Reported Speech
Click here for a list of reported speech exercises.
Click here to download this explanation in PDF.
Reported Statements
When do we use reported speech? 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.
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.
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:
Direct speech: I like ice cream.
Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.
Tense
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
present
simple
I like ice
cream
She said (that) she liked ice
cream.
present
continuous
I am living in
London
She said (that) she was living
in London.
past simple
I bought a
car
She said (that) she had bought
a car OR She said (that) she
bought a car.
past
continuous
I was walking
along the
street
She said (that) she had been
walking along the street.
present
perfect
I haven't seen
Julie
She said (that) she hadn't seen
Julie.
past perfect*
I had taken
English lessons
before
She said (that) she had taken
English lessons before.
will
I'll see you
later
She said (that) she would see
me later.
would*
I would help,
but..
She said (that) she would help
but...
can
I can speak
perfect English
She said (that) she could speak
perfect English.
could*
I could swim
when I was
four
She said (that) she could swim
when she was four.
shall
I shall come
later
She said (that) she would come
later.
should*
I should call
my mother
She said (that) she should call
her mother
might*
"I might be late"
She said (that) she might be
late
"I must study at
the weekend"
She said (that) she must study
at the weekend OR She said
she had to study at the
weekend
must
* doesn't change.
Occasionally, we don't need to change the present tense into the past if the
information in direct speech is still true (but this is only for things which are
general facts, and even then usually we like to change the tense):
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?"
How can we make the reported speech here?
In fact, it's not so different from reported statements. The tense changes are the
same, and we keep the question word. The very important thing though is that,
once we tell the question to someone else, it isn't a question any more. So we need
to change the grammar to a normal positive sentence. A bit confusing? Maybe this
example will help:
Direct speech: "Where do you live?"
Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
Do you see how I made it? The direct question is in the present simple tense. We
make a present simple question with 'do' or 'does' so I need to take that away. Then
I need to change the verb to the past simple.
Another example:
Direct speech: "where is Julie?"
Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.
The direct question is the present simple of 'be'. We make the question form of the
present simple of be by inverting (changing the position of)the subject and verb.
So, we need to change them back before putting the verb into the past simple.
Here are some more examples:
Direct Question
Reported Question
Where is the Post Office,
please?
She asked me where the Post Office
was.
What are you doing?
She asked me what I was doing.
Who was that fantastic
man?
She asked me who that fantastic man
had been.
So much for 'wh' questions. But, what if you need to report a 'yes / no' question?
We don't have any question words to help us. Instead, we use 'if':
Direct speech: "Do you like chocolate?"
Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.
No problem? Here are a few more examples:
Direct Question
Reported Question
Do you love me?
He asked me if I loved him.
Have you ever been to
She asked me if I had ever been to
Mexico?
Mexico.
Are you living here?
She asked me if I was living here.
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?"
All of these requests mean the same thing, so we don't need to report every word
when we tell another person about it. We simply use 'ask me + to + infinitive':
Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.
Here are a few more examples:
Direct Request
Reported Request
Please help me.
She asked me to help her.
Please don't smoke.
She asked me not to smoke.
Could you bring my book
tonight?
She asked me to bring her book
that night.
Could you pass the milk,
please?
She asked me to pass the milk.
Would you mind coming early
tomorrow?
She asked me to come early the
next day.
To report a negative request, use 'not':
Direct speech: "Please don't be late."
Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.
Reported Orders
And finally, how about if someone doesn't ask so politely? We can call this an
'order' in English, when someone tells you very directly to do something. For
example:
Direct speech: "Sit down!"
In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use
'tell' instead of 'ask':
Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
Direct Order
Reported Order
Go to bed!
He told the child to go to bed.
Don't worry!
He told her not to worry.
Be on time!
He told me to be on time.
Don't smoke!
He told us not to smoke.
Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and
orders.
Time Expressions with Reported Speech
Sometimes when we change direct speech into reported speech we have to change
time expressions too. We don't always have to do this, however. It depends on
when we heard the direct speech and when we say the reported speech.
For example:
It's Monday. Julie says "I'm leaving today".
If I tell someone on Monday, I say "Julie said she was leaving today".
If I tell someone on Tuesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving yesterday".
If I tell someone on Wednesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving on Monday".
If I tell someone a month later, I say "Julie said she was leaving that day".
So, there's no easy conversion. You really have to think about when the direct
speech was said.
Here's a table of some possible conversions:
now
then / at that time
today
yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th
of June
yesterday
the day before yesterday / the day before
/ Wednesday / the 5th of December
last night
the night before, Thursday night
last week
the week before / the previous week
tomorrow
today / the next day / the following day /
Friday
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
Simple Present
He said: "I am happy"
Simple Past
He said that he was happy
Present Progressive
He said: "I'm looking for my
keys"
Past Progressive
He said that he was looking for his keys
Simple Past
He said: "I visited New York last
year"
Past Perfect Simple
He said that he had visited New York the
previous year.
Present Perfect
He said: " I've lived here for a
long time "
Past Perfect
He said that he had lived there for a long
time
Past Perfect
He said: "They had
finished the work when
Iarrived"
Past Perfect
He said that they had finished the work
when he had arrived"
Past Progressive
He said: "I was playing football
when the accident occurred"
Past Perfect Progressive
He said that he had been playing football
when the accident had occurred
Present Perfect Progressive
He said:"I have been
playing football for two hours."
Past Perfect Progressive
He said that he had been playing football
for two hours
Past Perfect Progressive
He said: "I had been reading a
newspaper when the light went
of"
Past Perfect Progressive
He said that he had been reading a
newspaper when the light had gone of
Future Simple (will+verb)
He said: "I will open the door."
Conditional (would+verb)
He said that he would open the door.
Conditional (would+verb)
He said: "I would buy Mercedes
if I were rich"
Conditional (would+verb)
He said that he would buy Mercedes if
he had beenrich"
The modal verbs could, should, would, might, needn't, ought to, used to do not
normally change.
Example:
He said, "She might be right." He said that she might be right.
Other modal verbs may change:
Modal
Direct speech
Reported speech
can
"I can do it."
He said he could do it.
may
"May I go out?"
He wanted to know if he might go out.
must
"She must apply for the
job."
He said that she must/had to apply for
the job.
will
"They will call you."
He told her that they would call her.
3- 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.
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
Time Expressions
today
that day
now
then
yesterday
the day before
days ago
days before
last week
the week before
next year
the following year
tomorrow
the next day / the following day
Place
here
there
Demonstratives
this
that
these
those
B. Reporting Questions
When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:
pronouns
place and time expressions
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
Types of questions
With question word
(what, why, where,
how...)
Direct speech
"Why" dont you
speak English?
Without question word Do you speak
(yes or no questions) English?
Reported speech
He asked me why I
didnt speak English.
He asked me whether /
if I spoke English.
C. Reporting requests / commands
When transforming requests and commands, check whether you have to change:
pronouns
place and time expressions
Reported speech
Direct speech
Nancy,do the exercise.
He told Nancy to do the exercise.
"Nancy, give me your pen, please."
He asked Nancy to give him her pen.
Tenses are not relevant for requests simply use to / not to + verb (infinitive without
"to")
Example:
She said, Sit down." - She asked me to sit down.
She said, "don't be lazy" - She asked me not to be lazy
For affirmative use to + infinitive (without to)
For negative requests, use not to + infinitive (without to).
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 lets is usually reported using suggest. In this case, there are two
possibilities for reported speech: gerund or statement with should.
Example:
"Lets 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.
Example:
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.
Example:
She said,I am a nurse and work in a hospital. He said that she was a
nurse and worked in a hospital.
Pronouns
In reported speech, you often have to change the pronoun depending on who
says what.
Example
She says, My mum doesnt have time today. She says that her mum doesnt
have time today.
Tenses
No backshift
Do not change the tense if the introductory clause is in Simple Present (e. g. He
says). Note, however, that you might have to change the form of the present tense
verb (3rd person singular).
Example
He says, I speak English. He says that he speaks English.
Backshift
You must change the tense if the introductory clause is in Simple Past (e. g. He
said). This is called backshift.
Example
He said, I am happy. He said that he was happy.
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
Simple Present
Simple Past
Present Progressive
Past Progressive
Simple Past
Present Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Simple
Past Progressive
Present Perfect Progressive
Past Perfect Progressive
Past Perfect Progressive
Future I (going to)
was / were going to
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
Future I (will)
Conditional I (would)
Conditional I (would)
The verbs could, should, would, might, must, neednt, ought to, used to do not
normally change.
Example:
He said, She might be right. He said that she might be right.
Place and Time expressions
For place and time expressions you have to check whether place and time are the
same in direct and reported speech or not. Check out the following example:
It is Friday and you meet James at a restaurant. James tells you that he saw
Caroline in this restaurant today. (I saw Caroline heretoday.) A few minutes later,
Helen joins you and you want to report what James has told you. Place (here) and
time (today) are the same and you can say:
James said that he had seen Caroline here today.
One day later, you meet Mary at the same restaurant. Again, you want to report to
her what James has told you. The place is the same, but not the time (it happened
yesterday). So you would say:
James said that he had seen Caroline here yesterday.
Still a few days later, Tom rings you at home. Again, you want to report to him what
James has told you. However, now you are not at the restaurant (but at home) and
a few days have passed since then. So you would say:
James said that he had seen Caroline at the restaurant on Friday.
oder
I met James in a restaurant on Friday and he said that he had seen Caroline
there that day.
Therefore you always have to think which place and time expressions are logical
in a certain situation.
In the following table, you will find ways of transforming place and time
expressions into reported speech.
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
today
that day
now
then
yesterday
the day before
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
days ago
days before
last week
the week before
next year
the following year
tomorrow
the next day / the following day
here
there
this
that
these
those
