Indirect Speech and Noun Clause
INDIRECT (REPORTED) SPEECH
Indirect speech, also called reported speech or indirect
discourse, is a means of expressing the content of statements, questions or
other utterances, without quoting them explicitly as is done in direct speech.
If we report what another person has said, we usually do not
use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech.
Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported
speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to
transform a statement, question or request.
Statements
When transforming statements, check whether you have to
change:
pronouns
present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
place and time expressions
tenses (backshift)
Type
Example
direct speech
“I speak English.”
reported speech
(no backshift)
He says that he speaks English.
reported speech
(backshift)
He said that he spoke English.
Questions
When transforming questions, check whether you have to
change:
pronouns
present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
place and time expressions
tenses (backshift)
Also note that you have to:
transform the question into an indirect question
use the interrogative or if / whether
Type
Example
with interrogative
direct speech
“Why don’t you speak English?”
reported speech
He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
without interrogative
direct speech
“Do you speak English?”
reported speech
He asked me whether / if I spoke English.
Requests
When transforming questions, check whether you have to
change:
pronouns
place and time expressions
Type
Example
direct speech
“Carol, speak English.“
reported speech
He told Carol to speak English.
Additional Information and Exeptions
Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are
further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:
main clauses connected with and / but
tense of the introductory clause
reported speech for difficult tenses
exeptions for backshift
requests with must, should, ought to and let’s
QUIZ!
1. Q: Jerry said, “I’m studying English a lot at the
moment.”
a. Jerry said he was studying English a lot at that moment. ✓
b. Jerry said he was studying English a lot at the moment. ✘
c. Jerry said I was studying English a lot at that moment. ✘
2. Q: They said, “We’ve lived here for a long time.”
a. They said they have lived there for a long time. ✘
b. They said they lived here for a long time. ✘
c. They said they had lived there for a long time. ✓
3. Q: He asked me, “Have you finished reading the
newspaper?”
a. He asked me if had I finished reading the newspaper. ✘
b. He asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper. ✓
c. He asked me if I finished reading the newspaper. ✘
4. Q: He said, “I like this song.”
a. He said that he liked that song. ✓
b. He said that I liked that song. ✘
c. He said that he likes that song. ✘
5. Q: “Don’t play on the grass, boys,” she said.
a. She said the boys not to play on the grass. ✘
b. She told the boys not to play on the grass. ✓
c. She wanted the boys not to play on the grass. ✘
6. Q: “The film began at seven o’clock,” he said.
a. He said that the film had begun at seven o’clock. ✓
b. He said that the film has began at seven o’clock. ✘
c. He said that the film had began at seven o’clock. ✘
7. Q: “Don’t drink and drive,” she warned us.
a. She warned us to not drink and not drive. ✘
b. She warned us to not drink and drive. ✘
c. She warned us not to drink and drive. ✓
8. Q: “Does she know Robert?” he wanted to know.
a. He wanted to know if she knows Robert. ✘
b. He wanted to know if she knew Robert. ✓
c. He wanted to know if she had known Robert. ✘
9. Q: “Don’t try this at home,” the stuntman told the
audience.
a. The stuntman advised the audience not try that at home. ✘
b. The stuntman advised the audience to not try that at
home. ✘
c. The stuntman advised the audience not to try that at
home. ✓
10. Q: “Say hello to Jim,” they said.
a. They asked me to say hello to Jim. ✓
b. They asked me to said hello to Jim. ✘
c. They asked me to had said hello to Jim. ✘
NOUN CLAUSE
Many people are fairly comfortable with the idea of nouns,
but they might not feel so confident when it comes to the idea of a noun
clause. Noun clauses come in a variety of forms; therefore, breaking down the
study into its basic components is essential to the proper learning of the
form.
Noun Clauses
As aforementioned, noun clauses can be used in a number of
ways, and they serve different purposes. First and foremost, please recognize
that these clauses are dependent clauses. A dependent clause is one that cannot
stand by itself. If a dependent clause is placed alone, it forms a fragment,
not a sentence. An independent clause can act as a sentence by itself, but
dependent clauses cannot.
Subject of a Verb
A noun clause can act as a subject of a verb, and we will
break down what that means after a couple of examples. This clause is acting as
the subject of a verb is present in:
What Alicia said made her friends cry.
What Megan wrote surprised her family.
What the man did was not very polite.
When there’s a verb in the sentence, you must find the
subject. Therefore, in the first we can ask “What made?” and the answer is
“What Alicia said.” Therefore, “What Alicia said” is the subject of that verb.
In the next case, we can ask “What surprised?” and the answer is “What Megan
wrote.” Do you now see how a noun clause can act as a subject of a verb?
Object of a Verb
In the same vein, noun clauses can also act as the object of
a verb:
She didn’t know that the directions were wrong.
He didn’t realize that the stove was off.
They now understand that you should not cheat on a test.
Once again, we can use the method of questioning to
demonstrate how the noun clause is being used. What didn’t she know? What
didn’t he realize? And what do they now understand? The answer in all three
cases is the noun clause!
Subject Complement
Let’s pick up the pace a little bit, and let’s see if you
can figure out how these noun clauses are actually answers to questions within
the sentence.
Charlie’s problem was that she didn’t do the wash.
Harry’s crowning achievement was his 4.0 GPA.
Darla’s television was a 60 inch screen.
Once again, do you see what questions these noun clauses
answer and how they relate to the subject? What was Charlie’s problem? What was
Harry’s crowning achievement? What was Darla’s television? Without these
clauses, the sentences would not be complete thoughts grammatically, nor would
they sound complete at all.
Object of a Preposition
Noun clauses also act as objects of a preposition.
Harry is not the provider of what Margie needs.
Josephine is not responsible for what Alex decided to do.
Allie is the owner of that blue car.
Once again, Harry is not the provider of what? Josephine is
not responsible for what? Allie is the owner of what?
Adjective Complement
Last but not least, a noun clause can also act as an
adjective complement.
The group is happy that Meg returned home.
The child is sad that his stomach hurts.
The family is excited that they bought a new house.
One more time with feeling: Why is the group happy? Why is
the child sad? Why is the family excited?
QUIZ!
1. Q: ________________ is hire a tutor who can help them
with their math skills.
a. What they do ✘
b. What should they do ✘
c. Whatever they should do ✘
d. What they should do ✓
2. Q:___________________ how to get to the bus station from
this university?
a. Could you please tell me ✓
b. You could please tell me ✘
c. Could please you tell me ✘
d. Could you please say me ✘
3. Q: ____________ Soumaya has successfully completed her
MBA studies is not surprising because she has always been an exceptional
student.
a. that ✓
b. what ✘
c. who ✘
d. whatever ✘
4. Q:____________ causes most teenage suicides remains a
mystery to most professional counselors.
a. that ✘
b. what ✓
c. who ✘
d. whatever ✘
5. Q: You may complete the writing assignment with
_____________materials you would like to use.
a. whoever ✘
b. whenever ✘
c. whatever ✓
d. whichever ✘
6. Q: There are three cars in the driveway. We can drive in
_____________ car you like best.
a. whoever ✘
b. whenever ✘
c. whatever ✘
d. whichever ✓
7. Q: She recommended ___________________.
a. that John complete his homework before watching
television ✓
b. that John completes his homework before watching
television ✘
c. that John should complete his homework before watching
television ✘
d. whom John complete his homework before watching
television ✘
8. Q: ___________________________ was already common knowledge
to most of the students in the high school.
a. That Tom talk to Bill about the problem ✘
b. What Tom had talked to Bill about the problem ✘
c. That Tom had talked to Bill about the problem ✓
d. Tom had talked to Bill about the problem ✘
9. Q: Sue Ellen does not know ____________________.
a. who the rest of the students are going to come to the
movies ✘
b. what the rest of the students are going to come to the
movies ✘
c. if the rest of the students are going to come to the
movies ✓
d. which the rest of the students are going to come to the
movies ✘
10. Q: Do you know ________________?
a. who’s house that is ✘
b. whose house is that ✘
c. whose house that is ✓
d. whose house is ✘
source:
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.ego4u.com/
http://esl.about.com/
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/
http://buckhoff.topcities.com/