Concetti Chiave
- In indirect speech, verbs are typically shifted to a past tense, such as present simple to past simple or future to future in the past.
- Exceptions occur when the main verb is in present simple, past progressive, present perfect, or future, leaving the subordinate verb unchanged.
- Universal truths and habitual actions maintain their original tense in indirect speech, reflecting their unchanging nature.
- Pronouns and adverbs indicating proximity are adjusted for distance, like "I" to "he" and "this" to "that."
- Indirect questions and commands avoid inversion and auxiliary verbs, using verbs like asked or ordered followed by an infinitive.
Rules of Indirect Speech
Nel discorso indiretto i verbi, di solito, si mettono ad un tempo anteriore rispetto a quello che abbiamo nel discorso diretto, secondo lo schema che segue:
• presente semplice > passato semplice
• presente progressivo > passato progressivo
• passato prossimo e passato semplice > trapassato
• futuro (shall e will) > futuro nel passato (should e would)
• condizionale > condizionale anteriore
Esempi:
• I should arrive at five > He said that he ought to arrive at five
• I have write a letter > He said that he had written a letter
• I wrote a lettere > She said she had written a letter
• I shall buy the fruit ont the way home > She said that she would buy the fruit on her way home
Exceptions in Indirect Speech
Nel discorso indiretto, quando il verbo della principale è o un presente semplice o un passato progressivo, on un passato prossimo o un futuro, allora il verbo della secondaria non va modificato.
• I shall be home by five > He says he will be home by fine (La congiunzione “that” può essere omessa) > He has said he will be home by five
• This meeting is really boring > He says that yhois meeting is really boring (si può anche mettere “that” a seconda di dove si trova la persona che parla)
Universal Truths and Habitual Actions
Quando esprimiamo una verità riconosciuta da tutti e quindi un fatto universale, non si operano cambiamenti
• The stars are very distant > The scientist said that the stars are very distant
• The teacher explained that the earth moves round the sun
Se l’azione è ripetuta o abituale possiamo anche conservare il presente:
• I go to bed early once a week > She said that she goes to bed early once a week.
Changes in Pronouns and Adverbs
Oltre ai cambiamenti dei tempi, bisogna tener conto anche di altri mutamenti come quello dei pronomi personali soggetto, i pronomi personali complemento, i possessivi (aggettivi e pronomi)
Le prime due persone singolari e plurali diventano terze persone, rispettivamente singolari e plurali
• I/you/we/you > he/she/they
• me/you/us/you > him/her/them
• mine/yours/ours/yours > his/hers/they
• my/your/our/your > his/her/their
Le parole che indicano vicinanza, vengono sostituite con quelle che indica lontananza
• this > that
• here > there
• these > those
• now > then
• ago > before
• today > that day
• tomorrow > the next day
• yesterday > the prevous days oppure the day before
Indirect Questions and Commands
Le stesse regole generiche valgono per le domande e per gli ordini indiretti, ma per entrambi di preferisce un verbo diverso da “say”. Poiché nelle domande indirette la domanda è diventata un’affermazione di ciò che era detto, non si usa do/does/did e non si fa l’inversione. I verbi più frequenti sono: asked, enquired, wondered, wanted to know, cioè quei verbi in cui l’idea di domanda è implicita.
La congiunzione che unisce la principale alla domanda diretta è if oppure whether, eccetto quando la domanda inizia con Who?, What?, How?, Which?
Esempi:
• Is your friend in London? He asked me whether my friend was in London
• Has your brother gone home yet? He enquired whether my brother had gone home.
• Who is that man? > He wondered who that man was.
• What is the cat doing ? > She asked the car was doing.
Nei comandi indiretti si usa order, command, tell, ask, request, beg (scongiurare), plead (= supplicare), ecc. seguito da un complemento, mentre l’imperativo > infinito:
Esempi:
• Go home! > He ordered me to go home.
• Fetch a bottle of wine! > He told the waiter to fectch a bottle of wine.
• Don’t sit on this chair ! > She ordered the child not to sit on that chair.
• Don’t leave yet ! > He begged her not to leave.
Domande da interrogazione
- What are the general rules for changing verb tenses in indirect speech?
- Are there any exceptions to changing verb tenses in indirect speech?
- How are universal truths and habitual actions treated in indirect speech?
- What changes occur with pronouns and adverbs in indirect speech?
- How are indirect questions and commands structured differently from direct speech?
In indirect speech, verbs are typically shifted to a past tense relative to the direct speech. For example, present simple becomes past simple, present progressive becomes past progressive, and future (shall/will) becomes future in the past (should/would).
Yes, when the main verb is in the present simple, past progressive, present perfect, or future, the verb in the subordinate clause does not change. For instance, "I shall be home by five" becomes "He says he will be home by five."
Universal truths and habitual actions do not undergo tense changes in indirect speech. For example, "The stars are very distant" remains "The scientist said that the stars are very distant."
Pronouns and adverbs indicating proximity are adjusted to reflect distance. For example, "I/you/we" become "he/she/they," and "this" becomes "that."
Indirect questions use verbs like asked, enquired, and wondered, without inversion or auxiliary verbs like do/does/did. Commands use verbs like order, tell, and ask, followed by an infinitive. For example, "Go home!" becomes "He ordered me to go home."
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