When, however, an account of the proceedings of an intergovernmental body is followed by the conclusions or recommendations put forward by the body, different tenses are often used. The Ambassador declared that such acts of aggression should not be tolerated by the international community.Ī mixture of direct and indirect styles in a summary of a statement or discussion should be avoided whenever possible. Such acts of aggression should not be tolerated by the international community! Several Committee members asked why they should include the question in the agenda. Why should we include this question in the agenda? When converting a direct question to an indirect one, the subject and verb often have to be inverted. In some cases, the word order may have to be changed slightly. In addition, the final punctuation mark (question mark or exclamation point) should be changed to a full stop (period) in an indirect statement. The rules set out above also apply to questions and exclamations. The changes required in pronouns, possessive adjectives and demonstratives are as follows: Direct speechĪdverbs and adjectives denoting time and place may have to be changed as follows: Direct speech In that-clauses with verbs such as demand, ask, recommend and suggest, either the present subjunctive ( He suggested that the Committee adopt the text) or should plus the infinitive ( He suggested that the Committee should adopt the text) may be used. ( Awkward: She told the Council that it was reported that the situation was grave.) She told the Council that the situation was reported to be grave. It is reported that the situation is grave. The infinitive form can often be used to avoid cumbersome or awkward constructions in reported speech. The Chairperson emphasized that delegations limit their statements to five minutes. Direct:ĭelegations limit their statements to five minutes. When should is used as an auxiliary, the form does not change either. Some auxiliary verbs, such as must and ought to, have only one form, which is used in both direct and indirect speech. ![]() The Director said that if the necessary funding were available, the programme would be put into operation. If the necessary funding were available, the programme would be put into operation. It was estimated that by 2015 the number would have doubled. The insurgents stated that they would honour the ceasefire.įuture perfect to secondary future perfect tense Direct: The Director General acknowledged that the Board had been following the question closely for some time. The Board had been following the question closely for some time. It was announced that the Chair had resigned the previous week. The Director noted that the investigators had been conducting hearings on security issues for several days. The investigators have been conducting hearings on security issues for several days. Present perfect to past perfect tense Direct: The speaker noted that, under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Note: This rule is not necessarily applied to statements that are universally true: The Secretary of the Council reported that 15 States were members of the working group.Įven though the original statement may still be valid at the time of reporting, the verb is changed from the present to the past tense since it must agree with the verb in the main clause, which, whether stated or understood, is in the past tense. The following examples illustrate these rules:įifteen States are members of the working group. The verb tenses are normally changed as follows: Direct speech The shift in verb tenses, pronouns and other words signals the fact that the words are being reported. In a summary of a speech or discussion, the reporting clause must be added initially to establish the pattern of indirect speech but should not be included in every subsequent sentence. The Acting President confirmed that the election was being held that day. Next, a corresponding shift is made in the verb tenses, pronouns and certain other words in the original statement: Direct: ![]() First, it is necessary to add a principal, or reporting, clause that contains a verb of saying, thinking or reporting in the past tense ( She stated that.). When converting direct, or quoted, speech to indirect, or reported, speech, several changes must be made. Indirect speech is not enclosed in quotation marks. It is used in many United Nations documents, including summary records and reports on the proceedings of intergovernmental bodies. Indirect speech conveys a report of something that was said or written rather than the exact words that were spoken or written. Editorial Manual Indirect or reported speech
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