Reported Speech: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 25

Hello, and welcome to today’s Grammar Gameshow!

I’m your host, Will!

And If it ain’t broke,

don’t fix it!

You know, I can’t stand bad grammar.

And of course, let’s not forget

Leslie, our all-knowing voice in the sky.

Hello, everyone!

Tonight, we’re going to ask you three questions about…

Reported speech!

That he-said, she-said grammar

that’s useful for gossip, rumour, hearsay and conjecture!

OK! Now, let’s meet our contestants!

Hello, all. My name is Bill!

And contestant number two?

Hello, schnookums! I’m Nana Will!

Nana Will!

What are you doing here?

I haven’t seen you since…

but that was such a long t…

I came to see how you’re getting on, poppet.

Your mum tells me you’re doing so well.

Are you wearing clean underwear?

Nana!

Not cool!

Willikins!

Answer your nana right now!

Yes, Nana!

Clean-ish underwear, Nana.

Very good.

Aren’t you going to introduce me to your little friend?

Nana Will this is Bill.

Bill this is Nana Will.

Leslie, Nana Will.

Nana Will, Leslie.

Hello, Nana Will.

Hello, Nana Will.

Can I get on now?

Yes, of course dear.

Who’s stopping you?

OK. Let’s get going and don’t forget

you can play along at home too.

Our first round is a straight-up questions round.

What are the three most commonly used verbs

in reported speech grammar?

Say,

tell

and ask.

Correct!

Tell me one verb pattern for say, tell and ask.

Say something to someone.

Tell someone something.

Ask someone if or whether or question word.

Correct!

Final question in this round.

Give me an example of say and tell.

No. I’ll take this one, if you don’t mind, dearie.

I remember when you were just a little sprite,

and we went to the zoo,

and we saw an ostrich for the first time.

And do you know what he said?

He said it was a big chicken!

He told me it was a big chicken!

Nana! Really?

Just answering the question, pumpkin.

Leslie?

Well done!

Reported speech is used to inform the listener

what was said by someone on a different occasion.

The three most common reported speech verbs are

say, tell and ask.

Say is commonly used without a personal pronoun

- Will said it was a big chicken -

while tell must be followed by one.

Will told Nana Will it was a big chicken.

Finally, ask is used in reported questions.

Ask can be followed by a pronoun and then if or whether

for a yes/no question,

or a question word for a question word question.

Good work, Bill. Have Fifteen points for you.

And, er, twenty points for Nana Will.

On to round two. Answer this.

What usually happens when to the tense of a sentence

when it changes from direct speech

to reported speech?

It usually gets rolled back one tense!

Correct!

Well done. Let’s have a practice, shall we?

I’ll tell you the sentence,

and you give me the reported speech version.

Ready?

I love my Nana.

He said he loved his Nana.

Correct!

Who’s been playing with my question cards?

It’s a mystery dear.

Keep reading.

I wanted to be an elephant when I was a child.

He told me he had wanted to be an elephant

when he was a child.

Correct!

I will always listen to Nana Will.

He said he would always listen to Nana Will.

Correct!

Well, answer this one then!

One of those sentences does not need to have its

tense changed in reported speech.

Which one is it, and why?

It’s the first one.

He said he loves his Nana.

This is because the situation hasn’t changed

from when it was said.

It is still true.

Correct!

Now, don’t test me young man,

or I’ll give you a smack on the botty bot-bot.

Leslie!

That’s absolutely right.

When changing speech from direct to reported,

remember that the tense of the direct speech

should be rolled back one step towards the past.

For example, present becomes past,

and past becomes past perfect.

However, there are one or two exceptions.

Firstly, some tenses and verb types don’t change,

such as the past perfect,

and verbs like would and could.

Secondly, if something which was said

is still true at the time of reporting,

no tense change is necessary.

This is also true if the reporting verb say or tell

is in the present tense.

Well done, you get 11.2 poi…

Oh, Will!

Before I forget, I brought you some milk.

Nana Will! You’re not supposed to come ou…

Drink up, dear! Nana knows best!

Well done!

Let’s move on to our final round.

Along with these tense changes…

Oh,

she’s gone to sleep!

OK, everyone let’s…right.

Along with these tense changes,

certain subjective words

must also change when converted to reported speech.

Have a look at these sentences,

and tell me which words need to change.

He said “I’m here now.”

Yes, Bill?

He said he was there then.

Cor...

Correct!

I said “I got this last Tuesday.”

Yes, Bill?

You said you had got that the Tuesday before.

Cor…

Correct!!

They said “We’ll be there next year.”

Yes, Bill?

They said they would be there the year after.

Correct!

Leslie?

Great stuff!

In speech, certain words such as pronouns,

place and time words

will be relative to that context.

Later, when these are transferred into reported speech,

they may need to change,

so be careful!

And that brings us to the end of today’s

Grammar Gameshow.

Let’s count out the points…

And the winner is…

Bill!

Yay!

Woo!

Well done! Here’s what you won!

Young man.

Blood is thicker than water.

I’ve combed your hair.

I’ve taken you to school.

I’ve even changed your nappy.

So, don’t tell me I lost.

Nana! You’re awake.

How wonderful.

And the winner is Nana!

Well done!

Here’s what she’s won!

It’s

a nice cup of tea!

We’ll see you again next week,

where you can play for another prize.

And Bill...

sorry old pal. I can't play anymore.

Nana’s orders.

Whoops!

I must have pushed the wrong button!

Unleash the ravages of time.

Will!

Did you just…

to your Nana!

Oh, don’t worry.

She’s tough as old boots, that one.

She’ll be fine.

It’s the animals that I feel sorry for.

It looks like we’ll need another contestant.

Thanks for joining us.

Say goodbye, Leslie.

Nagaatti, Leslie

See you next time.