Using indirect speech to report words and ideas
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Indirect speech changes | page 5 of 6 |
Pronoun changes in indirect speech
Coursebooks often tell students that when they transform direct speech into indirect speech, pronouns and possessive pronouns should be changed, eg we should become they. It is important for students to know that such rules are not obligatory and they should not be followed blindly. Consider the following situation where a father is speaking directly to his son:
"I'm sorry David, but we cannot afford to buy a flat."
In the following example, David is reporting what his father said:
"My father told me that we could not afford to buy a flat."
Changing the pronoun we to they is inappropriate and in fact does not
make sense in this case.
Teaching implications
Students need to know that there are no rigid rules in indirect speech and that the choice of pronouns (and tenses, adverbs, etc) is determined by meaning in context.
Introduction
Pronoun changes in indirect speech
