Explanation
Use this pattern when you report another person's words. In reported speech, pronouns often change, and time words often change too.
For example, "Ken said that he was busy that day." "Ken" is the reporting subject, and "said" is the reporting verb. "He" replaces "I", "was" replaces "am", and "that day" replaces "today". Japanese often keeps the original words inside quotes, but English usually shifts the viewpoint.
人の発言を伝えるときに使います。間接話法では、代名詞と時を表す言葉がよく変わります。
例えば、"Ken said that he was busy that day." です。"Ken" が伝えられている話し手で、"said" が「言った」を表す動詞です。"he" は "I" の代わりで、"was" は "am" の代わり、"that day" は "today" の代わりです。日本語は「ケンは『今日は忙しい』と言った」のように元の言い方をそのまま残しやすいですが、英語は視点を移します。
Examples
- She said that she was tired that day. 彼女はその日、疲れていると言った。
- Tom told me that he would call the next day. トムは翌日電話すると私に言った。
- Mina said that they were having dinner then. ミナはそのとき、彼らが夕食を食べていると言った。
- He told me to meet him at the station at midnight. 彼は私に、真夜中に駅で会おうと言った。
- They said that they were not ready that morning. 彼らはその朝、まだ準備できていないと言った。
- Our teacher said that we had to bring our books the following day. 先生は私たちに、翌日本を持ってくるように言った。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often keep the original pronouns and time words, like "He said that I will come tomorrow." In reported speech, "I" usually becomes "he" or "she", and "tomorrow" becomes "the next day". The correct sentence is "He said that he would come the next day."
日本語の感覚のまま、代名詞や時を表す言葉を変えない間違いがよくあります。たとえば "He said that I will come tomorrow." ではなく、"He said that he would come the next day." です。間接話法では、"I" が "he" や "she" に変わり、"tomorrow" は "the next day" になります。