The structure and usage of reported speech If in English

The reported speech If is an important grammatical topic in mastering English, and it is also the part that confuses many people. In today's article, let's quickly learn the formula and practice exercises for reported speech If!

I. What is Reported speech?

Reported speech or indirect speech is a sentence that indirectly reports speech, where the quoted speech is not enclosed in quotation marks.

Example:

I. What is reported speech If?

Below, PREP will introduce you to reported speech If in the common conditional sentence structures. Take a look right away!

1. Type 1 conditional sentence

What is the structure of a reported speech If in a Type 1 conditional sentence? Let's learn about it right below!

• The Type 1 conditional sentence is a sentence structure used to predict an action, event, or situation that may occur in the future if a certain condition is met first.

• When converting a direct Type 1 conditional sentence to a reported speech sentence, the learner needs to use a Type 2 conditional sentence.

2. Type 2 conditional sentence

Conditional Sentence Type 2 is the type of sentence used to describe an action/event/situation that may not occur in the future based on a certain condition that is not true in the present.

When converting a direct conditional sentence of Type 2 into a reported speech sentence, the learner maintains the same verb tense. This is a difference compared to Conditional Sentence Type 1.

3. Type 3 conditional sentence

Conditional Sentence Type 3 is the type of sentence used when the speaker imagines the result of an event/situation/action that is not true in the past.

Similar to Conditional Sentence Type 2, when converting a direct Conditional Sentence Type 3 into a reported speech sentence, the learner maintains the same verb tense.

4. Conditional sentences with questions

When converting a direct sentence with a question containing the If clause into a reported speech sentence, the If clause is placed at the end of the sentence. Here are some reported speech If examples:

• Jack asked Jennie: “What will you do if you’re on vacation?” ➞ Jack asked what Jennie would do if she was on vacation. 

The reported speech sentence with If (whether) is often used with Yes/No questions or choice questions using "or". For example:

• Anna asked John, “Are you coming to the party?”➞ Anna asked John if/whether he was coming to the party. 

IV. Reported speech If exercises

To better understand reported speech If, let's complete the reported speech if whether exercises below together!

1. Exercise

Exercise 1: Convert the following direct speech sentences into reported speech sentences with If.

1. Anna said, "If I win the lottery, I can afford that expensive car."

2. John asked, "If it snows tomorrow, will the flight be delayed?"

3. They said, "If she doesn’t arrive on time, she will miss the meeting."

4. Jack asked, "If you had one wish, what would you wish for?"

5. Nicki said, "If I meet Jack in the school, I will invite him to our home.”

Exercise 2: Write reported speech sentences with If.

1. “The teacher will be angry if you don’t do homework,” my classmate said.

My classmate said that ___________________________________.

2. “If he told us what was wrong, we could help him,” they said.

They said that _______________________________________.

3. “I would have read this letter if I had known it was from you,” she said.

She said that _______________________________________.

4. “If it is sunny, we will have a picnic,” they said.

They said that ______________________.

5. “If it didn’t rain, I would play football outside,” the boy said.

The boy said that _____________________________.

2. Answers

Exercise 1:

1. Anna said that if she won the lottery, she could afford that expensive car.

2. John asked if the flight would be delayed if it snowed the next day.

3. They said that if she didn’t arrive on time, she would miss the meeting.

4. Jack asked what I would wish for if I had one wish.

5. Nicki said that if she met Jack in the school, she would invite him to their home.

Exercise 2:

1. My classmate said that the teacher would be angry if I didn’t do homework.

2. They said that if he told them what was wrong, they could help him.

3. She said that if she had known the letter was from me, she would have read it.

4. They said that if it was sunny, they would have a picnic.

5. The boy said that if it didn't rain, he would play football outside.

Above is the complete knowledge about reported speech If in English that PREP wanted to share with you. Keep following PREP to regularly update many other useful English knowledge!