Reported Speech How to Explain What Someone Else Said in English
rolling cool hi everybody welcome back
to our weekly live stream my name is
Alisha and today we’re going to talk
about how to report speech in this
lesson I’m going to focus on verbs that
we use to report speech in English I’m
going to focus on say tell speak and
talk and how and when to use them and
I’m going to cover some kind of
guidelines for how to choose which tense
to use at the end of the lesson I’m also
going to talk about some other
expressions that we use when we’re
reporting speech or when we’re talking
about speech so I hope that you can use
this right away and you can also find
these kinds of things in your reading
too so I hope it’s a good lesson for
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people can find it I’m going to share
the video and then I’m going to begin
today’s lesson today I am going to start
by talking about how to choose the
correct tense for your reporting the
verbs so let us begin okay let’s go over
here in blue I want to start today’s
lesson with this question what tense
should I use so when you want to report
speech report something someone said how
do you do that how do you choose which
tends to use first is this a past
conversation so the conversation
happened yesterday or one hour ago
or last week if it’s a past conversation
use past tense to do it she said he told
me and so on if it’s something somewhat
regularly says so something somewhat
regularly says like your parents always
tell you the same thing or it’s a leader
in your community
they always say the same thing use
present tense this is a very common
question that I get like why does this
article say the president says or why
not said if it’s a regular statement use
present tense because think of it like a
fact
we use present tense for facts yeah
general information so please use a
present tense for regular statements
finally if you are making a guess about
the future like you are trying to think
of something someone is going to say
like you’re making a prediction
please use future tense he’s gonna say
or she’s gonna tell him and so on so
this is a quick guide line for tenses to
review for today’s lesson hey Leah my
parents always say I should study more
nice okay so with this in mind for
today’s lesson let’s look at our first
verb first verb is save save
so what to say the verb say is used for
a neutral report of speech so we’re just
sharing information it’s like one person
just gives information to another
there’s no like a positive or negative
feeling here we use it to report speech
it’s simple speech reporting verb
examples my manager said in past tense
this verb becomes said the pronunciation
is sent not Sayed said so the spelling
is irregular as well maybe you can see a
safe ID my manager sorry the manager
said we did a great job so here is the
person speaking the manager said this
cup this was the comment the manager
said we did a great job notice this verb
is also in past tense we did a great job
so this is a past comet past comment
past situation the manager said we did a
great job
okay another example my friend says
crazy things on Twitter
my friend says crazy things on Twitter
so again here’s the person speaking my
friend here’s my verb says present tense
because this is a regular situation so
my friend writes in this case if I
change the verb crazy things on Twitter
so this is another is an example of a
time when it’s okay to use this verb
says like you’re reporting a speech even
though it’s written so you can use it in
this way too okay uh I also want to
spend some time today thinking about
this next point it’s may be hard to see
ah it says mark statements in written
dialogue sorry out of focus mark
statements in written dialogue what does
this mean so mark statement a statement
a statement is a thing someone said and
written so that means like in-text
dialogue so dialogue refers to a
conversation yeah so we use said to do
this so when you read books you see said
someone said so-and-so we do this with
the verb say a couple of points I want
to talk about with punctuation because I
see your questions about this from time
to time this mark here this is called a
quotation mark a quotation mark put this
mark before the beginning of this
statement so I’ll read the example
sentence first this I know it’s small on
your screen and many of you are watching
on your phones so I’ll read it I have to
go said Sarah
I have to go said Sarah so what’s
happening here this
is my verb my reporting verb said here’s
the person doing the talking here’s the
person speaking this set of marks this
tells us what was said this tells us
Sara’s words at the end you’ll notice
this comma this little comma so we do
this this is an American English
pronunciation point and for those of you
who are interested this comes from the
Chicago Manual of style guidelines so I
have to go
comma said Sarah is how you would see
this written in a book so you’re showing
dialogue in this way your comma here
goes before the quotation mark so the
comma comes inside the quotation mark so
this is if the verb comes after the
written dialogue portion sometimes it’s
clear and we don’t have this sometimes
it’s just I have to go and we understand
the speaker in that case put the period
inside the quotation marks as well so
same idea with this next example
sentence we’re late said Eric so again
quotation mark this marks my dialogue I
have this comma because I’m following it
with said Eric so when you see this verb
used in in books in like news articles
and stuff you’ll probably see it it with
past tense said Eric’s you probably
won’t see it in present tense because
when you’re reading books and news
articles it’s like a report situation
yeah and as I said if it is at the end
of a sentence please put your
punctuation mark inside the quotation
mark so that means if it’s a question oh
well
getting a little more complicated but if
you are using this at the end of a
sentence like Eric said we’re late put
the period or the exclamation point
before your quote
Martin examples secure razor Sarah or
Sarah both both are correct there are
many there are different spellings of
that name Alicia’s lessons are the best
set Andrew yeah good so but don’t forget
your quotation marks here also people
asked like what’s the deal like why is
why does this not have quotation marks
this is not a direct quote the manager
said we did a great job this is not a
direct quote this sentence the manager
said quote you did a great job then
that’s a direct quote so this sentence
here my original example sentence is
like I heard information from the
manager I’m reporting this to my team
that’s the reason that this is different
the manager said you did a great job
this shows exactly what the manager said
so this is the difference between using
these so this is a little bit extra
detail I talked a bit about this in
these say tell and speak video that’s on
the English class 101 you do Jeff okay I
have to take a break so let’s do that uh
all right oh no I forgot one thing one
one one one more small point one more
small point casually when you’re a
reporting dialogue in speech in
particular you may hear this you’ll
probably hear this a lot in um like TV
shows and movies these three things at
least are very very common in American
English instead of saying he said or she
said we use was like and was all and go
or went we use these like rapid-fire
very quickly when we’re sharing
conversations like we’re sharing more
than one person so for example if it’s
like me and control desk talking I might
say like and then he said and then I was
all and then she was also we connected
and then and then I was all he was all
she was all and then he went and then I
go we use these a mix of these instead
of said because using said said said
said sounds kind of boring and this
sounds a little bit more like casual and
fun so if you hear these that’s what it
means these all mean sit
they all means that so last point for
this bit alrighty break quick break
the same for told no we’re going to talk
about told in a minute if you missed it
at the beginning of this lesson
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um let’s continue then so I’ve talked
about say and how to choose our tents
let’s continue to this bit till let’s
move on to tell and I’m going to discuss
talk and speak now - so tell ok I’ll
stay here let’s stay here sigh so tell
what’s the difference here tell the verb
tell past tense told is used for a
one-way conversation so if you imagine
like one person is doing a lot of the
talking so if you are giving a
presentation or if you
are giving a report to someone it’s like
one person does most of the talking one
person speaks the most this is a
situation in which we use tell the verb
tell for example my teacher told me I
failed no it’s not a very positive
example sentence but just like with said
here before the verb we have the person
speaking and then after the verb hmm
so who is the person receiving the
information so in this example sentence
my teacher told me I failed my teacher
told me I failed Oh No so here it’s like
I don’t have to say anything I just
received the information that’s the
feeling with the verb tell so it’s like
this is very useful for reports so
you’ll see this in the news it’s like
such-and-such politician told reporters
bla bla something so tell is useful for
these kind of one-way situations where
the other person isn’t expected to talk
a lot maybe a little that’s fine it’s
not like a rule but this is a situation
where one person talks a lot or one side
talks a lot another example
tell me about your vacation tell me
about your vacation so this one sounds
like a command it is but it’s like a
friendly way to get someone to give you
information tell again me the person
receiving the information about topic so
you can use this pattern yourself tell
me about this thing tell me about your
vacation tell me about your ideas tell
me about your favorite donut recipe tell
me about your favorite Star Wars movie
oh god okay tell me something so you can
use this as a friendly like request for
information okay every cool every cool
to tell okay
let’s go let’s continue on I’m looking
for your questions I’m looking for you
irrelevant questions and comments uh my
teacher told me I forgot to put a comma
okay good
my teacher told me that I failed yes
good good good good
no I will not send you my contact
information okay let’s get you up on to
talk and speak talk and speak so talk
and speak we use these in the same way
when we are describing a conversation so
that means like a discussion so two or
more people we use talk and speak to do
that what’s the difference
talk is casual speak is formal so when
you’re trying to decide which one to use
consider this it’s not incorrect to use
speak for a casual situation like it’s
not a community it’s not going to cause
a communication problem it might sound a
little bit unnatural so please keep this
in mind also just a reminder we use
speak to talk about like our language
abilities I speak English I don’t speak
Chinese we do not use talk to do that
oops I just messed up the word speak
okay it’s not just a race speak okay
sorry everybody okay speak okay so the
other point I want to mention here is we
can use both of these verbs with to or
with so I talked to my parents about the
news is my first example sentence here
again I’m using past tense
I talked who is doing the talking I
talked to my parents here is the other
person or the other party the other side
and the conversation about the news so
in this example sentence I used to you
can also use
there’s not a difference in meaning for
some people I guess you can kind of
think of it as a little more like
something you do together if you use
with if I said for example I talked with
my parents about the news it sounds a
little more like here doing something
together but the meaning remains the
same it’s kind of the same deal another
example I spoke to my boss about some
ideas so in this example sentence I’ve
used speak because it’s a professional
situation I spoke to my boss speak past
tenses spoke please keep in mind this is
an irregular verb you can use whip here
as well I spoke with my boss about some
ideas examples I spoke to my students
about mandatory online classes nice
autumn house
that sounds good uh-uh ice yes ok I
speak Portuguese French and English says
Elton very nice good example there are
many of today’s lesson sorry I see there
are many questions about other points if
you have questions about things not
related to today’s lesson please send
them to the ask Alicia link I mentioned
at the beginning of the lesson ok I
don’t see any questions about this so
I’ll take one more very quick break and
then we’ll go to the last part some
other expressions related to speech
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that’s the only point many people are
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today’s topic is how to report speech
this is being recorded so you can watch
the beginning if you missed it but if
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can find today’s lesson okay let’s go to
the last point the last point I want to
talk about today is just some other
expressions that are very common that
are related to speech oh hi Monday one
of our members joined on YouTube cool
okay um let’s go to this first
expression this expression is spit it
out
- spit it out so this this expression
means hurry up hurry up and say
something and say it say something so
it’s like I’m not talking quickly enough
or there’s really important information
I need to give someone is very tired I’m
sorry someone is like tired of waiting
for me they might say spit it out which
means hurry up and say it so this is a
very direct can be kind of rude
expression when you are tired of waiting
for someone to say something so I don’t
I don’t really use this I guess I
probably would just say like hurry up
like I want to hear this sounds a little
bit actually kind of rather aggressive
so please be careful but this is a very
common expression other expression here
very common a quite rude is the
expression shut up shut up this is a
command
this is a rude I should I will mark this
on the board rude that means bad manners
rude means bad manners shut up
means stop talking stop talking or stop
making noise I’ll put that there
so when you want someone to stop talking
and you are ok to be rude with that
person you can say shut up sometimes
friends like to use this to tease each
other like if a friend is saying is
telling an embarrassing story about you
or they’re criticizing you in a friendly
way you can respond with shut up we’re
doing stop talking in a friendly manner
so we generally don’t use this in polite
conversations but you can use this to
mean stop talking stop talking alright
questions
examples good examples are coming in on
YouTube spit it out man we don’t have
much time good ok
con well Jesus shut up and let me tell
them everything alright interesting
situation that’s funny
Brenda says spit it out can change
depending on the form in which you use
it uh yes that is correct so this form
of spit it out means hurry up and say
that thing if however like you eat
something that’s bad for you or I don’t
I don’t know if this this expression
also means to physically like spit to
spit means like to expel something to
take like move something out of your
mouth like if I eat something bad and I
don’t know I don’t know what the
situation is I need to get it out this
this also has the literal meaning of
removing something from your mouth yes
that is correct depending on the form
that you use ok onward ah
Elton on YouTube yes good point shut up
also means no way we can use this as an
expression for shock so someone tells
you like a really great news you might
go shut up which means like no way I
can’t believe it I’m shocked I’m so
surprised so yes there are different
ways to use
these expressions continue okay next one
is out with it out with it
this means spit it out as well out with
it this out imagine this is like out of
your mouth in terms of words in terms of
words so out with it means like bring
the words out of your mouth it means
your point so again this is useful in a
situation or someone is talking a lot
but you they’re not telling you the key
information or they’re like keeping it a
secret or creating too much suspense or
something like that
you can use out with it just like say it
like say the surprise say the secret
whatever it is oh okay mmm okay I don’t
see other questions last one then the
last expression here is two expressions
actually a two-for-one it is a to be
tongue-tied or to be speechless to be
tongue-tied or to be speechless
so tongue is I won’t touch it because
safety is this part that you know muscle
inside your mouth tied means like to be
in a not like a like a piece of rope so
to be tongue-tied means you can’t speak
for you are speechless
so that is used we use this expression
when we can’t talk like we’re so shocked
or we’re so surprised
or maybe scared or or we’re nervous or
there’s something that keeps us we can’t
talk about something or were too
confused to talk about something there
are many reasons to be tongue-tied or to
be speechless so in a sentence we might
say something like I was so nervous like
I got tongue-tied I couldn’t give my
presentation or I was tongue-tied I
couldn’t tell him what I wanted to
so this means to be unable to speak so
to be unable to speak a point this one
tongue tied this sounds a little bit
this is used usually when we feel like
confused or nervous
speechless can be used for a good reason
though speechless can be like we’re so
happy we can’t talk like something
really good happened like I got a really
nice surprise like my friends threw me a
surprise birthday party I was speechless
like I couldn’t say anything cuz I was
so happy so this is maybe something to
keep in mind generally we use
tongue-tied when we feel kind of nervous
or there’s like a problem speechless can
be used in positive situations though do
someone said shut up the lesson is easy
to follow thank you that one sounds
that’s a little bit like that’s not
quite a natural use of shut up we use it
generally for close friends when they
give us really good exciting news so we
would not use shut up just to talk about
something we feel is positive that
sounds very very unnatural so please be
careful alright questions and comments
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Wow I’m late oh my gosh I talked a lot I
talk past tense I talked a lot I said
many things did you hear everything I
told okay so funny to me alright let’s
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week’s topic is how real is that what I
can make and really and use embedded
questions ah yeah yeah yeah how to make
and use embedded embedded questions
embedded questions are like that means a
question inside a question or a question
inside a statement I talked about this
grammar point I think two weeks ago it
was kind of inside another lesson it was
about asking for help so I’m going to
review this grammar because it’s weird
grammar but it’s very very helpful very
useful so please join me again join us
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