Introduction
Reported speech is when we want to report one person’s speech to another person but we do not use the exact words because we focus on the message rather than the exact words.
Reported speech can be used for conveying advice, offer, order and promise.
Form
There are some rules of reported speech. These are:
- when we transfer an advice sentence we use:
… advise + to + infinitive verb + … - when we transfer an offer sentence we use:
… + offer + to + infinitive verb + … - when we transfer an order sentence we use:
… + order + to + infinitive verb + … - when we transfer a promise sentence we use:
… + promise + to + infinitive verb + … (It is also correct to use promise + clause)
NOTE: We cannot use the infinitive structure after the verbs say or suggest. This kind of verbs are usually reported with that-clause.
Example
- Our school teacher advised us not to study in dim light.
- He offered us to live in the historic quarter.
- The man ordered his daughter to set the table out.
- She promised me to tidy the house.
Use
We use reported speech when we want to report another person’s sentence that this person said in another time, place and maybe to another person.
Summary
Reported speech can be used for conveying advice, offer, order and promise. We use it when we want to report another person’s sentence that this person said in another time, place and maybe to another person.
When we want to convey advice, offer, order or promise in the reported speech we use the verbs advice, offer, order or promise followed by the to-infinitive and then the rest of the sentence. After the verb promise, we can also use a clause.
For example:
— “He offered me to stay at his place for a couple of days.” = After the verb offered we use the to-infinitive to stay.
— “He promised to stay at my place for a couple of days.” / “He promised (that) he would stay at my place for a couple of days.” = When using a clause after the verb promise, we shift the time one tense back.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.