Modal Verbs and Reported Speech

Modals

Present

• Advice: OUGHT TO EAT/ SHOULD VISIT/ SHOULDN’T EAT/ MUST WATCH
• Obligation: MUST STUDY/ HAS TO HELP
• Absence of obligation/necessity: DON’T HAVE TO GO/ NEEDN’T WEAR
• Prohibition: CAN’T SMOKE / MUSTN’T TAKE

Past

• Regret, criticism, or past advice: SHOULD HAVE ASKED /SHOULDN’T HAVE LEFT/ OUGHT TO HAVE TOLD
• Past obligation: HAD TO SAVE
• No past necessity: NEEDN’T HAVE RUSHED
• Absence of past obligation: DIDN’T HAVE TO GIVE/ DIDN’T NEED TO GO

Present Deduction

• Possibility or speculation: COULD RAIN/ MAY BE/ MIGHT NOT BE
• Affirmative deduction: MUST BE
• Negative deduction: CAN’T BE

Past Deduction

• Past possibility: MAY HAVE LEFT/ MIGHT HAVE GIVEN
• Past possibility that didn’t happen: COULD HAVE MADE
• Logical conclusion about a past action: MUST HAVE MADE
• Certainty of past impossibility: CAN’T HAVE BEEN / COULDN’T HAVE TOLD

Reported Speech

Tense Changes

• Present simple (I go…) à Past simple (she went)
• Present continuous (are planning) à Past continuous (were planning)
• Past simple (I went) à Past perfect simple (had gone)
• Present perfect simple (have left) à Past perfect simple (had left)
• Will (will help) à Would (would help)
• Can (can play) à Could (could play)
• May (may be) à Might (might be)
• Must/have to à Had to

Reported Questions

Yes/No Questions

• Subject + reporting verb + if + subject + verb: “Does the airline have a child-friendly policy?” Asked the passenger. à The passenger asked if the airline has a child-friendly policy.

Wh- Questions

• Subject + reporting verb + wh + subject + verb: “Where do you usually stay?” Asked Glenn. à Glenn asked us where we usually stayed.

Orders and Requests

• Subject + told/asked + indirect object + infinitive with TO: “Buy me a magazine”, said Clare. à Clare told me to buy her a magazine.

Reporting Verbs

• Agree: TO + INFINITIVE
• Regret: LAMENT + ING
• Admit: ING
• Accuse: ACCUSE + OBJECT + OF + DOING SOMETHING
• Promise: TO + INFINITIVE
• Insist: ON + ING
• Warn: TO + INFINITIVE
• Suggest: ING (if the person is included) / THAT (if not included)
• Advise: TO + INFINITIVE
• Offer: TO + INFINITIVE
• Apologize: FOR + ING (for doing something) / FOR + HAVING DONE SOMETHING (for having done something)

Relative Clauses

Relative Pronouns

• WHO/THAT: people
• WHICH/THAT: things or ideas
• WHOSE: possession
• WHERE: place
• WHEN: time
• WHY: reason

Relatives with Prepositions

• Formal: Preposition before pronoun: This is the university FOR WHICH I’ve applied.
• People: Use WHOM: The people WITH WHOM we work are really pleasant.