by R. S. Karunaratne

Direct and indirect speech

[Part 2]

Questions

We use direct questions to say exactly what somebody has asked. We do this in two ways. One way is to begin with the speaker’s name.

The conductor said, “Can’t you give the exact bus fare?”
The teacher said, “Why don’t you study English?”
Mother said, “Are you not going to school today?”
The director said, “Why didn’t you report for work yesterday?”
The doctor said, “When did you consult me last?”

The other way is to begin with the actual words of the speaker and end with his name.

“Can’t you give me the exact bus fare?” said the conductor.
“Why don’t you study English?” the teacher said.
“Are you not going to school today?” mother said.
“Why didn’t you report for work yesterday?” the director said.
“When did you consult me last?” the doctor said.

We can say what somebody had asked without using his exact words. This is known as an indirect question.

The policeman asked me why I hadn’t obtained a driving licence.
Mother asked her daughter whether she was taking part in the play.
Jaya asked me whether I was taking his umbrella.
Amanda asked her brother whether he wanted a lift to the station.
Thompson asked his sister whether she had seen a ghost.

Note: In indirect or reported speech we leave out statements, questions and quotation marks. We do not give the exact words of the speaker.

When a direct question begins with a ‘wh-word’ (which, where, why or when) or the verb ‘to do’ we do not use ‘do, does’ or ‘did’ when we change it to an indirect question.

Nilma asked me why I hadn’t attended her wedding.
Louis asked his sister where she had found the purse.
Rosy asked the receptionist when her course would finish.
The tennis coach asked the girls when they wanted their lessons.
Lesley asked the mechanic when his car would be ready.

Note: Indirect or reported questions usually begin with a question word. If there are no question words, we use ‘whether.’

[Activity]

Rewrite the following sentences in reported speech. Change the pronouns and tenses where necessary. Check your answers with the key.

1. “Where’s my umbrella?” Madhuri asked me.....................................................

2. “How are you?” Dilini asked me.................................................................

3. Ben asked, “Do I have to do it?”............................................................

4. “Where have you been?” Solomon asked his daughter..........................................

5. “Which dress do you like best?” Varuni asked Sanduni.........................................

6. ‘What are they doing?” Don asked.............................................................

7. “Are you going to the theatre?” Manel asked me.......................................................

8. The teacher asked, “Who speaks English?”...........................................................

9. “How do you know that?” the teacher asked me........................................................

10. “Has Carol talked to her boss?” Merryl asked me...................................................

Key:

1. Madhuri asked me where her umbrella was.
2. Dilini asked me how I was.
3. Ben asked if he had to do it.
4. Solomon asked his daughter where she had been.
5. Varuni asked Sanduni which dress she liked best.
6. Don wanted to know what they were doing.
7. Manel asked me if I was going to the theatre.
8. The teacher wanted to know who spoke English.
9. The teacher asked me how I knew that.
10. Merryl asked me if Carol had talked to her boss.

Here’s an interesting way to enrich your vocabulary.

Find the meaning from (a), (b) or (c) for the words in bold type. Check your answers with the key.

1. Lalin whispered, “Let’s just keep this between the two of us, sub rosa, you might say.

(a) confidentially
(b) openly
(c) strictly

2. The manager is impressed with your savoir faire in handling customers.

(a) faith
(b) tact
(c) recklessness

3. The minister’s point of view, vis-a-vis capital punishment, is well known.

(a) in favour of
(b) as opposed to
(c) in reference to

4. Sara has read a great deal on the topic of capital punishment but she is still ambivalent about it.

(a) undecided
(b) having conflicting feelings
(c) open

5. After many hours of travelling in the city, our eyes were refreshed by bucolic countryside scenes.

(a) large
(b) old
(c) pastoral

6. The crotchety old woman did not have a fortune when she died in a home for the aged.

(a) full of peculiar whims
(b) beautiful
(c) graceful

7. Some companies adopt dilatory tactics when it comes to payment of gratuity.

(a) speedy
(b) slow and likely to cause delay
(c) harsh

8. When Amanda received the news of her husband’s death, she became disconsolate.

(a) happy
(b) indifferent
(c) dejected

9. Filled with dudgeon, Sam sought revenge against his enemy.

(a) resentment
(b) happiness
(c) compassion

10. It was a most fruitful discussion, with both sides agreeing to adopt a common policy.

(a) producing no results
(b) producing bad results
(c) producing good results

Key:

1. (a)
2. (b)
3. (c)
4. (b)
5. (c)
6. (a)
7. (b)
8. (c)
9. (a)
10. (c)

Starters:

Use of negatives
‘not + any’, ‘no’ and ‘none’

Not + any
When we speak of a negative idea, we use ‘not + any’.

I haven’t got any money.
He hasn’t got any books.

She hasn’t got any friends.
There aren’t any hotels in the town.
There aren’t any trains today.
The same idea can be expressed by using ‘no.’

I have no money.
He has no books.

She has no friends.
There are no hotels in the town.
There are no trains today.

We use ‘no’ after ‘have / has’ and ‘there is, there are.’
The beggar has got no money.

They have got no houses.
There is no toilet in this building.
There are no trains after midnight.
A negative verb is followed by ‘any’.

I haven’t got any friends.
There aren’t any sports clubs in this town.

We use ‘no’ followed by a noun.

I have no recollection of the incident.
She has no need to beg.

There is no sugar in my tea.
There are no trees in the garden.
We use ‘none’ alone.

A: How much money have you got?
B: None .

A: How many mistakes did you make?B: None .

A: How many friends did you meet?
B: None .

We use ‘no one’ or ‘nobody’ for people.

A: Who did you meet at the exhibition?
B: Nobody .

A: How many students are there in the classroom?
B: No one .

[Activity ]

Put in ‘no’ or ‘any’ in the blanks. Check your answers with the key.

1. There aren’t ............. schools in this town.
2. There are ............. trains today.
3. I didn’t read ........... newspapers yesterday.
4. There are ............ hospitals in this part of the city.
5. Nethmi cannot speak ............ foreign languages.
6. Don’t buy ............ fish today.
7. My sister is married but she has got ........... children.
8. Sorry, there are ...........visitors for you today.
9. I can’t see ............ stars in the sky.
10. I didn’t give ............. money to the beggar.

Key:

1. any
2. no
3. any
4. no
5. any
6. any
7. no
8. no
9. any
10. any

Irregular verbs

Here’s an interesting quiz on irregular verbs.

As you are aware, irregular verbs have different forms in the past tense and past participle. upply the past tense and the past participle of the following irregular verbs and check your answers with the key.

Past tense Past participle

1. cast ............... ..................
2. catch ............... ..................
3. choose ............... ..................
4. cleave ............... ..................
5. cling ............... ..................
6. come ............... ..................
7. cost ............... ..................
8. creep ............... ..................
9. cut ............... ..................
10. deal ............... ..................
11. dig ............... ..................
12. dive ............... ..................
13. draw ............... ..................
14. dream ............... ..................
15. drink ............... ..................
16. drip-feed .............. ..................
17. drive ............... ..................
18. dwell ............... ..................
19. eat ............... ..................
20. fall ............... ..................
21. feed ............... ..................
22. feel ............... ..................
23. fight ............... ..................
24. find ............... ..................
25. fit ............... ..................
26. flee ............... ..................
27. fling ............... ..................
28. floodlight ............... ..................
29. fly ............... ..................
30. forbear ............... ..................
31. forbid ............... ..................
32. forecast ............... ..................
33. foresee ............... ..................
34. foretell ............... ..................
35. forge ............... ..................
36. forgive ............... ..................
37. forgo ............... ..................
38. forsake ............... ..................
39. forswear ............... ..................
40. freeze ............... ..................

Key:

1. cast / cast, 2. caught / caught, 3. chose / chosen, 4. cleaved / cleaved, 5. clung / clung, 6. came / come, 7. cost / cost, 8. crept / crept, 9. cut / cut, 10. dealt / dealt, 11. dug / dug, 12. dived / dived, 13. drew / drawn, 14. dreamt / dreamt, 15. drank / drunk, 16. drip-fed / drip-fed, 17. drove / driven, 18. dwelt / dwelt, 19. ate / eaten, 20. fell / fallen, 21. fed / fed, 22. felt / felt, 23. fought / fought, 24. found / found, 25. fitted / fitted, 26. fled / fled, 27. flung / flung, 28. floodlit / floodlit, 29. flew / flown, 30. forbore / forborne, 31. forbade / forbidden, 32. forecast / forecast, 33. foresaw / foreseen, 34. foretold / foretold, 35. forgot / forgotten, 36. forgave / forgiven, 37. forwent / forgone, 38. forsook / forsaken, 39. forswore / forsworn, 40. froze / frozen