Lesson Transcript

Hi, everybody. My name is Alisha. In this video, I'm going to talk about how to report speech in detail. This lesson will cover some vocabulary words you can use to be more specific about how you report speech, and we'll also talk about some patterns you can use for making questions. So, let's get started.
Okay. The first thing I want to focus on for this lesson is vocabulary. So, I've created a list of vocabulary words. These are all verbs, and these are all words we use to report speech. So, the most common are probably here at the top: say, tell, talk, speak. So, we use these words as kind of the basic ways to report speech. We have the past tense form of the verb on the right side. So, I want to go through each verb one by one and talk about how and why we use it and talk about some other small points related to these verb choices.
So, let's begin with the first verb, "say." So, "say" is the most basic way to report speech. It's a very neutral verb choice. The past tense form is "said." "Said." Not sayed, but "said." So, let's look at an example sentence with this. "He said he was coming to the meeting." "He said he was coming to the meeting." Here, we have "said" used. It's in past tense because this statement happens, this information was given to the speaker. So, we use "say" in the past tense form here to report this information, "He was coming to the meeting." So, in these sentences, when we use "said," we're just giving a neutral report of speech. It doesn't sound good or bad, or it doesn't sound like there's a specific type of conversation happening. It's just a very neutral report. So, this is what we use "say" to do. "He said he was coming to the meeting."
You will also notice, in many of today's sentences as well, that the verb here, that we use here, to report this is in past tense. "He said he was coming to the meeting." "He said he was coming to the meeting." So, that means that in the past, according to his past statement, he was planning to. So, at that time in the past, he was planning to come. So, "He was coming to the meeting." So, we'll see this past tense verb used here in situations like this. Okay? So, this is our most basic way to report speech. In today's lesson, I want to talk about ways to level up from just this verb. So, let's move on to a couple more review verbs, and then we'll talk about some more detailed ways to express how people talk.
Okay. So, the next verb is "tell." "Tell," past tense is "told." So, we use the verb "tell" in situations where we're expressing kind of a one-way transfer of information. If there are two people in a situation, and one person is giving most of the information, we would probably use "tell" to describe that. Like person A told person B the information. We use "tell" a lot when we're asking for information mostly from one person, or when we're just getting information from one person. So, it has this kind of one-way feel. So, let's look at an example sentence that uses "tell." Here, "My friend told me a secret." "My friend told me a secret." So here, we have again past tense, "My friend told me a secret." So, this expresses that this situation is finished. This is done in the past. "My friend told me a secret." So, in this sentence, and with other uses of the verb "tell," after this "told," you'll see the recipient of the information, the person who received the information. In this case, it's me. "My friend told me a secret." You could change this to change the recipient. Like, "My friend told him a secret," or "My friend told her a secret." "My friend told us a secret." So, you can change the recipient right here. So, "My friend told me a secret," sounds like my friend did most of the talking and I just listened to the secret. So, this is what we use "tell" to do.
Okay. Let's go to the next verb, "talk." "Talk." So, "talk" in past tense is "talked." "Talked." So, let's take a look at an example sentence first here. "I talked to him about the report yesterday." "I talked to him about the report yesterday." So, after "talked," we have two preposition choices. We have "to" or "with." People ask what's the difference between the two. Generally, there isn't one. But, if you want a little bit more of a feeling of a conversation, like two or more people talking together about something, you can use "with." But generally speaking, "to" or "with," both are fine to use here. A pronunciation point then, too. I read this sentence very clearly, "I talked to him." However, in everyday native speech, we make these sounds come together. "I talked to him" becomes "I talk to him." "I talk to him." So, this "talked" is not clearly pronounced. This part, the end word or the end syllable here. "I talked to him about the report yesterday." So, it becomes "I talk to him." "I talk to him" or "I talk to her." "I talk to her." So, "talked to" or "talked with" is like "said." However, it's not just a report of something. When we say "I talked to" or "I talked with someone," it's like it's showing there was a conversation, right? Here, in this case, the conversation is about the report. So, "I talked to him about the report" sounds like there was a conversation, but I don't need to share all the details. I just want to show that there was a conversation. "I talked to him." We can express it with this verb, "I talk to him."
Let's compare "talked" to the next verb which is "speak." "Speak," in past tense, it is "spoke." "Spoke." So, let's look at the example sentence here. "She spoke with us after lunch." "She spoke with us after lunch." So, the first question is what is the difference between "talk" and "speak"? Generally, "talk" is a little bit less formal than "speak." So, we use "speak" in work situations or professional situations, more formal situations. And, we also use the verb "speak" to talk about our language abilities. Like, "He speaks English" or "She spoke Spanish yesterday." So, for this lesson, I want to just consider that "spoke," or "speak" in the infinitive form, "spoke" is more formal. We tend to use this in like professional situations. So, "talked" would also be 100% correct in this sentence. "She talked with us after lunch." Perfect. And, the same rule applies to the preposition that follows the verb. "Talked to" and "talked with" were both okay here. The same is true here, "She spoke to us" or "She spoke with us," both are okay to use. Again, "with" sounds a little bit more like the conversation is happening together. So, "She spoke with us after lunch." So, we can use this verb choice to make the sentence sound a little bit more professional.
Okay, great. So, let's move on now to the next group of verbs. The first one is "ask." "Ask," and the past tense form is "asked." Okay. So, we use this when we need to make a question or we need to report that we asked a question. So, let's look at the example. "I asked my boss for some time off next week." "I asked my boss for some time off next week." So, here we have past tense "asked," "I asked." And after that "is my boss," in this case. So, this is the person receiving the request, "I asked my boss for." You'll notice this is the preposition used here. "I asked my boss for some time off next week." We use this preposition "for" before a noun phrase. In this case, we have "some time off," that's our noun phrase that's used here. You may also see "to" used here. "I asked my boss to stop emailing me so much," for example. So, if you have a verb that follows this -- so if the request is about a verb, like "to stop," or "I asked my boss to do" something, you need to use "to," not "for" here. So, "for" comes before your noun phrase. This part after the verb, "I asked" someone "for" something, this part is the recipient of the request. A pronunciation point about this, too. I said, "I asked my boss," but in everyday speech, we don't pronounce it this clearly. "I asked my boss" becomes much, much shorter. It sounds like, "I ask my boss for some time off last week." Okay? Or, "next week," sorry. "I asked my boss for some time off next week. So, this "asked" is so quick, it sounds like "I ask my boss." "I ask my boss." So, it's like the D sound gets very, very, very small. "I asked my boss." So, try to reduce this sound down. Not "I ask my boss," but "I asked my boss for time off next week."
Okay. Let's move on to the next verb which is "discuss." "Discuss." This is a great verb to know for professional and business English. So, "discuss," and the past tense form "discussed." "Discussed." So, this is a nice polite word that means we had a conversation and it sounds kind of like a professional conversation. So, this is a great word to know for meetings and other kind of more formal discussions. So, let's look at the example sentence for this. "Our team discussed some problems yesterday." "Our team discussed some problems yesterday." So, here we have past tense "discussed," and we have a noun phrase after it, "some problems yesterday." Okay. So, "Our team discussed some problems yesterday," means our team talked about some problems yesterday. So, what's the difference between "discussed" and "talked about." As I mentioned, "discussed" sounds more professional. It sounds more polite, a little more polished. So, "Our team discussed some problems yesterday," sounds a little bit more business-like. So, you can use this word if you want to make it sound a little bit more professional, your sentence. Of course, "I talked about it" or "Our team talked about some problems" is also great. It just sounds a little more casual. So, it's up to you which you want to choose.
Okay, great. So, let's go to the last three in this first part of the vocabulary list. So, the last three are here because they're actually verbs we use to describe how someone is speaking. So, the first verb here is "whisper." "Whisper." To "whisper" means to talk in a very soft, very quiet voice. So, here's an example: "I'm whispering right now. I just whispered." So, using a very, very, quiet voice, this is called "whispering." So, the verb is "to whisper." In past tense, it is "whispered." So, sometimes, especially when you're writing things, it can be really important to talk about how someone is speaking. So, not just who they were talking with, or if they had a discussion, but also how the person is speaking. So, let's look at an example sentence. "'Let's leave soon,' she whispered." "'Let's leave soon,' she whispered." So, we can imagine that this "Let's leave soon," was said in a very, very quiet voice. "'Let's leave soon,' she whispered." So, this is telling us that a quiet voice was used. So, if we had, "'Let's leave soon,' she said." It would also be 100% correct. No problem there. However, "whispered" gives us a little bit more information about how she said it. So, this might be very important for understanding the situation. Especially in a book or in some kind of other story you're reading. So, you can use "whisper" to talk about the manner in which someone says something.
Okay. So, we talked about a quiet voice, "whisper," "to whisper." Now, let's go to the opposite end. So, the last two verbs here are "shout" and "scream." So, to "shout" means to use a very loud voice. So, sometimes, we use a shouting voice when we're very angry, or surprised, or shocked. Sometimes when we're very excited. It means to use a very, very loud voice to say something. Okay. The past tense is "shouted." "Shouted." So, let's look at the example. "My roommate shouted, 'Yay' when he passed his test." "My roommate shouted, 'Yay' when he passed his test." So, this use "shouted," shows that the "Yay" was said in a very loud voice. Again, if you said, "My roommate said, 'Yay' when he passed his test." It's also correct, but it doesn't communicate the excited feeling that this sentence has. So, this is a happy moment. So, the roommate is probably very excited. Choosing the verb "shout" instead of "said" sounds a lot better because it matches the feeling that we're communicating here. Of course, you could make it interesting and choose a different verb, like "My roommate whispered, 'Yay' when he passed his test." This would sound like maybe he passed the test in the test room, and he needed to be very quiet. So, you can change the verbs that you use to express speech to be more specific and to give more detail about the situation.
Okay. So, let's look at our last verb "scream." "Scream." To "scream," and past tense "screamed." Okay. So, what's the difference between "shout" and "scream"? "Shout," as I said is in like a really, really loud voice. "Ah" or "yay," as in this example. Or sometimes, when we use an angry voice or when we have angry feelings, we might shout about something. Or if we hurt ourselves maybe, we might shout. A "scream," however, a "scream" is a very loud sound that often is used in very scary situations or really, really shocking situations. So, if you imagine a scary movie and somebody in the movie is injured or hurt or afraid, they will probably scream. So, a "scream" is a very, very scary sound, generally. It's like, "Aah!" Somebody is really, really scared, and it sounds different than just a shout. So, a "shout" is like a big voice, yes. But a "scream," generally the feeling of a scream is that something is really scary or really, really dangerous.
You might also use, or you might also hear "screams" or use "screaming" at amusement parks. So, "scream" is typically used for really, really shocking or really, really scary situations. You might also hear it when people get super, super, super, super angry. So, they go past "shouting," and they go to "screaming." So, if it helps you, you can kind of think of "shout" as here, and "scream" at this level. Yeah? And, of course, say "tell" and "talk" are down here. Okay. So, let's look at the example sentence. "The soccer fans screamed at the referee." "The soccer fans screamed at the referee." Okay. So, in this situation, the soccer fans were really, really, really angry or maybe really, really shocked about the game, so they screamed at the referee. So, this shows that they use this really, really angry, really, really like high-level explosive way to communicate at the referee. You'll notice too this preposition here, "to scream at" someone, "to scream at" someone. We use "at" as the preposition here. So, this shows the direction of the scream, okay. So, we don't use "to." We don't say, "the soccer fan screamed to the referee," we do not do that. We use "at." This shows the direction of the scream, in this case. Okay? Also, you could change this preposition. You could use "with," which would show that the screaming is between the soccer fans and the referee together. "The soccer fans screamed with the referee," makes a grammatically correct sentence, but it communicates a totally different idea. If they're screaming together, maybe something terrible happened at the soccer game. I hope not. But, when you use "scream" show at, to show the person receiving the scream, if it helps to think of it that way. Maybe in a horror movie you could think of it in another way, too. Like, "The girl screamed at the murderer," or something like that. That's kind of a dark example sentence. But, we always use this "at" to show the direction of the scream. Or, in another situation maybe, "My boss screamed at me this morning. She was really upset." So, this shows the direction. We use "at" in these cases.
Okay. So, we've talked about some key vocabulary words that we use to express speech. Last part here, the last thing I want to talk about with the vocabulary, are a couple of really interesting ways that we express casual reports of speech. So, in our everyday conversations, like outside work or outside of school, when we're talking with our close friends or our close family members, these are some expressions that we use to report speech. And, they don't really mean something. It's more just that we want to use them as markers for speech. So, let's take a look at this. See what I'm talking about here.
So, these are "go" and "be." The verb "be, all," and the verb "be, like." "Be, like." So, we tend to use these in past tense a lot. You'll hear "go" and "goes" used, but you'll hear this in past tense, too. So, that means "go" becomes "went," and "be, all" becomes "was" or "were, all." And, "be, like" becomes "was" or "were, like." So, this may seem really, really strange and you might think, "How would I ever use this? This doesn't make any sense." So, I created a short example paragraph. Let's take a look at this and we'll see how these are used to express speech casually. This is very, very quickly done in everyday native conversation. So, let's take a look first.
"I wanted to try to get to know my new co-worker better. So, I go, 'Hey! You want to get a coffee sometime?' And, she was like, 'Sounds great.' So, I was all, 'Awesome! How about this weekend? Sunday? And she said, 'Sounds good.'" Okay. So, this short example uses this "I go," "was like," "was all," and then I used a basic "said" at the end. So, it's very common to use a mix of these kind of marker words for speech. So, "was all" or "was like." These don't mean like a comparison, they don't have a specific meaning, we just use them to mark the speech. If you use "said," "said," "said" over and over and over, it can sound very repetitive. For example, "I wanted to try to get to know my co-worker better. So, I said, 'Hey! You want to get a coffee sometime?' And she said, 'Sounds great.' So, I said…" and you used "said" and "said" and "said" many, many times. It can sound quite repetitive. So, to avoid this, we tend to use a mix of these expressions. So, "I go," and you'll notice that this "go" is not used in past tense, even though we're talking about the past, right? So, we're using this "go." This is sometimes used to mark the beginning of the past conversation. Like this person is showing the first request or the first question in the conversation, the beginning of the conversation. So, you may see "go" used in that way. And you may also see it used from time to time here and there to show a response as well. But again, this verb tense isn't super important. We're just using this word as a marker for the next part of speech. In this case, the quote comes right after it. So, don't think too hard about the meaning of this "go." It's more like saying, "I go" or "I went," I took my turn in the conversation, if that helps you. So, it's kind of like saying it was my turn, so I went next in the conversation. That's kind of how we use this "go." Same thing with this "was like" and "was all."
So, we're not comparing anything. We're not talking about parts of something. These are just speech markers, but they're very, very common. And if you watch English-speaking media, you will hear these all the time. They are so, so, so, so common. So definitely, keep an ear out for these, listen for these. And, they sound very, very fast. So, I read this very slowly, but let's have a listen. Let's hear what they sound like at native speed. So, "I wanted to try to get to know my new co-worker better. So, I go, 'Hey! You want to get a coffee sometime?' And she was like, 'Sounds great.' So, I was all, 'Awesome! How about this weekend? Sunday?' And she said, 'Sounds good.'" So, these "was like" and "was all" parts become very short. "And she was like..." "And she was like…" "And I was all…" "I was all…" So, these sound very, very short. But because we're so used to using these to mark our speech, they sound very natural to us after a while. So, try to listen for these when you watch U.S. or any other kind of English-speaking media. We use these words a lot in American English to mark our speech, and you will definitely, definitely hear it throughout your studies. So, I definitely recommend you take some time to get familiar with these sounds and how to use them yourself.
Okay. So, with our vocabulary done, I want to finish this lesson by looking at some questions. So, we can use question patterns when we report speech and when we want to ask about speech, too. So, of course, this lesson is about reporting speech in detail, yes. But we also need to have questions ready too to continue the conversation about speech. So, let's take a look at a couple of grammar points that we can use to help us do this.
The first point is embedded questions. Embedded questions. What is an embedded question? An embedded question is a question inside another question. So, here's a really good example of a very common type of embedded question, it's the "do you know" question. "Do you know." Okay. So, we ask, "Do you know," plus something when we need information from another person. For example, "Do you know where my keys are?" "Do you know where my keys are?" Or, "Do you know who has my bag?" "Do you know who has my bag?" Or, "Do you know what the password is?" "Do you know what the password is?" And one more, "Do you know when the meeting is?" "Do you know when the meeting is?" So, you can see a pattern here maybe. These start with these wh- questions: where, who, what, when, in this case.
And there's another pattern to be very, very aware of when you practice making embedded questions for the first time. That is this point, "be" verbs move to the end of the question in embedded questions. So, what does that mean? So, let's look at this, this, and this. These three example sentences, these all have a "be" verb. We have are, is, and is. So, think about these questions, these basic questions. "Where my keys are?" Well, that's not a grammatically correct question, right? When you are looking for your keys, you say, "Where are my keys?" Right? You say, "Where are my keys?" Or in this sentence, not "What the password is?" but, "What is the password?" "What is the password?" Right? That's grammatically correct. In this sentence, "When is the meeting?" This is grammatically correct, right? However, when you put a question inside another question, these "be" verb questions take a different grammar rule. We move the "be" verb to the end. So now, "Do you know where are my keys?" Or, "Do you know what is the password?" Or, "Do you know when is the meeting?' These verbs all move to the end of the question. That's a very strange rule, I know, but that's just how it is. So, make sure to practice this. These are some super, super common ones that you can start with. So, I highly recommend you practice these embedded questions, and this "do you know" pattern is a really, really great place to start.
Okay. Lastly, let's move along to present perfect questions. Present perfect questions. Of course, present perfect is a very good grammar point to know, a very important grammar point to know and to practice. We also need to practice making questions, and this is a good situation in which you can have some questions ready. So, "have you" is how you can begin your present perfect question. "Have you," plus the past participle form of these verbs we talked about. So, earlier, we practiced the simple past form, the past tense form of the verb. Here are the past participle forms of some of these verbs. So, practice making some questions that use these verbs. Let's take a look at a few examples, some that you can use to get started.
"Have you said anything to anyone?" "Have you said anything to anyone?" Or, "Have you told anyone about this?" "Have you told anyone about this?" So again, these two are asking someone for information about speech, right? So, you're not just reporting the speech, you're asking for someone else's information about speech. "Have you said anything to anyone?" So, that one is like maybe a little bit suspicious sounding, or maybe you're trying to keep a secret. "Have you said anything to anyone?" Or, "Have you told anyone about this?" Again, used for maybe a secret situation or a confidential or private situation. "Have you told anyone about this?" Or the next one, "Have you talked to her about the problem?" "Have you talked to her about the problem?" So, this might be some advice to someone. "Have you talked to her?" or "Have you talked with her?" The same preposition rule applies here, "Have you talked to her about the problem?" Or, "Have you spoken with the client recently?" "Have you spoken with the client recently?" So, this is a good one to ask about the status of a client relationship. One more, "Have you asked anyone for help?" "Have you asked anyone for help?" So, you can use these present perfect questions to get more information from people. For them to know that you need some more information relating to speech. So, you're asking for reports maybe in these cases. So, these are some great questions that you can use to start with. And they use present perfect tense which I know is a very challenging grammar point for many people, but it's super important to practice.
One point I want to end on about simple past. Simple past questions, in these cases, are okay. They're grammatically correct, yes. But the difference, they are usually used for situations that are finished or situations that are done. So, the feeling with a simple past tense question in a situation like this is that the action is done, right? So, for example, "Did you say anything to anyone?" "Did you say anything to anyone?" It sounds like maybe you're talking about one situation in the past and it's complete. So, in a meeting, "Did you say anything to anyone?" However, this "Have you said anything to anyone?" means from some point in the past until now, and maybe into the future also. So, it means up until this time, have you said anything? So, "did you" doesn't communicate that same feeling. "Did you" sounds like a one-time question. "Did you say anything?" or "Did you tell anyone about this?" sounds like it's over, it's finished. "Have you told anyone?" sounds like in this time period, and maybe continuing into the future, "Have you told anyone about this? Like, do you have any plans to?" So, these are the subtle very small differences in feeling that we can get if we just change the grammar a little bit.
Another example, "Did you talk to her about the problem?" "Did you talk to her about the problem?" So again, that sounds like a one-time thing in the past. "Did you talk to her?" as opposed to "Have you talked to her about the problem?" It's not you could say, for example, "Hmm, not yet. But I'm going to." So, "have you" questions sound a little bit more open-ended than "did you" questions. So again, both are grammatically correct, but they have slightly different feels.
Okay, great. So, I hope that this lesson gave you some ideas and gave you some vocabulary words that you can use to report speech in a more natural, smooth, and interesting way, and in more detail. And, of course, there are other verbs that we can use to describe the different ways that people speak. So, you can definitely explore that as you build your vocabulary some more. Thanks very much for watching this lesson, and I will see you again soon. Bye.

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