Mastering Reported Speech and Modal Verbs

Reported Speech: Tense Changes and Rules

When using reported speech, verb tenses typically shift backward. Here is a breakdown of the transformations:

• Cooperates becomes cooperated
• Is cooperating becomes was cooperating
• Cooperated becomes had cooperated
• Was cooperating becomes had been cooperating
• Has cooperated becomes had cooperated
• Has been cooperating becomes had been cooperating
• Had cooperated remains had cooperated
• Had been cooperating remains had been cooperating
• Will cooperate becomes would cooperate
• Can becomes could
• May becomes might
• Have to becomes had to

Changes in Time and Place Expressions

• Now becomes then
• Today becomes that day
• Tonight becomes that night
• Yesterday becomes the previous day
• Here becomes there
• This becomes that
• These becomes those

Examples of Reported Speech

• "Twenty years ago tonight," said the man, "I dined here with my best friend."
  The man said that twenty years ago that night he had dined there with his best friend.
• "Do you recognize me?" Bob asked the policeman.
  Bob asked the policeman if he recognized him.
• "Wait here," Bob ordered the policeman.
  The policeman ordered Bob to wait there.
• "Let's meet here again exactly twenty years from now."
  Jimmy suggested that they meet there again exactly twenty years later.
• "It would be a good idea to report the incident to the police."
  Ron recommended reporting the incident to the police.

Relative Clauses: Defining and Non-Defining

Relative clauses provide additional information about a noun.

• Defining clauses: Use who, that, which, when, where, or whose (for possession). The sentence would be incomplete without this information.
• Non-defining clauses: Use who or which to provide extra, non-essential information.

Formal and Informal Structures

When a relative pronoun is accompanied by a preposition, which is used for things and whom is used for people in formal contexts. In informal English, it is common to place the preposition at the end of the clause and omit the pronoun.

• Formal: This is the company in which my father works.
• Informal: This is the company (which) my father works in.
• Formal: The person to whom I talked was the shop owner.
• Informal: The person (who) I talked to was the shop owner.

Modal Verbs and Their Functions

• Can: Possibility, ability, or requests.
• Be able to: Ability or possibility.
• Can't: Impossibility, lack of ability, or prohibition.
• Could: Past ability, polite requests, or possibility.
• May / Might: Possibility.
• Need to: Necessity.
• Have to: Obligation or necessity.
• Must: Obligation or logical deduction.
• Would: Offers.

Modal Perfects for Past Contexts

• Could have: The ability to have done something in the past.
• Can't / Couldn't have: Certainty that something did not happen.
• May / Might have: Speculation or thoughts about the past.
• Must have: A logical conclusion about a past event.
• Shouldn't have: Criticism regarding a past action.
• Would have: The desire to do something that is no longer possible.