Definisjon / Forklaring
Reported speech lar oss fortelle hva noen sa uten å gjenta de nøyaktige ordene. Når reporting verb står i fortid, flytter engelsk ofte tempus ett trinn tilbake. Dette kalles backshift, og det hjelper å vise at de opprinnelige ordene ble sagt tidligere. Backshift er likevel ikke alltid nødvendig, spesielt når informasjonen fortsatt er sann. Den viktige ferdigheten er å forstå forholdet mellom originalmelding, rapporteringstidspunkt og nåværende virkelighet.
Hovedregler
- Bruk et reporting verb som said, told, explained eller mentioned.
- Tempus flyttes ofte tilbake: am -> was, have done -> had done, will -> would.
- Say tar ikke direkte objekt på samme måte som tell: He said that... / He told me that...
- Pronomen, tidsord og stedsord kan også endres.
- Backshift er ofte unødvendig hvis utsagnet fortsatt tydelig er sant nå.
Eksempler
- He said that he was tired. - Han sa at han var trøtt.
- She told me that she had left early. - Hun fortalte meg at hun hadde dratt tidlig.
- They said they would call later. - De sa at de ville ringe senere.
- I told her that the meeting was cancelled. - Jeg sa til henne at møtet var avlyst.
- He said that the earth is round. - Han sa at jorden er rund.
Vanlige feil
- ❌ He told that he was tired. -> ✅ He said that he was tired. / ✅ He told me that he was tired.
- ❌ She said me that she had left. -> ✅ She told me that she had left.
- ❌ They said they will call later. -> ✅ They said they would call later.