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Reported Speech

Direct Speech

Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quote speech).

Example: She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations". Or "Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.

Indirect Speech

Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.

When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the present too.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
''Ï'm going to the cinema", she said.	He said he was going to the cinema

As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense. Try to change the Direct Speech sentence to and Indirect Speech sentence.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
1) She said, ''it's cold.''	She said it was cold.
2) She said, ''I've been on the web since 1999.''	She said she had been on the web since 1999.
3) She said, ''I've been teaching English for seven years.''	She said she had been teaching English for seven years.
4) She said, ''I taught online yesterday.''	She said she taught online the day before.
5) She said, ''I was teaching earlier.''	She said she had been teaching earlier. (she was teaching earlier.)
6) She said, ''The lesson had already started when he arrived.''	She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.
7) She said, ''I'd already been teaching for five minutes.''	She said she had already been teaching for five minutes.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
1) She said, ''I'll teach English online tomorrow.''	She said she would teach English online tomorrow.
2) She said, ''I can teach English online.''	She said she could teach English online.
3) She said, ''I must have a computer to teach English online.''	She said she needed a computer to teach English online.
4) She said, ''What shall we learn today?''	She asked what we should learn today. (that day)
5) She said, ''I taught online yesterday.''	She said she had taught online the day before.
6) She said, ''I was teaching earlier''.	She said she had been teaching earlier.
7) She said, ''The lesson had already started when he arrived.''	She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.
8) She said, ''I'd already been teaching for five minutes.''	She said she had already been teaching for five minutes.
9) She said, ''I'll teach English online tomorrow.''	She said she would teach English the next day. (tomorrow)
10) She said, ''I can teach English online.''	She said she could teach English online.
11) She said, ''May I open a new browser?''	She asked if she could open a new browser.

Time change

If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting. For example, we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.

Expressions of time if reported on a different day
this evening	that evening
today	yesterday
now	then
a week ago	the week before
last weekend	the previous weekend
here	there
next week	the following week
tomorrow	the next day

3) .Mary: "I will eat steak for dinner."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ eat steak for dinner."

.4) Mary: "I have been to Sydney."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ to Sydney."

5) .Mary: "I have had three cars."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ three cars.

.6) Mary: "I'm going to go to Long Beach."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ going to go to Long Beach."

.7) Mary: "I don't like spinach."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ like spinach."

8) .Mary: "I have never been to London."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ never been to London."

.9) Mary: "I was swimming."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ swimming.

10) .Mary: "I had a cat."
Jill: Mary said (that) she had ________ a cat."

11) .Mary: "I can't swim."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ swim."

12) .Mary: "I won't buy a new car."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ by a new car."

.13) Mary: "I have to do my laundry."
Jill: "Mary said (that) she ________ to do her laundry."

1) She said, "I want to bring my children." BECOMES She said she wanted to bring her children.
2) Jack said, "My wife went with me to the show." BECOMES Jack said his wife had gone with him to the show.

It is also important to change time words (signifiers) when referring to present, past or future time to match the moment of speaking.

1) She said, "I want to bring my children tomorrow." BECOMES She said she wanted to bring her children the next day.
2)Jack said, "My wife went with me to the show yesterday." BECOMES Jack said his wife had gone with him to the show the day before.

Indirect Questions - When reporting questions, it is especially important to pay attention to sentence order. When reporting yes/ no questions connect the reported question using 'if'. When reporting questions using question words (why, where, when, etc.) use the question word.

1) She asked, "Do you want to come with me?" BECOMES She asked me if I wanted to come with her.
2) Dave asked, "Where did you go last weekend?" BECOMES Dave asked me where I had gone the previous weekend.
3) He asked, "Why are you studying English?" BECOMES She asked me why I was studying English.

The following chart includes sentences changed from quoted speech to reported speech using a past form. Pay special attention to sentences marked with "*".

* Simple past, present perfect, and past perfect all change to past perfect in the reported form.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
He said, "I live in Paris."	He said he lived in Paris.
He said, "I am cooking dinner."	He said he was cooking dinner.
He said, "I have visited London twice."	He said he had visited London twice.
He said, "I went to New York last week."	He said he had gone to New York the week before.
He said, "I had already eaten."	He said he had already eaten.
He said, "I am going to find a new job."	He said he was going to find a new job.
He said, "I will give Jack a call."	He said he would give Jack a call.
He said, "I have been working on that project for over two weeks."	He said he had been working on that project for over two weeks.
He said, "I can come tonight."	He said he could come that night.
* He said, "I may buy a new car."	He said he might buy a new car.
* He said, "I might go to Denver."	He said he might go to Denver.
* He said, "I must give Ken a call."	He said he had to give Ken a call.
* He said, "I have to give Ken a call."	He said he had to give Ken a call.
* He said, "I should see a doctor"	He said he should see a doctor.

1) Kyle said, "I want to visit my friends this weekend." Kyle said __________________________________ .

2) Kyle said, "I'm studying English a lot at the moment." Kyle said ______________________________ .

3) They said, "We've lived here for a long time." They said ____________________________ for a long time.

4) He asked me, "Have you finished reading the newspaper?" He asked me ___________________________ .

5)"I get up every morning at seven o'clock.", Kyle said. Kyle said __________________________ at seven o'clock.

6) Paola reassured me, "I can come tonight." Paola told me _______________________________________ .

7) She said, "I really wish I had bought that new car." She told me ____________________________ that new car.

8) Kyle said, "He must be guilty!" Kyle said ___________________________________ guilty.

9) Paola asked her, "How long have you lived here?" Paola asked her _______________________________ .

10) He said, "I must get going. Otherwise, I'm going to be late." He told me ________________________________.