Reported Speech in Gossip and Rumours
Have you ever participated in a conversation where gossip and rumours were being conveyed by someone? Was this in English or in your native language? What were the verbs and tenses that were used?
In such cheap coversations, people usually use Direct and Indirect Speech. Study the picture below:
Explanation:
Direct Speech: We repeat the exact words that were said and inverted commas (“…”) are used. We actually quote the speaker.
Indirect Speech: We repeat what the speaker said without using their exact words. Tenses often change in this case.
Example
Mada and Loveness work together in a bank. The two girls have known each other for quite some time. They went to the same secondary school and university. One day, a new colleague arrives. Read the conversation below:
Mada: I know this girl.
Loveness: You do? How?
Mada: We used to be neighbours. Her father was a tailor but he didn’t really make nice clothes, ha, ha.
Loveness: Really? She dresses well though.
Mada: She does because she doesn’t wear the clothes that her father makes, ha, ha, ha.
Loveness: She looks like a nice girl. What’s her name?
Mada: Beauty. Her name is Beauty.
Loveness: Oh, that’s cute.
Mada: She is beautiful but she is a liar. I heard that she borrows the clothes she wears from rich friends. Even the shoes!
Loveness: Who told you that?
Mada: Just rumours. She owns nothing on her body.
Loveness: Her eyes maybe? These are just rumours Mada. The girl is beautiful and people are jealous of her.
Mada: I don’t think so. She used to be my neighbour and I know her very well. I don’t think that she can afford all those clothes and shoes. One day I went to her house. She was cleaning plates outside and I thought she would be wearing nice clothes, but she wasn’t. I don’t think she can afford expensive clothes.
Loveness: She can, of course, at least from now on. She has a job!
Mada: Just wait and see…
After this conversation, Loveness goes to talk to another colleague about what she has just heard.
Loveness: Do you know the new girl who has just arrived?
Thoko: No, I don’t. Do you know her?
Loveness: No, but Mada says she does. She said that her name was Beauty.
Thoko: Oh, alright. She is beautiful.
Loveness: Mada said that Beauty is a liar. She told me that she is a full-blown liar.
Thoko: Is she?
Loveness: She said that they used to be neighbours some years ago and that the girl’s father was a tailor and he used to make ugly clothes. Mada said, I quote: “Her father was a tailor but he didn’t really make nice clothes, ha, ha.”
Thoko: Really? That makes sense then.
Loveness: Apparently, Beauty wears borrowed clothes too.
Thoko: Oh, that’s a pity.
Loveness: Yeees, even Mada admitted that Beauty was beautiful but that she couldn’t afford expensive clothes. (Loveness changes her voice while quoting Mada) “She used to be my neighbour and I know her very well. I don’t think that she can afford all those clothes and shoes.” Mada added that one day in the past, she’d gone to Beauty’s house and she’d found her washing dishes outside.
Thoko: Really?
Loveness: Yes, it’s true.
Thoko: Isn’t this just pure gossip?
Loveness: No, it’s not.
Thoko: Well, things will never cease to surprise me on earth.
Your Turn: What do you think of this last conversation? Can you imagine a conversation in which gossip is being reported to someone? Can you use as many tenses as possible?
Further Exploration:
Download PDF Files:
- Reported Speech (1), Learn English With Africa, May 2019
- Reported Speech (2), Learn English With Africa, May 2019
Read:
- English Grammar (Reported Speech): Lesson 1-In the News
- Media and Journalism Vocabulary, Learn English With Africa, October 2016
Watch: