Reported Speech to Support an Opinion

One of the features of advanced language speaking is the ability to express your opinions. In the beginning, your opinions might be expressed in a very controlled way. You use a specific structure, your time is limited, you are able to prepare your thoughts, and you are uninterrupted. This is the type of speaking you are expected to do in an assessment like the TOEFL. However, as you continue to progress in your use of the language, you will become more flexible and developed in your expressions of opinions.

Objectives

Share ideas from another source
Use reported speech frames to introduce supporting ideas

Using Ideas from Another Source

In writing, attributing sources of the information you include is an important. If you learned the information from a specific source, you are expected to show where it came from so that the original voice gets credit. In spoken English, this isn't as expected in most situations. When we speak, we are always pulling our ideas from our experiences and the experiences others have shared with us. However, there are times when it is important to reference the original source of the idea:

When you are sharing someone's exact words
When the ideas are truly unique to the source
When you want to show additional outside support for your opinion

The way you include an outside source when you speak will depend on the context and how true to the original words you are going to be.

Quoted Speech
The person's exact words
Paraphrasing
The person's words in your own words, usually somewhat shorter than what was originally said
Summarizing: The person's main ideas and major details, much shorter explanation of what someone said

Quoted speech is used especially when the original words are powerful, the original person was influential, and/or when the words cannot be said in another way. When you are using the exact words of another person, there are two ways to signal this to the listener.

Introduce the speaker/source + speech verb + exact words
- Thomas Edison said, "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
- As William Shakespeare once stated, "All that glitters is not gold."
- In the words of the United States Declaration of Independence, "all men are created equal."
Use quote and end quote/unquote to verbalize quotation marks, typically only used in formal speaking settings for longer quotes. It may or may not include the name of the person who originally said the words.
- It is important not to become so focused on our goals that we miss the opportunities we have now. (As John Lennon said,) Quote Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans end quote.

When you are putting the ideas into your own words by paraphrasing or summarizing rather than using the exact words, you will use reported speech structures. We discuss summarizing in more detail in the lesson Speaking Strategy: Summarize, but we will introduce this idea in this lesson.

Reported Speech

Reported speech uses the ideas from the quoted speech and adjusts the noun clauses.

Quoted Speech	Reporting Verb Tense	Noun Clause Verb Tense	Reported Speech
The results are conclusive.	Simple Present	No change	They say (that) the results are conclusive.
The business is successful.	Present Perfect	No change	He has said (that) the business is successful.
The business is successful.	Future	No change	He will say (that) the business is successful.
The results are conclusive.	Past	Simple Present to Simple Past**	They said (that) the results were conclusive. Unless the report is soon after it was originally said: They said (that) the results are** conclusive.
I am studying biochemistry.	Past	Present Progressive to Past Progressive	She said (that) she was studying biochemistry.
I studied biochemistry.	Past	Simple Past to Simple Past or Past Perfect	She said (that) she studied/had studied biochemistry.
I have learned Japanese.	Past	Present Perfect to Past Perfect	You said (that) you had learned Japanese.
I had learned Japanese.	Past	No Change	You said (that) you had learned Japanese.
I can watch. I may watch. I must watch. I have to watch. I will watch. I am going to watch.	Modal	Modal changes for the past	He said (that) he could watch. He said (that) he may/might watch. He said (that) he had to watch. He said (that) he had to watch. He said (that) he would watch. He said (that) he was going to watch.
I should watch. I ought to watch. I might watch.	Modal	No Change	He said (that) he should watch. He said (that) he ought to watch. He said (that) he might watch.

While the above examples change very little from the original statements, these same reported speech patterns can be used for either paraphrases and summaries.

For example, you could say

The United States Declaration of Independence says that all citizens should be treated as equals.

This is not the exact words, but it is a paraphrase of the idea based on the second paragraph of the document.

A summary may sound more like this

The research states that the medication is unsafe. After various tests, the patients in the trials developed serious side effects. Their suggestion is to remove the product from the market.

This takes the main idea and major details from what you are referencing, but it does not include specific words/phrases or very specific examples.

In addition to the patterns above, there are two informal patterns that you should be aware of. They have slightly different meanings.

He was like I don't want to go to school! (this is not always a direct quote)
He was all I don't want to go to school! (this is not always a direct quote and is used with a negative connotation on what the original speaker said, usually annoyance/frustration/disbelief)

As always, consider the purpose you have as a speaker to make decisions about how you will use an outside source to support your opinion. Is it more powerful to use the exact words? Does the listener need to know the complete idea? Is the complete information more than is necessary to make your point? Based on those questions, use the reported speech style that best fits the situation.

Excercise 1: Listen

Listen to Logan LaPlante's TED Talk. Notice how he summarizes another TED Talk and uses reported speech to share what other people have said about this topic.

Here is the original TED Talk if you're interested in original ideas from Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Transcript

I asked my little brother, and he said, "Seriously dude, I'm 10, I have no idea, probably a pro skier. Let's go get some ice cream!"

Neuroscientists say that the teenage brain is pretty weird. Our prefrontal cortex is underdeveloped, but we actually have more neurons than adults. Which is why we can be so creative, and impulsive, and moody, and get bummed out.

It really comes down to practicing these 8 things: Exercise, diet and nutrition, time in nature, contribution and service to others, relationships, recreation, relaxation and stress management, and religious or spiritual involvement. Yes, I got that one. So these 8 things come from Dr. Roger Walsh. He calls them "Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes" or TLCs for short, He's a scientist that studies how to be happy and healthy. In researching this talk, I got a chance to ask him a few questions like: "Do you think that our schools today are making these 8 TLCs a priority?" His response was no surprise. It was essentially "No". But he did say that many people do try to get this kind of education outside of the traditional arena through reading or practices such as meditation or yoga. But what I thought was his best response was that much of education is oriented, for better or worse, towards making a living rather than making a life.

In 2006, Sir Ken Robinson gave the most popular TED talk of all time, "Schools Kill Creativity." His message is that creativity is as important as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.

Speaking Practice

What is your opinion on the idea of student-led learning (or "hackschooling")? Use some of the reported speech structures from this lesson to include ideas from Logan's TED Talk to explain your opinion.
How would you describe your relationship with school? Narrate your past experiences with education (formal and informal) and describe the teachers, learning processes, and your feelings about those experiences.
As technology changes, people often assume that education will be dominated by that new technology. This might be seen as positive or negative thing depending on their perspective. For example, Thomas Edison believed that textbooks would be replaced by educational films, something he believed would have a positive impact on learning. How have you seen technology impact education in your life? How do you think education will be the same or different in 50 years?

Excercise 2: It's My Supported Opinion

Think about your opinion on education.
Look for a quote on education that supports your opinion.
Decide how you want to include that quote using a reported speech pattern.
Prepare your ideas to share with a partner.
Present your opinion to your partner.
Give each other feedback on how to include reported speech successfully.

Excercise 3: Supported Opinions

Your teacher will assign you one of the videos below.
Watch the video with your group.
Create an opinion about the topic.
Use information from the video and a written source to support your opinion.
Share your opinion with the class using reported speech grammar to introduce your sources.

The benefits of a bilingual brain

How playing an instrument benefits your brain

Grit: the power of passion and perseverance