ni2 16/1/12

Little steps to complete the puzzle.

Cure 1 /kjʊr / || / ˈkjʊə(r)/
Harvest 1 / ˈhɑːrvəst / || / ˈhɑːvɪst/
Spray /spreɪ/
Gesture 1 / ˈdʒestʃər / || / ˈdʒestʃə(r)/
Trademark ['treɪdmɑ:k]


PUNCTUATION IN DIRECT SPEECH

In reports and stories, a writer often wants to tell the reader what someone has said. There are two ways of doing this. The speaker’s words can either be reported (in a style known as reported speech), or they can be quoted directly in what’s called direct speech.

Reported speech

In reported speech, the actual words are not usually quoted directly. Usually, they are summarized or paraphrased and there are no special punctuation issues to take into account:

The 180 respondents said that the main reason for setting up in business was to be their own boss.
Trade union representatives expressed their satisfaction at the news that there would be no job losses.

Direct speech

In direct speech, various punctuation conventions are used to separate the quoted words from the rest of the text: this allows a reader to follow what’s going on. Here are the basic rules:
The words that are actually spoken should be enclosed in inverted commas:
‘He’s very clever, you know.’

In British English, the usual style is to use single inverted commas but it is not wrong to use double ones:

“He’s very clever, you know.”

Every time a new speaker says something, you should start a new paragraph:
‘They think it’s a more respectable job,’ said Jo.
‘I don’t agree,’ I replied.

There should be a comma, full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark at the end of a piece of speech. This is placed inside the closing inverted comma or commas.
‘Can I come in?’ he asked.
‘Just a moment!’ she shouted.
‘You’re right,’ he said.
'I didn't expect to win.'

If direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, you should use a comma to introduce the piece of speech, placed before the first inverted comma:
Steve replied, ‘No problem.’

If the direct speech is broken up by information about who is speaking, you need a comma (or a question mark or exclamation mark) to end the first piece of speech and a full stop or another comma before the second piece (before the inverted comma or commas):

‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘It feels strange.’
‘Thinking back,’ she said, ‘I didn’t expect to win.’
‘No!’ he cried. ‘You can’t leave now!’




Reported statements

The general rule is that when the reporting verb (e.g. 'she said (that)', 'they told me (that)', 'we thought (that)', 'he informed me that', 'I wondered whether', 'he wanted to know (if)' is in the past, we usually convert the verb form in the direct speech sentence into one which is more 'past' in reported speech. Hence:

present simple > past simple;
present progressive > past progressive;
past simple > past perfect;
present perfect > past perfect;
present perfect progresseive > past perfect progressive;
can/may/shall/will > could/might/should/would;

Consider the following examples

I love you. > He told me he loved me.
I'm going out now. > She informed me she was going out.
I’m sure we have met before. > He was sure we had met before.
I’ve been having a brilliant time in Cyprus. > She phoned to tell me that she had been having a brilliant time in Cyprus.
I'll be wearing my red dress to the party. > You said you would be wearing your red dress to the party, but you’re not!
I can’t really fly, daddy. > My son admitted that he couldn’t really fly.
I may be back late tonight. > He let me know that he might be back late this evening.

BUT , if we are reporting a fact or something that is still true, the direct speech form can often be retained:
‘She told me she was a teacher.’
‘She told me she is a teacher.’
So, if the person you are talking about is still teaching then both these sentences are correct.

Notes

1: Sometimes, whether you use one or the other depends upon how you see it. Take the two reporting statements:

‘She told me she loved me’ and ‘She said she loves me’
In the first, it might be the case that what she said was not true, whilst in the second, it clearly is the case that you believe what she says.

2: The past perfect does not change in reported speech as there is no verb form further 'back in time':

'I had never smoked before I went to Jane’s party.' > 'She maintained that she had never smoked before she went to Jane’s party.'
3: If the reporting verb is in the present tense, the verb form in the reported statement remains the same. Consider the following examples which are all about a murder investigation:
'I have no idea where Jim Smith is.' > 'He says he has no idea where Jim Smith is.'
'I haven’t seen him since last Easter.' > 'He claims he hasn’t seen him since last Easter.'
'I didn’t kill him! I am innocent!' > 'He insists he’s innocent.



Reported questions.
For reported questions you also need to remember the need to move the verb form ‘one tense back’. But, additionally, you need to remember that there is no inversion of subject and verb and no 'do', 'does' or 'did' in reported questions. Consider the following:

What’s the matter? > I wanted to know what the matter was.
How do you feel today? > The doctor asked me how I felt.
Where are you going so late at night? > I asked her where she was going so late at night.
Who’s that girl in the red dress? > I wondered who that girl in the red dress was.
How did you make that salad? > I couldn’t work out how she had made that salad.
Which Easter Egg would you like? > He asked his grandson which Easter Egg he wanted.
Which Easter Egg did you buy? > His wife wanted to know which Egg he had bought.

Use a reporting verb...
She asked if we were going over for tea.
For yes / no questions, use if or whether...
She asked IF we were going over for tea.
Repeat question words...
She also asked HOW we were going to get there.
Use statement word order, change pronouns and move the tense back if necessary...
She asked if we were going over for tea.