Reported Speech regola, esempi, esercizi e test

Reported speech usiamo

Lo usiamo per riferire le parole di qualcun altro modificandone la forma, così da integrarle nel testo anziché citarle direttamente.
Convertiamo il discorso diretto in discorso indiretto.

Reported speech Forma

Subject + reporting V, that subject + V (con un cambio di tempo verbale se necessario)

“I am tired”, she said. She said that she was tired.

Reported speech Regola

Nel inglese, il discorso indiretto non si scrive tra virgolette, a differenza del discorso diretto:

George said, “I am ready to dance with you.”

George said (that) he was ready to dance with me.

Reported speech Variazioni dei tempi verbali

Discorso diretto (Direct speech)	Discorso indiretto (Reported speech)
Present Simple I know	Past Simple he said he knew
Present Continuous I am doing	Past Continuous he said he was doing
Present Perfect I have done	Past Perfect he said he had done
Past Simple I did	Past Perfect he said he had done
Past Continuous I was doing	Past Perfect Continuous he said he had been doing
Past Perfect I had done	Past Perfect I had done
Future (will) I will go	would he said he would go

❗ Quando il tempo verbale non cambia

Verità universali, fatti, leggi della natura.
Se qualcosa è sempre vero, il tempo verbale non cambia:
The Earth moves around the Sun. He said that the Earth moves around the Sun.
Quando l’azione è pertinente al momento in cui si parla.
Se l’affermazione è ancora vera ora.
I live in Paris. She said she lives in Paris. (perché lei vive ancora lì)
Se la subordinata è al past continuous, il tempo verbale può non cambiare nel linguaggio parlato.
He said, “I was playing football when she called me.”.
Disse: «Stavo giocando a calcio quando lei mi ha chiamato». He said that he was playing football when she called him.
Disse che stava giocando a calcio quando lei lo chiamò.
Se il verbo introduttivo è al presente
Con says, tells, has said non c’è cambiamento di tempo.
I’m busy. She says she is busy

Reported speech Verbi modali

I verbi modali che cambiano:

Discorso diretto (Direct speech)	Discorso indiretto (Reported speech)
will	would
can	could
may	might
shall	should
must (obbligo)	had to
must (esprime un ordine o un accordo)	was to

He said, “I will help you.” He said (that) he would help me.

She said, “I can finish it today.” She said (that) she could finish it that day.

John said, “I may go to the party.” John said (that) he might go to the party.

I asked, “Shall we begin?” I asked if we should begin.

My mother said, “You must do your homework.” My mother said (that) I had to do my homework.

The officer said, “You must be there by 6.” The officer said (that) I was to be there by 6.

I verbi modali che NON cambiano
(non hanno una forma di passato):
could, should, would, might, ought to
“I could help you,” he said. He said he could help me.

“You should study more,” the teacher said. The teacher said I should study more.

“I would love to join you,” she said. She said she would love to join us.

“It might rain later,” John said. John said it might rain later.

“You ought to be more careful,” she said. She said I ought to be more careful.

Reported speech Pronomi

I pronomi cambiano a seconda di chi parla e di chi riceve le parole.

“I like your car,” he said. He said he liked my car.

Reported speech Tempo e luogo

the previous weektd>two days earlier

Discorso diretto (Direct speech)	Discorso indiretto (Reported speech)
today	that day
yesterday	the day before
tomorrow	the next day
now	then
last week
tonight	that night
two days ago
here	there
this	that
these	those

“We have a meeting today,” he said. He said they had a meeting that day.

I bought these shoes yesterday. She said she had bought those shoes the day before.

I will come tomorrow. He said he would come the next day.

I can’t talk now. He said he couldn’t talk then.

I finished the course last week. She said she had finished the course the previous week.

I’m going out tonight. He said he was going out that night.

I moved here two days ago. She said she had moved there two days earlier.

Come here. She told him to come there.

This place is beautiful. He said that place was beautiful.

I bought these shoes. He said he had bought those shoes.

Reported speech Verbi

Verbi seguiti da una that-clause :
say, tell, add, explain, mention, reply, answer, admit, agree, deny, promise…
I’m tired. She said that she was tired.
Verbi seguiti da un to-infinitive:
advise, ask, tell, order, persuade, remind, warn, invite, encourage…
Don’t be late. He told me to not be late.

Reported speech Negazione

Aggiungere / mantenere not prima del verbo principale
I don’t like it. She said she didn’t like it.
Se il verbo modale ha una negazione con not, modifichiamo il modale e aggiungiamo not.
I can’t help you. He said he couldn’t help me.
Se not riguarda il significato e non la grammatica, lo manteniamo così com’è.
Don’t worry. He told me not to worry.

Reported speech Domande

Nella discorso indiretto, le domande generali (sì/no) si introducono con if o whether. L’ordine delle parole della domanda viene trasformato in quello di una frase affermativa.
- Si usa if nelle normali domande Yes/No, quando si vuole semplicemente sapere «sì o no».
  Do you like it? He asked if I liked it.
- Whether si usa quando la domanda presenta un’alternativa o una scelta.
  Do you want tea or coffee? He asked whether I wanted tea or coffee.
Domande con una parola interrogativa (wh-questions)
Reporting verb + wh-word + ordine diretto delle parole (senza inversione)

“Where do you live?” she asked. She asked where I lived.

“What is he doing?” I asked. I asked what he was doing.

“Why did you leave early?” he asked. He asked why I had left early.

“How can we solve this?” they asked. They asked how they could solve it.

“When will you call me?” she asked. She asked when I would call her.
Domande generali (Yes/No questions) Cominciano con Do / Does / Did / Are / Is / Can / Will, ecc.
Reporting verb + if/whether + ordine diretto delle parole

“Do you like coffee?” she asked. She asked if I liked coffee.

“Are they coming to the party?” he asked. He asked if they were coming to the party.

“Did you see the movie?” I asked. I asked if she had seen the movie.

“Will it rain tomorrow?” Tom asked. Tom asked if it would rain the next day.

“Can you help me?” she asked. She asked if I could help her.

“Is this your book?” he asked. He asked whether that was my book.

Reported speech Imperativo

Frase affermativa: reporting verb + object + to + verb

Open the door. He told me to open the door.

Divieto: reporting verb + object + not to + verb

Don’t be late. She told me not to be late.

Reported speech Errori tipici

Mantenere l’inversione nelle domande
❌ He asked where was I going
✔️ He asked where I was going
Usare “said me”
❌ He said me that…
✔️ He told me that…
✔️ He said that…
say — без объекта, tell — с объектом
Non cambiare il tempo verbale
❌ He said he is happy.
✔️ He said he was happy. Если reporting verb в прошедшем — делаем сдвиг времени.
Non cambiare i pronomi
❌ She said I am tired.
✔️ She said she was tired. Местоимения всегда подстраиваются под новый контекст.

Reported speech Frasi

“I am learning French,” she said. She said she was learning French.

“He has finished his project,” they said. They said he had finished his project.

“I shall return soon,” he said. He said he should return soon.

“You must call her today,” Mom said. Mom said I had to call her that day.

“What time does the train leave?” I asked. I asked what time the train left.

“Why are you crying?” he asked. He asked why I was crying.

“Can she swim?” I asked. I asked if she could swim.

“Is your brother at home?” she asked. She asked whether my brother was at home.

Leave your shoes outside. He told me to leave my shoes outside.

Don’t touch that button. She told me not to touch that button.

Reported speech Esempi

“I was reading a book,” she said. She said she had been reading a book.

“We have seen this movie,” they said. They said they had seen that movie.

“He will help us tomorrow,” I said. I said he would help us the next day.

“When did she arrive?” he asked. He asked when she had arrived.

“Where are my keys?” she asked. She asked where her keys were.

“Does he like pizza?” I asked. I asked if he liked pizza.

“Will they join us?” she asked. She asked if they would join us.

“You ought to apologize,” he said. He said I ought to apologize.

Be quiet, please. She told me to be quiet.

Don’t forget your umbrella. He reminded me not to forget my umbrella.

Reported Speech: frasi, esercizi, test ed esempi