The present perfect used with forand since 10 page

Tom said that he wouldn't lend etc.

PAUL: I'll help you if you like, Ann =

Paul offered to help her or

Paul said that he'd help her. (See also shall I?,318.)

ANN: I'll pay you back next week. Really I will. =

Ann promised to pay him back the following week or

Ann said that she would pay him back or

Ann assured him that she would pay him back.

KIDNAPPERS: If you don't pay the ransom at once we'll kill your

daughter =

The kidnappers threatened to kill his daughter if he didn 't pay the

ransom at once or The kidnappers said that they would kill etc.

(For object + infinitive constructions, see 320.)

В accuse . . . of/admit/apologize for/deny/insist on + gerund can sometimes be used instead of say (that):

'You took the money!' might be reported

He accused me of taking the money.

'I stole/didn't steal it' might be reported

/ admitted/denied stealing it.

'I'm sorry I'm late,' he said might be reported

He apologized for being late or

He said he was sorry he was late.

BILL: Let me pay for myself.

TOM: Certainly not! I'll pay! might be reported

Tom insisted on paying.

316 say, tell and alternative introductory verbs A sayand tellwith direct speech

1 say can introduce a statement or follow it:

Tom said, 'I've just heard the news' or

'I've just heard the news,' Tom said.

Inversion of say and noun subject is possible when say follows the statement:

'I've just heard the news,' said Tom.

say + to + person addressed is possible, but this phrase must follow the direct statement; it cannot introduce it:

'I'm leaving at once,' Tom said to me. Inversion is not possible here.

2 tellrequires the person addressed:

Tell me. He told us. I'll tell Tom.

except with tell lies/stories/the truth,when the person addressed need not be mentioned:

He told (me) lies. I'll tell (you) a story. tell used with direct speech must be placed after the direct statement:

'I'm leaving at once,' Tom told me. Inversion is not possible with tell.

В say and tellwith indirect speech

Indirect statements are normally introduced by say,or tell+ object. say + to + object is possible but much less usual than tell+ object:

He said he 'd just heard the news.

He told me that he'd just heard the news. Note also tell . . . how/about:

He told us how he had crossed the mountains.

He told us about crossing the mountains.

He told us about his journeys. (For sayand tellwith indirect commands, see 320-1.)

r Other useful verbs are:

These can be used with direct or indirect speech. With direct speech they follow direct statements:

'It won't cost more,' Tom assured us. Starred verbs can be inverted, provided the subject is a noun:

'But it will take longer,' Bill objected/objected Bill.

'It'll cost too much,' Jack grumbled/grumbled Jack. They can all introduce indirect statements. thatshould be placed after the verb:

Tom assured us that it wouldn 't cost more. But Bill objected/pointed

out that it would take longer.

D murmur, mutter, shout, stammer, whisper can precede or follow direct statements or questions. With noun subjects the verb can be inverted as shown above:

'You're late,' whispered Тот/Torn whispered. They can introduce indirect statements, thatis usually necessary:

Tom whispered that we were late.

There are, of course, a lot of other verbs describing the voice or the tone of voice, e.g. bark, growl, roar, scream, shriek, snarl, sneer, yell. But these are more common with direct than indirect speech.

317 Questions in indirect speech

Direct question: He said, 'Where is she going?' Indirect question: He asked where she was going.

A When we turn direct questions into indirect speech, the following changes are necessary.

Tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time and place change as in statements.

The interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative form. The question mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions:

He said, 'Where does she live?' = He asked where she lived. With affirmative verb questions (see 55) this change is obviously not necessary:

'Who lives next door?' he said = He asked who lived next door.

'What happened?' she said = She asked what had happened.

В If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g. ask, inquire, wonder, want to knowetc.:

He said, 'Where is the station?' = He asked where the station was.

ask, inquire, wonder can also be used in direct speech. They are then usually placed at the end of the sentence: 'Where is the station?' he inquired.

С ask can be followed by the person addressed (indirect object):

He asked, 'What have you got in your bag?' =

He asked (me) what I had got in my bag.

But inquire, wonder, want to know cannot take an indirect object, so if we wish to report a question where the person addressed is mentioned, we must use ask:

He said, 'Mary, when is the next train?' =

He asked Mary when the next train was. If we use inquire, wonderor want to knowwe must omit Mary.

D If the direct question begins with a question word (when, where, who, how, whyetc.) the question word is repeated in the indirect question:

He said, 'Why didn't you put on the brake?' =

He asked (her) why she hadn't put on the brake.

She said, 'What do you want?' =

She asked (them) what they wanted.

E If there is no question word, ifor whethermust be used: 'Is anyone there?' he asked = He asked if/whether anyone was there.

1 Normally we can use either ifand whether, ifis the more usual:

'Do you know Bill?' he said =

He asked if/whether I knew Bill.

'Did you see the accident?' the policeman asked =

The policeman asked if/whether I had seen the accident.

2 whether can emphasize that a choice has to be made:

'Do you want to go by air or sea?' the travel agent asked = The travel agent asked whether I wanted to go by air or by sea. Note whether or not:

'Do you want to insure your luggage or not?' he asked -He asked whether or not I wanted to insure my luggage or He asked if I wanted to insure my luggage or not.

3 whether+ infinitive is possible after wonder, want to know:

'Shall/Should I wait for them or go on?' he wondered =

He wondered whether to wait for them or go on or

He wondered whether he should wait for them or go on.

inquire + whether + infinitive is possible but less usual.

(For whether+ infinitive, see also 242 B.)

4 whetheris neater if the question contains a conditional clause as otherwise there would be two ifs:

'If you get the job will you move to York?' Bill asked = Bill asked whether, if I got the job, I'd move to York.

318 Questions beginning shall I/we?in indirect speech Questions beginning shall I/we?can be of four kinds.

A Speculations or requests for information about a future event:

'Shall I ever see them again?' he wondered.

'When shall I know the result of the test?' she asked. These follow the ordinary rule about shall/will.Speculations are usually introduced by wonder:

He wondered if he would ever see them again.

She asked when she would know the result of the test.

В Requests for instructions or advice:

'What shall 1 do with it?' = 'Tell me what to do with it.' These are expressed in indirect speech by ask, inquireetc., with shouldor the be+ infinitive construction. Requests for advice are normally reported by should:

'Shall we post it, sir?' he said =

He asked the customer if they were to post/if they should post it.

'What shall I say, mother?' she said =

She asked her mother what she should say. (request for advice) When a choice is required we normally use whetherin indirect speech. whether+ infinitive is sometimes possible (see also 317 E):

'Shall I lock the car or leave it unlocked?' he said =

He asked whether he should/was to lock the car or leave it

unlocked or He asked whether to lock the car etc.

С Offers:

'Shall I bring you some tea?' could be reported

He offered to bring me some tea.

Note that 'Would you like me to bring you some tea?' and 'I'll bring you some tea if you like' could also be reported by offer.

D Suggestions:

'Shall we meet at the theatre?' could be reported He suggested meeting at the theatre.

319 Questions beginning will you/would you/could you?

These may be ordinary questions, but may also be requests, invitations, or, very occasionally, commands (see 284, 286, 320):

He said, 'Will you be there tomorrow?' (ordinary question) =

He asked if she would be there the next day.

'Will you stand still!' he shouted = He shouted at me to stand still or

He told/ordered me to stand still.

'Would you like to live in New York?' he asked =

He asked if I would like to live in New York.

'Will/Would you file these letters, please?' he said =

He asked/told me to file the letters.

'Would you like a lift?' said Ann = Ann offered me a lift.

'Would you like to come round/Could you come round for a drink?'

he said =

He invited me (to come) round for a drink.

'Could you live on £25 a week?' he asked =

He asked if I could live on £25 a week.

'Could/Would you give me a hand?' she said =

She asked us to give her a hand.

'Could/Would you show me the photos?' she said =

She asked me to show her the photos or She asked to see the photos. (For can/could/may/might + I/we?, see 283. For requests for permission, see 131.)

320 Commands, requests, advice in indirect speech

Direct command: He said, 'Lie down, Tom.'

Indirect command: He told Tom to lie down.

Indirect commands, requests, advice are usually expressed by a verb of

command/request/advice + object + infinitive (= the object + infinitive

construction).

A The following verbs can be used: advise, ask, beg, command,

encourage, entreat, forbid, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge, warn.

(Note that say is not included in this list. For indirect commands/ requests reported by say, see 321.)

He said, 'Get your coat, Tom!' = He told Tom to get his coat.

'You had better hurry, Bill!' she said - She advised Bill to hurry.

В Negative commands, requests etc. are usually reported by not + infinitive:

'Don't swim out too far, boys,' I said = 1 warned/told the boys not to swim out too far. forbid can also be used for prohibitions, but is more common in the passive than in the active.

С Verbs in A above require object + infinitive, i.e. they must be followed directly by the person addressed without preposition (see also 89). The person addressed is often not mentioned in direct commands, requests etc.: He said, 'Go away!'

When reporting such commands/requests therefore we must add a noun or pronoun:

He told me/him/her/us/them/the children to go away. ask differs from the other verbs in A in that it can also be followed directly by the infinitive of certain verbs, e.g. see, speak to, talk to:

He said, 'Could I see Tom, please?' =

He asked to see Tom. (See also 283.)

But this is quite different from the ask + object + infinitive type of request.

Both ask and beg can be followed by the passive infinitive: 'Do, please, send me to a warm climate,' he asked/begged = He asked/begged us to send him to a warm climate or He asked/begged to be sent to a warm climate.

D Examples of indirect commands, requests, advice

Note that direct commands are usually expressed by the imperative, but that requests and advice can be expressed in a variety of ways (see 283-7):

'If I were you, I'd stop taking tranquillizers,' I said = I advised him to stop taking tranquillizers. (See 311 D.) 'Why don't you take off your coat?' he said = He advised me to take off my coat. (See also 287.) 'Would/Could you show me your passport, please?' he said = He asked me to show him my passport or He asked me for/He asked to see my passport. 'You might post some letters for me,' said my boss = My boss asked me to post some letters for him. 'If you 'd just sign the register,' said the receptionist = The receptionist asked him to sign the register. 'Do sit down,' said my hostess = My hostess asked/invited me to sit down. 'Please, please don't take any risks,' said his wife = His wife begged/implored him not to take any risks. 'Forget all about this young man,' said her parents; 'don't see him again or answer his letters' =

Her parents ordered her to forget all about the young man and told her not to see him again or answer his letters or She was ordered to forget all about the young man and forbidden to see him again or answer his letters, (passive construction) 'Don't forget to order the wine,' said Mrs Pitt = Mrs Pitt reminded her husband to order the wine. 'Try again,' said Ann's friends encouragingly = Ann's friends encouraged her to try again. 'Go on, apply for the job,' said Jack = Jack urged/encouraged me to apply for the job. 'You had better not leave your car unlocked,' said my friends; 'there's been a lot of stealing from cars' =

My friends warned me not to leave my car unlocked as there had been a lot of stealing from cars.

will you . . . sentences are normally treated as requests and reported by ask:

'Will all persons not travelling please go ashore,' he said = He asked all persons not travelling to go ashore. But if a will yousentence is spoken sharply or irritably, and the pleaseis omitted, it might be reported by tell or order:'Will you be quiet!/Be quiet, will you!' he said =

He told/ordered us to be quiet.

321 Other ways of expressing indirect commands

A say/tell + subject + be + infinitive:

He said/told me that I was to wait.

This is a possible alternative to the tell+ infinitive construction, so that:

He said, 'Don't open the door' could be reported

He told me not to open the door or

He said that I wasn 't to open the door.

The be + infinitive construction is particularly useful in the following cases:

1 When the command is introduced by a verb in the present tense:

He says, 'Meet me at the station' = He says that we are to meet him at the station. (He tells us to meet him would be much less likely.)

2 When the command is preceded by a clause (usually of time or condition):

He said, 'If she leaves the house follow her' could be reported He said that if she left the house I was to follow her. He told me to follow her if she left the house would be equally possible here but note that if we use the tell+ infinitive construction we must change the order of the sentence so as to put the command first. Sometimes this would result in a rather confusing sentence. For example, the request If you see Ann tell her to ring me would become He told me to tell Ann to ring him if I saw her. Such requests can only be reported by the be + infinitive construction:

He said that if I saw Ann I was to tell her to ring him.

В say/tell (+ that) +subject + should

1 sayor tellwith a shouldconstruction normally indicates advice rather than command:

He said, 'If your brakes are bad don't drive so fast' =

He said/told me that if my brakes were bad I shouldn 't drive so fast

or

He advised me not to drive so fast if my brakes were bad. (Note

change of order here, as with tell+ infinitive above.)

2 Advice can also be expressed by advise, recommendand urge + that . . . should.This is particularly useful in the passive (see 302 E):

7 advise cancelling the meeting,' he said -He advised that the meeting should be cancelled.

3 commandand ordercan also be used with shouldor a passive infinitive:

'Evacuate the area!' ordered the superintendent =

The superintendent ordered that everyone should leave the area or

ordered that the area should be evacuated or

ordered the area to be evacuated.

4 Note that when an indirect command is expressed by an object + infinitive construction, as in 320, there is normally the idea that the

person who is to obey the command is addressed directly. But when the command is expressed by the be + infinitive construction (A above) or by a shouldconstruction (B3 above) the recipient of the command need not necessarily be addressed directly. The command may be conveyed to him by a third person.

322 let's, let us, let him/them in indirect speech

A let's

1 let's usually expresses a suggestion and is reported by suggestin indirect speech:

He said, 'Let's leave the case at the station' would be reported:

He suggested leaving the case at the station or He suggested that they/we should leave the case at the station. (See 289 for constructions with suggest.)

He said, 'Let's stop now and finish it later' would be reported:

He suggested stopping then and finishing it later or He suggested that they/we should stop then and finish it later. Similarly in the negative:

He said, 'Let's not say anything about it till we hear the facts' = . • He suggested not saying anything/saying nothing about it till they

heard the facts or

; He suggested that they shouldn't say anything till they heard the facts.

: But let's not used alone in answer to an affirmative suggestion is often

• reported by some phrase such as opposed the idea/was against it/objected. So that we could report:

• 'Let's sell the house,' said Tom. 'Let's not,' said Ann by Tom suggested selling the house but Ann was against it.

(For other suggestion forms, see 289.) 2 let's/let ussometimes expresses a call to action. It is then usually

reported by urge/advise+ object + infinitive (see also 320):

The strike leader said, 'Let's show the bosses that we are united' = The strike leader urged the workers to show the bosses that they were united.

В let him/them

1 In theory⁷ let him/themexpresses a command. But very often the speaker has no authority over the person who is to obey the command: 'It's not my business,' said the postman. 'Let the government do something about it.'

Here, the speaker is not issuing a command but expressing an obligation. Sentences of this type are therefore normally reported by ought/should:

He said that it wasn't his business and that the government ought i to/should do something about it.

2 Sometimes, however, let him/themdoes express a command. It is then usually reported by say + be + infinitive (see 321):

'Let the boys clear up this mess,' said the headmaster = The headmaster said that the boys were to clear up the mess. 'Let the guards be armed,' he ordered = He ordered that the guards should be armed.

3 Sometimes let him/themis more a suggestion than a command. In such cases it is usually reported by suggest,or say+ should(see 289):

She said, 'Let them go to their consul. He 'II be able to help them' = She suggested their/them going to their consul etc. or She suggested that they should go to their consul or She said that they should go to their consul.

4 let him/themcan also indicate the speaker's indifference:

'The neighbours will complain,' said Ann.

'Let them (complain),' said Tom = Tom expressed indifference or

Tom said he didn't mind (if they complained).

С let there be

Here the speaker could be ordering, advising, urging or begging: 'Let there be no reprisals,' said the widow of the murdered man = The widow urged/begged that there should be no reprisals.

D let is also an ordinary verb meaning allow/permit:

'Let him come with us, mother; I'll take care of him,' I said =

/ asked my mother to let him come with us and promised to take care

of him.

323 Exclamations and yesand no

A Exclamations usually become statements in indirect speech. The exclamation mark disappears.

1 Exclamations beginning What (a) ...or How. . . can be reported (a) by exclaim/say that:

He said, 'What a dreadful idea!' or 'How dreadful'.' = He exclaimed that it was a dreadful idea/was dreadful

or (b) by give an exclamation ofdelight/disgust/horror/relief/

surprise etc.

Alternatively, if the exclamation is followed by an action we can use the

construction (c) with an exclamationof delight/disgust etc. +

he/she etc. + verb.

2 Other types of exclamation, such as Good! Marvellous! Splendid! Heavens! Oh! Ugh!etc. can be reported as in (b) or (c) above:

'Good!' he exclaimed =

He gave an exclamation of pleasure/satisfaction.

'Ugh!' she exclaimed, and turned the programme off =

With an exclamation of disgust she turned the programme off.

3 Note also:

He said, 'Thank you!' = He thanked me.

He said, 'Curse this fog!' = He cursed the fog.

He said, 'Good luck!' = He wished me luck.

He said, 'Happy Christmas!' = He wished me a happy Christmas.

He said, 'Congratulations!' = He congratulated me.

He said, 'Liar!' = He called me a liar.

He said, 'Damn!'etc. = He swore.

The notice said: WELCOME TO WALES'. =

The notice welcomed visitors to Wales.

В yes and noare expressed in indirect speech by subject + appropriate auxiliary verb:

He said, 'Can you swim?' and 1 said 'No' =

He asked (me) if I could swim and I said I couldn't.

He said, 'Will you have time to do it?' and I said 'Yes' =

He asked if I would have time to do it and I said that I would.

324 Indirect speech: mixed types

Direct speech may consist of statement + question, question + command, command + statement, or all three together.

A Normally each requires its own introductory verb: 7 don't know the way. Do you?' he asked =

He said he didn't know the way and asked her if she did/if she knew it. 'Someone's coming,' he said. 'Get behind the screen' = He said that someone was coming and told me to get behind the screen.

Т т going shopping. Can I get you anything?' she said = She said she was going shopping and asked if she could get me anything.

I can hardly hear the radio,' he said. 'Could you turn it up?' = He said he could hardly hear the radio and asked her to turn it up.

В But sometimes, when the last clause is a statement which helps to explain the first, we can use as instead of a second introductory verb:

'You'd better wear a coat. It's very cold out,' he said =

He advised me to wear a coat as it was very cold out.

'You'd better not walk across the park alone. People have been

mugged there,' he said =

He warned her not to walk across the park alone as people had been

mugged there.

С Sometimes the second introductory verb can be a participle:

'Please, please, don't drink too much! Remember that you'll have to drive home,' she said =

She begged him not to drink too much, reminding him that he'd have to drive home.

'Let's shop on Friday. The supermarket will be very crowded on Saturday,' she said =

She suggested shopping on Friday, pointing out that the supermarket would be very crowded on Saturday. (as could be used in both these examples.)

325 must and needn't

A must used for deductions, permanent commands/prohibitions and to express intention remains unchanged. (For must,expressing advice,

see 287 A.)

1 Deductions:

She said, 'I'm always running into him; he must live near here!' = She said that. . . he must live in the area.

2 Permanent command:

He said, 'This door must be kept locked' = He said that the door must be kept locked.

3 mustused casually to express intention:

He said, 'We must have a party to celebrate this' = He said that they must have a party to celebrate it.

В must used for obligation can remain unchanged. Alternatively it can be

reported by would have toor had to.1 I/we mustreported by would have to

would have to is used when the obligation depends on some future action, or when the fulfilment of the obligation appears remote or uncertain, i.e. when mustis clearly replaceable by will have to:

'If the floods get worse we must (will have to) leave the house,' he said =

He said that if the floods got worse they would have to leave the

house.

'When it stops snowing we must start digging ourselves out,'

I said =

I said that when it stopped snowing we would have to start digging

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 626