english grammar tenses in reported speech

Reported Speech

Perfect english grammar.

Reported Statements

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.
Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)

But , if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

* doesn't change.

Direct speech: The sky is blue.
Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

Reported Questions

So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?

Direct speech: Where do you live?
Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
Direct speech: Where is Julie?
Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.
Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?
Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

Direct speech: Close the window, please
Or: Could you close the window please?
Or: Would you mind closing the window please?
Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.
Direct speech: Please don't be late.
Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders

Direct speech: Sit down!
Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.
Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.
Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

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Reported Speech Tenses

Reported speech tenses will change from that of the direct speech in most cases.

This is known as backshifting in reported speech , with the basic rule that a tense is shifted back to its past tense form.

This is because we are usually talking about something in the past.

You can also watch a video of this lesson:

Backshifting in Reported Speech

Here are some examples of backshifting, with tenses going back from present to past:

Reported Speech Tenses Change Chart

Below is a reported speech tense change chart with the rules for backshifting for each tense and for modal verbs.

You will see reported speech does not go back a tense if it is already in the past perfect (there is no further back it can go), and some modal verbs also do not change.

If you are tested on this, though, these are the changes you need to make.

Exceptions to the rules

This is a useful starting point. However, it is a simplification as we may not always decide or need to shift the tense back.

For instance, if the circumstances we are reporting on have not changed since they were directly said, then the tense would not need to be changed. For example:

Direct Speech

I am happy
(present simple)

Reported Speech

She said she is happy

So if we want to convey that the situation is still true then we may keep the tense the same.

Alternatively, the tense could even forward shift. An example would be in relation to a film or book. In this case, the person may use the past tense to say that the film was good, but the present or past tense could be used when you convey that to someone else:

Direct Speech:

The film was really good!
(past simple)

Reported Speech:

He said that the film was very good!
(past simple) Or
He said that the film is very good!

As you can see, either reported speech tenses would be ok if you wanted to pass the information on to somebody else. The person said the film was good, and it is still good (it hasn't gone away).

So there are some general rules for reported speech tense changes but it can depend on the context. There may be no need to change it or you may be able to choose either tense.

Click the ' reported speech: practice forming indirect speech ' link below to practice changing tenses.

More on Reported Speech:

Reported Speech Imperatives: Reporting commands in indirect speech

Reported speech imperatives, also known as reported commands, follow a slightly different structure to normal indirect speech. We use imperatives to give orders, advice, or make requests.

Direct and Indirect Speech: The differences explained

Direct and indirect speech are different because in direct speech the exact words said are spoken, but in indirect or reported speech, we are reporting what was said, usually using the past tense.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

In these examples of direct and indirect speech you are given a sentence in direct speech which is then connected to indirect speech.

Reported Speech Quiz - Practice forming indirect speech

This reported speech quiz gives you the chance to practice converting direct speech to reported speech, also known as indirect speech. This involves backshifting with the tenses.

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English Grammar
Clause structure and verb patterns

Reported speech

Level: intermediate

Reporting and summarising

When we want to report what people say, we don't usually try to report their exact words. We usually give a summary , for example:

Direct speech (exact words) :

Mary : Oh dear. We've been walking for hours! I'm exhausted. I don't think I can go any further. I really need to stop for a rest. Peter : Don't worry. I'm not surprised you're tired. I'm tired too. I'll tell you what, let's see if we can find a place to sit down, and then we can stop and have our picnic.

Reported speech (summary) :

When Mary complained that she was tired out after walking so far, Peter said they could stop for a picnic.

Reporting verbs

When we want to report what people say, we use reporting verbs . Different reporting verbs have different patterns, for example:

Mary complained (that) she was tired . (verb + that clause) She asked if they could stop for a rest . (verb + if clause) Peter told her not to worry . (verb + to -infinitive) He suggested stopping and having a picnic . (verb + - ing form)

See reporting verbs with that , wh- and if clauses , verbs followed by the infinitive , verbs followed by the -ing form .

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Tenses in reported speech

When reporting what people say or think in English, we need to remember that the rules for tense forms in reported speech are exactly the same as in the rest of the language.

This is a letter that Andrew wrote ten years ago:

If we wanted to report what Andrew said in his letter, we might say something like this:

Andrew said that when he was 22, he was an engineering student in his last month at university. He wanted to travel abroad after he had finished his course at the university, but he would need to earn some money while he was abroad so he wanted to learn to teach English as a foreign language. A friend had recommended a course but Andrew needed more information, so he wrote to the school and asked them when their courses started and how much they were . He also wanted to know if there was an examination at the end of the course.

We would naturally use past tense forms to talk about things which happened ten years ago. So, tenses in reports and summaries in English are the same as in the rest of the language.

Sometimes we can choose between a past tense form and a present tense form. If we're talking about the past but we mention something that's still true , we can use the present tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it' s the best hotel in town. Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro is her favourite actor. Helen said she loves visiting New York.

or the past tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it was the best hotel in town. Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro was her favourite actor. Helen said she loved visiting New York.

If we're talking about something that everybody knows is true , we normally use the present tense :

Michael said he'd always wanted to climb Everest because it' s the highest mountain in the world. Mary said she loved visiting New York because it' s such an exciting city.

Hi! I found the following paragraph from a grammar site while I was studying the reported speech. Can you help me? It says; --> We can use a perfect form with have + -ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past: He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’)

And my question is: How do we understand if it is a hypothetical event in the past or not? We normally don't change 'might' in reported speech. (e.g. ‘It might snow tonight,’ he warned. --> He warned that it might snow that night.) But why do we say 'He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters.' instead of 'He said that the noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ What's the difference between these two indirect reported speeches? Could you please explain the difference? And I also found this example which is about the same rule above: --> He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: a) ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or b) ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’) Can you also explain why we report this sentence like that. How can we both change a) and b) into the same indirect reported speech? Thank you very much!

Hello Melis_06,

1. He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. 2. He said that the noise might be the postman delivering letters.

In sentence 1 it is clear that the noise has ended; it is a noise that 'he' could hear but it is not a noise that you can hear now. In sentence 2 the noise could have ended or it could be a noise that you can still hear now. For example, if the noise is one which is constant, such as a noise that comes from your car engine that you are still trying to identify, then you would use sentence 2. In other words, sentence 2 allows for a wider range of time possibilities - both past (ended) and present (still current).

Your second question is similar:

He said he would have helped us if we needed a volunteer - you no longer need a volunteer

He said he would help us if we needed a volunteer - this could still be relevant; you may still need a volunteer.

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello my friend : what are you doing now? me : I'm eating an apple now and My friend repeated his question now

my question

Can I repeat the sentence in the past ( I was eating an apple) and mean( I'm eating an apple now) ?

You can but it is unusual. If you say I was eating an apple (past continuous), it means that it was in the past. You already finished eating the apple and you are not eating it now. But if your friend asked you just a moment ago, I guess you are still eating the apple when she/he asks the second question, so I would say I'm eating an apple (because you are still doing it).

Alternatively, you can use a past tense reporting verb e.g. I said I was eating an apple (referring to the time of the first question), or I said I 'm eating an apple (to show that you are still eating it now, at the moment of speaking).

LearnEnglish team

Am I correct then? When someone wants us to repeat the sentence we have just said a moment ago we say 'I said I am doing...' if we are still doing that action. But if we are done with that action, then we say 'I said I was doing...' Did I get it right? Thanks!

Hello Meldo,

Yes, that's correct. Well done!

Hi. I wish to enquire if the verb tense used after a conjunction also changes in complex sentences as per tense transition rules, especially if it is already in simple past tense. In order to explain, could you please solve the following for me: 1. It has been quite a while since I last saw you. 2. Nevertheless, she has been quite desensitized to such perverse actions to the extent that it seldom ever seems obnoxious to her. 3. Let me keep this in my cupboard lest I misplace this. 4. I had arrived at the station before you even left your house. 5. I met my grandfather before he died.

Hi Aamna bluemoon,

The verb may or may not be backshifted, depending on whether the original speaker's point of view and the reporter's point of view are the same or not. For example:

She said it had been quite a while since she last saw me . (it seems relatively recent, for both the original speaker and the reporter)
She said it had been quite a while since she had last seen us . (a lot of time has passed between speaking and reporting this, or the situation has changed a lot since then e.g. they have met frequently since then)
She said she had met her grandfather before he died . (seems quite recent)
She said she had met her grandfather before he'd died . (a lot of time has passed between speaking and reporting this)

I hope that helps.

Hi, can you help me, please? How could I report this famous quotation: 'There's no such things as good news in America'.

Hi bri.q630,

First of all, the sentence is not grammatically correct. The phrase is 'no such thing' (singular), not 'things'.

How you report it depends. Using 'said' as the reporting verb we have two possibilities:

1. They said (that) there's no such thing as good news in America. 2. They said (that) there was no such thing as good news in America.

Sentence 2 tells that only about the time when 'they' said it. It does not tell us if it is still true or not.

Sentence 1 tells us that what 'they' said is still relevant today. In other words there was no good news (in their opinion) when they spoke, and there is still no good news now.

Thank you Peter,

All things are getting clear to me.

So, you mean, I can use both sentences depending on what I want to indicate, can't I?

then the possible indications are bellow, are those correct?

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.)

1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945. (This would be indicated I might missunderstand.)

2-a I felt time is money. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.)

2-b I felf time was money. (This would be indicated I might not feel any more.)

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. (This would be indicated the statement is still true.)

3-b I knew the sun rase in the east. (This would be indicated I might misunderstand or forget.)

4-a I guessed* that Darth Vader is Luke's father. (This would be indicated I still believe he is.*sorry for the typo)

4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father. (This would be indicated I might know he is not.)

Thank you in advance.

Hello again Nobori,

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.) 1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945. (This would be indicated I might missunderstand.)

Both forms are possible here. The 'ending' is a moment in the past; after this there is no war. By the way, we treat 'World War 2' as a name so there is no article before it.

2-a I felt time is money. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.) 2-b I felf time was money. (This would be indicated I might not feel any more.)

That's correct. Remember that backshifting the verb does not mean something is no longer true; it simply does not tell us anything about the present. Here, it tells the reader how you felt at a given moment in time; you may

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. (This would be indicated the statement is still true.) 3-b I knew the sun rase in the east. (This would be indicated I might misunderstand or forget.)

That's also correct. Again, remember that backshifting the verb does not mean something is no longer true; it simply does not tell us anything about the present.

4-a I guessed* that Darth Vader is Luke's father. (This would be indicated I still believe he is.*sorry for the typo) 4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father. (This would be indicated I might know he is not.)

Again, correct. In the second example it might still be true that he is Luke's father, or it might have turned out to be not true. The sentence does not tell us.

Hi Peter, Thank you for your thoughtful answer. Allthing is now very clear to me. Best

Hi, I am translating a fiction novel into English and need your help regarding the reporting speech as for few things I am not getting any clear understanding over the internet. As you know in fiction, we need to write in non-ordinary way to create unique impressions of the word and academic writing is different than speaking. Will be grateful if you could give your insight below, especially considering in the context of fiction/academic writing.

1) Let’s say If someone is giving a speech or presentation, I want to mix their speech, indirect-direct and past tense- present tense. Below are three examples:

-He said, their company makes excellent profit every year OR their company made excellent profit every year ( can both be correct? As the sentence)

- Roger had given his speech yesterday. He said, their company makes excellent profit every year and your company will sustain for next hundred years.(Can YOUR be used in the sentence)

- Roger said people wants to feel important OR Roger said people wanted to feel important (which will be correct as this is a trait which is true in past and present)

2) He thought why he is talking to her OR He thought why he was talking to her (are both write? As usually I see in novels the second example with WAS)

3) Gia was sitting with Jake and she told him she had met with her last year. Her mother had taken her to the dinner. Her mother had told her about her future plans. Her mother also had paid the bill for the dinner. (Do I need to use every time past perfect in this example though it doesn’t feel natural? As a rule of thumb I think past perfect needs to be used when we talk about another past event in the past )

Hello Alamgir3,

We're happy to help with a few specific grammar questions, but I'm afraid we can't help you with your translation -- I'd suggest you find an editor for that.

1) In the second clause, you can use present or past. We often use the present when it's still true now, but the past is not wrong. FYI we don't normally use a comma after 'said' in reported speech.

2) 'Why was he talking to her?' he thought.

3) This is really more of a question of style than grammar. Here I would suggest doing something like combining the four sentences into two and then leaving out 'had' in the second verb in each sentence. Even if it isn't written, it's understood to be past perfect.

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello teachers, I'm sorry, I could not find where to new post. Could you tell me about the back-sifting of thoughts bellow? Which forms are correct?

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. 1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945.

2-a I felt time is money. 2-b I felf time was money.

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. 3-b I knew the sun rase in the east.

4-a I guess that Darth Vader is Luke's father. 4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father.

Do those questions have the same conclusion as indirect speech, such as say and tell?

Hello Nobori,

The verb form remains the same when we want to make it clear that the situation described by the verb is still true, and this works in the same way as indirect speech. For example:

She said she loves me. [she loved me then and she loves me still] She said she loved me. [she loved me then; no information on how she feels now]

Other than this rule, the choice is really contextual and stylistic (up to the speaker). Sometimes a choice implies something. For example, the saying 'time is money' is a general statement, so if you choose to backshift here the listener will know it is an intentional choice and suspect that something has changed (you no longer believe it).

Hi teachers, I've read almost the section of comments below and my summarize is the present tense only can be used if the statement is still true now and past simple only tells the statement was true in the past and doesn't tell the statement is true or not now. Just to make sure, I wanna ask, If I'm not sure whether the statement is still true or not now, can I choose backshift instead (this is still apply to past tense become past perfect)? Thank you

Hello rahmanagustiansyah,

It sounds to me as if you've got the right general idea. Could you please give a couple of example sentences that illustrate your question?

Thanks in advance, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

For example, Steve said "Anna hates you." Then I wanna tell about that to my friend, but I'm not sure whether Anna still hates me or not now. What should I choose between these two options. Answer 1:Steve said Anna hates me or Answer 2 : Steve said Anna hated me. Thank you

Hi rahmanagustiansyah,

In that case, I would choose answer 2. I might even add "... but I don't know if she still does" to the sentence to clarify, if that is the key point you want to communicate.

Jonathan The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Natasa Tanasa,

Both sentences are grammatically possible.

The first sentence is only possible if when the person asks the original question the woman is no longer there (she has already gone). The second sentence can be used in this situation too, or in a situation in which the woman was still there when the original question was asked. As the past tense is used in the original question ( Who was... ), both sentences are possible.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

When the situation is still true at the time of reporting, we can leave the verb form unchanged. For example:

1. She told me she loved me.

2. She told me she loves me.

In sentence 1 we know she loved me when she told me but we don't know whether or not she loves me now. In sentence 2, we know she loved me when she told me and we know that she loves me now.

In your example, if the supermarket is still in the same place then we can use either form. If the supermarket has been closed down or moved to another location then we need to use was .

As for which is 'safer', you'll need to make your own mind up! Keeping the verb in the same form carries more specific information and that may be appropriate or even important.

Hello eugelatina87,

I'll give you a hint: a verb is missing from the question.

Does that help you complete it?

All the best,

The first two sentences are possible and they can both mean that he is still Mary's boyfriend now. The first one makes this more clear, but the second one doesn't only refer to the past.

Hello magnuslin

Regarding your first question, the most common way of saying it is the second one. In some very specific situation, perhaps the first option would be possible.

This also answers your second question. It is not necessary to always backshift using the tenses you mention.

As for your third question, no, it is not necessary. In fact, it is probably more common to use the past simple in the reported speech as well.

All the best

Hello manu,

Both forms are possible. If you use had been then we understand that he was there earlier but not when he said it - in other words, when he said it he had already left. If you use was then he may have left at the time of speaking, or he may have still been there.

Hello _princess_

I would recommend using answer a) because this is the general pattern used in reported speech. Sometimes the verb in the reported clause can be in the present tense when we are speaking about a situation that is still true, but the reported verb in the past tense can also have the same meaning. Since here the time referred to could be either past or present, I'd recommend using the past form.

Hello mwright,

This is an example of an indirect question. An indirect question reports a question, but is not a question itself, which is why we do not use a question mark at the end. Since it is not a question, we use the normal word order without inversion or auxiliary verbs. For example:

Indicative: He lives in Rome. Interrogative: Does he live in Rome? (Where does he live?) Reported: She asked if he lives in Rome. (She asked where he lives.)

Hello ahlinthit

There are different styles of punctuating direct speech -- in other words, you might find other sources that will disagree with me -- but what I would use here is something different: "The boss is dead!" said the doctor.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes

Hello Timmosky,

The form that comes after the auxiliary verb 'do' (or 'does' or 'did') is not the plural present simple verb, but rather the bare infinitive (also known as 'base form' or 'first form') of the verb. Does that make sense?

All the best, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sky-high,

This is very formal language. The phrase 'to the effect that' means 'with the meaning that'. In this context it can be understood to mean 'with the result that'.

Best wishes,

The difference is quite logical. If we use 'said' then we are talking about a claim by Peter in the past which he may or may not still maintain. If we use 'says' then we are talking about an opinion expressed by Peter which he still holds.

The reported information (whether or not Rooney is in good shape) can refer to only the past or to the present as well and the statement (what Peter thinks) can separately refer to only the past or the present as well. Of course, all of this is from the point of view of the person reporting Peter's opinion, and whether or not they think that Peter still thinks now what he thought then.

Both are possible. If you use the present tense then it is clear that the statement is still true (i.e. the business was not growing when Mary spoke and is still not growing now). If you use the past tense then no information is given regarding the present (i.e. the business was growing when Mary spoke and may or may not be growing now).

Hello aseel aftab,

It should be 'if they had'. This is not from this page, is it? I don't see it anywhere here, but if I've missed it please let me know.

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Reported Speech in English Grammar

Direct speech, changing the tense (backshift), no change of tenses, question sentences, demands/requests, expressions with who/what/how + infinitive, typical changes of time and place.

Lingolia Plus English

Introduction

In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. We can use their exact words with quotation marks , this is known as direct speech , or we can use indirect speech . In indirect speech , we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed. Indirect speech is often introduced by a reporting verb or phrase such as ones below.

Learn the rules for writing indirect speech in English with Lingolia’s simple explanation. In the exercises, you can test your grammar skills.

When turning direct speech into indirect speech, we need to pay attention to the following points:

changing the pronouns Example: He said, “ I saw a famous TV presenter.” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter.
changing the information about time and place (see the table at the end of this page) Example: He said, “I saw a famous TV presenter here yesterday .” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter there the day before .
changing the tense (backshift) Example: He said, “She was eating an ice-cream at the table where you are sitting .” He said (that) she had been eating an ice-cream at the table where I was sitting .

If the introductory clause is in the simple past (e.g. He said ), the tense has to be set back by one degree (see the table). The term for this in English is backshift .

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to normally do not change.

If the introductory clause is in the simple present , however (e.g. He says ), then the tense remains unchanged, because the introductory clause already indicates that the statement is being immediately repeated (and not at a later point in time).

In some cases, however, we have to change the verb form.

When turning questions into indirect speech, we have to pay attention to the following points:

As in a declarative sentence, we have to change the pronouns, the time and place information, and set the tense back ( backshift ).
Instead of that , we use a question word. If there is no question word, we use whether / if instead. Example: She asked him, “ How often do you work?” → She asked him how often he worked. He asked me, “Do you know any famous people?” → He asked me if/whether I knew any famous people.
We put the subject before the verb in question sentences. (The subject goes after the auxiliary verb in normal questions.) Example: I asked him, “ Have you met any famous people before?” → I asked him if/whether he had met any famous people before.
We don’t use the auxiliary verb do for questions in indirect speech. Therefore, we sometimes have to conjugate the main verb (for third person singular or in the simple past ). Example: I asked him, “What do you want to tell me?” → I asked him what he wanted to tell me.
We put the verb directly after who or what in subject questions. Example: I asked him, “ Who is sitting here?” → I asked him who was sitting there.

We don’t just use indirect questions to report what another person has asked. We also use them to ask questions in a very polite manner.

When turning demands and requests into indirect speech, we only need to change the pronouns and the time and place information. We don’t have to pay attention to the tenses – we simply use an infinitive .

If it is a negative demand, then in indirect speech we use not + infinitive .

To express what someone should or can do in reported speech, we leave out the subject and the modal verb and instead we use the construction who/what/where/how + infinitive.

Say or Tell?

The words say and tell are not interchangeable. say = say something tell = say something to someone

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Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Exercises on reported speech.

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
place and time expressions
tenses (backshift)

→ more on statements in reported speech

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

Also note that you have to:

transform the question into an indirect question
use the interrogative or if / whether

→ more on questions in reported speech

→ more on requests in reported speech

Additional Information and Exeptions

Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:

main clauses connected with and / but
tense of the introductory clause
reported speech for difficult tenses
exeptions for backshift
requests with must , should , ought to and let’s

→ more on additional information and exeptions in reported speech

Statements in Reported Speech

no backshift – change of pronouns
no backshift – change of pronouns and places
with backshift
with backshift and change of place and time expressions

Questions in Reported Speech

Requests in reported speech.

Exercise 1 – requests (positive)
Exercise 2 – requests (negative)
Exercise 3 – requests (mixed)

Mixed Exercises on Reported Speech

Exercise on reported speech with and without backshift

Grammar in Texts

„ The Canterville Ghost “ (highlight direct speech and reported speech)

What is Reported Speech and how to use it? with Examples

Reported speech and indirect speech are two terms that refer to the same concept, which is the act of expressing what someone else has said. Reported speech is different from direct speech because it does not use the speaker's exact words. Instead, the reporting verb is used to introduce the reported speech, and the tense and pronouns are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. There are two main types of reported speech: statements and questions. 1. Reported Statements: In reported statements, the reporting verb is usually "said." The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and any pronouns referring to the speaker or listener are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. For example, "I am going to the store," becomes "He said that he was going to the store." 2. Reported Questions: In reported questions, the reporting verb is usually "asked." The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and the word order changes from a question to a statement. For example, "What time is it?" becomes "She asked what time it was." It's important to note that the tense shift in reported speech depends on the context and the time of the reported speech. Here are a few more examples: ● Direct speech: "I will call you later." Reported speech: He said that he would call me later. ● Direct speech: "Did you finish your homework?" Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework. ● Direct speech: "I love pizza." Reported speech: They said that they loved pizza.

When do we use reported speech?

Reported speech is used to report what someone else has said, thought, or written. It is often used in situations where you want to relate what someone else has said without quoting them directly. Reported speech can be used in a variety of contexts, such as in news reports, academic writing, and everyday conversation. Some common situations where reported speech is used include: News reports: Journalists often use reported speech to quote what someone said in an interview or press conference. Business and professional communication: In professional settings, reported speech can be used to summarize what was discussed in a meeting or to report feedback from a customer. Conversational English: In everyday conversations, reported speech is used to relate what someone else said. For example, "She told me that she was running late." Narration: In written narratives or storytelling, reported speech can be used to convey what a character said or thought.

How to make reported speech?

1. Change the pronouns and adverbs of time and place: In reported speech, you need to change the pronouns, adverbs of time and place to reflect the new speaker or point of view. Here's an example: Direct speech: "I'm going to the store now," she said. Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then. In this example, the pronoun "I" is changed to "she" and the adverb "now" is changed to "then." 2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here's an example: Direct speech: "I will meet you at the park tomorrow," he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet me at the park the next day. In this example, the present tense "will" is changed to the past tense "would." 3. Change reporting verbs: In reported speech, you can use different reporting verbs such as "say," "tell," "ask," or "inquire" depending on the context of the speech. Here's an example: Direct speech: "Did you finish your homework?" she asked. Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework. In this example, the reporting verb "asked" is changed to "said" and "did" is changed to "had." Overall, when making reported speech, it's important to pay attention to the verb tense and the changes in pronouns, adverbs, and reporting verbs to convey the original speaker's message accurately.

How do I change the pronouns and adverbs in reported speech?

1. Changing Pronouns: In reported speech, the pronouns in the original statement must be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. Generally, the first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) are changed according to the subject of the reporting verb, while the second and third person pronouns (you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs) are changed according to the object of the reporting verb. For example: Direct speech: "I love chocolate." Reported speech: She said she loved chocolate. Direct speech: "You should study harder." Reported speech: He advised me to study harder. Direct speech: "She is reading a book." Reported speech: They noticed that she was reading a book. 2. Changing Adverbs: In reported speech, the adverbs and adverbial phrases that indicate time or place may need to be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. For example: Direct speech: "I'm going to the cinema tonight." Reported speech: She said she was going to the cinema that night. Direct speech: "He is here." Reported speech: She said he was there. Note that the adverb "now" usually changes to "then" or is omitted altogether in reported speech, depending on the context. It's important to keep in mind that the changes made to pronouns and adverbs in reported speech depend on the context and the perspective of the new speaker. With practice, you can become more comfortable with making these changes in reported speech.

How do I change the tense in reported speech?

In reported speech, the tense of the reported verb usually changes to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here are some guidelines on how to change the tense in reported speech: Present simple in direct speech changes to past simple in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: "I like pizza." Reported speech: She said she liked pizza. Present continuous in direct speech changes to past continuous in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: "I am studying for my exam." Reported speech: He said he was studying for his exam. Present perfect in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: "I have finished my work." Reported speech: She said she had finished her work. Past simple in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: "I visited my grandparents last weekend." Reported speech: She said she had visited her grandparents the previous weekend. Will in direct speech changes to would in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: "I will help you with your project." Reported speech: He said he would help me with my project. Can in direct speech changes to could in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: "I can speak French." Reported speech: She said she could speak French. Remember that the tense changes in reported speech depend on the tense of the verb in the direct speech, and the tense you use in reported speech should match the time frame of the new speaker's perspective. With practice, you can become more comfortable with changing the tense in reported speech.

Do I always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech?

No, you do not always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech. However, using a reporting verb can help to clarify who is speaking and add more context to the reported speech. In some cases, the reported speech can be introduced by phrases such as "I heard that" or "It seems that" without using a reporting verb. For example: Direct speech: "I'm going to the cinema tonight." Reported speech with a reporting verb: She said she was going to the cinema tonight. Reported speech without a reporting verb: It seems that she's going to the cinema tonight. However, it's important to note that using a reporting verb can help to make the reported speech more formal and accurate. When using reported speech in academic writing or journalism, it's generally recommended to use a reporting verb to make the reporting more clear and credible. Some common reporting verbs include say, tell, explain, ask, suggest, and advise. For example: Direct speech: "I think we should invest in renewable energy." Reported speech with a reporting verb: She suggested that they invest in renewable energy. Overall, while using a reporting verb is not always required, it can be helpful to make the reported speech more clear and accurate.

How to use reported speech to report questions and commands?

1. Reporting Questions: When reporting questions, you need to use an introductory phrase such as "asked" or "wondered" followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here's an example: Direct speech: "What time is the meeting?" Reported speech: She asked what time the meeting was. Note that the question mark is not used in reported speech. 2. Reporting Commands: When reporting commands, you need to use an introductory phrase such as "ordered" or "told" followed by the person, to + infinitive, and any additional information. Here's an example: Direct speech: "Clean your room!" Reported speech: She ordered me to clean my room. Note that the exclamation mark is not used in reported speech. In both cases, the tense of the reported verb should be changed accordingly. For example, present simple changes to past simple, and future changes to conditional. Here are some examples: Direct speech: "Will you go to the party with me?" Reported speech: She asked if I would go to the party with her. Direct speech: "Please bring me a glass of water." Reported speech: She requested that I bring her a glass of water. Remember that when using reported speech to report questions and commands, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.

How to make questions in reported speech?

To make questions in reported speech, you need to use an introductory phrase such as "asked" or "wondered" followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here are the steps to make questions in reported speech: Identify the reporting verb: The first step is to identify the reporting verb in the sentence. Common reporting verbs used to report questions include "asked," "inquired," "wondered," and "wanted to know." Change the tense and pronouns: Next, you need to change the tense and pronouns in the sentence to reflect the shift from direct to reported speech. The tense of the verb is usually shifted back one tense (e.g. from present simple to past simple) in reported speech. The pronouns should also be changed as necessary to reflect the shift in perspective from the original speaker to the reporting speaker. Use an appropriate question word: If the original question contained a question word (e.g. who, what, where, when, why, how), you should use the same question word in the reported question. If the original question did not contain a question word, you can use "if" or "whether" to introduce the reported question. Change the word order: In reported speech, the word order of the question changes from the inverted form to a normal statement form. The subject usually comes before the verb, unless the original question started with a question word. Here are some examples of reported questions: Direct speech: "What time is the meeting?" Reported speech: She asked what time the meeting was. Direct speech: "Did you finish your homework?" Reported speech: He wanted to know if I had finished my homework. Direct speech: "Where are you going?" Reported speech: She wondered where I was going. Remember that when making questions in reported speech, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately. Here you can find more examples of direct and indirect questions

What is the difference between reported speech an indirect speech?

In reported or indirect speech, you are retelling or reporting what someone said using your own words. The tense of the reported speech is usually shifted back one tense from the tense used in the original statement. For example, if someone said, "I am going to the store," in reported speech you would say, "He/she said that he/she was going to the store." The main difference between reported speech and indirect speech is that reported speech usually refers to spoken language, while indirect speech can refer to both spoken and written language. Additionally, indirect speech is a broader term that includes reported speech as well as other ways of expressing what someone else has said, such as paraphrasing or summarizing.

Examples of direct speech to reported

1. Direct speech: "I am hungry," she said. Reported speech: She said she was hungry. 2. Direct speech: "Can you pass the salt, please?" he asked. Reported speech: He asked her to pass the salt. 3. Direct speech: "I will meet you at the cinema," he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet her at the cinema. 4. Direct speech: "I have been working on this project for hours," she said. Reported speech: She said she had been working on the project for hours. 5. Direct speech: "What time does the train leave?" he asked. Reported speech: He asked what time the train left. 6. Direct speech: "I love playing the piano," she said. Reported speech: She said she loved playing the piano. 7. Direct speech: "I am going to the grocery store," he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to the grocery store. 8. Direct speech: "Did you finish your homework?" the teacher asked. Reported speech: The teacher asked if he had finished his homework. 9. Direct speech: "I want to go to the beach," she said. Reported speech: She said she wanted to go to the beach. 10. Direct speech: "Do you need help with that?" he asked. Reported speech: He asked if she needed help with that. 11. Direct speech: "I can't come to the party," he said. Reported speech: He said he couldn't come to the party. 12. Direct speech: "Please don't leave me," she said. Reported speech: She begged him not to leave her. 13. Direct speech: "I have never been to London before," he said. Reported speech: He said he had never been to London before. 14. Direct speech: "Where did you put my phone?" she asked. Reported speech: She asked where she had put her phone. 15. Direct speech: "I'm sorry for being late," he said. Reported speech: He apologized for being late. 16. Direct speech: "I need some help with this math problem," she said. Reported speech: She said she needed some help with the math problem. 17. Direct speech: "I am going to study abroad next year," he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to study abroad the following year. 18. Direct speech: "Can you give me a ride to the airport?" she asked. Reported speech: She asked him to give her a ride to the airport. 19. Direct speech: "I don't know how to fix this," he said. Reported speech: He said he didn't know how to fix it. 20. Direct speech: "I hate it when it rains," she said. Reported speech: She said she hated it when it rained.

What is Direct and Indirect Speech?

Direct and indirect speech are two different ways of reporting spoken or written language. Let's delve into the details and provide some examples. Click here to read more

Fluent English Grammar

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B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech

Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job.

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of reported speech. They are in red in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, reported speech correctly.

Sophie: Mmm, it’s so nice to be chilling out at home after all that running around.

Ollie: Oh, yeah, travelling to glamorous places for a living must be such a drag!

Ollie: Mum, you can be so childish sometimes. Hey, I wonder how Daisy’s getting on in her job interview.

Sophie: Oh, yes, she said she was having it at four o’clock, so it’ll have finished by now. That’ll be her ... yes. Hi, love. How did it go?

Daisy: Well, good I think, but I don’t really know. They said they’d phone later and let me know.

Sophie: What kind of thing did they ask you?

Daisy: They asked if I had any experience with people, so I told them about helping at the school fair and visiting old people at the home, that sort of stuff. But I think they meant work experience.

Sophie: I’m sure what you said was impressive. They can’t expect you to have had much work experience at your age.

Daisy: And then they asked me what acting I had done, so I told them that I’d had a main part in the school play, and I showed them a bit of the video, so that was cool.

Sophie: Great!

Daisy: Oh, and they also asked if I spoke any foreign languages.

Sophie: Languages?

Daisy: Yeah, because I might have to talk to tourists, you know.

Sophie: Oh, right, of course.

Daisy: So that was it really. They showed me the costume I’ll be wearing if I get the job. Sending it over ...

Ollie: Hey, sis, I heard that Brad Pitt started out as a giant chicken too! This could be your big break!

Daisy: Ha, ha, very funny.

Sophie: Take no notice, darling. I’m sure you’ll be a marvellous chicken.

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.

He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted .

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could ; will changes to would ; etc.

She said she was having the interview at four o’clock. (Direct speech: ' I’m having the interview at four o’clock.') They said they’d phone later and let me know. (Direct speech: ' We’ll phone later and let you know.')

OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.

'We went yesterday.' > She said they had been the day before. 'I’ll come tomorrow.' > He said he’d come the next day.

I see, but what if you’re reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn’t change the tense.

'Dogs can’t eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can’t eat chocolate. 'My hair grows really slowly.' > He told me that his hair grows really slowly.

What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether , then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don’t use question forms after the reporting verb.

'Do you have any experience working with people?' They asked if I had any experience working with people. 'What acting have you done?' They asked me what acting I had done .

Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don’t go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.

She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!') He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don’t forget.')

OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to …' or 'He asked me to …' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise , remind , warn , advise , recommend , encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say , tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

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Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions

👉 Quiz 1 / Quiz 2

Advanced Grammar Course

What is reported speech?

“Reported speech” is when we talk about what somebody else said – for example:

Direct Speech: “I’ve been to London three times.”
Reported Speech: She said she’d been to London three times.

There are a lot of tricky little details to remember, but don’t worry, I’ll explain them and we’ll see lots of examples. The lesson will have three parts – we’ll start by looking at statements in reported speech, and then we’ll learn about some exceptions to the rules, and finally we’ll cover reported questions, requests, and commands.

Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions Espresso English

So much of English grammar – like this topic, reported speech – can be confusing, hard to understand, and even harder to use correctly. I can help you learn grammar easily and use it confidently inside my Advanced English Grammar Course.

In this course, I will make even the most difficult parts of English grammar clear to you – and there are lots of opportunities for you to practice!

Backshift of Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

When we use reported speech, we often change the verb tense backwards in time. This can be called “backshift.”

Here are some examples in different verb tenses:

Reported Speech (Part 1) Quiz

Exceptions to backshift in reported speech.

Now that you know some of the reported speech rules about backshift, let’s learn some exceptions.

There are two situations in which we do NOT need to change the verb tense.

No backshift needed when the situation is still true

For example, if someone says “I have three children” (direct speech) then we would say “He said he has three children” because the situation continues to be true.

If I tell you “I live in the United States” (direct speech) then you could tell someone else “She said she lives in the United States” (that’s reported speech) because it is still true.

When the situation is still true, then we don’t need to backshift the verb.

He said he HAS three children

But when the situation is NOT still true, then we DO need to backshift the verb.

Imagine your friend says, “I have a headache.”

If you immediately go and talk to another friend, you could say, “She said she has a headache,” because the situation is still true
If you’re talking about that conversation a month after it happened, then you would say, “She said she had a headache,” because it’s no longer true.

No backshift needed when the situation is still in the future

We also don’t need to backshift to the verb when somebody said something about the future, and the event is still in the future.

Here’s an example:

On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Friday .”
“She said she ‘ll call me on Friday”, because Friday is still in the future from now.
It is also possible to say, “She said she ‘d (she would) call me on Friday.”
Both of them are correct, so the backshift in this case is optional.

Let’s look at a different situation:

On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Tuesday .”
“She said she ‘d call me on Tuesday.” I must backshift because the event is NOT still in the future.

Review: Reported Speech, Backshift, & Exceptions

Quick review:

Normally in reported speech we backshift the verb, we put it in a verb tense that’s a little bit further in the past.
when the situation is still true
when the situation is still in the future

Reported Requests, Orders, and Questions

Those were the rules for reported statements, just regular sentences.

What about reported speech for questions, requests, and orders?

For reported requests, we use “asked (someone) to do something”:

“Please make a copy of this report.” (direct speech)
She asked me to make a copy of the report. (reported speech)

For reported orders, we use “told (someone) to do something:”

“Go to the bank.” (direct speech)
“He told me to go to the bank.” (reported speech)

The main verb stays in the infinitive with “to”:

She asked me to make a copy of the report. She asked me make a copy of the report.
He told me to go to the bank. He told me go to the bank.

For yes/no questions, we use “asked if” and “wanted to know if” in reported speech.

“Are you coming to the party?” (direct)
He asked if I was coming to the party. (reported)
“Did you turn off the TV?” (direct)
She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.” (reported)

The main verb changes and back shifts according to the rules and exceptions we learned earlier.

Notice that we don’t use do/does/did in the reported question:

She wanted to know did I turn off the TV.
She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.

For other questions that are not yes/no questions, we use asked/wanted to know (without “if”):

“When was the company founded?” (direct)
She asked when the company was founded.” (reported)
“What kind of car do you drive?” (direct)
He wanted to know what kind of car I drive. (reported)

Again, notice that we don’t use do/does/did in reported questions:

“Where does he work?”
She wanted to know where does he work.
She wanted to know where he works.

Also, in questions with the verb “to be,” the word order changes in the reported question:

“Where were you born?” ([to be] + subject)
He asked where I was born. (subject + [to be])
He asked where was I born.

Reported Speech (Part 2) Quiz

Learn more about reported speech:

Reported speech: Perfect English Grammar
Reported speech: BJYU’s

If you want to take your English grammar to the next level, then my Advanced English Grammar Course is for you! It will help you master the details of the English language, with clear explanations of essential grammar topics, and lots of practice. I hope to see you inside!

I’ve got one last little exercise for you, and that is to write sentences using reported speech. Think about a conversation you’ve had in the past, and write about it – let’s see you put this into practice right away.

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The Reported Speech

What is reported speech.

Reported speech is when you tell somebody what you or another person said before. When reporting a speech, some changes are necessary.

For example, the statement:

Jane said she was waiting for her mom .

is a reported speech, whereas:

Jane said, “I’m waiting for my mom.”

is a direct speech.

Reported speech is also referred to as indirect speech or indirect discourse .

Before explaining how to report a discourse, let us first distinguish between direct speech and reported speech .

Direct speech vs reported speech

1. We use direct speech to quote a speaker’s exact words. We put their words within quotation marks. We add a reporting verb such as “he said” or “she asked” before or after the quote.

He said, “I am happy.”

2. Reported speech is a way of reporting what someone said without using quotation marks. We do not necessarily report the speaker”‘s exact words. Some changes are necessary: the time expressions, the tense of the verbs, and the demonstratives.

He said that he was happy.

More examples:

Different types of reported speech

When you use reported speech, you either report:

Requests/commands
Other types

A. Reporting statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

place and time expression

1- Pronouns

In reported speech, you often have to change the pronoun depending on who says what.

She says, “My dad likes roast chicken.” => She says that her dad likes roast chicken.

If the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of tenses in reported speech.
If the sentence starts in the past, there is often a backshift of tenses in reported speech.

No backshift

Do not change the tense if the introductory clause (i.e., the reporting verb) is in the present tense (e. g. He says ). Note, however, that you might have to change the form of the present tense verb (3rd person singular).

He says, “I write poems.” => He says that he writes English.

You must change the tense if the introductory clause (i.e., the reporting verb) is in the past tense (e. g. He said ).

He said, “I am happy.”=> He said that he was happy.

Examples of the main changes in verb tense :

3. Modal verbs

The modal verbs could, should, would, might, needn’t, ought to, and used to do not normally change.

He said: “She might be right.” => He said that she might be right.
He told her: “You needn’t see a doctor.” => He told her that she needn’t see a doctor.

Other modal verbs such as can, shall, will, must, and ma y change:

4- Place, demonstratives, and time expressions

Place, demonstratives, and time expressions change if the context of the reported statement (i.e. the location and/or the period of time) is different from that of the direct speech.

In the following table, you will find the different changes of place; demonstratives, and time expressions.

B. Reporting Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

The pronouns
The place and time expressions
The tenses (backshift)

Also, note that you have to:

transform the question into an indirect question
use the question word ( where, when, what, how ) or if / whether

>> EXERCISE ON REPORTING QUESTIONS <<

C. Reporting requests/commands

When transforming requests and commands, check whether you have to change:

place and time expressions
She said, “Sit down.” – She asked me to sit down.
She said, “don’t be lazy” – She asked me not to be lazy

D. Other transformations

Expressions of advice with must , should, and ought are usually reported using advise / urge . Example: “You must read this book.” He advised/urged me to read that book.
The expression let’s is usually reported using suggest . In this case, there are two possibilities for reported speech: gerund or statement with should . Example : “Let’s go to the cinema.” 1. He suggested going to the cinema. 2. He suggested that we should go to the cinema.

Main clauses connected with and/but

If two complete main clauses are connected with and or but , put that after the conjunction.

He said, “I saw her but she didn’t see me.=> He said that he had seen her but that she hadn’t seen him.

If the subject is dropped in the second main clause (the conjunction is followed by a verb), do not use that .

She said, “I am a nurse and work in a hospital.=> He said that she was a nurse and worked in a hospital.

punctuation rules of the reported speech

Direct speech:

We normally add a comma between the reporting verbs (e.g., she/he said, reported, he replied, etc.) and the reported clause in direct speech. The original speaker”s words are put between inverted commas, either single (“…”) or double (“…”).

She said, “I wasn’t ready for the competition”.

Note that we insert the comma within the inverted commas if the reported clause comes first:

“I wasn’t ready for the competition,” she said.

Indirect speech:

In indirect speech, we don’t put a comma between the reporting verb and the reported clause and we omit the inverted quotes.

She said that she hadn’t been ready for the competition.

In reported questions and exclamations, we remove the question mark and the exclamation mark.

She asked him why he looked sad?
She asked him why he looked sad.

Can we omit that in the reported speech?

Yes, we can omit that after reporting verbs such as he said , he replied , she suggested , etc.

He said that he could do it. – He said he could do it.
She replied that she was fed up with his misbehavior. – She replied she was fed up with his misbehavior.

List of reporting verbs

Reported speech requires a reporting verb such as “he said”, she “replied”, etc.

Here is a list of some common reporting verbs:

Cry (meaning shout)
Demonstrate
Hypothesize
Posit the view that
Question the view that
Want to know

In reported speech, we put the words of a speaker in a subordinate clause introduced by a reporting verb such as – “ he said ” and “ she asked “- with the required person and tense adjustments.

Reported speech exercise (mixed)
Reported speech exercise (questions)
Reported speech exercise (requests and commands)
Reported speech lesson

Reported Speech: How to Use Reported Speech | Useful Rules

One of the most common mistakes when becoming familiar with this type of grammar is not knowing the difference between direct speech and reported speech and the changes related to these types of sentences.

Reported Speech

The reported speech reproduces the words of another person by adapting certain temporal and local references of the original speech to the situation of the speaker, for example, personal pronouns, demonstratives, verb tenses, and adverbs of place or time.

It is characterized by introducing the message that is reproduced with a speaking verb followed by conjunctions that or if. The speaking verb reveals the intention of the speaker to convey what another person has said.

The most frequent speaking verbs are: say, affirm , count, explain, ask, warn, suggest, order, etc.

Direct Speech vs. Reported Speech

Both are the two different ways to transmit what someone has said.

With direct speech, the message is reproduced as we have heard it, in quotes and after a color meanwhile with reported speech the message is reproduced with our words, without commas but using that or if after the verb.

Different Types of Sentences

Reported statements : use that before the statement and the reporting verb said or told.
Reported questions : use reported verbs like asked, requested, or wanted to know and omit the question mark. Remember that the order in reported questions changes. In the case of yes-no questions use whether or if.
Reported requests or commands : use to or not to before the sentence and use verbs like asked, told, ordered, urged, advised, and begged.

Changes When Using Reported Speech

Tense Changes in Reported Speech

In short, the tense changes in the reported speech are made taking into account the verb in the direct speech. The tense changes are:

Simple present -> simple past
Present continuous -> past continuous
Simple past -> past perfect simple
Past continuous -> past perfect continuous
Past perfect simple -> past perfect simple
Past perfect continuous -> past perfect continuous
Present perfect -> past perfect simple
Present perfect continuous -> past perfect continuous
Future simple -> would
Future perfect -> would have
Present passive -> past passive
Present passive continuous -> past passive continuous
Can -> could/would be able to
May -> might
May -> could/ would be allowed to
Must -> must/ had to/ would have to
Needn’t -> didn’t have to /didn’t need to /wouldn’t have to
Shall -> would/should
Will -> would

Place, Demonstratives, and Time Expressions

Just as there are certain changes in the verb tenses, you have to make changes in the demonstratives, pronouns , and expressions of time and place.

Here -> there
There -> there
This -> that

Time Expressions

Today -> that day
Tomorrow -> the next day/ the following day
Now -> at that moment/ then
At the present -> At the time
Present, current -> existing current
In one hour -> one hour later
Next year -> the following year
Days ago -> days before
Tonight -> that night
In two week’s time -> two weeks later
Ago -> before

Pronouns and Demonstratives

I -> he, she
Me -> him, her
My -> his, her, the
Mine -> his, hers
We -> they
Us -> them
Our -> their, the
Ours -> theirs
You -> they, them, their, the
Yours -> theirs
This -> that, the
These -> those, the
This book -> that book

Reported Speech | Infographic

Other Changes in Reported Speech

Last Updated on October 25, 2023

Grammar: Reported Speech in English

Test your understanding of this English lesson

357 comments.

Dear Madam I thank you very much for your efforts & hard work to help people like me. I loved above video abuot repported speech. i got it but what is reported speech when original sentence it a past perfect / past perfect continuous and future’s other 3 tenses.

Some more things i m not sure are . how would be negative sentence of this

1.she has a nice car.

she doesn’t have a nice car. or she doesn’t has a nice car.

Ravi Burlington, Canada

She doesn’t have a car

sorry has is wrong

She doesn’t have a car.

Hello Rebecca!!

i love ur lectures, infact im now in love with this website. all of u are doing great.

your lesson on reported speech is very clear n precised. it helped me a lot. but could u please, if possible, manage to record a lesson on “WH” words (like who, what, when, where, and how) reported speech with their affirmative, negative and interrogative also please try to cover the topic about “let” reported speech sentences.

hoping to hear from you soon. thanks.

she told me that he doesn’t have a car

Hey! i can help you with this sentences: 1. She has a nice car (Present Simple Tense) Angela said me that she had a nice car. 2. she doesn’t have a nice car(the same tense) Angela mentioned that she didn’t has a nice car. there is nothing hard. you must also take it in next tense (present simple to past simple; present continuous to past continuous and so on).

James, sorry but you have done a mistake. Use always said without me. You have to use me as told me. An example: She told me she had a car or She said she had a car. Tks.

she doesn’t have a nice car because you’re usind DOES. You can say : She hasn’t a nice car

According with Essential Grammar in use 2nd edition unit 7 section c pag 20 she hasn’t got a car indicates a possession (like she has got green eyes or she has green eyes) when you are using a negative sentence in present simple the auxiliary verb doesn’t indicates the third singular person and the negation so the main verb goes in its base form: she doesn’t have a car otherwise using has after doesn’t will be a grammatical error (she doesn’t has a car) because you will be making two negations in the same sentence. Good night!

hi hgnis 76; past perfect doesn’t change: She said, “The lesson had already started when he arrived.”= she said that she had already started when he arrived. past perfect continous doesn’t change: She said, “I’d already been teaching for five minutes.”=She said she’d already been teaching for five minutes.

-she dosn’t have a nice car

We thank her

Dear hgnis76,

my English has a poor level but I’m sure “she doesn’t has a nice car” is ungrammatical. Only one verb can give -s in one sentence (clause).

Dear Rebecca,

does exist a reporting speech? I mean for example: I tell you (not past tense!) that you’re very nice because of this cool online teaching.

Yes, reported speech exists but not in your sentence. Thanks for your feedback. All the best to you,Skalkaz.

hello english teacher. how are you doing? this is deepak. could u please tell me difference between, do, does, did, don’t, & has, have, had, &how to use them like, he don’t, or he doesn’t, he has, had. please help me with this, hoping for a very soon reply. T.K.G.B….

Thanks for helping and for the cool comments.

Thanks for the ideas for future lessons. We’ll try and help you in this way.

Please explain the followinng:

In indirect speech after writing reporting verb “THAT” is written while you did not use “that” in indirect speech please explain

The conjunction that is often dropped, especially after common reporting verbs (e.g. say, think) in informal speech. She said (that) she’d had enough. I think (that) you’re probably right.

That cannot be dropped after certain verbs, especially intransitive verbs – e.g. reply, email, shout. James replied that he was feeling better, (NOT James replied he was …) She shouted that she was busy, (NOT She shouted she was busy.)

(source: Practical English Usage)

Thanks for your question, Noor, and thanks for providing the answer, Shalkaz! Good work!

Hi Rebecca,

Just a thought… In the first set of examples: to change “He is a teacher” into “He told me he was a teacher” does kind of mean he wasn’t a teacher anymore. This might be mis-leading (although I know it doesn’t intend to).

Does this mean the listener to the report should also adjust himself to the english style of reporting?

When you say “He told me he was a teacher.” , you are using reported speech correctly. It means the person is still a teacher, even though it may sound like it’s not true right now.

If you say, ” He told me he used to be a teacher.” then it means he is not a teacher any more.

See the difference?

hi, mrs Rebecca u really r the best teacher of mine!!!!

Mrs. Rebecca, If the original sentence was “He USED to be a teacher”, would the reported speech be “He told me he HAD used to be a teacher” or “He told me he USED to be a teacher”? Thank you for the reply and the nice lesson.. :)

Thanks for this reply. It’s quite clear now.

Hello Rebecca .

Just stopped by to say Hi to you and James . I am an English teacher here in Brazil and always recomend your website to my students . I think it is a great tool for them . Thank YOU ! God bless you . tchau …

Thanks for help, I will have exam for 2 days and it it helped me to understand my problems. by love from Zagreb

Hope you got a really high score on your exam! Thanks for your feedback, Matej.

You are doing a great job with this site to teach English. Thank you very much. And I would like to tell, I felt that I was learned something about your “Reported Speech” lesson. I like to learn more in future.

Best Regards. Prabath – Sri lanka

Thanks Prabath. Glad I could help you understand Reported Speech a little better. Good luck with your English.

A lesson is really good, Madam!

first of all thanks for your help ,but i still have a doubt ,i read that when that If the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of tenses in Reported speech. Example: Susan: “I work in an office.” Susan says that she works in an office. If the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of tenses in Reported speech. (see: Note) Example: Susan: “I work in an office.” Susan said that she worked in an office.

as you can see both examples are in present. how to know if i have to change the sentence at past or not?——————————————————————————–

Thanks for your feedback, Elizabet. Please see my detailed comments to Jonathan below.

My best wishes to you.

thank you very very very very very much

i realy benfite from you thanks alot alot alot

You’re very, very, very welcome! So glad the lesson helped you.

thank you can you explan time perfect??

Okay, I will record a lesson on this just for you and the many others who are confused by the perfect tenses in English.

In the meantime, make sure to review the present and past simple, present and past continuous and the future tenses, because you can also express your thoughts quite adequately using just these tenses. So making sure you master these first will make your life easier.

Thanks again for your suggestion.

I enjoyed your lesson and I wanted to give you my thanks.

I would like if you could do a video with the explication to use the words “by” and “for”. They mean very similar in spanish. Also about “Although” and “despite”.

Have a nice day Raul

Thanks, Raul for the compliment and your suggestion. I will be recording some new lessons soon and will do the ones you’ve suggested. Thanks.

Thanks again your another useful video lesson. I have had 100.00 score. That’s cool. Tata very much.

Great stuff!

These lessons are so very important,I was need it.Now I feel better because day by day I´m improving faster than a few years ago.

Thank you Rebecca,God Blees you!

So glad the lesson helped you. Good for you!

Thank you for refreshing my memory teacher. :-)

My pleasure.

Dear Rebecca, thanks for the great things you have shared with the world. I do understand the reported Speech, but I am not sure with the qouted speech. What is the differences between the other two? when should I use reported Speech and when should I use the qouted speech. Please educate me here.

Thanks Dismas

Thanks for your feedback.

Well, usually, it’s difficult to quote someone when we’re speaking. We usually only refer to famous quotations in speech.

In writing, it’s possible to use the exact quotation because we can see the quotation marks and understand that it is a direct quote.

Also, while speaking we only use the exact words when there is a special reason to quote the person. Perhaps what he or she said was surprising or shocking or wonderful…something exceptional.

Otherwise, we just use reported speech. Hope this helps to clarify the issue a little.

Hi, Teacher !

I love yr lesson ! Tks for enlighten me ! I will keep updating lessons here, hope u dont mind..

Yes, please do come back as we add new lessons all the time. Happy I could help you.

I have some questions about reported specch. 1. Can we keep the tense in reported speech if it still true? For example: Jay said,” I like / love/ hate eating apples.” ( Jay said that he likes/ loves/ hates eating apples)

2. Can we use ‘say(s)’ as reporting verb in reported speech? Jane says, ” I like action film.” ( Jane says that she likes action film.)

3. Any rules in reported speech about stative verbs (like, love, see, seem, etc)?

Thanks for your questions, Itim.

1) Yes, it is possible.

3) The same rules apply as to other verbs.

frist to all, thank you very much for the lessons, they are very useful for me. I think that never had seen “she doesn’t have”… I thought that the correct form was: “she hasn´t” are both forms correct? Thanks!

thanks for teach. Good luck to you!!!

Thanks; the same to you!

wow.. it’s difficult.. but i must try to loved it.. thanks for the teach.. and good luck for your job

Good for you, for not giving up! My best to you, Karel.

Hi thank you very much . I have learnt a lot. However I have some questions about time indicators: for example: I am going to see my mother today. I think that this film is amazing. could you please change them to indirect speech, and explain.

Thanks a lot

He said he was going to see his mother today.

She said she thought this film was amazing.

All the best to you, Souri.

hi rebecca, thank you for your all help.best wishes for you.

And to you too, Noureen. Thanks for watching and for your feedback.

hi ! My name is anh . I come from vietnam. Ilike you very much when you teach english . I could ask you some questions if you agree I will ask you later. do you teach me english on internet ? which way I pay money to you

Thank you kindly for your offer, Anh. At this time, I don’t teach English over the Internet. There are many other excellent teachers who do. I wish you the best, Anh.

Thanks a lof …. The lesson was very useful.. I learnt a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So glad I could help, Nathy. All the best to you in the future.

thank you very much your lesson very useful Thank you very very very very much again I am very happy for your lossen

My pleasure, Ebrahim. Thank you for your kind comments. All the best to you, too.

Dear Rebicca, I thank you vey much for your effort to help people to learn the most great language in all over the world . I was so happy when i found your site because I think that the teaching directly by videos is most usefull and helpsull. Thanks again and may allah pless and help you .

Thank you for your kind feedback, Ali. I wish you all the best.

Dear Rebecca

Thanks a lot, this lesson was very useful for me.

So glad the lesson helped you. My best wishes to you, elhidrologo.

Dear Rebbecca Thank you very much for your excellent explanation english lessons that you corronspound to your worldwide students,and i hope you you will be the winner of english teachers all over the world THANK YOU AGAIN.

Thank you kindly, Ahmed. Everyone gains when we help each other. I learn from my students each day, too. There are so many lessons to learn in life, and luckily, learning keeps life interesting.

My best wishes to you, Ahmed.

Hi Rebecca, I have some questions to you about some special usage of the word get. Here is the pattern. get+noun+adjective. i saw it in the dictionary but i can’t understand the explanation it says here that the word get is being used to cause somebody or something to be or become. i hope you will answer my question as soon as possible. May the lord always blessed you. Thank you.

Thanks so much for your comments, Bg.

I am not sure exactly what you’re asking me so please give me an example so I can help you. Maybe you mean, “You got your mother worried by not calling for so long.’ This would mean that you made your mother become worried.

We use get in lots of different ways in English. I wish you all the best.

thank u mam.i really happy to watch your web site.my speaking power is week and i m so happy to see u.again thanks..

Keep practicing and you will improve each day. All the best to you, Anjali.

hi Rubecca,i am Dibad and i am from Somlia,i recently joined this wonderful sate which i realy found helpful, particularly report speech lessons so i strongly say to you, thank you very much for your effort that you have done for sake of us.

Welcome to engvid, Dibad. So glad you are enjoying the lessons and learning from them too. My best to you.

hi i am juhi i am in 7th std thank u for explaning so nicely

Thanks. I am sure you will do very well in your English studies, since you are taking the initiative to increase your knowledge at such a young age. Good for you, Juhi! My best wishes to you.

i am very thankful to you for your priceless advice here

.thnks ,thanks alot madam

You’re very welcome, Ashu. All the best to you.

Thanks mam. The way u teach us is awesome.

That’s very kind of you. Thanks!My best wishes to you, Jack.

Hello, dear Rebbeca. thanks for your help. I see that you are very generous and humble. you deserve all the best. just a questions. what is the difference between indirect quesiotns and reposted questions. indirect questions=embedded questions Do you know what time it is? REPORTED QUESTIONS He asked me what time it is.

thanks in advance from Peru Norma

Thanks for your comments, Norma.

In embedded questions, we change the order of the words, but we do not change the tense.

Example: Where is the supermarket? becomes Do you know where the supermarket is?

In reported speech questions, we usually change the tense.

Where is the supermarket/ becomes He asked me where the supermarket was.

My best wishes to you, Norma.

hello madam, first of all thank you for the effort you make to help us,may god bless you. second i’m a student from an arabic country,and my question is :some times we are given exersices in which we find indirect speeches and we are asked to write the direst ones, my problem is with the past perfect,for exemple:(mike said that he had finished writing his book), i don’t know whether i write :mike said:”i have finished/finished or had finished writing my book”. thank you in advance fifi

In this case, because you are adding a direct quote, you would write:

Mike said, : I have finished writing my book.”

All the best to you, Fifi.

i like your maner of teaching. you make your lessons understood easily and staying in mind of people.

I’m glad you found the lesson effective. Thank you kindly for your feedback. my best wishes to you, Clovis.

good lesson

Thanks, Samreen. All the best.

Hi Rebecca, I came across your videos because I was looking for reported speech in Spanish and was curious because I had just had a minor disagreement with my Venezuelan-born teacher over how English reported speech is constructed. Her position was the same as yours, that there is always a back-step in tense in reporting, however I do not believe that this is a universal truth. The back-step, if made, is almost always in the context of some other point that the speaker wants to stress. So for example, there is nothing at all that I can see that is wrong with the construction “the professor said that you are smart”. To use the past tense in this case would likely indicate some other issue within the sentence and likely a one-time situation, so for example “the professor said that you were smart to choose the MBA course ” for example, although in such a case it is likely that the original sentence would also have been in the past “Jane, you were smart to choose the MBA course”. Alternatively, the use of the past tense might indicate a true past event “the professor said that you were smart once but are not any more” but again in that case, the original sentence would also have been expressed in the past “you were smart once but not anymore”. Sorry therefore, but I cannot agree with your analysis that you always step back a tense in reporting speech and I believe that this is something that should be corrected with the people that are learning English through your programme.

Thanks for your question, Jonathan. I can understand your point of view.

In these video lessons, we explain the basic rules of English grammar, as applicable most of the time. There are always grammatically correct exceptions, and there are also grammatically incorrect expressions used commonly by native speakers of a language without too much regard to the rules. Reported speech certainly falls into this category. This is why your sample sentence, “The professor said you are smart.” seems quite acceptable and certainly understandable.

In terms of the grammatical rules, when we report what someone has said though, we are supposed to do the back step. The exceptions are as follows:

a) Sentences with should, ought to and might do not change b) Sometimes, if reporting something immediately after or soon after it was said, we need not do a back step in tense. c) If we’re talking about general truths, we need not make the change. d) If the reporting verb itself is simple present, present perfect or future, we do not change the tense. Example: She SAYS she jogs every day.

Hope this helps to clarify the issue.

I want lesson of concession please. thanks bye

you are smart and good job of ours lessons video thank you so much.

hı teacher I am from turkey everyday I watchıng your lesson very usefull for me..

Dear Rebecca, How can I change the following sentence into a reported speech? “It’s can’t be very nice having all these cars going by all the time” Thank you in advance!

thank you teacher rebbeca!^^ it will help me a lot for my study in english..

Everything is correct in this quiz.I was very excited,I know this very good.

hello again,let me try with your sentence ANH: first there is a mistake at the beginning,there shouldn’t be an auxiliary before the modal verb “can”, so you may say: it couldn’t be very nice having all those cars going all that time. I wish the teacher would agree with me.goodluck for all.

hi rebecca, i have a question for you …

when you were explaining the first part of the video you didn’t use the word “that” in the sentences , but when you asked to the audience some examples, you used “that”…. is “that” an optional word?

you are a great teacher!!! ^.^b greetings from Mexico

Thank you so much. I really learned a lot.I am going through more on your website.Thank you so much, I really found it helpful.

THIS IS A WONDERFULL PAGE TO PRECTICE MY ENGLISH I´M HAPPY TO HAVE FOUND IT! :)

i got 100 score))))…thanks Mrs.Rebecca.U r great teacher.

rebecca u r amazing teacher.i have problem that i understand all english but im scare to speak english and do some mistkes when i go to speak actually i know all the tenses but i do mistakes when i speak plz rebecca help me out thanks waithing for replay

thanks a lot it was really helpful

THANK YOU MS.REBECCA;*

“I used to smoke” he said He said he used to smoke /OR hE SAID HE HAD USED TO SMOKE. PLEASE WHICH ONE IS APPROPRIATE. mANY THANKS MRS REBECCA

heloo rebecca,,,, nice to see your video,,, thanks to teach us english

Hi Rebecca :) what are the different functions of reported speech?…actually me and my friends are going to report “Reported Speech” in our English class and because of your video we are somewhat enlightened to what is “Reported Speech”…thanks :)

I need ask you something when we write he toled me ….. it always like this and … when we can write said thnx:)

Thank you for your teaching. It’s very helpful. I couldn’t using grammar correctly before. but from now, I have a little bit increasing. Thank you again.

What a nice explination it’s my first time to understand this grammer clearly thanks alot.

Thanks a lot My Score in the Reported Speech was : 100.00 . I got 10 correct out of 10. you are the best I’m Arabic and I am English teacher. I will learn from you a lot about how to teach English because you are the best . :)

hi Rebecca. Could you please give me a lesson about the differences between MUST and HAVE TO.I sometimes make a mistake between them.

Thank you very much for your help

Dear Madam , I have a very important question. Is it possible to use present perfect tense,or past perfect tense in the main sentence? I have told you that….. I had told you that….. If yes, does the tenses changes after them or not like after the simple past tense? For example: I had told you that you would be happy. /instead of you will be happy/ I wait for your answer urgently Thank you in advance Teoleander

Hi rebaca, your lessons are excellent. I attended for many English classes but I never met a teacher like you.

In your profile by saying that “there is no bad student” you given me lot of confidence.

your accent is neutral.please suggest good books(novels,grammer) which will help in improving my English. I am from India.

Hi, rebaca Iam from Indonesia and your lesson are excellent but sorry my english is not good, Rebaca, Do you know Toeic ?

Rebecca, when we use told and said in reported speech. I don’t understand. Please help me!

“Cindy’s voice was music to my ears,” Roger told me. Was changes to what?

Dear Rebecca i am from Afghanistan i would like to thank you so much for vidio teaching i learned so much from it and i appreciate your hard work and your friendly teaching. best regards

hi. rebecca what do u mean for ‘one step back in tense’? is that i have understood below? simple present ——>simple past present conti.——->past conti. present perfect——>past perfect present perfect conti——> past perfect conti simple past———->past perfect past perfect———>past perfect past conti.———->past perfect conti. past perfect conti—–>past perfect conti simple future——->simple past future conti——>past conti future perfect——->past perfect future perfect conti——->past perfect conti.

am i right? please throw light. thanks.

Thank you Rebecca! It was a very useful lesson to me.

I can’t come to the party tonight.”

Why is it? couldn’t came… It is couldn’t come?

Thanks ma am You theach very very well!!!

thanks my angel

This is very, very useful lesson for all of us who have been practising English as foreign language. Just keep doing that, you are the best. . .

Hi Rebecca, I am confused.In spoken english people always use the tense in a diffrent way.Once I was talking with one English man.He used the following. ” Yeasterday I told Thomas to arrange a car for me.He told I will do it .But he did not do anything .I think these people are irresponsible.” later I called him he said sorry, I forgot ” .In this sentence as per correct grammer He should say 1) ” He told he would do it” and 2) he said he was sorry, he had forgotten”.Any comments from your side.

Very simple: people don’t always speak correctly.

what about “you should say that”? Would it be “he told me:”you could say that”? So, ‘should’ becomes ‘could’, ‘shall’ becomes ‘should’, is this correct? Lastly, what about ‘could’, ‘would’, and ‘must’?

Thank you Rebecca.You’re very nice to explain.Lily from Brasil

thank you.u’re very patient to explain a lot..thanks to ur brain…

Thanks Rebeca. could you please tech about third conditional or second. I really appreciate.

dear madam rebeca,ur’just fantastick!

What makes you perfect, that you are versed of what you say. Thanks.

thaaank you so much for the hard work that you are doing i have an exam tom and en sa2 allh i will bass it

I like your lessons so much, please do more lessons soon. Thanks.

Love u much teacher Rebecca for what you have done

Hello Madam . You explained the reported speech very well but what about the imperative and the question in the reported speech ?

Thank you so much. I did not understand “Future report speech”. Example on the test: Rachel: “Michael and I are getting married next summer.” Rachel announced that _____ next summer. May i use “were” or “are” ..

Thank you so much

hi what about the imperative and the question ?

Hi Rebecca that was excellent on reported speech. I would really like to know the difference between indirect and reported speech. Kamal

Would u like to give me some lectres on WH question.

very nice explanation,good teacher

Thanks a lot Rebecca!

It was a nice video. I’ve been watching these videos from past few months. They are very interesting.

sincerely, Vivek

i’m happy, i got full marks. thank you teacher

really useful

dear madam: i like your teaching way. i got 80 marks this lesson.

Hi Rebecca!

When I was high school,I got lowest grade on my English subject because I didn’t know how to use the grammar rules correctly.But when I was watching your video Ive learned a lot.My English skills are improving and I can’t thank you enough for the help… God Bless and more power!

What about the example of She said, “My name is Sally”. Do you change the tense in the reported speech and make it. She said her name was Sally?! I think it should be “her name is..”.. What do you think? Need to know your opinion about this one and about the change of tense when you report facts.

we must change “to be”,so its indirect speech must be (her name was),if reporting verb is in past simple,this rule is followed,am i rite Rebbeca?

oh! i need learn english

Hai rebecca , it was a nice video and i learnt a lot from your website. I dont have a strong foundation in english but still i am planning to give GRE and TOEFL in next four months. Could u please give some tips for english preparation. It will be helpful for me.

in the indirect speech we also change the pronouns as u did’nt change “you” into another pronoun.

Hi! And what’s the reported speech for this:”I would like to speak to you”?

this video site it’s really helpful for everyone including me,i’ve learnt English since i was young and i’m becoming an English Teacher now but i’m still learning and increasing my ability to explain some material to my students because i think the good explanation give the good impact and result,and you guys are the best tutor,espesially you Rebecca.say hi from Indonesia =)

Dear Teacher,

I would like to express my profound thanks to you for explaining clearly about report speed grammar and I think that your lesson and your explanation will really help me improve my English. Teacher could I ask you about English words outside the lesson? I have wondered so long already about one English word and that word is :the plant which produce cauliflower what is English called ? because I have ever seen the cauliflower only but never seen its plant’s name. I’m sorry teacher asking that word which is not related to the lesson above.

Respectfully,

SOM.SOPHEAK RITH FROM CAMBODIA

The plant is also called cauliflower.

Dear Teacher REBECCA,

Thank you very much for answering my question.

SOM.SOPHEAK RITH

Actually i don’t know how to thank you miss Rebecca. thank you so much

Dear Rebecca, in my test I made just one mistake, the 5th one. Could you tell me why the correct answer is “she couldn´t come” instead “she couldn´t came”, suposed to be the verb must be changed to past.

Thank you in advanced.

I was really excited to come across this site that provides comprehensive details in grammar. My question to you is how do we identify a habitual action? This in turn means that we don’t have to change the verb tense? I need some constructive examples.

I love study English!!! do and accecpt is wonderful…thanks very much Rebecca…

Hi Rebecca, I really got excited after I found this site that provides comprehensive details in grammar. My question to you is about the differences between “indirect Questions” and “Embedded Questions”. They seem to be the same to me. I need some constructive examples. Thanks

Hi Rebecca, What about indirect questions??

Sue said that she was very happy with her new job.into direct speech I am very happy with her new job,Sue said

thank vrey much for this fantastck lesoon <3

Hello madam Rebecca, Direct Speech And Indirect Speech…. is it same with reported speech??… Thanks

Dear Madam: Could you explain me the difference using “Must and Have to” in indirect speech?

I am waiting for answer!!

Past tomorrow I will have a exam and I´m really very happy watching your class about Report Speech. In a short time you explained the subject very clear. Actually I´m very glad to have found these excellent teachers spending the time for teaching us. I let to you my hug and Hello from Chile. I´m Brazilian but I’m living at Chile and I studying at Chilean College, Translation from English to Spanish. It’s no easy because both languages are not mine, but I can say to you that it’s very interesting challenge. My best regards from South America to everybody.

Bye, Marcio

Day after tomorrow I will have a exam and I´m really very happy watching your class about Report Speech. In a short time you explained the subject very clear. Actually I´m very glad to have found these excellent teachers spending the time for teaching us. Receive my hug and Hello from Chile. I´m Brazilian (Portuguese language)but I’m living in Chile and I’m studying at Chilean College, Translation from English to Spanish. It’s no easy because both languages are not mine, but I can say to you that it’s very interesting challenge. My best regards from South America to everybody. Bye, Màrcio

We like these hugs!

Dear Rebbeca,

In Brazil we have this greeting like normal to say goodbye. I think is too important to change our energies through the hugs. Let the physical distance to the Asiatics!

Many hugs to you.

Thank you… :)

Hello,teacher.I think i may be your young student. i want to know lesson Report Speech, if it is posible Can you explain me.

Thanks a lot!

hello madam, i would like to ask you how to speak direct and indirect speech.if anybody tell something ,the same word tell to the third person.most of the peoples are using said that,said,he was saying,told me.please explin me with example and send to my mail id

Thank you Rebicca you are awesome teacher and you will say in reported speach: he said : I was awesome.Thank you and “Merry Christmas”

thank you it was useful

I liked this lesson. It is easy to understand. Happy new year to all.

This lesson helps a lot! Thanks so much. This lesson will really improve grammatically and verbally my English skills.

Thanks! It is very useful for me. I was afraid to learn grammar before but I try to understand now……

Thank you. I was struggle in how to use Reported speech properly,now,I clarifies this concept.

Thank you so much!!!

Ma’am

In your 1st set of examples, “You are smart” isn’t it changed into “he said that I was smart” ?

thank you :D

thanx rebecca ..10/10 ı did. my friend told me rebecca was very good teacher. yes he is right..:)))

Hello Rebecca,

You are awesome teacher !!! I understand the whole lessen perfectly. Write down one fan to this website.

Thank you very much.

thank you Rebeca I listed this class several times with other teacher and you´re the best

hi you are a clever teacher.

Hello everybody. I’m Ole.

Hello! It of great help to me as I took that quiz just below the video.I did not see the video, but I could get all the answers correct except for the first one.I am very happy with my results.I whole-heartedly thank you.

Hmm.. do we use reported speech after: -He noticed….. -They suggested… -She proposed… etc. when it is clear that the person was saying something ?

{Jeevan said to his teacher ,” I cannot understand this lesson .Will you teach it to me once again?}

MAM THIS IS A QUESTION THAT REWRITE IN A REPORTED SPEECH….

I feel that oral questions more effective for me than written.

questions is more fix

Rebecca i want to say something for you: YOU ARE SWEET AND THE BEST ONE…love you! Bisous

what is the meaning of WOULD i really be mad :((( please help me my teacher i will wait your unswer it is so important for me

hello !!! i have a question : jean asked jeany “are you a student ?” – “yes, i am” can you transform this question to reported speech for me ? Thanks

hi mrs,it’s for the first time i get on this website,i really love this lesson,it is so useful for me,my name is Jeff,from haiti bye

Hi Rebecca, I have a question. What if the reporting person is first and second person who report about themselves. Does the pronoun remain the same in the reported speech? Eg: I said:’I am here’ and You said:’you are here’ Thanks in advance

Hi Rebecca. Thanks so much all of you teaching.

Hi Rebecca, Fantastic lesson…it will be useful for my students

it is really confusion bt i understood it well n thank u alot for making me understand it well

That is so wonderful. I will try to learn from you and I will ask you whenever I have the question. Please you good luck and please you keep your mission to help to many people around the world. Thanks from Pharin.

i have no words to express my feelings .because this site solve my big problems .but now i want to start from the start but how??

HI REBECCA, VERY GOOD LESSON. I GOT A QUESTION ABOUT EMBEDDED QUESTION. DO YOU CHANGE THE SENTENCE FROM PRESENT TO PAST IN THE EMBEDDED QUESTION?

Thanks teacher for your nice lesson I hope that you will bring new Technic for this subject. Thanks.

can you explain how i can Utter sounds

I hate to see you tell students that we use ‘reported speech’ because we use ‘reported speech’. I think you said we HAVE to use ‘reported speech. But only if you don’t care about accuracy. You say, ‘He told me he was a teacher’, but that’s not true. He told you he IS a teacher, if he is still a teacher. If he was a teacher from 1995 to 2006, then you would say, ‘He told me he was a teacher (from 1995 to 2006). The notion of ‘reported speech’ is a CONSTRUCT, it is not something that makes any sense. We should stop trying to teach it. It is NOT useful. Sorry, I’m not shouting but there is no way to underline. Contact me if you like .

br dot hadvines at yahoo dot com

Thanks a lot. it was helpful :)

Rebecca, could you explain the topic of: the direct and indirect questions with reported speech please? thank you =)

Rebecca, I just watched your VDO, It’s very good VDO !!! Now I’m studying english in USA ,I’m looking for writing learning on internet.

Could you please recommend me.

Regards,Kit

Hello Madam, could you please help me to identify whether the following sentence is in reported speech or not? “The death toll is expected to rise.”

thanks alot

Thank you so much Rebecca! You’re great :)

Hey Rebecca, nice videos you’re great! I have a question regarding reported speech. For example:

Mary: There’s a great movie on TV today.

In reported speech it could written in two ways right? First: “Mary told me there was a great movie on TV that day.” – Which implies the day she said it was before the day I was talking.

Second: “Mary told me there’s a great movie on TV today”. – It can stay the same because we are living the day the movie is going to be on right? Thanks in advance!

Hi miss…

ty for ur lesson…10/10—actually reported speeches are a bit confusing, yet we have to practice to gain more confidence… regards… carlos,lima..peru

Very useful! Thanks for your classes.

Thank you!! Finally I understood “reported speech”!!

Could you complete the list please:

Present simple becomes Past Simple Past Simple…..Past Perfect Past Perfect….? Past Continuos….Past Perfect Continuous Present Perfect…Past Perfect

And all verb tenses

Thank you again!!

sometimes it is a little difficult to understand that kind of thing, but thanks to you it is easier for me.

he tOLD me he would ( wrong) I WOULD TRUE 7 .00

hi Rebica thank you for all hose who stand in front of the cam to teach and gives there time to us, I have problem when i talk to the people who are poor in the english language i ll be confused and i can not understand from them at all not like the native one second pro. is when i talk i m posing or tattering any suggestion best regard Hassan

10 out of 10 thanks Rebeca

Hi,thanks for a very nice lesson about reported speech. But would you like give us a lesson about REPORTING VERBS?

OK I got 10 out of 10 corect, so I can’t explain why I can’t pass an exam that I’m doing online about reported speech. By the way I saw you didn’t talk about “asked” form of reported speech, so if you can do it in future lessons that will be great. Thank so much for your help.

thanks I got from 10 -10 grade

Hi Rebecca Thank u very much for ur great lessons on reported speech. Please explain to me when do we use “that” in reported speech. I noticed u have used in some sentences and left in others. What is the right set of rule to follow.? Waiting for ur reply, thanks

THANK YOU SO MUCH !REBECCA .YOU ARE MY IDOL !

it helped me a lot and thank you because it was an assignment in my school thanks a lot.

good job teacher i really love ur explaination

Thanks dear Rebecca it was easy and understanduable Thanks again

please explain for students how to make question in reported speach ! i heard that it is a bit difficult

Dear rebecca madam, tomorrow is my eng. Exam n ur dis video wz vry helpful to me n u made it vry clr..now i feel i don need to open the book..thnxx.. U r even better den mah english teacher..:)

thank you very much for the lessons

9 out of 10

Thank you very much for clear lesson :-)

hi every one I want to know if some one told me “you ate dinner” the reported speech will be “he said that I had eaten dinner” or as the teacher said it will be “he said that you had eaten dinner”?

Thanks ma’am this lesson’s realy work!!!

Thnahs Rebecca…very very helpful lesson

Dear Rebecca, I am a form two student from Hong Kong.It is my first time to ask questions here.Thanks your help first. I want to ask you three questions. First, do we need to change the tense in reported speech if it is a fact or it is a opinion in direct speech. I asked many people before but someone answered “Yes” and someone answered “No”. So,I really feel confused about it. For example,Mary said”It is a fantastic place.” A.Mary said that it was a fantastic place. or B. Mary said that it is a fantastic place. Which answer is correct? Second, I want to ask a question about pronoun in reported speech. For example,”You needn’t wait for me” said Mary. We need to answer [Mary said that I needn’t wait for her.] or [Mary said that he/she need’t wait for her.]This means if the direct speech doesn’t mention which person it is talking to but there is “you”, we need to change “you” to “I” or”he” or”she”? For example, [“She will take you all to Stanley Market.” said Mary] We need to answer [Mary said that she would take us all to Stanley Market] or {Mary said that she would take them all to Stanley Market] Lastly, I want to ask what is the different about “said” and”told” For example, [Mary said to us”We got married six months ago.” We should say[Mary told us they had got married six months before.” or [Maru said to us they had got married six months before.]? Please answer the questions as soon as possible because I had a test on Monday about reported speech. Thanks you so much! Best wishes, Alice

tnx reBecca Very HelpFul lessOn

Hello Rebecca! Thanks for the videos. In fact I had a test on the 3rd of march and my grammer class work was with one of my classmates.It was just then that i came across the website of eduvid and got a practice on reported speech. Thanks a million, Regard, prashant,banglore,india

Excellent! It’s easier than I thought! Thanks for your explanations :)

I used to be panic about reported speech–too complicated . I had to change the tense , paid attention to pronoun and felt slight boring to say told told told… From your given quiz , I got D too, I learned more useful words , such as comment , admit , announce,confide. I am so excited. Thank you.

i’m going to cry :( this is the first time in my life… it did not happened to me before i got many full marks in the same day realy i don’t know how can i thank you rebecca

hi rebacca i’m amine in morrocco i love the way how you explain thank you

Great lesson !

Hi Rebacca, Can we use this concept in writing as well? Or it’s only in speech

hi mam if there is an universal sentence how we could change it , into reported speech ? for example. sun rises from east i am waiting for your answer .I hope u will be replay me an answer

Thanks Rebecca, it’s so useful lesson.

i got 7/10 ;(

Rebacca, you are An amazing Teacher … You make The English More Easier to Me :)

i have a question about it, is it correct?

john: What did you do? mary : John asked what i did

why could it be correct? if past switched to past perfert.

thank a lot for this lesson video!

Hello,teacher Rebecca.Thanks you so much for your teaching you are perfect teacher.

A little difficult to catch it immediately but I’m pleased for the lesson, thanks!

I had a little problem with this subject. But not any more. I got the lesson. :) I got 10 correct out of 10. :) Thanks Rebecca. Whatever a lesson is difficult, you make it very simple. And I like your teaching because you are very patient, and you give us many examples. :)

thank you so much .i have a question i don’t know when to say in reported speech she told and she said…i really get confused when it comes to said and told.do they have the same meaning or not if not when to use them correctly. thank you

hi rebecca can you explain to us about active and passive voice because these days i will be an exam and you will have helped me by the and of this month

I loved this explanation. Thank you so much for all the effort that you guys do for teaching us in wherever places we are. I’m so grateful. However in my case it could’ve been more useful if instead of the original sentences that were writing on the board we had the report speech examples.

Hello Rebeca, Thank you very much for your lesson. I learned Reported Speech in high school as well as in ESL classes and here watched your lesson, the rules are same, but I find native speakers often don’t follow the rules. It’s very confusing. Finally I found this site that explains the why. I wanted to run by you and see if what it says is right, http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/repspee.htm “The main problem for the learner of English is to decide which tense is needed for the verb(s) in what is reported. Generally, English speakers do not change the tense if what is said is still true or has not happened yet, and they believe the speaker.” it has examples, which are exactly what I often hear how native speakers talk. I look forward to hearing your reply. Thank you very much.

In the video you had this example: “you ate dinner.” and you reported it as “he said that you had eaten dinner.” Shouldn’t we report you as I in this sentence and report it like this: “He said that I had eaten dinner.” ?

great lesson

Thank you very much

Simply excelent

Thanks Rebbeca.

I’m deeply grateful for your lesson!It’s was very interesting!)

Thank you Ms Rebbeca

super ı have 100 points

Hi, Rebecca thank you for your teaching, you are great. I got 100 %. Was very usefull.I appreciate

Thank you very much, got 90%.

Thank you dear Rebecca, you are a saviour ;)

I GOT 100% ON THE TEST!!! IT WAS EASY THANKS TO YOUR LESSON DEAR REBECCA, xoxoxoxo

i got 10 correct out of 10…..thanks rebecca.

Rebecca, thank you very much for your interesting lesson! I like it very much!

I’ve got 100! thanks,Rebecca

Thank you sir.

I got 100, thanks for your help Rebecca!

Thank you ,Rebecca.

i got 100 score :) thank you :*

Hi MS REBECCA! WHAT WOULD BE THE REPORTED SPEECH OF “HE IS MY BROTHER”. THANK YOU!

thank a lot of mam . God bless…

Thank you Rebecca

merci madam

Hello Rebecca! I got 100%, but I have a doubt if I had to pass PRESENT SIMPLE or WILL from REPORTED SPEECH to DIRECT SPEECH, how would be it? Do I have to change the tense or not? for example:

Reported speech: He refuses to sell the movie rights

Direct speech: I refuse to sell the movie rights

Is it right?

Thanks, Rebecca!

Thamks millions

Thanks, Nice.

thank you for the help it was amazing

I want to ask the question of whether I can put [ told me that ]

9 of 9 thank you very much

Thanks for this useful video. This help me to understand clearly about this grammar. Thank you very much.

Dear Rebecca, I convey you a great thank you for this lesson. Yours sincerely.

my quiz 100 You got 10 correct out of 10. :D

hi, teacher your lessons are good, but I noticed that you don’t explain every example on blackboard, you always face to the camera and give us examples, whereas using the board is effective for students! thanks teacher

hi rebecca how will you tell someone in a polite way that he’s/she’s using a wrong grammar.

thank you so much Rebeecca

i am just ask when say He/She Said and when i say He/She Told me ?

Thank you Rebecca.

why you don’t use (that)

He told me that he was a teacher ????

help plz!!!

Thank you teacher , I got 100 :) I like this lesson very easy to understand .

I like this part of the grammer very much. I got 10. thanks.

Hello Rebecca, In the question, “John: “I love chocolate cake.” John told me _____ chocolate cake.”

Is it “he loved” or “that he loved”?

Kindly clarify the difference.

Thank you in advance,

Hi,teacher,hope,you’ll be fine.I’m a student of O levels,Teacher please will you help me with the english,I go through from many mistakes.

I really admire the way,you teach,I did 8 idioms yesterday from your given lecture,really adoring,thank you loads

Yessss. I got 10 correct out of 10. :D

This grammar was new for me, thanks a lot Rebbeca.

Thank you, dear Rebecca!

what is the difference between they live in Russia and They are living in Russia…?

I scored 100% in the quiz. thank you! :)

I wish to understand correctly this lesson, but I can’t. It is so confussing to learn the English tenses. How you can help me the different way or What technique I should to use for that?

Thanks Rebecca Nice lesson :)

Hi Rebecca I’d like to ask you a question…. I watched a video of yours in which you were teaching the reported speech….you mentioned an example in direct speech “he is a teacher.” Then you wrote the corresponding indirect form of it…like ( he told me he was a teacher ) … My question is that doesn’t it have to be like ( he told me he were a teacher) because I read in the English grammar digest by Trudy Aronson it is to be always “were” form of be instead of “was”

Hi I myself found the answer….I was confusing it with the conditional forms….but I didn’t know how to remove the comment…

Thank you so much, very useful.

My friend told me that she had eaten rice and kimchi for lunch today.:D Thank you Rebecca.

thank you ma’am i got 90

You are the only teacher that I could understand every lesson very well without getting confused or tired

thank you teacher I got 100 % you’re a vary good teacher thanks allot.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy

10/10 …. very good lesson thanks for your help ?

Thanks Rebecca! You made it so simple to understand.

nice speech regarding narrations moreover I have passed the test by giving correct answers 10 / 10

Thanks Rebecca!

You got 10 correct out of 10.

I was watching the following video https://www.engvid.com/english-grammar-if-will-would-were/ and tried to practice reported speech with something that James said.

James: If I were to pay atention what I was doing I would be better at the board.

So James commented on the fact that if he had been paying atention what he had been doing he would be better at the board.

Well I kindly ask you to advice whether the reported speech was applied correctly.

Thanks in advance. Best regards,

This lesson was very hard. Could you please make more videos about reported speech? thanks

Hi Mrs.Rebecca.

My name is Ilgar.I am 32 years old and from Azerbaijan. I would like to improve my english skill and get IELTS certificate.I have watched yours videos on YouTube and enjoy your tutoring. I am looking for English tutor and I think if you will be agree,I would be glad to improve my english to the high level by your support. How can it be possible to be your student?Do you conduct lessons on SKYPE? I will look forward to hearing about the ways how I can be your student.

Thanks for attention

Hi Rebecca Do you have any personal website? If you have, please send me it’s URL address. My email: [email protected] My websites: http://www.sheshjavan.ir http://www.venuscomputer.ir

it’s the first time to understand his lesson. thank you very much.

thank you. You said that we had to use the reported speech when we had to say something that someone else had said.

i am happy i got 10/10

Thank you …

9/10. Thank you! Rebecca, could you please to explain, why in the 4th question the right answer is she “couldn’t come”? Thank you for all your help to us!!

i think can not-could not.therefore come no past tense.

thank you Rebecca. you are really helping for my study processing.

THANKS A LOT

‘do you have exams this Friday?’ mum asked me. can you please tell me how to write this sentence in reported speech.

10/10 tanks again

I watched this video twice on July 30, 2021, and took the quiz after watching it once. I got ten out of 10.

Hello….I’d like to brush my speaking up. Is there anyone else who is interested in speaking to me on a regular basis? My whatsapp number is +88 01812788727. Thank you. Rasho.

10/10 thanks Rebecca <3

10/10 thanks Rebecca

Regarding the 5th question. Angela: “I can’t come to the party tonight.” Angela explained she couldn’t come to the party tonight. Aren’t we supposed to change the word ‘tonight’ into ‘that night’ as well?

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Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Reported speech: indirect speech

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech , the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command.

Indirect speech: reporting statements

Indirect reports of statements consist of a reporting clause and a that -clause. We often omit that , especially in informal situations:

The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane came in to land. (The pilot’s words were: ‘The weather was extremely bad as the plane came in to land.’ )

I told my wife I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday. ( that -clause without that ) (or I told my wife that I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday .)

Indirect speech: reporting questions

Reporting yes-no questions and alternative questions.

Indirect reports of yes-no questions and questions with or consist of a reporting clause and a reported clause introduced by if or whether . If is more common than whether . The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She asked if [S] [V] I was Scottish. (original yes-no question: ‘Are you Scottish?’ )

The waiter asked whether [S] we [V] wanted a table near the window. (original yes-no question: ‘Do you want a table near the window? )

He asked me if [S] [V] I had come by train or by bus. (original alternative question: ‘Did you come by train or by bus?’ )

Questions: yes-no questions ( Are you feeling cold? )

Reporting wh -questions

Indirect reports of wh -questions consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a wh -word ( who, what, when, where, why, how ). We don’t use a question mark:

He asked me what I wanted.

Not: He asked me what I wanted?

The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She wanted to know who [S] we [V] had invited to the party.

Not: … who had we invited …

Who , whom and what

In indirect questions with who, whom and what , the wh- word may be the subject or the object of the reported clause:

I asked them who came to meet them at the airport. ( who is the subject of came ; original question: ‘Who came to meet you at the airport?’ )

He wondered what the repairs would cost. ( what is the object of cost ; original question: ‘What will the repairs cost?’ )

She asked us what [S] we [V] were doing . (original question: ‘What are you doing?’ )

Not: She asked us what were we doing?

When , where , why and how

We also use statement word order (subject + verb) with when , where, why and how :

I asked her when [S] it [V] had happened (original question: ‘When did it happen?’ ).

Not: I asked her when had it happened?

I asked her where [S] the bus station [V] was . (original question: ‘Where is the bus station?’ )

Not: I asked her where was the bus station?

The teacher asked them how [S] they [V] wanted to do the activity . (original question: ‘How do you want to do the activity?’ )

Not: The teacher asked them how did they want to do the activity?

Questions: wh- questions

Indirect speech: reporting commands

Indirect reports of commands consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a to -infinitive:

The General ordered the troops to advance . (original command: ‘Advance!’ )

The chairperson told him to sit down and to stop interrupting . (original command: ‘Sit down and stop interrupting!’ )

We also use a to -infinitive clause in indirect reports with other verbs that mean wanting or getting people to do something, for example, advise, encourage, warn :

They advised me to wait till the following day. (original statement: ‘You should wait till the following day.’ )

The guard warned us not to enter the area. (original statement: ‘You must not enter the area.’ )

Verbs followed by a to -infinitive

Indirect speech: present simple reporting verb

We can use the reporting verb in the present simple in indirect speech if the original words are still true or relevant at the time of reporting, or if the report is of something someone often says or repeats:

Sheila says they’re closing the motorway tomorrow for repairs.

Henry tells me he’s thinking of getting married next year.

Rupert says dogs shouldn’t be allowed on the beach. (Rupert probably often repeats this statement.)

Newspaper headlines

We often use the present simple in newspaper headlines. It makes the reported speech more dramatic:

JUDGE TELLS REPORTER TO LEAVE COURTROOM

PRIME MINISTER SAYS FAMILIES ARE TOP PRIORITY IN TAX REFORM

Present simple ( I work )

Reported speech

Reported speech: direct speech

Indirect speech: past continuous reporting verb

In indirect speech, we can use the past continuous form of the reporting verb (usually say or tell ). This happens mostly in conversation, when the speaker wants to focus on the content of the report, usually because it is interesting news or important information, or because it is a new topic in the conversation:

Rory was telling me the big cinema in James Street is going to close down. Is that true?

Alex was saying that book sales have gone up a lot this year thanks to the Internet.

‘Backshift’ refers to the changes we make to the original verbs in indirect speech because time has passed between the moment of speaking and the time of the report.

In these examples, the present ( am ) has become the past ( was ), the future ( will ) has become the future-in-the-past ( would ) and the past ( happened ) has become the past perfect ( had happened ). The tenses have ‘shifted’ or ‘moved back’ in time.

The past perfect does not shift back; it stays the same:

Modal verbs

Some, but not all, modal verbs ‘shift back’ in time and change in indirect speech.

We can use a perfect form with have + - ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past:

He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ )

He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’ )

Used to and ought to do not change in indirect speech:

She said she used to live in Oxford. (original statement: ‘I used to live in Oxford.’ )

The guard warned us that we ought to leave immediately. (original statement: ‘You ought to leave immediately.’ )

No backshift

We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if what a person said is still true or relevant or has not happened yet. This often happens when someone talks about the future, or when someone uses the present simple, present continuous or present perfect in their original words:

He told me his brother works for an Italian company. (It is still true that his brother works for an Italian company.)

She said she ’s getting married next year. (For the speakers, the time at the moment of speaking is ‘this year’.)

He said he ’s finished painting the door. (He probably said it just a short time ago.)

She promised she ’ll help us. (The promise applies to the future.)

Indirect speech: changes to pronouns

Changes to personal pronouns in indirect reports depend on whether the person reporting the speech and the person(s) who said the original words are the same or different.

Indirect speech: changes to adverbs and demonstratives

We often change demonstratives ( this, that ) and adverbs of time and place ( now, here, today , etc.) because indirect speech happens at a later time than the original speech, and perhaps in a different place.

Typical changes to demonstratives, adverbs and adverbial expressions

Indirect speech: typical errors.

The word order in indirect reports of wh- questions is the same as statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order:

She always asks me where [S] [V] I am going .

Not: She always asks me where am I going .

We don’t use a question mark when reporting wh- questions:

I asked him what he was doing.

Not: I asked him what he was doing?

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Backshift in Reported Speech

In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is:

reporting clause [+ conjunction] + reported clause

We sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving it back one tense. For example, present simple goes back one tense to past simple . We call this change " backshift ".

When do we use backshift?

We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. So, for example, if two minutes ago John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I might NOT use backshift (because John is still hungry):

John just said that he is hungry.

But if yesterday John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I would likely use backshift:

Yesterday, John said that he was hungry. [We hope that John has eaten since yesterday ;-) ]

So we use backshift SOMETIMES but not always. And WHEN we use backshift, here's how it works with these common tenses and modals:

We NEVER use backshift when the original words are:

past perfect
If a situation is still true , backshift is optional .
For a general truth there is no need for backshift.

Look at the following examples. See if you can understand when and why they use backshift:

* if still true, change is optional (sometimes a matter of emphasis) ** never changes

English Grammar Online Exercises and Downloadable Worksheets

Online exercises.

Reported Speech

Levels of Difficulty : Elementary Intermediate Advanced

RS012 - Reported Speech Intermediate
RS011 - Reported Speech Intermediate
RS010 - Reporting Verbs Advanced
RS009 - Reporting Verbs Advanced
RS008 - Reporting Verbs Advanced
RS007 - Reporting Verbs Intermediate
RS006 - Reported Speech Intermediate
RS005 - Reported Speech - Introductory Verbs Advanced
RS004 - Reported Speech Intermediate
RS003 - Reporting Verbs Intermediate
RS002 - Reported Speech Intermediate
RS001 - Reported Speech Intermediate
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Editing - One Word Too Many
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General Vocabulary
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Error Analysis
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General Vocabulary Exercises
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English EFL

Reported speech.

2 hours 10 mins

Reported speech is also known as Indirect speech.

When do we use it? Sometimes someone says a sentence, for example "I'm going to the cinema tonight". Later, maybe we want to tell someone else what the first person said.

In reported speech the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in the original sentence.It isn’t always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now – he still works in Italy – we can use the present simple in the reported sentence.

Distinction must be made between direct speech and reported speech.

Direct and indirect speech

Tense changes in reported speech, changing time and place in reported speech, reported questions, reporting verbs, reporting orders and requests, reporting hopes, intentions and promises.

IMAGES

ESL Teachers: REPORTED SPEECH
How to Use Reported Speech in English
Tense Changes When Using Reported Speech in English
Reported Speech: How To Use Reported Speech
Reported Speech Tenses Chart: How to convert tenses
Reported Speech: A Complete Grammar Guide ~ ENJOY THE JOURNEY

VIDEO

Reported Speech in English
REPORTED SPEECH AND TENSES -Changes in Tenses-English Grammar-Our Classroom.Shameera
25 GRAMMAR Important Questions 🔥 Tenses, Modals, Reported Speech, Subject Verb Agreement
20 + Reported Speech Quiz
Differences Between Reporting Verbs
Reported Speech (The Basics)

COMMENTS

Reported Speech
Watch my reported speech video: Here's how it works: We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence: Direct speech: I like ice cream. Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.
Reported Speech Tenses Chart: How to convert tenses
Below is a reported speech tense change chart with the rules for backshifting for each tense and for modal verbs. You will see reported speech does not go back a tense if it is already in the past perfect (there is no further back it can go), and some modal verbs also do not change. If you are tested on this, though, these are the changes you ...
Reported speech
Tenses in reported speech. When reporting what people say or think in English, ... Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses. Find out more. Submitted by Melis_06 on Tue, 13/02/2024 - 09:51. Permalink. Hi! I found the following paragraph from a grammar site while I was ...
Reported Speech
To change an imperative sentence into a reported indirect sentence, use to for imperative and not to for negative sentences. Never use the word that in your indirect speech. Another rule is to remove the word please. Instead, say request or say. For example: "Please don't interrupt the event," said the host.
Reported Speech in English Grammar
Introduction. In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. We can use their exact words with quotation marks, this is known as direct speech, or we can use indirect speech. In indirect speech, we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed. Indirect speech is often introduced by a reporting ...
Reported speech
Reported speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
Reported Speech
reported speech for difficult tenses; exeptions for backshift; requests with must, should, ought to and let's; → more on additional information and exeptions in reported speech. Exercises on Reported Speech Statements in Reported Speech. no backshift - change of pronouns; no backshift - change of pronouns and places; with backshift
What is Reported Speech and How to Use It? with Examples
Reported speech: He said he would meet me at the park the next day. In this example, the present tense "will" is changed to the past tense "would." 3. Change reporting verbs: In reported speech, you can use different reporting verbs such as "say," "tell," "ask," or "inquire" depending on the context of the speech.
Reported speech
Reported speech. Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. Instructions. Transcript. We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech. So, direct speech is what someone actually says?
Reported Speech: Important Grammar Rules and Examples • 7ESL
Pin. No Change in Verb Tenses in Reported Speech. There is no change in verb tenses in Indirect Speech when:. The introductory verb is in the Present, Present Perfect or Future.; If the reported sentence deals with a fact or general truth.; The reported sentence contains a time clause.; The verb of the sentence is in the unreal past (the second or the third conditional).
Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions
When we use reported speech, we often change the verb tense backwards in time. This can be called "backshift.". Here are some examples in different verb tenses: "I want to go home.". She said she wanted to go home. "I 'm reading a good book.". She said she was reading a good book. "I ate pasta for dinner last night.".
PDF Unit 12A Grammar: Reported Speech(1
Reported Speech. Greg: "I am cooking dinner Maya.". Maya: "Greg said he was cooking dinner.". So most often, the reported speech is going to be in the past tense, because the original statement, will now be in the past! *We will learn about reporting verbs in part 2 of this lesson, but for now we will just use said/told.
Grammar Lesson: Understanding The Reported Speech ...
1. We use direct speech to quote a speaker's exact words. We put their words within quotation marks. We add a reporting verb such as "he said" or "she asked" before or after the quote. Example: He said, "I am happy.". 2. Reported speech is a way of reporting what someone said without using quotation marks.
Reported Speech: How To Use Reported Speech
Reported Speech. The reported speech reproduces the words of another person by adapting certain temporal and local references of the original speech to the situation of the speaker, for example, personal pronouns, demonstratives, verb tenses, and adverbs of place or time.. It is characterized by introducing the message that is reproduced with a speaking verb followed by conjunctions that or if.
Tense changes in reported speech
In indirect speech, the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command. Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech: She said, "I am tired." = She said that she was tired. Phrase in Direct Speech. Equivalent in Reported Speech.
Grammar: Reported Speech in English · engVid
Grammar: Reported Speech in English. In this lesson you will learn how to correctly relate what others have said to you. In English grammar, this point is known as "reported speech". You'll learn how to change tenses, as required, to convey your message correctly in spoken and written English. Quiz.
Reported speech: indirect speech
Reported speech: indirect speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
REPORTED SPEECH: Verb Tense Changes
REPORTED SPEECH! https://7esl.com/reported-speech/Reported speech is often also called indirect speech in English.Direct Speech: https://7esl.com/direct-spee...
Backshift in Reported Speech
In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is: reporting clause [+ conjunction] + reported clause. he was hungry. John's original words: "I am hungry." We sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving it back one tense. For example, present simple goes back one tense to past simple. We call this change " backshift ".
Reported Speech
RS007 - Reporting Verbs Intermediate. RS006 - Reported Speech Intermediate. RS005 - Reported Speech - Introductory Verbs Advanced. RS004 - Reported Speech Intermediate. RS003 - Reporting Verbs Intermediate. RS002 - Reported Speech Intermediate. RS001 - Reported Speech Intermediate. Reported Speech - English Grammar Exercises.
Reported Speech
In reported speech the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in the original sentence.It isn't always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now - he still works in Italy - we can use the present simple in the reported sentence. Distinction must be made between direct speech and reported speech ...
Indirect speech
What is indirect speech or reported speech? When we tell people what another person said or thought, we often use reported speech or indirect speech. To do that, we need to change verb tenses (present, past, etc.) and pronouns (I, you, my, your, etc.) if the time and speaker are different.For example, present tenses become past, I becomes he or she, and my becomes his or her, etc.
Rabia Taj
2,136 likes, 1 comments - english_solution_course on May 1, 2024: "Direct -Indirect (Change of Tense)/ English Grammar . . #english #grammar #grammar_tips #tense # ...

Reported Speech

Reported Speech Tenses

Backshifting in Reported Speech

Reported Speech Tenses Change Chart

Exceptions to the rules

Direct Speech

Reported Speech

Direct Speech:

Reported Speech:

More on Reported Speech:

Reported Speech Imperatives: Reporting commands in indirect speech

Direct and Indirect Speech: The differences explained

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

Reported Speech Quiz - Practice forming indirect speech

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Reported speech

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Tenses in reported speech

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Reported Speech in English Grammar

Introduction

Say or Tell?

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Additional Information and Exeptions

Statements in Reported Speech

Questions in Reported Speech

Mixed Exercises on Reported Speech

Grammar in Texts

What is Reported Speech and how to use it? with Examples

When do we use reported speech?

How to make reported speech?

How do I change the pronouns and adverbs in reported speech?

How do I change the tense in reported speech?

Do I always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech?

How to make questions in reported speech?

What is the difference between reported speech an indirect speech?

Examples of direct speech to reported

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Reported speech

Instructions

Check your grammar: matching

Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions

What is reported speech?

Backshift of Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

Reported Speech (Part 1) Quiz

No backshift needed when the situation is still true

No backshift needed when the situation is still in the future

Review: Reported Speech, Backshift, & Exceptions

Reported Requests, Orders, and Questions

Reported Speech (Part 2) Quiz

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The Reported Speech

Table of Contents

Direct speech vs reported speech

Different types of reported speech

A. Reporting statements

1- Pronouns

3. Modal verbs

4- Place, demonstratives, and time expressions

B. Reporting Questions

C. Reporting requests/commands

D. Other transformations

Main clauses connected with and/but

punctuation rules of the reported speech

Can we omit that in the reported speech?

List of reporting verbs

Reported Speech: How to Use Reported Speech | Useful Rules

Reported Speech

Direct Speech vs. Reported Speech