Direct speech:

 

John: "I'll be late".

Reported speech: “John said (that) he would be late” OR “John told me (that) he was going to be late”.

With 'tell' we NEED the object (e.g. 'me', 'you', 'her').

With 'say' we CAN'T use the object (e.g. 'me', 'them', 'us').

 

So we CAN'T say:

 

“John said me that he would be late.” OR “John told that he would be late.”

Here are some correct examples:

 

Julie said (that) she'd come to the party.

I said (that) I was going to bed early.

He told me (that) he loved living in London.

They told John (that) they would arrive at six.

(We can also use 'tell' in reported orders. In this case, 'tell' is followed by a direct object and 'to + infinitive': 'She told me to sit down'. You can learn more about this here).

 

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

· Direct speech: I like ice cream.

· Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.

If the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

 

· Direct speech: I like ice cream.

· Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

Tense | Direct Speech | Reported Speech
present simple | I like ice cream | She said (that) she liked ice cream.
present continuous | I am living in London | She said (that) she was living in London.
past simple | I bought a car | She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that) she bought a car.
past continuous | I was walking along the street | She said (that) she had been walking along the street.
present perfect | I haven't seen Julie | She said (that) she hadn't seen Julie.
past perfect* | I had taken English lessons before | She said (that) she had taken English lessons before.
will | I'll see you later | She said (that) she would see me later.
would* | I would help, but..” | She said (that) she would help but...
can | I can speak perfect English | She said (that) she could speak perfect English.
could* | I could swim when I was four | She said (that) she could swim when she was four.
shall | I shall come later | She said (that) she would come later.
should* | I should call my mother | She said (that) she should call her mother
might* | I might be late | She said (that) she might be late
must | I must study at the weekend | She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She said she had to study at the weekend

* doesn't change.

Occasionally, we don't need to change the present tense into the past if the information in direct speech is still true (but this is only for things which are general facts, and even then usually we like to change the tense):

Direct speech: The sky is blue.

Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Direct Question | Reported Question
Where is the Post Office, please? | She asked me where the Post Office was.
What are you doing? | She asked me what I was doing.
Who was that fantastic man? | She asked me who that fantastic man had been.

what if you need to report a 'yes / no' question? We don't have any question words to help us. Instead, we use 'if':

Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?

Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

No problem? Here are a few more examples:

Direct Question | Reported Question
Do you love me? | He asked me if I loved him.
Have you ever been to Mexico? | She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico.
Are you living here? | She asked me if I was living here.

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

· Direct speech: Close the window, please

· Or: Could you close the window please?

· Or: Would you mind closing the window please?

All of these requests mean the same thing, so we don't need to report every word when we tell another person about it. We simply use 'ask me + to + infinitive':

· Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.

Here are a few more examples:

Direct Request | Reported Request
Please help me. | She asked me to help her.
Please don't smoke. | She asked me not to smoke.
Could you bring my book tonight? | She asked me to bring her book that night.
Could you pass the milk, please? | She asked me to pass the milk.
Would you mind coming early tomorrow? | She asked me to come early the next day.

To report a negative request, use 'not':

· Direct speech: Please don't be late.

· Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

And finally, how about if someone doesn't ask so politely? We can call this an 'order' in English, when someone tells you very directly to do something. For example:

· Direct speech: Sit down!

In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use 'tell' instead of 'ask':

· Reported speech: She told me to sit down.

Direct Order | Reported Order
Go to bed! | He told the child to go to bed.
Don't worry! | He told her not to worry.
Be on time! | He told me to be on time.
Don't smoke! | He told us not to smoke.

Time Expressions with Reported Speech

Sometimes when we change direct speech into reported speech we have to change time expressions too. We don't always have to do this, however. It depends on when we heard the direct speech and when we say the reported speech.

For example:

It's Monday. Julie says "I'm leaving today".

If I tell someone on Monday, I say "Julie said she was leaving today".
If I tell someone on Tuesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving yesterday".
If I tell someone on Wednesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving on Monday".
If I tell someone a month later, I say "Julie said she was leaving that day".

So, there's no easy conversion. You really have to think about when the direct speech was said.

Here's a table of some possible conversions:

now | then / at that time
today | yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June
yesterday | the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of December
last night | the night before, Thursday night
last week | the week before / the previous week
tomorrow | today / the next day / the following day.

 

Eg: I like guys who have a lot of responsibility.

    - Work unsocial hour: to work during the night or early in the morning when most people do not have to work.

           Eg: In Sydney, you can always find places that are open - fantastic for people who work unsocial hours like us.

    - Sort out people’s problems: to understand or find (something, such as a reason or a solution) by thinking I'm trying to sort out a way to do it; to find an answer or solution for (something).

            Eg: He's still trying to sort out his problems.

    - Organise conferences: an event, sometimes lasting a few days, at which there is a group of talks on a particular subject or a meeting in which especially business matters are discussed formally.

            Eg: Universities also organize conferences where research specialists address A-level students and teachers.

    - Do overtime: If you say that someone is working overtime to do something, you mean that they are using a lot of energy, effort, or enthusiasm trying to do it.

            Eg: The company had applied for the injunction after the union urged its members not to do overtime.

    - Go for an audition: when someone does a short performance to try and get a job as an actor, singer, etc. 

Eg: Kari went for an audition for a part in a TV drama.

    -  Run a department: organize or control a part of a business, school, etc. 

               Eg: She’s been running the advertising department for two years.

    - Be responsible for the finances: being prepared for the unexpected. Most experts agree that you need to be able to support yourself financially for at least six months without an income.

                Eg: Her interest in math is rooted in her childhood on the family farm in Romania, where her grandmother was responsible for the finances.

    - Arrange meetings: to organize, schedule, or plan a meeting. 

Eg: We should arrange a meeting to talk about this. 

Let's organize a day when we are both available to meet.

    - Work shifts:/ˈʃɪft.wɜːk/ a system in which different groups of workers work somewhere at different times of the day and night.

               Eg: The factory is run on shiftwork.

I hate shiftwork.

    - Be in charge of a company: be responsible for a group of people, or an activity. 

Eg: He’s in charge of 15 people in his department.

+New word:

    - Operation:/ˌɒpəˈreɪʃn/ the process of cutting open a part of a person’s body in order to remove or repair a damaged part.

Eg: Will I need to have an operation?

    -  Well-paid/ˌwel ˈpeɪd/earning or providing a lot of money >< badly paid:

                 Eg: The job is very well paid.

    - Permanent:/ˈpɜːmənənt/lasting for a long time or for all time in the future; existing all the time

Eg: She was unable to find a permanent job.

    - Temporary:/ˈtemprəri/ lasting or intended to last or be used only for a short time; not permanent. 

                  Eg: They had to move into temporary accommodation.

    - Repetitive:/rɪˈpetətɪv/saying or doing the same thing many times, so that it becomes boring.

SYNONYM monotonous.

                   Eg: It must be a repetitive job.

    - Rewarding:/rɪˈwɔːdɪŋ/ worth doing; that makes you happy because you think it is useful or important.

                 Eg: That trip is a rewarding experience.

    - Glamorous:/ˈɡlæmərəs/ especially attractive and exciting, and different from ordinary things or people.

    - Dull:/dʌl/ not interesting or exciting. SYNONYM dreary.

                 Eg: There's never a dull moment when John's around.

    -  Auxiliaries: /ɔːɡˈzɪliəri/ a worker who gives help or support to the main group of workers

Eg: Nursing auxiliaries

    - Undercover:/ˌʌndəˈkʌvə(r)/ working or done secretly in order to find out information for the police, a government, etc.

                  Eg: The scandal was revealed after months of undercover work by journalists.

    -  Smuggler:/ˈsmʌɡlə(r)/a person who takes goods into or out of a country illegally

Eg: a drug smuggler

    - Bug:/bʌɡ/any small insect

Eg: There's a bug crawling up your arm.

    - Warehouse:/ˈweəhaʊs/ building where large quantities of goods are stored, especially before they are sent to shops to be sold

Eg: Police are investigating a fire at a furniture warehouse.

    - Trap:/træp/a piece of equipment for catching animals

Eg: a fox with its leg in a trap

    - Threaten:/ˈθretn/ to say that you will cause trouble, hurt somebody, etc. if you do not get what you want

                  Eg: They broke my windows and threatened me.

- Lift:/lɪft/ to raise somebody/something or be raised to a higher position or level

              Eg: She lifted her head to look at him.

- Offered:/ˈɒfə(r)/ to say that you are willing to give something to somebody

              Eg: He offered some useful advice.

- Refused:/rɪˈfjuːz/to say or show that you will not do something that somebody has asked you to do.

              Eg: My brother refused to allow anyone to help him.

 

- Where was it? 

- What happened?

- How you felt on that day?

- Explain why it was important for you to work/study there?

                In addition,…………
Transition to the end of the speech:
                In conclusion,……….
               

You should say:

- What it is

- How you are preparing for it

- and why you want to achieve it

 Today, I’d like to talk to you about : Discribe a goal that you alway want to a chieve.
 One of the goals that I have always wanted to achieve is to become an English teacher. I have been learning English since childhood and I love it. Every day, first, I will open lectures by native teachers to listen to help me improve  my English listening ability. Second, I will write down 5 new words that I learned from thw lecture and I leanr them by making sentences. In addition I do exercises from books to improve reading and writting skills. Finally, I will come up with a topic and I  will complete the talk using the structures and vocabulary. I learned that day. That way I can get closer to my goal. I always try to this language and I want children in the countryside or in the highlands to have access to this language sooner. Hope that I will reach this goal as soon as possible. 

You should say:

- What it is

- How you are preparing for it

- and why you want to achieve it

 

There are so many things in life that I want to do ,but the problem is I meet deadline all most of my time that I just don’t have “unlimited” time in my hands. However, as far as I am concerned, I think that spend time with my family whenever I have chance, especially traveling with my family is what I really joyful and want to do in the future. First of all, this is my big dream, when I was a little girl. I want make surprise for my mother who always want to travel in her future and I want to be certain that it goes as expected. This also necessitates a significant amount of money. So, when I went to university to study in the same time I found a part-time job that is waitress in restaurant, I have been there for a year. It not only start my goal but also share financial burden with my parents. Besides, I think a camera will be essential to save the remembering moments of my family so that we can review later. Finally, traveling is a great way to recharge my batteries after a long time hard working. It helps me escape from the hustle and bustle from the city. 

To sum up, travel is my parent’s hobby and helps my parents can reduce their stress. It also make my family more connect and spend time for family to understand each other more, so that is the reason why I always try to study and work hard.