1. SAY (dire) vs TELL (dire à)
You say SOMETHING (“Hello”, “Goodbye”, “How are you?”)
You tell SOMEONE (Tell me, I’ll tell you, She told us)
Grammatically speaking
SAY is followed by the direct object (la chose dite),
TELL is followed by the indirect object (la personne à qui on dit quelque-chose)
2. ASK vs ASK for
It’s the opposite of French:
You ask someone (direct object): I asked my brother |
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C’est le contraire du français
On demande à quelqu’un (objet indirect) : J’ai demandé à mon frère |
You ask for something or someone (indirect object): He asked for more time to think about it |
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On demande quelque chose ou quelqu’un (objet direct) : Il a demandé plus de temps pour y réfléchir |
3. Four basic reported speech patterns
STATEMENTS (déclarations)
He said, “I have a blog” => HE SAID (that) he had a blog or => HE TOLD ME (that) he had a blog |
QUESTIONS (interrogations)
a) He said, “Do you have a website?” => HE ASKED ME IF I had a website
b) He said, “What is your e-mail address?” => HE ASKED ME WHAT my e-mail address was |
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REQUESTS (demandes)
a) He said, “Please wait” (“Could you wait?”, “Would you mind waiting?” etc)
=> HE ASKED ME to wait |
REQUESTS (demandes)
b) He said, “Could I have a glass of water?”
=> HE ASKED ME for a glass of wateror He asked me if he could have a glass of water |
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ORDERS (commandes)
He said, “Be patient” |
=> HE TOLD ME TO be patient |
Exercise: Change the direct speech into reported statements, questions, requests & orders
DIRECT |
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REPORTED |
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She told me (that) she …………………………. | |
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He asked me to …………………………………… | |
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They told me I’d …………………………………… | |
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She asked us what ……………………………….. | |
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He asked her ……………………………………….. | |
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He asked if ………………………………………….. | |
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She told him ………………………………………… | |
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I asked for ……………………………………………
I asked if …………………………………………….. |
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He told me ………………………………………….. | |
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He ………………………………………………………. |