Learn how to use reported speech
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Intro |
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| Barbara: Good afternoon! |
| Braden: Braden here. Using Reported Speech in English. In this lesson, you’ll learn about Reported Speech and Workshop. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place in the morning, at a meeting. |
| Braden: And it’s between the chairman and Jennifer. |
| Barbara: The meeting is official so the language will be formal. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
| Chairman: Okay everyone, as I mentioned before, you're being given the minutes from our last meeting, which was on September 30th. Please review them quickly. |
| ... |
| Chairman: Now that we've gone over the minutes, let's report on our progress. Let's start with Jennifer. |
| Jennifer: We were able to outline the entire seminar. We are going to start on Wednesday morning at nine o'clock and have panel discussions, workshops, and speeches straight through till Friday night. |
| Chairman: Did you remember to include the Kathryn Grayson and Robert Forrester speeches? |
| Jennifer: Yes we did. Jonathan said he thought it best to have the keynote speech on Wednesday night, the Kathryn Grayson speech on Thursday afternoon, and use the Robert Forrester speech to close the seminar. |
| Chairman: Agreed. How many panel discussions have you planned? |
| Jennifer: Three; one per day. We're planning on having four delegates per panel with an hour and a half of Q and A after the delegates present. |
| Chairman: And how many workshops? |
| Jennifer: Four; one on Wednesday and another on Thursday with two on Friday. Each delegate will be in charge of their own workshop. |
| Chairman: So what are your next steps? |
| Jennifer: We really feel that the next step is contacting the rest of the delegates to make sure they're available for the seminar. After that, we're positive we'll be able to assign the delegates to their respective panels, workshops, and/or speeches. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about The keynote speech. |
| Barbara: At an academic conference, or seminar in our case, the keynote address or keynote speech is designed to set the underlying tone and summarize the core message of the event. |
| Braden: If the topic of the seminar is less well known to the intended public, the keynote speech tends to become a presentation about the foundation of the seminar. |
| Barbara: For example, the keynote speech for the “Energy is our Future” seminar could be in the format of a presentation. |
| Braden: The individual giving the keynote speech or keynote address will most likely paint a broad backdrop for the future panels and workshops. Most likely, graphs, tables, and other visual aids will be used in order to explain the far-reaching nature of "Energy and our Future.” |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Vocabulary and Phrases |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: minutes [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a summarized record of the proceedings at a meeting |
| Barbara: minutes [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: minutes [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: review [natural native speed] |
| Braden: examine or assess formally |
| Barbara: review [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: review [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: outline [natural native speed] |
| Braden: define the general form of something |
| Barbara: outline [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: outline [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: speech [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a formal address or discourse |
| Barbara: speech [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: speech [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: panel [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a small group of people brought together to discuss a particular matter |
| Barbara: panel [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: panel [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: discussion [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the action or process of talking about something |
| Barbara: discussion [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: discussion [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: include [natural native speed] |
| Braden: comprise or contain as part of a whole |
| Barbara: include [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: include [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: workshop [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a meeting where a group of people engages in discussion |
| Barbara: workshop [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: workshop [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: contact [natural native speed] |
| Braden: communication, or relationship with someone |
| Barbara: contact [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: contact [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: step [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a measure or action |
| Barbara: step [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: step [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Barbara: The first word/phrase we’ll look at is.... |
| Barbara: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase panel discussions |
| Braden: As we said in a previous lesson, a panel discussion is a type of convention panel, which acts as a forum for discussion of a particular topic. |
| Barbara: The dictionary usually defines a Panel as a “small group of people brought together to discuss, investigate, or decide on a particular matter. |
| Braden: This is especially common in the business and government contexts. For example, the UN assembled a group of experts known in the media as the IPCC. That acronym, breaks down as the “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.” |
| Barbara: For those of you who like the history of words, “panel” comes from Latin through Old French. Originally, it meant a piece of cloth, which was extended to piece of parchment since it has roughly the same shape. From there, the meaning expanded to a list of people, which is something you’d put on a piece of parchment. |
| Braden: Then it was a small step to arrive at a group of experts. Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: (fast) |
| Braden: Our next phrase is "the minutes." “The Minutes,” in a meeting context refers to a formal type of report of a meeting. |
| Barbara: While similar to meeting notes, minutes typically include more information, and have a stricter structure. |
| Braden: For example, meeting notes will usually have the main points of a meeting. Meeting minutes will have a list of attendees, statement of issues, tasks delegated or assigned, and projects accepted; all in chronological order. |
| Barbara: Depending on the organization, meeting minutes can be considered legal documents and must always be kept on file. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: (fast) |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
| Braden: What’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is Reported Speech |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase |
| Barbara: Jonathan said he thought it best to have the keynote speech on Wednesday night. |
| Braden: Reported Speech (also referred to as 'indirect speech') refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said. It is usually used more in spoken English than written English. |
| Barbara: If the reporting verb (i.e., said) is in the past, the reported clause is in a past form. This form is usually one step back into the past from the original. |
| Braden: For example, “He said the test was difficult.” and “She said she watched TV every day.” |
| Barbara: If simple present, present perfect or the future is used in the reporting verb (i.e., says) the tense is retained. |
| Braden: For example, “He says the test is difficult.” or “She has said that she watches TV every day.” |
| Barbara: If reporting a general truth the present tense will be retained. For example, “The teacher said that phrasal verbs are very important." |
| Braden: or “Dustin will say that he comes to school every day.” |
| Barbara: Now let’s look at Changing Pronouns and Time Signifiers. When using reported speech, it is often necessary to change the pronouns to match the subject of the sentence. |
| Braden: For example, the direct quote “She said, "I want to bring my children." becomes “She said she wanted to bring her children.” |
| Barbara: Another direct quote example is “Dustin said, "My wife went with me to the show." which becomes, “Dustin said his wife had gone with him to the show.” |
| Braden: It is also important to change time words when referring to present, past or future time to match the moment of speaking. |
| Barbara: For example, “She said, "I want to bring my children tomorrow." changes to “She said she wanted to bring her children the next day.” |
| Braden: Another example would be “Dustin said, "My wife went with me to the show yesterday." which changes to “Dustin said his wife had gone with him to the show the day before.” |
| Barbara: Next let’s look at Reporting Questions. When reporting questions, it is especially important to pay attention to sentence order. When reporting yes/no questions, connect the reported question using 'if.' |
| Braden: For example, “She asked, "Do you want to come with me?" This sentence changes to “She asked me if I wanted to come with her.” |
| Barbara: When reporting questions using question words such as why, where, and when, use the question word. |
| Braden: For example, “Dave asked, "Where did you go last weekend?" which changes to “Dave asked me where I had gone the previous weekend.” |
| Barbara: Another example is “He asked, "Why are you studying English?" which becomes “She asked me why I was studying English.” |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. |
| Barbara: Thanks for being with us. |
| Braden: Thanks for listening! |
| Barbara: Bye-bye! |
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