In reported speech, the sentence "Does she often go to the cinema?" as spoken by Ben to Kim would be transformed as follows:
Ben asked Kim if she often went to the cinema.
What is a reported speech?
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of expressing what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. When using reported speech, you convey the information, statement, question, or command from another person in your own words. This often involves a shift in pronouns, verb tenses, and sometimes time expressions. The changes that typically occur in reported speech are:
1. Pronoun changes:
- Direct speech: "I am going to the store."
- Reported speech: He said that he was going to the store.
2. Verb tense changes:
- Present simple in direct speech becomes past simple in reported speech.
- Present continuous in direct speech becomes past continuous in reported speech.
- Past simple in direct speech becomes past perfect in reported speech.
- Modal verbs may also change (e.g., can becomes could).
3. Time and place expressions:
- Words like "today," "tomorrow," "here," and "now" may need to be adjusted based on the context of the reporting.
4. Reporting verbs:
- The verb used to introduce the reported speech (e.g., say, tell, ask) can influence the structure of the reported speech.
Let's use an example to illustrate these changes:
Direct speech:
- Mary said, "I will visit my friend tomorrow."
Reported speech:
- Mary said that she would visit her friend the next day.
In this example, one can observe the changes in pronouns, verb tenses, and the adjustment of the time expression "tomorrow" to "the next day." These modifications help to accurately convey the original speaker's message in indirect or reported speech.
Complete question:
Reported speech: "Does she often go to the cinema?" Ben to Kim