Unit 30: El Discurso Directo y el Discurso Indirecto Flashcards
Quote Structures
It is a way of reporting what a person has said repeating their exact words.
Report Structure
It is a way of reporting what someone has said using our own words and paraphrasing theirs.
Composition of quote and report structure
Both quote and report structure consist of two clauses: the main one which contains the reporting verb and is called reporting clause, and the other which indicates what has been said, is called reported clause.
Direct Speech definition
From the formal point of view, direct speech is composed by a reporting and a reported clause. It is characterised by being enclosed in quotation marks, following the reporting clause which usually ends in a comma.
Position of reporting clause
Reporting clause may occur before, within or after the reported clause. Examples
What to mention more of direct speech
Inversion
Omission
Syntax
Free Direct Speech
Inversion in Direct Speech
Inversion is most common when the verb is ‘said’ and the subject is not a pronoun, and the reporting clause is medial. However, when the reported clause extends over many sentences it is placed at the beginning to make clear that we are reporting rather than talking directly ourselves.
Omission in Direct Speech
Reporting clauses can be omitted when the identity of the speaker is obvious for the context. Similarly, reporting clauses are regularly omitted in drama and in formal reports of meetings.
Syntax in Direct Speech
It may act as a direct object of the main clause (Dorothy said, ‘I want to go home’) or be a subordinate clause acting as an adverbial (‘Generals’ allegedly ‘never retire’).
Free-Direct Speech
It is a way of reporting utterances without reporting clauses an or quotation marks. It is usually present in fiction writing to represent a stream of thought, merged with narration.
Indirect Speech
We can report what other people said using our own words rather than the original ones, using a report structure.
It is composed by a reporting and a reported clause.
Syntax in Indirect Speech
Indirect speech clauses most often are subordinate nominal clauses acting as the object of the main clause.
What to mention in Indirect Speech
1 Changes in Tenses 2 Changes in Personal Pronouns, Possessives and Demonstratives 3 Changes in Expression of Time and Place 4 Introductory Verbs Say and Tell 5 Statements 6 Questions 7 Commands, Requests and Advices 8 Suggestions 9 Intentions and Hopes 10 Exclamations 11 Free-Indirect Speech
Changes in Tenses: What to mention
Introduced in the present tense Present, Present Perfect and Future Past tense Backshift- Sequence of tenses Avoid shifts, no automatic
Indirect Speech can be introduced by a verb in present tense
when we are reporting a conversation that is still going on, or when we are reading something and reporting what it says
Introductory verbs is in present, present perfect or future
We can report with no change in the tense. As a general rule, we put the verb in a tense which is apporpriated at the time of speaking
Still indirect speech is frequently introduced by a verb in the past tense
then verbs in the reported clause have to be changed into a corresponding past tense
When the reporting time is later than the time of utterance
they need adjustment of the verbal forms in the subordinate clauses. This change is named backshift and the resulting relationship of the verb forms, the sequence of tenses. However these correspondences are not automatic and the tendency is to avoid changes.
Changes in pronouns
pronouns change as relationships between participants change.
Pronouns and Possessives
usually change from first or second to third person, except when the speaker is reporting his/her own words. Changes in pronouns may affect the verb
Demonstratives
include changing this/these by that/those, unless the period has not completed yet
Changes in time and place
Today-That day Yesterday- The day before The day before yesterday- Two days before Tomorrow- The following day The day after tomorrow- In two days time Next week/year -The following week/ year Last year/week- The previous year/ week A year ago- A year before Logical adjustments are necesaary- Example
Introductory verbs: Say
Say can introduce a statement or follow it.
Inversion of say and the subject is possible when it follows the statement, especially when the subject is long.
Say+ to+ addressee is possible but must follow the direct statement. It can not introduce it.
Introductory verbs: Tell
Tell requires the person addressed, except with telling: stories, the truth, the time, when the person addressed need not to be mentioned.
Tell used with direct speech must be placed after the direct statement and inversion is not possible.
Statements
No many differences between English and Spanish.
Changes: verb tenses, demonstratives, time and place adverbials, pronouns and possessives.
What does differ is that in English ‘that’ is dropped, whereas Spanish do not drop ‘que’
Questions
Same changes as in statements
Interrogative structure changes into that of a statement, subject-verb inversion do not show, question marks are omitted and comma is dropped.
Report wh-questions
wh-word at the beginning of the clasuse
Report yes/no questions
If and whether. If is more usual, unless we want to stress that a decision must be made or the question contains a conditional clause
Commands, requests and advices
Who is to obey is addressed directly. In spanish is que+ subjunctive and in English is expressed by a to infinitive
Suggestions
When someone makes a suggestion about what someone else, not the hearer, should do, it is reported by a that clause; often containing a modal. If no modal is used, the result is more formal in BrE, though usual in AmE
Intentions and Hopes
Two ways:
reporting as an action with to infinitive clause
rerporting as a statement with a that clause
Exclamations
Become statements and exclamation marks dissapear.
Beginning with what/how… reported by using the verbs exclaim, say or being reworded: thanked, wished…
Free Indirect Speech
It is more indirect than the indirect speech. Consists on condensing, summarising or recasting the message so that only the gist is reported.
Teaching Reported Speech
Problems: errors by learners
Introduce common verbs and their patterns
Other option is through transformation- following the rules. Problem: not aware of the functions
