Reported speech

The words or thoughts of a person can be expressed through direct speech – in this case we
repeat the (more or less) exact words that were said – or filtered through the language and the
memory of the speaker, changing pronouns, tenses and other words if necessary: this is known as
reported speech, also called indirect speech.
Words spoken or thought by one person in one place at a certain time may be reported, by that
very person or by someone else, in a different place and at a different time. That is why it is often
necessary to make grammatical changes (generally quite obvious) to the structure of a sentence
when shifting from direct to indirect speech. Often, pronouns must be changed, as well as deictic
expressions of time and place, such as now, here, this etc., depending on when and where the
reporting occurs in relation to the original words:

Bruce: ‘I want to start decorating next week’ (direct speech)

Bruce said he wanted to start decorating the following week (indirect speech)

Here are some of the most common changes taking place when shifting from direct to indirect
speech:

Now Then
Tonight That night
Yesterday The day before / on + name of day
This morning That morning
Last week The previous week/the week before
Ago Before/previously
Tomorrow The following day/the day after
Next Monday The following Monday
Next week The following week/the week after
This That/the
Here There
This + name of the place That/the + name of the place

The conjunction that, which follows many reporting verbs, is often dropped, especially after the
most common verbs, such as say, tell, or think. However, it cannot be dropped after certain verbs,
such as reply or shout:
You say (that) you don’t remember where you were the night of the murder
She thought (that) they were making a big mistake
He replied that he had done everything in his power

As we shall see, statements, questions, and offers/requests/commands etc. are reported

differently. The most important thing when discussing reported speech, though, is to focus on the
tense changes that occur when passing from direct to indirect speech.
Tense changes

A change of time may involve a change of tense. In fact, quite obviously, the tenses used in
reported speech relate to the time when a person is making the report, not to the time when the
original words were used.
If the reporting verb is in the present, present perfect or future the tenses usually stay the same as
in the original:
‘I want to quit this job’. He says he wants to leave his job.
‘There was another plane crash last night’. They have said there was another plane
crash last night.
‘I don’t think this is a good idea’. I’ll let them know you don’t think this is
a good idea.

On the contrary, after past reporting verbs, the tense of the original sentence is usually
“backshifted” (though not always, as we shall see below):
‘We will consider your proposal’. He said they would consider my proposal
‘I don’t accept the terms of the contract’. She said she didn’t accept the terms of the
contract.
‘I can’t answer the phone. I’m having a shower’. Thomas said he couldn’t answer
the door because he was having a shower.
‘I’ve made a decision’. She announced she had made a decision.

The following table summarizes the general tense backshifting rule, which applies when the
reporting verb is in the past the tense (on the contrary, as we have seen there is no tense
modification when the reporting verb is in the present, present perfect or future). Notice that the
past tense and the present perfect have the same forms in indirect speech:

Speaker’s words Reported speech

Present simple Past simple

Present continuous Past continuous
Present perfect simple Past perfect simple
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
Past simple Past perfect simple
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
Going to future Was/were going to
Shall/will Should/would
Must Had to
Can Could
May Might

The backshifting of tenses in reported speech means that, sometimes, past tenses are used to talk
about present or even future events. This can happen because the backshift is automatic and does
not necessarily indicates past time’:
I knew you were watching TV!
You said we could leave next week

If a reporter refers to a timeless, permanent condition or talks about a situation that is still present
or future, just as it was for the original speaker, the verb tense used by the original speaker can be
backshifted or retained. Consider the following examples:
 ‘There will be a change of political alliances soon’. He said there will/would be a
change of political alliances soon
‘Have you got a new car?’. He asked if I have/had a new car

Past simple and continuous often remain unchanged if the time/sequence of the actions described
is clear. The past simple does not change into the past perfect when it is not necessary to show the
time relationship between the events that are talked about and the original speech, i.e. when the past
events are seen by the reporter from the same point of view as by the original speaker. In the first of
the following example it is necessary to specify the time sequence of the actions, in the second and
third it is not:
He said he was sorry he had arrived late but his boss had kept him in the office
The newscaster said there was an earthquake in India yesterday (not: *there had
been an earthquake)
During a rally last week the leader of the Opposition asserted that the
Prime Minister knew there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (not: *the
Prime minister had known … there had been no weapons …)

The past simple used in a time clause does not change, while the verb in the main clause can
change into a past perfect (but it usually stays the same when it refers to a situation that still exists
in the present):
‘When I called her she was still at home’. He said that when he called her she
was/had been still at home.

The past continuous remains unchanged when referring to an action in progress, while it can be
changed into past perfect continuous if it refers to activity that precedes another activity expressed
in the past simple or present perfect:
‘I was studying last night at ten’. She said she was studying last night at ten
‘We were demonstrating peacefully but then the police charged’. He said they had
been demonstrating / were demonstrating peacefully but then …

Reporting modals

Some modals have a ‘past form’ that can be used for indirect speech backshifting:
can Æ could
may Æ might
shall Æ should
will Æ would

Modals that have no past forms (must, should, would, could, might and need) usually remain
unchanged after past reporting verbs:
‘You might be wrong’. She said I might be wrong.
‘You needn’t do it’. He said I needn’t do it.
‘You should try to get here on time’. He said I should try to get there on time
 It is important to remember that, when it possesses a strong performative meaning expressing
obligation, must usually remains unchanged or is substituted by was/were to. However, in other
cases must and should can be substituted by had to or was/were to. In particular, had to is often
used as the indirect speech form of must:
You must hand in your papers by next week! The teacher said we
must/were to hand in our papers by the following week
‘You must turn off your mobile phones before entering the school’. The
Headmaster said students had to turn their mobile phones off before …
‘You must come with us!’ She said we had to go with them.

Future in the past

Do no confuse reported ‘will future’ with third type conditional (which, of course, can also be
reported):
The conflict will end soon in the region. They said the conflict would end
soon in the region (not: *the conflict would have ended soon …)
They admitted they would have changed sides if their requests had not been
met (third type conditional)

Reported questions
The rules about tense changes apply to questions in the same way as they do to statements.
Remember that, when reporting wh-questions, the order of subject and verb is not inverted, and thus
auxiliary do is to be found only in indirect negative questions; when reporting yes/no questions if or
whether are put before subject + verb:
They asked me when I was leaving
They wanted to know why I didn’t accept their offer
They asked me if/whether I had decided to leave the country

Questions beginning with who/what/which + be can ask for a subject or a complement:

What is the problem? (This asks for a subject. A possible answer is: The problem is
money)
What is the time? (This asks for a complement. A possible answer is: The time is 3
o’clock, not 3 o’clock is the time)

When reporting the first type of question the verb be can be found before or after the subject
asked for, while this is unusual in the second type of question:
‘What is the problem?’. They asked what the problem was / they asked what was the
problem.
What is the time? They asked what the time was (not: what was the time)
Reported requests, commands etc.
With requests, commands, advice, promises etc. (i.e. when speech performs an action) the
reporting verb is often followed by the to-infinitive. Before the to-infinitive if is not used (whether
must be used instead):
‘Can you just wait a minute?’. They asked me to wait a minute.
‘Don’t call so late’. He told us not to call so late.
‘I’ll come, don’t worry’. He promised to come.
‘Can I invite my friend Jane?’ She asked whether she could invite
her friend Jane
She said she wasn’t sure whether to stay or leave

The verb suggest is not followed by a to-infinitive but by a that-clause:

‘Why don’t you contact their agent?’. He suggested that I contact their agent

Reporting verbs
The most common reporting verbs are say and tell; remember that tell is followed by an indirect
object, while say is usually immediately followed by a that-clause but can sometimes be followed
by to + indirect object:
She told me to get lost
‘You have not been invited to the party’. She said that I had not been invited
to the party
She said (to me) that I had betrayed her trust

Say, not tell, is used to introduce direct speech, commands, greetings and the like:
She said: ‘I want to go home’
She said stay a little longer
She said hello

We do not normally report every word that was said or written. A rather large variety of
reporting verbs help summarize the meaning of the original message and convey its tone:
‘If you are late again I’ll fire you’. The boss threatened to fire me.
‘The service in this hotel is far from satisfactory’. He complained about the
service.

Below are listed many different reporting verbs; the first group is followed by the to-infinitive,
the second by an –ing form and the third by a that clause:

1. advise sb. ; agree; decide; encourage sb.; invite sb.; offer; persuade sb.; promise; refuse;
remind sb; warn sb (not to);
2. accuse sb. of; advise sb. against; agree about; apologize for; complain about; dissuade
sb. from; insist on; persuade sb. against; recommend; suggest; warn against.
3. agree; announce; boast; claim; complain; concede; decide; insist; recommend; suggest (+
should)