Imperatives | Reported /Indirect Speech | Reported Speech Tense Chart | Requests / Commands etc.,
We use imperatives to tell someone to do something or to give instructions, orders,
warnings, directions, etc.Imperatives are divided into two groups:
a) Positive Imperatives
b) Negative Imperatives
There are two ways of reporting what a person has said.
a) Direct speech
b) Indirect speech
Direct speech:
We repeat the speaker’s words.
He said, "I have lost my key." (no tense shift)
Indirect speech / Reported Speech:
We give the exact meaning of a speech without necessarily
using the speaker's exact words.
If we want to mention who
the speaker talked to, we use told, otherwise we use said.
She said that she had lost her wallet.
She told me that she had lost her wallet.
Reported Requests/Commands
When we put direct commands or requests into indirect speech we usually follow the below structure:
a. We use introductory verbs:
order, ask, tell, want, and request, etc,
b. We use indirect objects after those introductory verbs.
c. The command or request in direct speech takes the infinitive form.