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INTRODUCTION
There are six parts in the introduction. They are motivation for the study, aims
of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study, related previous studies and
organization of the study.
1. Motivation for the study
Today English is the language widely used in the world. English is not only the
national or official language of some countries, which have different cultures, but it is
also the international language of communication in many fields including science,
technology, business, entertainment and so on. Since Viet Nam joined World Trade
Organization (WTO), the need for learning English has been considerably increasing
among Vietnamese because their proficiency in English can help them get good jobs.
Therefore, learning English is very necessary.
However, it is not easy to master this language. In order to become good
English learners, besides proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills,
they must use grammar properly although English grammar can be difficult. Numerous
studies show that the use of poor grammar in spoken and written statements reflects
negatively on the speaker or author, and that people who use bad grammar are instantly
perceived as being less intelligent, less reliable or less trustworthy than people who use
proper grammar. Consequently, it is essential for English learners to master grammar.
English grammar includes a lot of points. One of them is reported speech.
Reported speech is important but rather difficult because it involves a lot of elements
which causes students to feel confused and make many errors. Making so many errors
of reported speech is not good because when someone reports incorrectly what
someone else has said, it is difficult for listeners to understand or it is even easy for
them to misunderstand, causing serious consequences. In addition, reported speech
often appears on tests in class, final tests and tests in the entrance exams to universities
and colleges. If students do not master this grammar point, they may lose marks
relating to reported speech easily. For those reasons, the researcher decided to study the
topic “Common Errors of Reported Speech Made by Grade 11 Students at Doc Binh
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6. Organization of the study
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Definition of reported speech
1.2 Types of reported speech
1.2.1 Reported statements
1.2.2 Reported imperatives
1.2.3 Reported questions
1.2.4 Reported exclamations
1.2.5 Mixed types of reported speech
13. Changes of direct speech when turned into reported speech
1.3.1 Pronoun changes
1.3.2 Adjective changes
1.3.3 Tense changes
1.3.4 Modal verb changes
1.3.5 Adverb changes
1.3.6 Exceptions
Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Research questions
2.2 Research participants
2.2.1 The researcher
2.2.2 The subjects
2.3 Data collection instruments
2.3.1 The questionnaire
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Chapter 1 LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the theory of reported speech is presented including definition of
reported speech, types of reported speech and changes of direct speech when turned
into reported speech.
1.1 Definition of reported speech
Reported speech or indirect speech refers to using a noun clause to report what
someone has said. No quotation marks are used. ( 3 )
Example:
Direct speech: She said, “She hasn‟t met Susan for two years.”
Reported speech: She said (that) she hadn‟t met Susan for two years.
1.2 Types of reported speech
1.2.1 Reported statements
Statements (“S + V”)
Reported speech


Reported speech: He asked me to come there on time.
Direct speech: “Please give me some money,” said the old man to us.
Reported speech: The old man begged us to give him some money.
Direct speech: The boss tells me, “Come in!”
Reported speech: The boss tells me to come in.
Negative imperatives (“Don’t + V…/ Never + V…/ ”)
Reported speech

Examples:
Direct speech: She said to her husband, “Don‟t drive too fast.”
Reported speech: She told her husband not to drive too fast.
Direct speech: The teacher says to her students, “Never go to school late.”
Reported speech: The teacher tells her students never to go to school late. S + tell / told / … + O + to + V
ask / asked / …
beg / begged / …
order / ordered / …
…………….
S + tell / told / … + O + not to + V
never to
ask / asked / …
beg / begged / …

green one.
Direct speech: “Would you rather travel by car or by train?” she asks me.
Reported speech: She asks me if/whether I would rather travel by car or by train. S + ask / asked + ( O ) + if + S +V
whether
enquire / enquired / …
wonder / wondered / …
want to know / wanted to know / …
…………….
S + ask / asked / … + (O) + if + S +V + or +…
whether
enquire / enquired / …
wonder / wondered / …
want to know / wanted to know /…
…………….

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Wh-Questions ( “ Question words + auxiliary + S + …? ” )
Reported speech

Examples:
Direct speech: “Who is going to live in the big house?” he enquired.
Reported speech: He enquired who was going to live in the big house.
Direct speech: “Who does English belong to?” our teacher has just said to us.
Reported speech: Our teacher has just asked us who English belongs to.
Direct speech: “How do you learn English?” she asks him.
Reported speech: She asks him how he learns English.
1.2.4 Reported exclamations

…
S + exclaim / exclaimed /… + (that) + S + V
say / said /
…………….

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Examples:
Direct speech: He said, “What a dreadful idea!”
Reported speech: He exclaimed that it was a dreadful idea.
Direct speech: She says, “What a beautiful dress!”
Reported speech: She says that it is a very beautiful dress.
1.2.5 Mixed types of Reported Speech
Direct speech may consist of statement + question, question + imperative, imperative +
statement or all together.
* Rule1
Often each type requires its own introductory verb and the conjunction „and‟ is used to
link them.
Examples:
Direct speech: “ I‟m a stranger. Can you tell me how to get to the post office?” she said.
Reported speech: She said she was a stranger and asked if I could tell her how to get
to the post office.
* Rule2
When the second clause is a statement explaining the first, the conjunction „ as‟ can be
used instead of a second introductory verb
Examples:
Direct speech: “Don‟t turn off the light. It is dark here.” my sister said.
Reported speech: My sister told me not to turn off the light as it was dark there
*Rule3
Sometimes the second introductory verb can be a participle
Examples:

Example:
Direct speech: He said, “This book is mine.”
Reported speech: He said that that book was his.
- In some cases, to avoid confusion, we can use the former and the latter instead
of the pronouns mentioned in the rules above.
Examples:
Direct speech: Tom said to Peter, “Miss White wants to meet me in the office.”
Reported speech: Tom told Peter that Miss White wanted to meet the former in the
office.
Direct speech: Tom said to Peter, “Miss White wants to meet you in the office.”

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Reported speech: Tom told Peter that Miss White wanted to meet the latter in the
office.
 Demonstrative pronoun changes
this  that
these  those
Examples:
Direct speech: She said, “This is Tom‟s house.”
Reported speech: She said (that) that was Tom‟s house.
Direct speech: He said, “These are my new pens.”
Reported speech: He said that those were his new pens.
1.3.2 Adjective changes
 Possessive adjective changes
The rule of possessive adjective changes in reported speech is the same as that of
possessive pronoun changes mentioned above.
Examples:
Direct speech: He said, “I haven‟t finished my work.”
Reported speech: He said that he hadn‟t finished his work.
Direct speech: My sister said to me, “Don‟t put your bag here.”

Present perfect
She said, “I have been to Da lat.”
Past perfect
She said that she had been to Da lat.
Present perfect continuous
The clerk said, “I have been learning
English for ten years.”
Past perfect continuous
The clerk said that she had been learning
English for ten years.
Simple past
My friend said, “My brother bought a
computer yesterday.”
Past perfect
My friend said that his brother had bought a
computer the day before.
Past continuous
He said, “We were having dinner at 7
p.m yesterday.”
Past perfect continuous
He said that they had been having dinner
7p.m the day before.
Past perfect
He said, “I had turned off the TV
before 8 a.m.”
Past perfect (unchanged)
He said he had turned off the TV before 8
a.m.
Past perfect continuous
Past perfect continuous (unchanged)

Direct speech: Our geography teacher said, “The Earth revolves around the Sun.”
Reported speech: Our geography teacher said that the Earth resolves around the Sun.
- There are no tense changes in reported speech if the reported words refer to unreal
situations.
Examples:
Direct speech: My sister said, “If I were a billionaire, I would help the poor.”
Reported speech: My sister said that if she were a billionaire, she would help the
poor.
Direct speech: He said, “If I had worked hard, I would have passed the exam.”

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Reported speech: He said that if he had worked hard, I would have passed the
exam.
- There are no tense changes in reported speech if the reported words contain unreal
past tenses after wish, would rather/sooner and it is time.
Examples:
Direct speech: Tom said, “I wish I could travel around the world.”
Reported speech: Tom said that he wished he could travel around the world.
Direct speech: She said to him, “I would rather you did not smoke here.‟
Reported speech: She told him that she would rather he did not smoke there.
Direct speech: He said, “It‟s time the government did something to save the
environment.”
Reported speech: He said that it was time the government did something to save the
environment.
* Rule 2
If the reporting verb is in simple present, present continuous, present perfect and future
tenses, tenses of the verbs in the direct speech will not be changed in the reported
speech.
Example:
Direct speech: He says, “I listen to the radio every day.”

eat it all and she said that he must/had to.
must (obligation, future)
Ex: My father said to me, “You must
work harder next term.”

must/would have to
Ex: My father told me that I must/would
have to work harder the next term.
needn’t (necessity, present)
Ex: He said, “I needn’t be in the room
till 5 p.m.”
needn’t/didn’t have to
Ex: He said that he needn’t / didn’t have
to be the room till 5 p.m.”
needn’t (necessity, future)
Ex: I said, “If you can lend me the
money, I needn’t go to the bank.”
needn’t / wouldn’t have to
Ex: I said that if he could lend me the
money, I needn’t / wouldn’t have to go to
the bank.
shall ( future)

Ex 1: I said, “I shall buy a new bicycle
if I have enough money.”
Ex 2: He said, “I shall buy a new
bicycle if I have enough money.”
(I/we + should / would),
(You/he/she/it/they + would)
Ex 1: I said that I should / would buy a

Direct speech: “It might be colder,” she said.
Reported speech: She said that it might be colder.
Direct speech: “I couldn’t stand on my head,” he said.
Reported speech: He said that he couldn’t stand on his head.
Direct speech: She said to her boyfriend, “If I were you, I would apply for the job.”
Reported speech: She told her boyfriend that if she were him, she would apply for
the job. 17
1.3.5 Adverb changes
Adverb changes in the reported speech are shown in the following table:
Direct speech
Reported speech
here
Ex: He said, “Put the desk here, Peter.”
there
Ex: He told Peter to put the desk there.
this
Ex: She said, “I met him this morning.”
that
Ex: She said that she had met him that
morning.
these
Ex: He said to me, “Don‟t put your
books on these tables.”
those


But note that there are some exceptions:
- If the speech is made and reported on the same day, these time changes are not
necessary.
- If the speech is made and reported at the same place, these place changes are not
necessary.
Examples:
Direct speech: At breakfast this morning he said, “ I‟ll be very busy today”
Reported speech: At breakfast this morning he said that he would be very busy
today.
Direct speech: In this room he said, “ I will have a meeting here.”
Reported speech: In this room he said that he would have a meeting here
Ex: She said, “My mother took me to
the zoo the day before yesterday.”
her to the zoo two days before/ two
days earlier.
last night
Ex: He said, “I stayed up late last
night.”
the previous night /the night before
Ex: He said that he had stayed up late
the previous night / the night before.
Tomorrow
Ex: He said, “It may rain tomorrow.”
the following day/ the next day
Ex: He said that it might rain the
following day/ the next day.
the day after tomorrow/in two days
Ex: She said, “I will return home the
day after tomorrow.”

Competition.
* Congratulation:
Direct speech: “I hear you passed your exams. Congratulations!” Peter said to us.
 Reported speech: Peter congratulated us on passing our exams.
* Compliment:
Direct speech: “ What a beautiful hat you have!” said Tom to Alice.
 Reported speech: Tom complimented Alice on her beautiful hat
* Wish:
Direct speech: He said, “Happy Christmas!”
 Reported speech: He wished me a happy Christmas.
* Dream:
Direct speech: “ I‟ve always want to be healthy ” Alice said.
 Reported speech: Alice has always dreamed of being healthy.
* Promise:
Direct speech: He said to me, “ I will send you details of the competition ”

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 Reported speech: He promised to send me details of the competition.
* Request:
Direct speech: “Could you send me details of the competition?” I said to him.
 Reported speech: I asked him to send me details of the competition.
* Suggestion:
Direct speech: Mary said, “ Let‟s talk about the General knowledge Quiz ”
 Reported speech: Mary suggested talking about the General knowledge Quiz.
* Insistence:
Direct speech: “ We must be given every detail of the contest, ” they insisted.
 Reported speech: They insisted on being given every detail of the contest.
* Admission:
Direct speech: She said, “ To tell the truth, I haven‟t participated in a singing contest”
 Reported speech: She admitted not having participated in a singing contest

Reported speech: He asked me to come there on time.
Direct speech: The boss tells me, “Come in!”
Reported speech: The boss tells me to come in.
* Negative imperatives
Examples:
Direct speech: She said to her husband, “Don‟t drive too fast.”
Reported speech: She told her husband not to drive too fast.
Direct speech: The teacher says to her students, “Never go to school late.”
Reported speech: The teacher tells her students never to go to school late.
* Advice, encouragement, promise, request…
Examples:
Direct speech: “You‟d better not swim too far from the shore,” he said to us.
 Reported speech: He advised us not to swim too far from the shore.
Direct speech: “You should take part in the English Speaking Competition,” said the
teacher to us .
 Reported speech: The teacher encouraged us to take part in the English Speaking
Competition.
Direct speech: He said to me, “I will send you details of the competition”
 Reported speech: He promised to send me details of the competition.
Direct speech: “Could you send me details of the competition?” I said to him.
 Reported speech: I asked him to send me details of the competition.

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1.4.2 Reported speech with gerund
* Suggestion, denial, insistence, dream, congratulation, thanks, apology…
Examples:
Direct speech: Mary said, “Let‟s talk about the General knowledge Quiz.”
 Reported speech: Mary suggested talking about the General knowledge Quiz.
Direct speech: “Me? No, I didn‟t take your pen,” said Tom to Mary.
 Reported speech: Tom denied having taken Mary‟s pen.

2.1 Research questions
1. What are common errors grade 11 students make when dealing with direct
speech into reported speech?
2. What are the solutions to these problems?
2.2 Research participants
2.2.1 The researcher
The research is done by Nguyen Thi My Hanh, a fourth year student of English
class 2009A of Foreign Language Faculty at Dong Thap University.
2.2.2 The subjects of the research
The subjects of the research are 79 students of class 11A
9
and 11A
13
at Doc Binh
Kieu High School, Cai Lay Town, Cai Lay District, Tien Giang Province. The students
in these two classes are chosen to participate in my study for two main reasons. First,
they have been taught quite enough knowledge of reported speech, so it is possible for
the researcher to test the students‟ knowledge of every aspect related to this English
grammar point. Second, if they still make mistakes, some useful solutions will be taken
to help them avoid making mistakes in reported speech. Therefore, they may improve
their skills in using reported speech. Besides most of the students don‟t have their own
computers. However, the library of their school is equipped with many computers
linked with the Internet for them to search information if they want. The students study
in classrooms with computers and projectors, a good condition for them to acquire
knowledge.
2.3 Data collection instruments
2.3.1 The questionnaire
The questionnaire which was invented by Sir Francis Galton is a useful way to
collect data from the subjects. There are two types of questions in this instrument. They
are close questions and open questions. Close questions require the respondents to

 Items 1 to 3 are designed to check whether the students know how to use
reporting verbs.
 Items 4 to 6 are implemented to test the students‟ knowledge of pronoun
changes.

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 Items 7 to 9 are used to find out if the students know how to change possessive
adjectives and demonstrative adjectives.
 Items 10 to 12 are used to test the students‟ knowledge of tense changes.
 Items 13 to 17 are applied to check if the students remember the cases in which
there are no tense changes.
 Items 18 to 19 are used to know whether the students understand how to change
modal verbs.
 Items 20 to 23 are used to test the students‟ knowledge of the cases in which
modal verbs are not changed.
 Items 24 to 25 are designed to check whether the students know the rules of
adverb changes.
 Items 26 to 30 are employed to check if the students know the exceptions in
changing reported speech.
2.4 Research procedure
2.4.1 The questionnaire
The researcher delivered 79 copies of the questionnaire to 79 students in class
11A
9
and 11A
13
on 5
th
April, 2013. Class 11A
9