1. Indirect statements.

They are introduced by the verbs to say, to tell, to announce, to inform, to declare, to promise, to remark, to remind, to assure, to admit, to deny, etc.

With the verbs to tell and to inform the person addressed is always mentioned. With the verbs to say and to announce the person addressed may/may not be mentioned. If the person is mentioned, the preposition to is used.

The verb to say introduces both direct and indirect speech. The verb to tell introduces indirect speech only. If the person is mentioned, the verb to tell is preferable.

2. Indirect questions.

The word order in an indirect question is the same as in a statement. An indirect general question is introduced by the conjunction if or whether. An indirect special question is introduced by the same adverb or pronoun that introduces a direct question.

e.g.: I said to her, “Have you lived here long?” – I asked her if she had lived there long.

She said (to him), “When will the secretary come?” – She inquired (of him) when the secretary would come.

Indirect questions are generally introduced by the verbs to ask, to inquire, to want to know, to wonder, to interest, to be interested. In rendering answers we use the verbs to answer, to reply, to explain and the following structures: His reply/answer was that …, He said in reply that … His reply/answer was negative/positive.

3. Indirect orders and requests.

An order or a request in indirect speech is expressed by an infinitive. The choice of the verb is determined by the character of the order/request: to tell, to order, to command, to urge, to request (chiefly in the Passive Voice), to ask, to beg, to implore, to entreat, to beseech, to forbid, to warn, to instruct, to teach, to persuade, etc. They are always followed by an indirect object. The verb to say is replaced by the verb to tell.

e.g.: The officer said to the soldiers, “Stop!” – The officer commanded the soldiers to stop.

The child said to his mother, “Do take me to the circus!” – The child implored/begged (умолял) his mother to take him to the circus.

He said to the visitor, “Will you come in? Don’t worry about your luggage.” – He asked/begged (предложил; to beg is more polite) the visitor to come in and not to worry about his luggage.

4. Indirect offers, suggestions, advice.

When converting offers and suggestions into indirect speech, we use the verbs to offer and to suggest. There is a difference between them, though both are rendered in Russian by ‘предложить’. The person who makes an offer intends to do the action himself, and the action is an act of kindness. A suggestion may also be an act of kindness, but not necessarily. The person who makes a suggestion may/may not intend to do the action himself.

e.g.: He said to her, “Shall I fetch you a glass of water?” She said, “Do, please./No, don’t trouble.” – He offered to fetch her a glass of water and she accepted/declined the offer.

He said to her, “Suppose we go there together?” She said, “Very well./No, I would rather you went alone.” – He suggested that they should go there together and she consented/refused.

Sentences expressing advice are converted into indirect speech by means of the verb to advise.

e.g.: He said to them, “You had better take a taxi, otherwise you may be late.” – He advised them to take a taxi, as otherwise they might be late.