What comes naturally to natives speakers may not come naturally to us, learners. Reported Speech is a good example of that. Let’s see if it’s natural to you maybe?
Was this too hard? Study the article below and do the exercises at the bottom of the page.
Reported speech, or indirect speech, is when we tell someone what another person said, but we change the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech.
- Direct Speech: “I am happy,” said John.
- Indirect Speech: John said (that) he was happy.
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Changes in Reported Speech
Pronoun Changes
Pronouns may change to match the new speaker.
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| “I like pizza.” | He said he liked pizza. |
| “She loves dogs.” | He said she loved dogs. |
Would you like to review Pronouns? Click here.
Verb Tense Changes
When reporting past events, we move the verb one step back in time.
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple: “I work here.” | Past Simple: He said he worked there. |
| Present Continuous: “I am reading.” | Past Continuous: He said he was reading. |
| Past Simple: “I bought a car.” | Past Perfect: He said he had bought a car. |
| Present Perfect: “I have seen it.” | Past Perfect: He said he had seen it. |
| Future (will): “I will help.” | “Would”: He said he would help. |
No tense change if the reporting verb (said, told) is in the present or future.
- Direct: “I like coffee.”
- Reported: He says he likes coffee.
Would you like to review Verb Tenses? Click here.
Time and Place Changes
Words that show time and place also change.
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the day before |
| next week | the following week |
| last week | the previous week |
| now | then |
| here | there |
Modal Verb Changes
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| “Can” → “Could” | “I can swim.” → He said he could swim. |
| “May” → “Might” | “She may come.” → He said she might come. |
| “Must” → “Had to” | “I must go.” → He said he had to go. |
Would you like to review Modal Verbs? Click here.
Questions in Reported Speech
When reporting a question, we change the word order to a statement.
Yes/No Questions
- Direct: “Do you like music?”
- Reported: She asked if I liked music.
Wh- Questions
- Direct: “Where is the bank?”
- Reported: He asked where the bank was.
Commands and Requests
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| “Open the door!” | He told me to open the door. |
| “Don’t be late!” | She told me not to be late. |
When Reported Speech rules are not necessary
Traditional tense shifts happen most often with verbs like “say” or “tell” in statements:
- Direct: “I am tired.”
- Reported: She said she was tired. (tense shift: am → was)
But with some reporting verbs, we don’t need tense change, or use different structures entirely (like infinitives, gerunds, etc.)
If you feel like reviewing Subjunctive, click here. You can also review verbs only used with gerunds or infinitive here.
A Special Case: No Tense Change in Some Contexts
Even with say, if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the situation is still true, no tense change is needed:
- Direct: “The Earth orbits the sun.”
- Reported: She says the Earth orbits the sun.
(It’s a universal truth, so no shift.)
Exercises on Reported Speech
EAnglais | Ego4u | EnglischHilfen | PerfectEnglish |