مدونة التربية و التعليم في الجزائر – دروس، فروض، نتائج امتحانات مدونة التربية والتعليم في الجزائر | تحضير الدروس، فروض واختبارات، نتائج البكالوريا وBEM، مسابقات التوظيف، والتوجيه المدرسي للطلاب وأولياء الأمور.
Reported Speech: Statements, Questions and Commands
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to report what someone said without quoting their exact words. This lesson covers the main rules for transforming direct speech into reported speech and is designed for 2nd Year Secondary (Literary Stream) students following the Algerian Curriculum.
Key Changes in Reported Speech
When converting direct speech to reported speech, several changes occur. The tense moves back one step (backshift): present simple becomes past simple; present continuous becomes past continuous; present perfect becomes past perfect; past simple becomes past perfect; will becomes would; can becomes could; must becomes had to. Pronoun changes: I becomes he/she; we becomes they; my becomes his/her. Time and place changes: now becomes then; today becomes that day; yesterday becomes the day before; tomorrow becomes the next day; here becomes there.
Reported Statements
Structure: Subject + said/told + (that) + clause. Direct: She said, “I am studying French.” / Reported: She said (that) she was studying French. Direct: He said, “I have finished my homework.” / Reported: He said (that) he had finished his homework.
Reported Questions
Wh-questions: Subject + asked/wanted to know + wh-word + clause (no inversion). Direct: “Where do you live?” she asked. / Reported: She asked where I lived. Yes/No questions: Subject + asked + if/whether + clause. Direct: “Do you like coffee?” he asked. / Reported: He asked if/whether I liked coffee.
Reported Commands
Structure: Subject + told/ordered/asked + person + to + infinitive. Direct: “Close the door,” she said. / Reported: She told me to close the door. Direct: “Do not smoke,” the doctor said. / Reported: The doctor told me not to smoke.
Exercises
Exercise 1: Change to reported speech. (1) “I live in Algiers,” she said. (2) “We will visit you tomorrow,” they said. (3) “Did you see the film?” he asked. (4) “Please help me,” she said.
Answer Key: (1) She said (that) she lived in Algiers. (2) They said (that) they would visit me the next day. (3) He asked if I had seen the film. (4) She asked me to help her.
Review Past Simple and Future Tenses for more grammar revision.
