Translation from direct to indirect English. How to make indirect speech in English? Exceptions to the rules

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AT English language questions in indirect speech convey only the content of the question of direct speech, therefore they are not questions as such, but affirmative sentences. A period is placed at the end of indirect questions.

Remember: In indirect questions direct word order!!!

Basic rules for the transmission of interrogative sentences in indirect speech

To convey a question in indirect speech, you need to know the following:

• in indirect questions direct word order;
• personal and possessive pronouns are replaced by meaning;
• demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of time / place, if necessary, are also replaced in meaning;
  Read about the features of the replacement of demonstrative pronouns and adverbs below.
• general questions are introduced by unions if or whether, meaning "whether"; the auxiliary verbs do / did are omitted, so the word order becomes straight. Other auxiliary verbs are swapped with the subject:
  
• special questions are introduced using the interrogative word that was used in the question of direct speech: what / who / where / when / why / which / whose / how. Thus, the indirect special question has the structure:
  question word + subject + predicate
  
• the law of time matching is observed:
  Are you busy?(question of direct speech in Present Simple)
  

Examples of translating direct speech questions into indirect speech

Let's look at examples, How does the time shift happen? when transmitting questions in indirect speech, if the verb in the main clause (ask) is used in the past tense.

A few more sample examples:

Direct speech Indirect speech

She said to Nick, “What are you going to do at the weekend?” She asked Nick what he was going to do at the weekend.
She said to Nick, "What are you going to do this weekend"? She asked Nick what he was going to do at the weekend.

He said to her, “How often do you go to the cinema?” He asked her how often she went to the cinema.
He said to her: “How often do you go to the cinema”? He asked her how often she goes to the cinema.

She asked me Did he arrive on time?” She asked me if he had arrived on time.
She asked me: "Did he arrive on time"? She asked me if he arrived on time.

My sister said to me Will you take me to the cinema with you tomorrow *?” my sister asked me if I would take her to the cinema with me the next day *.
My sister said to me: “Will you take me to the cinema with you tomorrow”? My sister asked me if I would take her to the cinema with me tomorrow.

She asked me have you been here*before?” She asked me if I had been there *before.
She asked me, "Have you been here before?" She asked me if I had been there before.

She asked me if I had been here before. In this situation, there is no need to replace here with there, since they are still in this restaurant, that is, here - here. If they had already left the restaurant, and a similar situation repeated itself, then in this case it would be necessary to replace here with there, since they are no longer in the restaurant (that is, not here).

The table of replacement of the main adverbs of place / time is given in the material "Indirect speech in English".

Modal verbs include verbs such as can, must, may, should, etc. Modal constructions are have to, be supposed to.

You probably remember that in indirect speech, times change relative to those in direct speech (e.g. Present Simple → Past Simple).

Modal verb needn't usually does not change in indirect speech.

Example:

‘You needn't come again', he said.

He said that you needn't come again.

However, it is also acceptable to use the forms didn'ttneed/didn'tthaveto/wouldn'tthaveto in indirect speech.

Example:

‘You needn't go tonight', he said.

He said that I didn't need to go last night.

He said that I didn't have to go last night.

‘You needn't worry about the next meeting’, she said.

She said that I wouldn't have to worry about the next meeting.

Consider what changes will occur with modal verbs in indirect speech:

1. Verbs might, should, ought to, would, could, had better do not change.

Example:

He said, 'Guests might come'. (direct speech)

He said that guests might come. (reported speech)

She said, 'I should help him.

She said that she should help him.

He said to me, 'You ought to wait for him.

He said to me that I ought to wait for him.

He said, 'I would start a business.

He said that he would start a business.

Kate said, 'I could be wrong.

Kate said that she could be wrong.

I said Jim, 'You had better hurry up'.

I told Jim that he had better hurry up.

2. Modal verbs followed by continued or perfect infinitive, also do not change in indirect speech.

Example:

'Jack must have saved a lot of money', I said.

I said that Jack must have saved a lot of money.

Ellie said, 'I might have been staying in the sun for too long.

Ellie said that she might have been staying in the sun for too long

3. Can → could

Example:

He said, 'I can drive a car.

He said that he could drive a car.

4. Shall → should/could

Example:

Tanya said, 'What shall we give her as a gift?’

Tanya wondered what they should/could give her as a gift.

Example:

‘You may not may be drinking there’, my mother said.

My mother told me that I couldn't go to the party because there might be drinking there.

6. Must → had to

Example:

Nick said, 'I must work hard.

Nick said that he had to work hard.

Note:

• If a must expresses assumption or inference, then it does not change in indirect speech.

Example:

Neil said, 'I keep forgetting things. I must be getting old.

Neil said that must be getting old.

• If the form is used in direct speech mustn't, then in indirect speech it will not change.

Example:

Chris said, 'You mustn't tell my brother.

Chris told me that I mustn't tell his brother.

7. Will → would

Example:

I said, 'I will probably be late.

I said that I would probably be late.

8. Some modal verbs can turn into modal expressions:

Can't → wouldn't be able to

Example:

I said, 'Sorry, I can't solve this problem'.

I said that I wouldn't be able to solve that problem.

Must → was/were to (to express obligation)

Example:

The teacher said to us, ‘You must come on time.

The teacher told us that we were to come on time.

9. Modal expressions usually go into their past forms:

Have/has to → had to

Example:

‘I have to buy new shoes’, I told my brother.

I told my brother that I had to buy new shoes.

Be supposed to → was/were supposed to

Example:

‘Sam isn't supposed to know about the party', I said.

I said that Sam wasn't supposed to know about the party.

Complete the tasks to check how well you have mastered the new topic.

1. ‘Can we watch the TV news?’

She asked if we ________ watch the TV news.

1. ‘I might be a bit late’.

He said he ______ be a bit late.

1. ‘You must do it now.’

He told me I _______ it then.

1. ‘Will you be coming back?’

She asked me if I _______ be coming back.

1. ‘You should eat more vegetables’.

She said I ______ eat more vegetables.

1. ‘You must have been mistaken’.

He said that I ______ mistaken.

1. ‘Shall I print those reports now?’

She asked me if she ______ print the reports.

1. ‘It may rain later’.

She said it ______ rain later.

1. ‘Would you like a biscuit?’

He asked me if I ______ like a biscuit.

1. ‘You needn’t do it now’.

He said that I _______ do it then.

Check yourself: 1. could, 2. might, 3. had to do, 4. would, 5. should, 6. must have been, 7. should, 8. might, 9. would, 10. needn't/didn 't have to

Rewrite the sentences to make reported speech:

1. ‘I’ll go to the movies tomorrow’, John said
2. ‘You must wear your seatbelt’, mom said to me.
3. Jane said, ‘I may not be in class tomorrow.’
4. ‘Claire should rest’, said the doctor.
5. ‘You must be tired after such a trip’, Jonas said to us.
6. George said, ‘I would try it.’
7. ‘You’re not supposed to be here’, the police officer said to Tony.
8. Linda said, ‘He ought to stay in bed’.
9. Mother said, ‘He might have been lost’.
10. ‘You’d better stay away from this house’, Mark warned Rita.

Check your answers:

1. John said he would go to the movies the next day.
2. My mom said I had to wear my seatbelt.
3. Jane said she might not be in class the next day.
4. The doctor said that Claire should rest
5. Jonas said that we must be tired after such a trip.
6. George said that he would try it.
7. The police officer told Tony that he wasn't supposed to be there.
8. Linda said that he ought to stay in bed.
9. Mother said that he might have been lost.
10. Mark warned Rita that she'd better stay away from that house.

Bibliography

1. Afanas'eva O.V., Dooley D., Mikheeva I.V. English language ( a basic level of). - M.: Education, 2012.
2. Biboletova M.Z., Babushis E.E. English grade 9. - 2010.
3. Kaufman K.I., Kaufman M.Yu. English (basic level). - Title, 2010.
4. Golitsynsky Yu.B., Grammar. Collection of exercises. - Karo, 2011 ().

1. Alleng.ru ().
2. www.dinternal.com.ua ().
3. Advancegrammar.blogspot.com ().

Homework

• Pg. 68, ex. 1-5, Afanas'eva O.V., Dooley D., Mikheeva I.V. English (basic level). - M.: Education, 2012.
• Turn the following sentences into reported speech:

1. ‘I can’t afford to buy this dress’, said Sally. 2. ‘I may be a little late this evening’, he said. 3. ‘You’d better clean up this mess’, Mum said to Claire. 4. ‘I won’t be late again’, he said to us. 5. ‘We must go home now’, mother said. 6. ‘You ought to make a decision soon’, Andrew told her. 7. ‘You needn’t pay in cash’, he said. 8. ‘I might talk to her’, Danny said. 9. ‘You must be interested in this topic’, Mark said. 10. ‘You mustn’t sit on the grass’, the rules said.

• *ex. 566, 567, Golitsynsky Yu.B., Grammar. Collection of exercises, Karo, 2011

How often do we convey other people's words to someone? Every day!

For example: “She told you to call her. He said he would be late. They ask if we will go with them.”

In all these sentences, we retell the words of other people, that is, we use indirect speech.

In English, such sentences are formed according to certain rules. It is easy to understand and remember them.

In the article I will tell you how to correctly translate direct speech into indirect speech in English.

From the article you will learn:

• 4 steps to translate direct speech into indirect speech in English

What is direct and indirect speech?

Direct speech (Direct speech) - verbatim statement of another person.

Such a speech, that in Russian, that in English, is highlighted in quotation marks in writing. For example:

"I won't be able to come," she said.

He replied, "I don't understand."

Indirect speech is the transmission of the words of another person.

That is, we retell to someone what someone said.

For example:

She said she couldn't come.

He said he didn't understand.

The English language has its own rules and features of translating direct speech into indirect speech.

Let's look at the main ones.

Attention: Confused in English rules? Learn in a free lesson in Moscow how to speak English.

4 steps to translate direct speech into indirect speech in English

In order to translate direct speech into indirect speech, you need to do certain actions. To make it easier for you to remember them, I divided these steps into 4 steps.

So, to convey someone's words in English (that is, translate direct speech into indirect speech), we:

1. Remove the quotes and put the word that

For example, we have a sentence:

To convey these words to someone, just as in Russian, we remove the quotes and put the word that - “what”.

She said that…..
She said that….

Note that that can often be omitted, especially in colloquial speech.

2. Change the character

In direct speech, a person usually speaks on his own behalf. But in indirect speech, we cannot speak on behalf of this person. So we change "I" to another actor.

Let's go back to our offer:

She said, “I will buy a dress.”
She said, "I'll buy a dress."

Since we are transmitting the words of a girl, we put “she” instead of “I”:

She said that she…..
She said that she….

3. We coordinate the time

In English, we cannot use the past tense with the present or future in the same sentence.

Therefore, if we say “said” (that is, we use the past tense), then the next part of the sentence must be coordinated with this past tense.

Let's take our offer:

She said, “I will buy a dress.”
She said, "I'll buy a dress."

To match the first and second parts of the sentence, change will to would.

She said that she would buy a dress.
She said she would buy a dress.

Let's look at the main tense agreement table when translating direct speech into indirect speech.

In the left column - the time that is used in direct speech. On the right - the time to be used in indirect speech.

Note: If we convey the words of a person at the present moment, that is, we say “he / she is talking,” then there is no need to coordinate the times.

Direct speech:

She says, “I am studying”.
She says, "I'm doing it."

Indirect speech:

She says that she is studying.
She says she does.

4. Change some words

In some cases, we must agree not only on tenses, but also on individual words.

What are these words? Let's look at a small example.

She said, “I am driving now.”
She said, "I'm driving now."

So she is currently driving.

However, when we transmit her words, we will not talk about the moment (the one when we are talking now), but about the moment in the past (the one when she was driving).

Therefore, we change now (now) to then (then).

She said that she was driving then.
She said she was driving then.

Look at the table of such words, and you yourself will understand this logic.

You must use this substitution logically.

For example:

The man told you this while you were in the building where he works. Already at home, you tell someone about it:

If you are in the same building where he works, then you do not need to replace the word.

And now let's look at how to translate an interrogative sentence from direct speech into indirect speech.

Questions in indirect speech in English

Questions in indirect speech, in fact, are not questions, since the word order in them is the same as in the affirmative sentence. We do not use auxiliary verbs (do, does, did) in such sentences.

Let's look at the question in direct speech.

He asked, “Do you like this cafe?”
He asked: "Do you like this cafe?"

To ask a question in indirect speech, we remove the quotes and put if or whether, which translate as "li".

Coordination of tenses occurs in the same way as in ordinary sentences.

Our proposal will look like this:

He asked if I liked that cafe.
He asked if I liked that cafe.

She said, “Will he call back?”
She said, "Will he call back?"

She said if he would call back.
She said if he would call back.

Special questions in indirect speech

Special questions are asked with the following question words:

• what - what
• when - when
• how - how
• why - why
• where - where
• which - which

When translating such questions into indirect speech, we leave the direct word order (as in affirmative sentences), and put an interrogative word in place of if.

For example, we have a question in direct speech:

She said, "When will you come?"
She said, "When are you coming?"

In indirect speech, such a question would look like this:

She said when I would come.
She said when I come.

Let's look at another example:

So, we have analyzed the basic rules that you will need to translate direct speech into indirect speech. Now let's try to do it in practice.

Reinforcement task

Convert direct speech to indirect speech. Leave your answers in the comments.

1. She said, "I will come tomorrow".
2. He said, "I am working at my garden".
3. They said, "We play the piano".
4. He said, "Do you like the house?"
5. She asked, "When will you go to this concert?"

Communicating with people, we constantly receive some information from them, which we subsequently pass on to someone else. Several options can be used to transfer it. Of course, you can simply explain the thought in your own words in the way that you understood it. Or you can make it clear that the idea is not yours. In such cases, direct or indirect speech is used. And if direct is easy enough to use, indirect speech in English has a number of features that should be considered. About them today and will be discussed.

First, let's look at the difference between direct and indirect speech in English. Direct speech or direct speech expresses a person's phrase verbatim. This is a kind of quote that cannot be changed in any way. As in Russian, direct speech is framed with quotation marks. But instead of a colon before the words of the author at the beginning or a comma with a dash at the end, one simple comma is usually used:

Please note that the dot at the end of the sentence in the first case is placed before the quotation mark, and not after as in Russian. In addition, quotation marks in English are always placed on top.

Examples:

• She asked, “Do you feel comfortable here?” She asked: “Are you comfortable here?”
• “I will not accept his apology,” she said. “I won't accept his apology,” she said.

Note that question and exclamation marks are not used in indirect speech.

All sentences can be translated from direct speech into indirect speech. Indirect speech or indirect speech (lit. "indirect speech" or Reported speech), in turn, expresses the content of the phrase without preserving the verbatim and stylistic features. All sentences that have indirect speech are complex, where the words of the author are used in the main sentence, and the indirect speech itself is used in the subordinate clause. As a rule, the main clause is put first, and after it comes the subordinate clause, which in such speech constructions is often introduced by a union or a pronoun.

• She asks when you'll be free. She asks when you will be free.
• He said (that) they liked everything very much. He said (that) they liked everything very much.

At first glance, everything is simple, then what's the catch?

Indirect speech in English: tense agreement

The fact is that if the main sentence is in the past tense , the subordinate clause will also have to change its time to the corresponding one. This is where timing comes into play. Probably, this didn’t explain anything to you at all, so let’s turn to examples for clarity.

Let's say you have a sentence with direct speech:

Its main part is used in Past Simple tense. Indirect is formed in Present perfect. As long as both of these parts are used in a sentence with direct speech, everything is fine, because the present tense is used in quotation marks and word for word conveys the person's phrase. However, if you remove the quotes and turn direct speech into indirect speech, you won’t be able to save the Present Perfect, at least it will be considered a mistake.

"Why?" - you ask. Yes, because in English there is such a rule: if the verb in the main clause is used in the past tense, subordinate clauses are formed only by past or future forms in the past. Accordingly, by remaking the sentence above into an indirect one, you will get:

• First, the pronoun has changed to harmonize tenses.
• Secondly, the verb from Present Perfect moved to.

At first, you will probably have difficulty converting sentences. However, in the future, this process will not take you time. To make it easier for you to understand this topic, let's look at all the possible options for coordinating times. Table for clarity:

That is, you need to use the same group, but at a different time. Usually this "other" time is located on the timeline before the time used in direct speech. The exceptions are the Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous times, since there are no times before them. The Past Simple and Past Continuous tenses may also not change in colloquial speech, and also when the Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous is used in the sentence, as in the examples above.

It is worth noting that if the verb in the main clause is in the present or future tense, verbs in indirect speech can be in any tense:

That is, if you want to make an indirect sentence in which the main part is used in the present or future, simply translate the subordinate clause from the direct sentence into the indirect one, changing only the pronouns in meaning.

Indirect speech of the English language: exceptions to the rules

It is difficult to imagine English without exceptions. Some of them relate to indirect speech. So, in the past tense, indirect sentences can be used in the present, if in the subordinate clause:

• A well-known fact or truth is expressed:

• Time specified:

• If they refer to words that have just been said or that are still relevant:

Indirect speech in English: other features

In addition to the form of the verb, when using indirect speech, the following changes:

• Pronouns not to be forgotten. They must change in meaning. Most often, pronouns change as follows:

However, it all depends on the specific situation and the time you use.

• Time pointers. For example, in direct speech you are talking about "now", but if the sentence is used in the past tense and in indirect speech, then "now" is replaced by "then". Let's look at the whole list:

Example:

• The verb say can change to tell. If after say there is a clarification to whom exactly something was said, then in indirect speech say will change to tell. Compare:

Types of sentences in indirect speech of the English language

The construction of the sentences above is not unique. Consider all options for indirect proposals:

• To form a declarative sentence in indirect speech, it is enough, as in the examples above, to use the union that (what), which can be omitted if desired:

• If sentences in direct speech are imperative, then in indirect speech in English these imperative sentences are introduced by the infinitive:

If the imperative mood is negative, then the negative particle not is placed before the infinitive:

Note that in the main sentence, it is possible to use incentive words that express an order or request.

• Questions in indirect speech in English also have special nuances. If direct speech contains general questions, then such sentences will be introduced into indirect speech by unions whether / if (whether):

If, for example, you are retelling a dialogue, then in addition to the question, you will also need to tell about the answer, which can also be used in indirect speech:

As you can see, "yes" and "no" are omitted in such cases.

• If direct speech in English contains a special question, then it is introduced into an indirect sentence by a union, which is identical to the interrogative word with which the sentence begins. Despite the fact that interrogative sentences have a reverse word order, direct speech is preserved in indirect speech:

Entering questions into indirect speech is used quite often, so be sure to study this point.

Bypass indirect clauses

With the best intentions, we will tell you a little secret that is in the arsenal of translators. If you panic when making sentences in indirect speech in English, or you just don’t want to use them, sometimes using these sentences can be avoided. For example:

Of course, it will not work to remake all indirect sentences into similar ones, but if such a transition is possible, feel free to use it.

We hope that this topic has become clearer to you. To consolidate the material, periodically return to this article, complete the exercises and make up your own examples.

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

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

let's consider Reported Speech rule and learn how to correctly express the opinion of the interlocutor, without inflating anything.

Indirect speech in English always depends on what time is used in the words of the author. If there is real, then you can exhale and relax: you will not 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 that she is a good cook.

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

In more detail, we will consider the timing ( 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, he will tell you which words will have to be replaced.

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

To master this vast topic, you only need a Reported Speech table, a list of adverbs, and your defense-ready brain. Keep in mind that exercises for translating direct speech into indirect(Reported Speech Exercises) are found in all kinds of work and exams that you can only imagine. Moreover, without this knowledge, you will be stuck and will not progress in learning English.