Yesterday morning I had a very nice conversation with my father in the bathroom. He started telling me he was older than me and therefore he had more experience on life. I know my father pretty well and I knew that was a bad beginning for a conversation between a father and a son. Then he said he didn't like going into the bathroom and seeing that the bath towels, hand towels and flannels were not hanging on the towel-rail. He continued saying he was going to be very frank and that he didn't like dirty baths. He said he would take my shaving-foam, my aftershave and my razor to my bedroom because he was fed up with seeing them on the toilet. He also said that next time I finished the toilet paper, I would have to replace it. Moreover, he said that he was disappointed with me, that he didn't like my attitude and that if I didn't change it, I would get into trouble at home. Haven't I told you it was a nice conversation?
| Form | Subject + reporting verb + that-clause
• The conjunction that can be left out |
| Some changes in reported speech |
| Modal verbs | * Pronouns and possessive adjectives | Time and place expressions | will — would
can — could
may — might | I — he / she
me — him / her
my — his / her
we — they
us — them
our — their | now — then
today — that day
this — that
here — there |
• Verb tenses used in direct speech change one tense back in the past when the reporting verb is in the past. Present becomes past and past becomes past perfect.
• When the reporting verb is in the present the verb tense used in direct speech does not change in reported speech. |
| * Pronouns and possessive adjectives change from first to third person. |
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• We use tell in reported statements when we want to mention the person we are talking to. Otherwise we use say.
• Other verbs used to report what people say are reply, explain, promise, claim, insist, announce, declare, etc. |
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Clique na imagem para ver o vocabulárioA conversation in the bathroom
