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Reported Speech

Presentation


Who said these quotes?

Click on each picture to see its description.

Do you know what these people have in common? They never surrendered.

In this topic, you are going to see the differences between direct speech (quotes) and reported speech.

You will learn the differences between the verbs Say and Tell. You will also identify the changes when going from direct to reported speech.

In other words, you will be learning how to gossip about what others have said.

On this unit you will do the following:

Objective:

By the end of this topic you will: Use reported speech differntiating from direct speech using the verbs say and tell to share what other person has said about daily activities.

Content

Secrets, secrets… (But don’t tell anyone I told you…)


Whispers

coolio-claire. (2010). Whispers [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/7apDC3. Consulted on December 18, 2016.

Have anyone ever told you a secret? Then you have gone to tell somebody else even you were not supposed to?

If you have not, you are a fantastic person, reliable and a good friend. But if your answer is yes, let me tell you that you are not the only one, the thing is: did you say the message correctly?

First of all, it is essential to understand what direct and reported speech is. Press the play button to listen to the story.



By García, M. I.

By García, M. I.

Meeting in a bar…

Did you notice the difference between what Sandy said and what Carol reported?

When Sandy told her friend about the guy she met, Carol immediately went to tell Jessie. That is, she reported what her friend had told her.

What is the difference between direct and reported speech? Well, let's analyze:

Carol: Hey, have you heard the news? Sandy met a new guy.
Jessie: Really, where?
Carol: She said: "I went to a bar last night and I met the most amazing guy in the city".

Direct speech is used when you want to repeat the exact same words the other person used. When using direct speech to write, it is necessary to use quotation marks (""). In this case, we understand that you are saying the exact words.

Read the following quotes, click on each character's name to display the content.

“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best”.

Marilyn Monroe Lexington Subway
Metropolitan Transportation. (2012). Marilyn Monroe Lexington Subway [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/JT30Dk. Consulted on December 18, 2016

“Be the change you want to see in the world”.

Mohandas K. Gandhi
Unknown. (1930). Mohandas K. Gandhi [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/zDJTZg. Consulted on December 18, 2016.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it”.

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States
Gardner, A. (1863). Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/Dssi4J. Consulted on December 18, 2016.

“I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.

Mohandas K. Gandhi
Breve Storia del Cinema. (2006). Edison nel suo laboratorio [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/WtMKw3. Consulted on December 18, 2016.

What did she say? Tell me everything


Now, do the following activity to practice and reinforce what you have learned here.



Exercise 1

Interviewing Mike

According to the lesson, you know that reported speech is used when we want to say what another person has told us.

It generally comes with a tense change to the “back”.

But often the reported speech does not change because it is still relevant or essential. Also, you know that sometimes the reported speech from past actions do not change, or it can be changed to past perfect.

Now, imagine that at the office, human resources are interviewing the people to make statistics about their employees. Read the following direct speech statements Mike said in his interview.

Did she really say that?
Did she tell you that? I cannot believe it!


So far, you have seen how to make reports using direct speech. But, have you noticed when to use Say or Tell?

Say and Tell are called reporting verbs, and the difference is simple.

Consejeria

Press the play button to listen to the following conversation.



Quite a dramatic situation, isn’t it? Ok, let’s analyze the following examples from the conversation:

The girlfriend told the therapist that her boyfriend had been acting different for some time. She said that she guesses he has another girl and does not love her anymore.

Still, don’t get it? One more example:

She told her boyfriend that he did not tell her about his days anymore. She told him that he was always on his mobile phone or the computer.

The boyfriend said: “Think whatever you want”.

Better?

SAY OR TELL? This is so confusing.


So far, you have explored how to make reports from a direct speech. Have you noticed when to use Say or tell?

Say and Tell are called reporting verbs, and the difference is clear.

You use the verb Tell followed by an indirect object or the person who was told something. In this case, use Tell when you know and you want to say who “received” the message.

On the other hand, Say it is always used for direct speech. It focuses on the words someone said. Unlike Tell, the verb Say does not take an indirect object, you use a phrase with indirect speech. For example:

She said to her boyfriend: “You do not love me anymore”.

Check the following examples:

Say

Tell

My mom said she wasn’t feeling well.

My mom told me she wasn’t feeling well.

Steve Jobs said: My life is tough”.

Steve Jobs told the graduates that his life was tough.

Our teacher said we wouldn’t have any homework.

Our teacher told us that we wouldn’t have any homework.

If you notice, you can use “that” after introducing reported speech, or you can omit it… Look at these examples:

My mom told me I could go to the party.
OR
My mom told me that I could go to the party.

The teacher said we had done an excellent job.
OR
The teacher said that we had done an excellent job.

What do you think? It is simple, isn’t it?

Now that you saw the difference do the following activity to practice and reinforce what you have learned here.



Exercise 2

Say or tell? It is not confusing anymore, is it?

As you previously saw in the topic, we use the verbs Say and Tell when you want to report what someone else has said.

It is not difficult to notice the difference. Remember that Tell is followed by an indirect object, which means, you need to use Tell if you want to express who the message was given to.

Say is used when you are giving a direct speech. It is not followed by an indirect object, but if you want to express who received the message, you can use to + object.

Reading

Activity 1

Teens and Smart Devices

The following activity is built by two sections, each of them will give you the directions you need to answer them.

Part 1

Do you have teens in your family? Are they stubborn? What kind of hobbies do teens have nowadays?

Technological advances and “intelligent devices” are making teens challenging to deal with. Nowadays, they spend most of their time on their mobile phones, the computer, or television.

It is said that spending a lot of time in front of a screen is bad for your health, what do you think?

Part 2

What do you think about smart devices? Are they good or bad?

According to the article about Joseph, answer the following exercise. If you want to reread the article, click on the Joseph button.

Listening

Activity 2

How to be more active?

In the previous activity, Dr Johnson explained to Joseph’s mom all the possible consequences teenagers that have more than one device. He said: “Teenagers who have more than one device usually do fewer activities.”

Now, you will listen to a conversation between Zack and Vicky talking about being active. Once you finish listening, match the reported speech with the people who said the phrases.

Press the play button to listen to the conversation.




Writing

Activity 3

Active people around me…

Do you consider yourself an active person? Are you surrounded by energetic people?

Because of the rhythm life has taken nowadays; generally, people do not have time to join a gym and have active lives. However, there are things you can do to be active and fit.

Ask people around you and see what advice they can give you to be more active. Write their responses in both direct and reported speech. You need to write 10 sentences with the information provided. This means you will have 20 sentences in all.

Remember that direct speech needs quotation marks and reported speech has a change in tense.

Make sure that your sentences have the characteristics contained in the rubric before self-evaluating them.

Speaking

Activity 4

Quotes and more quotes

The next activity is divided into two parts, each of them will explain what you have to do.

Part 1

There are a lot of famous people who have amazing quotes that inspire us to continue doing whatever we do, or that mark our way of living. Have you ever thought about it?


Part 2

Do you know any famous quotes in English? Which are your favourite quotes?

Report your three favourites quotes making all the necessary changes.

Use the following rubrics to self-evaluate your recordings.



Self-assessment

Gossip or quotes? What do you think?

So far we have seen the difference between direct and reported speech.

It is essential to identify the changes in tenses when we use reported speech, and simple rules as the quotation marks when using direct speech.

To reinforce this, do the following activity.

At school, some friends are talking. Listen carefully to the conversation.

After listening, read the statements and check whether it is a direct or indirect speech.

Press the play button to listen to the story.

Jornada de inducción a los estudiantes
Universidad EAFIT. (2012). Jornada de inducción a los estudiantes [photo]. Taken from https://www.flickr.com/photos/eafit/6751917605. Consulted on December 18, 2016.





References

Basic references

• Goodman, H. (2014). Sparkle Red. Mexico: Anglo publishing.
• Prodromou, L. (2013). Flash on English intermediate. Italy: ELI.
• Hobbs, M. (2014). For real Intermediate. Helbling Languages.

Complementary references

• Murphy, R. (2014). English Grammar in Use Fourth Edition. Singapore: Cambridge University Press.