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Reported Speech – Advanced

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of conveying what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. Instead of using the speaker’s original words (direct speech), you rephrase what they said. This often involves changing the tense, pronouns, and other parts of the sentence to fit into the context of your own sentence.

Rules for Reported Speech

  1. Tense Changes:
    • When you change from direct to reported speech, the tense usually moves one step back into the past. This is called back shifting.
    • Present Simple changes to Past Simple:
      • Direct: She says, “I am happy.”
      • Reported: She said that she was happy.
    • Present Continuous changes to Past Continuous:
      • Direct: He says, “I am reading a book.”
      • Reported: He said that he was reading a book.
    • Present Perfect changes to Past Perfect:
      • Direct: They say, “We have finished the project.”
      • Reported: They said that they had finished the project.
    • Past Simple changes to Past Perfect:
      • Direct: She said, “I saw the movie.”
      • Reported: She said that she had seen the movie.
    • Will changes to Would:
      • Direct: He says, “I will go there.”
      • Reported: He said that he would go there.
  2. Pronoun Changes:
    • Pronouns often need to change to match the perspective of the reporting speaker.
      • Direct: “I am going to the market,” she said.
      • Reported: She said that she was going to the market.
  3. Time and Place Changes:
    • Words that refer to time and place often need to be adjusted.
      • NowThen: “I am busy now.” → She said she was busy then.
      • TodayThat day: “I will see you today.” → He said he would see me that day.
      • TomorrowThe next day: “We will meet tomorrow.” → They said they would meet the next day.
      • HereThere: “She is here.” → He said she was there.
  4. Modals:
    • Some modal verbs change in reported speech.
      • CanCould: “I can swim.” → She said she could swim.
      • MayMight: “I may go.” → He said he might go.
  5. No Change in Tense:
    • If the reporting verb is in the present, future, or the statement is a general truth, the tense does not change.
      • Direct: “The earth orbits the sun.”
      • Reported: He says that the earth orbits the sun.
  6. Questions in Reported Speech:
    • Change the structure from a question to a statement, and the tense usually shifts back.
      • Direct: “Where are you going?”
      • Reported: She asked where I was going.
  7. Commands and Requests:
    • Use tell for commands and ask for requests, followed by the infinitive form of the verb.
      • Direct: “Please close the door.”
      • Reported: She asked me to close the door.
      • Direct: “Finish your homework!”
      • Reported: The teacher told him to finish his homework.
  8. Reporting Verbs:
    • The verb used to introduce reported speech can affect how the sentence is structured (e.g., said, told, asked, suggested, etc.).

Attention!

Back shifting is generally accepted and is a standard part of English grammar when converting direct speech into reported speech. Back shifting reflects the fact that the reported statement was made at an earlier time, which often requires moving the tense of the verbs one step back into the past. However, back shifting is not always needed. We have another page on Back Shifting!

  • Question of

    She said, “I will go to the market tomorrow.”

    • She said that she will go to the market tomorrow.
    • She said she will be going to the market tomorrow.
    • She said that she would go to the market the next day.
    • She said that I would go to the market the next day.

    Correct Wrong

    Do not forget that "will" becomes "would" in most indirect forms. Again, don't forget that you are the one who is "reporting" "her."

  • Question of

    He said, “I have finished my work.”

    • He said that he has finished his work.
    • He said he finishes his work.
    • He said that I have finished my work.
    • He said that he had finished his work.

    Correct Wrong

    Usually, "has" and "have" change to "had" in the indirect form. If you had been careful about present tense tend to past, you have got it right!

  • Question of

    She asked, “do you know the way?”

    • She asked if I had known the way.
    • She asked if I know the way.
    • She asked if I knew the way.
    • She asked if you knew the way.

    Correct Wrong

  • Question of

    They said, “we are going to the park.”

    • They said that they are going to the park.
    • They said that they were going to the park.
    • They said they will be going to the park.
    • They said that they have gone to the park.

    Correct Wrong

  • Question of

    The teacher said, “George, write your name at the top of the paper.”

    • The teacher said George to write my name at the top of the paper.
    • The teacher said I should write my name at the top of the paper.
    • The teacher asked George to write your name at the top of the paper.
    • The teacher asked George to write his name at the top of the paper.

    Correct Wrong

  • Question of

    She said, “I cannot attend the meeting.”

    • She said that she cannot attend the meeting.
    • She said that she could not attend the meeting.
    • She said that she will not attend the meeting.
    • She said that she will not attended the meeting.

    Correct Wrong

  • Question of

    He asked, “Sara, where are you going?”

    • He asked Sara where she is going.
    • He asked Sara that where was she going.
    • He asked Sara where you were going.
    • He asked Sara where she was going.

    Correct Wrong

    With "asked", there is no "that!"

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