Reported Speech

Reported Speech
 Reported Speech (also called Indirect Speech) is the term used for the words that are used to report
what someone has said or thought.
1. Reporting Statements (Direct Speech to Reported Speech)

a) If the reporting verb is in the present tense (say, tell etc.), the tense of the sentence does not change.
Eg:
Direct Speech : John says, “I am going home.”
Reported Speech : John says that he is going home.
b) If the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told etc.), we have to change the tense of the sentence
to further back into past.
1. Simple Present Tense → Simple Past Tense

Eg:
Direct Speech : Mary said, “We play chess during the interval.”
Reported Speech : Mary said that they played chess during the interval.
2. Present Continuous Tense → Past Continuous Tense

Eg:
Direct Speech : Harry said, “I am writing an essay for the competition.”
Reported Speech : Harry said that he was writing an essay for the competition.
3. Present Perfect Tense → Past Perfect Tense

Eg:
Direct Speech : Tom said, “Teacher has explained the lesson.”
Reported Speech : Tom said that teacher had explained the lesson.
4. Simple Past Tense → Past Perfect Tense

Eg:
Direct Speech : Jane said, “I finished my project yesterday.”
Reported Speech : Jane said that she had finished her project the day before.
5. Present Tense Modal Verb → Past Tense Modal Verb

Eg:
Direct Speech : Britney said, “I will call you.”
Reported Speech : Britney said that she would call me.
Direct Speech : Sara said, “I can’t speak French.”

Reported Speech : Sara said that she couldn’t speak French.
 Note: The modal verbs “should, would, might, could, must and ought to are not usually changed.
C/Ramanathan Hindu Ladies’ College – English Unit Page 1

Eg:
Direct Speech : Boys said, “We might go to the cinema.”
Reported Speech : Boys said that they might go to the cinema.
 Remember: It is also necessary to change other words in the sentence to show that the point of view has
changed.
Eg:
Direct Speech : Maya said, “ I will do it myself.”
Reported Speech : Maya said that she would do it herself.
I → he/she myself → herself/himself

Person
my → his/her theirselves → themselves
Eg:
Direct Speech : Grace said, “We are going to the book fair tomorrow.”
Reported Speech : Grace said that they were going to the book fair the next day.
now → then / at that time
today → that day / on Monday etc.
tomorrow → the next day / the following day
Time yesterday → the day before / the previous day
this week → that week
last week → the week before / the previous week
next week → the following week
an hour ago → an hour before/an hour earlier
Eg:
Direct Speech : Steve said, “We love playing here.”
Reported Speech : Steve said that they loved playing there.
here → there / at the playground etc.

Place
Eg:
Direct Speech : Liza said, “I don’t like this book.”
Reported Speech : Liza said that she didn’t like that book.

this → that
these → those
2. Reporting Questions
The word order in reported questions is the same as in a normal statement, not as in a question and
there is no question mark. When changing the tense of the question, the same grammar rules are
applied as in reporting statements.
a) Yes/No Questions
We have to use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ to report yes/no questions.
Eg:
Direct Speech : Shiny asked me, “Are you ready?”
Reported Speech : Shiny asked me if/whether I was ready.
b) “Wh” Questions
With “wh” questions, the “wh”word (who, what, when, why, where, which) stays in the
sentence.
Eg:
Direct Speech : Nora asked, “ When are you leaving?”
Reported Speech : Nora asked when I was leaving.
 Note: The same method is applied to the question words such as: “How, How much etc.”
3. Reporting Requests & Commands

When reporting a request or an order, we usually use to-infinitive.
Eg:
Direct Speech : Teacher asked, “Will you open the window please?”
Reported Speech : She asked me to open the window.
Direct Speech : Mom told, “Don’t eat all the chocolate.”

Reported Speech : Mom told not to eat all the chocolates.
Rewrite the sentences in reported speech.

1. She said, "I am reading now."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. They said, "We are busy."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. He said, "I know a better restaurant."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. She said, "I woke up early this morning."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. He said, "I will call her tomorrow."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. They said, "We have just arrived."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. She said, "I did not say that."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. Sally said, "I don't know where my shoes are."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
9. He said, "I won't tell anyone."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
10. Mary said, “We can playing chess at school.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
11. "Where is my umbrella?" she asked.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
12. He asked, "Do I have to do it?"
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
13. "Where have you been?" the mother asked her daughter.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
14. The teacher asked, "Who speaks English?"
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
15. "How do you know that?" she asked me.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
16. "Has Caron talked to Kevin?" my friend asked me.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
17. "Stop talking, Joe," the teacher said.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
18. "Be patient," she said him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
19. "Sit down, Caron" he said.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
20. "Play it again, Sam," she said.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
21. "Fill in the form, Sir," the receptionist said.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
22. "Mind your own business," she advised him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
23. "Don't talk to me like that," he said.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
24. "Don't repair the computer yourself," she warned him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
25. "Don't eat in the lab," the chemistry teacher said.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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Reported Speech

1. Reporting Statements (Direct Speech to Reported Speech)

1. Simple Present Tense → Simple Past Tense

2. Present Continuous Tense → Past Continuous Tense

3. Present Perfect Tense → Past Perfect Tense

4. Simple Past Tense → Past Perfect Tense

5. Present Tense Modal Verb → Past Tense Modal Verb

Direct Speech : Sara said, “I can’t speak French.”

C/Ramanathan Hindu Ladies’ College – English Unit Page 1

I → he/she myself → herself/himself

now → then / at that time

today → that day / on Monday etc.

tomorrow → the next day / the following day

Time yesterday → the day before / the previous day

this week → that week

last week → the week before / the previous week

next week → the following week

an hour ago → an hour before/an hour earlier

here → there / at the playground etc.

C/Ramanathan Hindu Ladies’ College – English Unit Page 2

3. Reporting Requests & Commands

Direct Speech : Mom told, “Don’t eat all the chocolate.”

Rewrite the sentences in reported speech.

C/Ramanathan Hindu Ladies’ College – English Unit Page 3

C/Ramanathan Hindu Ladies’ College – English Unit Page 4

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