Reported Speech là gì?
Câu tường thuật (Reported Speech) dùng để thuật lại lời nói của người khác mà không trích dẫn trực tiếp. Trong TOEIC Part 5, dạng câu hỏi này thường yêu cầu chọn đúng thì động từ sau reporting verb hoặc chọn đúng reporting verb phù hợp ngữ cảnh.
Ví dụ:
- Direct: "I will attend the meeting," she said.
- Reported: She said (that) she would attend the meeting.
Quy tắc lùi thì (Backshift)
Khi động từ tường thuật (reporting verb) ở thì quá khứ (said, told, reported...), động từ trong mệnh đề tường thuật phải lùi 1 thì:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple (V/Vs) | Past Simple (V2) |
| Present Continuous (am/is/are + V-ing) | Past Continuous (was/were + V-ing) |
| Present Perfect (have/has + V3) | Past Perfect (had + V3) |
| Past Simple (V2) | Past Perfect (had + V3) |
| will | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
| must | had to |
Ví dụ TOEIC:
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| "The report is ready." | He said the report was ready. |
| "We are reviewing the proposal." | She said they were reviewing the proposal. |
| "I have completed the project." | He told me he had completed the project. |
| "Sales increased last quarter." | The manager reported that sales had increased the previous quarter. |
| "I will submit the form tomorrow." | She said she would submit the form the next day. |
Đổi đại từ và trạng từ
Đại từ
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| I | he/she |
| we | they |
| my | his/her |
| our | their |
| this | that |
| these | those |
Trạng từ thời gian/nơi chốn
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| now | then / at that time |
| here | there |
| ago | before / earlier |
| last week | the previous week / the week before |
| next month | the following month |
Ví dụ TOEIC: "I will finish the report tomorrow," he said. → He said he would finish the report the following day.
5 ngoại lệ KHÔNG lùi thì
1. Chân lý, sự thật khoa học
"Water boils at 100 degrees," she explained. → She explained that water boils at 100 degrees. (Không lùi)
2. Reporting verb ở hiện tại
"I need more time." → He says he needs more time. (says = hiện tại → không lùi)
3. Câu vẫn đúng ở thời điểm tường thuật
"I am the project manager." → She said she is the project manager. (Vẫn đúng tại thời điểm nói)
4. Câu điều kiện loại 2 và 3
"If I had more time, I would help." → He said if he had more time, he would help. (Giữ nguyên)
5. Wish, would rather, had better
"I wish I could attend." → She said she wished she could attend. (Giữ nguyên could)
Reporting Verbs nâng cao — Trọng tâm TOEIC
TOEIC không chỉ dùng "said/told" mà thường dùng reporting verbs đa dạng, mỗi verb có cấu trúc riêng:
Verb + that + clause
| Verb | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| state | tuyên bố | The CEO stated that profits had risen. |
| announce | thông báo | The company announced that it would expand. |
| confirm | xác nhận | HR confirmed that the position was filled. |
| report | báo cáo | The team reported that the project was on track. |
| mention | đề cập | She mentioned that the deadline had changed. |
| explain | giải thích | He explained that the delay was unavoidable. |
| claim | tuyên bố | The vendor claimed that the product was safe. |
Verb + O + to V (infinitive)
| Verb | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| advise | khuyên | The manager advised employees to review the policy. |
| encourage | khuyến khích | She encouraged the team to participate. |
| remind | nhắc nhở | HR reminded staff to submit timesheets. |
| warn | cảnh báo | He warned them not to open suspicious emails. |
| ask | yêu cầu | The client asked us to revise the proposal. |
| tell | bảo | She told him to call back later. |
Verb + V-ing (gerund)
| Verb | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| suggest | gợi ý | He suggested holding the meeting online. |
| recommend | đề xuất | The consultant recommended restructuring the team. |
| deny | phủ nhận | She denied receiving the email. |
| admit | thừa nhận | He admitted making a mistake. |
Verb + that + S + (should) V-bare
| Verb | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| suggest | gợi ý | He suggested that we (should) postpone the event. |
| recommend | đề xuất | She recommended that the policy (should) be updated. |
| insist | nhấn mạnh | The director insisted that all staff (should) attend. |
| propose | đề nghị | They proposed that the budget (should) be increased. |
| demand | yêu cầu | The union demanded that wages (should) be raised. |
| request | yêu cầu | The client requested that the report (should) be sent by Friday. |
Lưu ý TOEIC: Sau suggest/recommend/insist/demand/propose/request, mệnh đề that dùng V-bare (nguyên mẫu không chia) hoặc should + V. Đây là dạng bẫy phổ biến — TOEIC hay cho đáp án sai là V-s hoặc V-ed.
Bài tập áp dụng (10 câu)
1. The supervisor said that the new policy _ effect the following month.
- A. takes B. took C. would take D. has taken → C
2. The HR director recommended that all employees _ the training session.
- A. attend B. attends C. attended D. attending → A
3. She mentioned that she _ the report the previous day.
- A. submits B. submitted C. had submitted D. will submit → C
4. The manager insisted that the deadline _ extended.
- A. is B. be C. was D. being → B
5. He told his assistant _ the meeting room for the conference.
- A. prepare B. to prepare C. preparing D. prepared → B
6. The CEO announced that the company _ a new branch.
- A. opens B. opened C. would open D. opening → C
7. She denied _ the confidential document to anyone.
- A. to show B. showing C. showed D. show → B
8. The consultant suggested _ the budget before making a decision.
- A. review B. to review C. reviewing D. reviewed → C
9. He warned the team not _ the software without approval.
- A. install B. to install C. installing D. installed → B
10. The report stated that revenue _ by 15 percent the previous year.
- A. increases B. increased C. had increased D. will increase → C
Câu hỏi thường gặp
TOEIC hay hỏi dạng Reported Speech nào nhất?
Dạng phổ biến nhất là chọn đúng reporting verb và cấu trúc sau reporting verb — đặc biệt suggest/recommend/insist + that + V-bare. Dạng lùi thì thuần tuý ít gặp hơn vì TOEIC Part 5 ưu tiên câu ngắn, tập trung vào cấu trúc hơn là logic thời gian.
Có cần nhớ hết bảng lùi thì không?
Chỉ cần nhớ 3 quy tắc chính: (1) Present → Past, (2) Past → Past Perfect, (3) will → would. Ba quy tắc này bao phủ 90% câu hỏi TOEIC về tường thuật. Các ngoại lệ chỉ cần biết để tránh bẫy.
Phân biệt suggest + V-ing và suggest + that + V-bare?
Cả hai đều đúng: "He suggested holding the meeting" = "He suggested that we hold the meeting." TOEIC có thể hỏi cả hai dạng. Lưu ý: suggest không đi với to V (He suggested to hold → SAI).
Luyện tập ngay
Reported Speech là dạng ngữ pháp nâng cao giúp phân biệt 600 và 700+ TOEIC. Luyện tập ngay với đề thi thử TOEIC miễn phí tại Thithu.com — 5.000+ câu hỏi, chấm điểm tức thì!