Adverbial Clause & Direct and Indirect Speech

Adverbial clause

An adverbial clause is a dependent clause that functions as an adverb. In other words, it contains a subject (explicit or implied) and a predicate, and it modifies a verb.

• I saw Joe when I went to the store. (explicit subject I)
• He sat quietly in order to appear polite. (implied subject he)

According to Sidney Greenbaum and Randolph Quirk, adverbial clauses function mainly as adjuncts or disjuncts. In these functions they are like adverbial phrases, but due to their potentiality for greater explicitness, they are more often like prepositional phrases (Greenbaum and Quirk,1990):

• We left after the speeches ended. (adverbial clause)
• We left after the end of the speeches. (adverbial prepositional phrase)

Contrast adverbial clauses with adverbial phrases, which do not contain a clause.

• I like to fly kites for fun.

Adverbial clauses modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. For example:

• Hardly had I reached the station when the train started to leave the platform.

The adverbial clause in this sentence is "when the train started to leave the platform" because it is a subordinate clause and because it has the trigger word (subordinate conjunction) "when".


Kinds of adverbial clauses

kind of clause	common conjunctions	function	example
time clauses	when, before, after, since, while, as, as long as, until,till, etc. (conjunctions that answer the question "when?"); hardly, scarcely, no sooner, etc.	These clauses are used to say when something happens by referring to a period of time or to another event.	Her goldfish died when she was young.
conditional clauses	if, unless, lest	These clauses are used to talk about a possible or counterfactual situation and its consequences.	If they lose weight during an illness, they soon regain it afterwards.
purpose clauses	in order to, so that, in order that	These clauses are used to indicate the purpose of an action.	They had to take some of his land so that they could extend the churchyard.
reason clauses	because, since, as, given	These clauses are used to indicate the reason for something.	I couldn't feel anger against him because I liked him too much.
result clauses	so...that	These clauses are used to indicate the result of something.	My suitcase had become so damaged on the journey home that the lid would not stay closed.
concessive clauses	although, though, while	These clauses are used to make two statements, one of which contrasts with the other or makes it seem surprising.	I used to read a lot although I don't get much time for books now.
place clauses	where, wherever, anywhere, everywhere, etc. (conjunctions that answer the question "where?")	These clauses are used to talk about the location or position of something.	He said he was happy where he was.
clauses of manner	as, like, the way	These clauses are used to talk about someone's behaviour or the way something is done.	I was never allowed to do things as I wanted to do them.

Direct Speech / Quoted Speech

Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech). Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.

For example:

She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."

or

"Today's lesson is on presentations," she said. 

Indirect Speech / Reported Speech

Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.

When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

For example:

Direct speech	Indirect speech
"I'm going to the cinema", he said.	He said he was going to the cinema.

Tense change

As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right): 

Direct speech		Indirect speech
Present simple She said, "It's cold."	›	Past simple She said it was cold.
Present continuous She said, "I'm teaching English online."	›	Past continuous She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple She said, "I've been on the web since 1999."	›	Past perfect simple She said she had been on the web since 1999.
Present perfect continuous She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years."	›	Past perfect continuous She said she had been teaching English for seven years.
Past simple She said, "I taught online yesterday."	›	Past perfect She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous She said, "I was teaching earlier."	›	Past perfect continuous She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived."	›	Past perfect NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes."	›	Past perfect continuous NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change: 

Direct speech		Indirect speech
will She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow."	›	would She said she would teach English online tomorrow.
can She said, "I can teach English online."	›	could She said she could teach English online.
must She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online."	›	had to She said she had to have a computer to teach English online.
shall She said, "What shall we learn today?"	›	should She asked what we should learn today.
may She said, "May I open a new browser?"	›	might She asked if she might open a new browser.

Excersice 1

1.    Beckham : Did you know what Fingo said yesterday?
Raul         : Of course. He said ____ the previous day.
a. had gone to his country            d. he went to his country
b. he has gone to his country        e. he goes to his country
c. he will go to his country
    Jawaban : A ( kalau kalimat langsung/direct simple past, indirect/tdk langsung harus past perfect)

2.    Teacher : Why was Mary absent yesterday?
Jenifer   : What did the teacher want to know, Ferdy?
Ferdy     : he wanted to know ____
a. if Mary was absent            d. that Mary had been absent
b. why Mary was absent            e. why Mary had been absent
c. why was Mary absent
    Jawaban : E (direct berbentuk Wh-question bentuk past tense jadi indirec berbentuk past perfect)

3.    Mother   : Don’t be so noisy, Herman. The baby is sleeping.
Herman  : Okay, mom.
Rudy      : What did your mother just told you?
Herman  : She told me ___ because the baby was sleeping.
a. I wasn’t so noisy            d. I am very noisy
b. not to be so noisy            e. to be not so noisy
c. don’t be noisy
    Jawaban : B (direct: don’t + be maka indirect: not + to be)

Excersice 2

1.       __________ getting the highest result in the class, John still had problems with the teacher. 
A. Despite of
B. In spite of 
C. Even though
D. Nonetheless

Jawaban : C

2.  _______ air is composed of about 78 percent nitrogen and only about 21 percent oxygen, is a little known fact on the streets.
A. How that
B. That
C. When 
D. However

Jawaban : D

3.      _______ he was seen to be an aggressive politician, he was a quiet and loving family man at home. 
A. Although
B. Despite
C. In spite of
D. Nevertheless

Jawaban : C

Source : 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbial_clause
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/reportedspeech.htm#BOTTOM

http://4englishcourses.blogspot.com/2011/07/latihan-bahasa-inggris-materi-direct.html

http://finitaankgi.blogspot.com/2011/04/tugas-pilihan-ganda-bhs-inggris-2.html