She Said That Rights Began in Small Places: Reported Speech for Statements – Human Rights (Senior 3 English) | Ganzaa

Human Rights

Lessons

Senior 3 · English

Human Rights

5 lessons

Lesson 3 of 5

She Said That Rights Began in Small Places: Reported Speech for Statements

25 min

Let's begin

A reporter at the assembly in lesson 2 cannot print the whole speech. Instead she reports what was said, and in doing so changes tenses, pronouns and time words. Reported speech is everywhere: in news, in police statements, in minutes of meetings and every time you tell a friend "she told me that …". This lesson covers reported statements; questions and commands come in unit 5.

Read: a school magazine report

The school, its staff and its students are imagined.

"RIGHTS BEGIN IN SMALL PLACES"

Students and teachers gathered in the main hall on Tuesday to mark Human Rights Day. In a short speech, Iradukunda Bella, president of the Human Rights Club, said that human rights began not in parliaments but in places like their school. She explained that the Universal Declaration had been proclaimed on 10 December 1948, and she pointed out that its first article spoke of all human beings, not some.

Bella told the audience that three rights mattered most at school: education without discrimination, safety and a voice. She added that rights were something students gave to each other.

After the assembly, the head teacher, Mr Nkurunziza, said that he was proud of the club. He announced that the school would build a ramp to the science laboratory before the end of the year. "We have already ordered the cement," he told our reporter.

Shema, an S2 student, admitted that he had never thought of rights as something he could give. "I'm going to sit with the new student tomorrow," he promised.

Check: (1) Who gave the speech? (2) What did the head teacher announce? (3) What did Shema admit?

Show answersHide answers

(1) Iradukunda Bella, president of the Human Rights Club. (2) That the school would build a ramp to the science laboratory before the end of the year. (3) That he had never thought of rights as something he could give.

Definition

direct speech: the speaker's exact words, inside quotation marks. "I am proud of the club," he said.

reported speech (also indirect speech): the speaker's words reported without quotation marks, usually after a reporting verb and that, with tenses, pronouns and time words changed where needed. He said (that) he was proud of the club.

backshift: moving a verb one tense back into the past when the reporting verb is in the past.

Tense changes

Direct speech	Reported speech
present simple: "I am proud."	past simple: He said he was proud.
present continuous: "I am organising a debate."	past continuous: She said she was organising a debate.
present perfect: "We have ordered the cement."	past perfect: He said they had ordered the cement.
past simple: "I missed the meeting."	past perfect: He said he had missed the meeting.
will: "The school will build a ramp."	would: He said the school would build a ramp.
can / may: "You can call 116."	could / might: She said we could call 116.
am/is/are going to: "I'm going to sit with him."	was/were going to: He said he was going to sit with him.

Pronouns, time and place

Direct	Reported	Direct	Reported
I, me, my	he/she, him/her, his/her	today	that day
we, our	they, their	tomorrow	the next day, the following day
this, these	that, those	yesterday	the day before, the previous day
here	there	now	then, at that time
next week	the following week	two days ago	two days before

Say, tell and other reporting verbs

say + (that) …: She said (that) she was proud. With a listener: said to us.
tell + listener + (that) …: She told us (that) she was proud. Tell always needs the listener.
Other verbs show how it was said: explain, add, point out, announce, admit, claim, insist, warn, complain, reply + that …; promise + that … or + to-infinitive.

When the tense does not change

When the reporting verb is in the present: Bella says that rights begin in small places.
When the statement is still true or is a general truth, backshift is optional: She explained that the Convention defines (or defined) a child as any person under 18.
The past perfect, and would, could, might, should, never change.

Worked example

Direct to reported, step by step

Report: "I'm going to sit with the new student tomorrow," Shema promised.

Reporting verb and that: Shema promised that … (past, so backshift is needed).
Pronoun: I → he.
Tense: am going to → was going to.
Time word: tomorrow → the next day.
Result: Shema promised that he was going to sit with the new student the next day. Or, with promise + to-infinitive: Shema promised to sit with the new student the next day.

Worked example

Choosing a reporting verb that shows the speaker's attitude

"Yes, I did miss the meeting," said Kamali. He accepts something he would prefer not to: admit. → Kamali admitted that he had missed the meeting.
"The road is dangerous after dark," said the officer. She tells of a risk: warn. → The officer warned that the road was dangerous after dark.
"We have already ordered the cement," Mr Nkurunziza told our reporter. He gives new information: tell or announce. → Mr Nkurunziza told our reporter that they had already ordered the cement.

A good reporting verb saves words: admitted already says "Yes, I did".

Tip

One step back. If the reporting verb is past, move every verb in the speaker's words one step down the staircase, then change the people (I → he/she) and the time and place (tomorrow → the next day, here → there) to fit the moment of reporting.

Warning

Wrong: She said me that … Right: She told me that … or She said to me that …
Wrong: He told that … Right: He told us that … or He said that …
No quotation marks and no question mark in reported statements.
Don't forget the time words: He said he would come tomorrow is confusing if "tomorrow" was last week. Write the next day.

How to use reported speech, 6 Minute Grammar, from BBC Learning English (about 6 minutes). Note every reporting verb the presenters use, and one example where the tense does not change.

✦

Practice

Complete with said or told: (a) She ___ us that the meeting was cancelled. (b) He ___ that he was tired. (c) The nurse ___ to the class that the clinic was open. (d) Who ___ you that?
Report these statements, using said: (a) "I am the president of the club," Bella said. (b) "We have finished the poster," the students said. (c) "The ramp will be ready in December," the head teacher said. (d) "I can't come today," Shema said.
Report with the verb in brackets: (a) "I broke the window." (admit) (b) "The river is flooding." (warn) (c) "I will call 116 if it happens again." (promise)
Change the time and place words: (a) "I'll see you here tomorrow," she said to me. (b) "I met him two days ago," he said.
Correct the mistakes: (a) She said me that she was sick. (b) He told that the road was closed. (c) The teacher said that the Earth went round the Sun. (Is this wrong? Explain.)
Report the head teacher's words from the magazine report that are still in direct speech, and Shema's promise.
Write a short news report (80 to 100 words) of a class or club meeting, using at least five different reporting verbs.

Show answersHide answers

(a) told; (b) said; (c) said; (d) told.
(a) Bella said (that) she was the president of the club. (b) The students said (that) they had finished the poster. (c) The head teacher said (that) the ramp would be ready in December. (d) Shema said (that) he couldn't come that day.
(a) He admitted that he had broken the window. (b) She warned that the river was flooding. (c) He promised that he would call 116 if it happened again (or: He promised to call 116 if it happened again).
(a) She told me (that) she would see me there the next day. (b) He said (that) he had met him two days before.
(a) She told me that she was sick (or: She said to me that …). (b) He said that the road was closed (or: He told us that …). (c) Not wrong: backshift is optional for a general truth; "goes round the Sun" is also correct.
Mr Nkurunziza told our reporter that they had already ordered the cement. Shema promised that he was going to sit with the new student the next day.
Open answer. Check backshift, pronouns, time words and the reporting verbs.

Sources and credits

Magazine report (imagined school, staff and students), backshift diagram, grammar tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.
Video: How to use reported speech, 6 Minute Grammar, BBC Learning English, embedded from YouTube, not copied.

Written by Ganzaa.

1Read: a school magazine report

2Tense changes

3Pronouns, time and place

4Say, tell and other reporting verbs

5When the tense does not change

Read: a school magazine report

Tense changes

Pronouns, time and place

Say, tell and other reporting verbs

When the tense does not change