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/