESTS AND OFFERS

1. Requests can be reported in various ways.

a. “Could I have” is normally reported by “ask for”:

“Could I have a cup of coffee?” she said.

She asked (me) for a cup of coffee.

b. “Could you” used for requests is reported by “ask + object

+ infinitive”:

“Could you shut that door, please?” he said.

She asked me to shut the door.

“Could you open the window please?”

Merriam asked me to open the window.

c. But when “Could you” introduces an ordinary question it is

reported as a “yes / no” question::

“Could you live entirely on you own?” he said.

He wanted to know / he wondered / he asked if I could live

entirely on my own.

d. “Would you”, “would you mind” and “will you” can be reported

either by “ask + object +infinitive”

or simply as ordinary questions:

“Would you mind waiting for me?”

He asked me to wait for him.”

OR

He asked if I would mind waiting for him.

“Would you mind turning the music down?”

We asked our neighbours to turn the music down.

OR

We asked our neighbours if they would mind turning the music down.

e. Requests introduced by an “infinitive” are reported by “ask

+ object + infinitive” or by “request + object +

infinitive” depending on the degree of the formality of the situation:

“Close the door, please,” he said

He asked me to close the door.

“Please, pass me the saltshaker,”

He asked me to pass the salt shaker.

“Please, be punctual at all my lectures,” the professor said

to his students.

The professor requested his students to be punctual at all his

lectures.


2. Offers can be reported in three main ways:

a. “offer + object (I O) + object (D O)”

“Would you like a drink?”

He offered me a drink,

b. “offer + infinitive + for + noun / pronoun”

“Shall I wait for you?”

He offered to wait for me.

c. “offer + infinitive + object + for + noun / pronoun”

“Can I carry the suitcases for you?” he said.

He offered to carry the suitcases for me.

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REPORTED SPEECH : REPORTING ADVICE

REPORTED SPEECH : REPORTING ADVICE

1. Most of the sentences expressing advice should be reported by

the verb “advise”.

Advise

To advise someone to do something

"If I were you, I would see a physician very soon."

He advised me to see a physician very soon.

"You should have some rest."

I advised him / her to have some rest.

“I should phone her if I were you,” said Pedro.

Pedro advised me to phone her.

2. Advice expressed by “You had better” can be reported unchanged

but can also be reported by advise:

He said, 'You'd better tell your Dad.'

He said I'd better tell Dad.

OR

He advised me to tell Dad.

3. “I / we had better” will normally be reported unchanged:

He said, “I'd better wait.”

He said he had better wait.

4. “Why don't you” often introduces suggestions or advice and is

then reported by suggest or advise:

“Why don't you ask them?” I said.

I advised him / her to ask them.

5. Advice expressed by “ought to” is normally reported unchanged:

“The government ought to build more schools and hospitals in the

area,” said the deputy.

The deputy said that the government ought to build more schools

and hospitals in the area.

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