Reported Speech

Reported Speech
Teacher: Vázquez Solórzano Jorge

Level: 8 (Grammar)
Carpio Rea Eloisa Noemi
Fragoso Orenday Abril
González Vega Ivonne
Torres Verástegui José Antonio
Pulido Padilla Tania Rocío
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.
TENSES DIRECTED 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.
Present perfect I’ve already eaten She told me that she’d already eaten.
Present perfect I’ve been studying English for two He said he’d been studying English for
years two years
continuous
Past simple I bought a car 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.
Past perfect I’d been to Chicago before for work He said that he’d been to Chicago
before for work
Past perfect continuous I’d been dancing for years before the She said she’d been dancing for years
accident before the accident.
IMPORTANT
When we say that something is true or use

future idiomatic tense, it is not necessary to
change the verb in reported speech.
MODAL VERBS DIRECTED SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
I’ll go to the movies tomorrow he would go to the movies the next
Will day
She said Allen can work tomorrow She said Allen could work the next
Can day
You must wear your seat belt My mom said I had to wear my seat
Must belt
Shall we go to the beach today? He asked if we should go to the beach

Shall that day
I may not be in class tomorrow. She said she might not be in class the
May next day
May I use the bathroom, please? He asked if he could use the
bathroom.
TIME EXPRESSIONS
Sometimes when we change direct speech into
reported speech we have to change time expressions
too.
We don't always have to do this; it depends on when

we heard the direct speech and when we say the
reported speech.
DIRECTED SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
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
Modal verbs
These modal verbs do not change in reported speech: might, could,
would, should, ought to:
■ We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We

explained that it could be difficult to find our house.
■ She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she
might bring a friend to the party.
Reported Questions
Besides, note that instead of, that you use the interrogative. If there
is no interrogative, use, whether / If
Direct Speech Reported Speech
statement He said: “She lives in London.“ He said that she lived in London
question with interrogative He asked:“Where does she live?“ He asked where she lived.
question without He asked: “Does she live in London?“ He asked whether she lived in London.
He asked if she lived in London.
interrogative
It is also important that you use an indirect question in reported

speech, i.e. after the interrogative or whether / If you continue the
sentence as if it were a statement
The auxiliary verb do is not use in indirect questions
Requests in Reported Speech
For pronouns and place / time expressions see statements in reported speech.
Tenses are not relevant for requests – simply use ‚to‘ + infinite verb.
Example:
She said,
Say hello to your mum.– She asked me to say hello to my
mum.
For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb.
Example:
He said,
Don’t give up, Bob.– He advised Bob not to give up.
Reported orders
An order is when somebody tells you to do something and you
have no choice. It is not usually polite. It is a "command".
direct order: She said: "Stop!"
reported order: She told him to stop.
We usually introduce reported orders with the verb "tell". The

structure is very simple:
tell + noun/pronoun + to infinitive

Examples:
She said, "Eat your food now!"-------She told the boy to eat his food right then.
direct order reported order
The policeman said: "Get out of your car!"------ The policeman instructed us to get out of our car.
For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb.
The doctor said: "Don't smoke in here!"-------- The doctor told them not to smoke in there.

The most common verb for reporting an order is "tell", but we
can also use other verbs such as: order, command, instruct.
For example:
The sergeant commanded his men to stand straight.

LINKS
● https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?10
● https://elt.oup.com/student/solutions/int/grammar/grammar_06_012e?cc=mx&selLanguage=en
● https://www.e-grammar.org/reported-speech/test1-exercise1/
● https://www.examenglish.com/grammar/B1_reported_speech.htm
● https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-reported-speech.php
● https://www.ejerciciosinglesonline.com/new-exercises/ex1-estilo-indirecto-reported-speech/
● https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/reported-speech/reported-speech-index.htm
● https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/intermediate-grammar/reported-speech-2

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Reported Speech

Teacher: Vázquez Solórzano Jorge

When we say that something is true or use

Shall we go to the beach today? He asked if we should go to the beach

We don't always have to do this; it depends on when

now then / at that time

today yesterday / that day / Tuesday /

yesterday the day before yesterday / the day

last night the night before, Thursday night

last week the week before / the previous

tomorrow today / the next day / the

■ We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We

It is also important that you use an indirect question in reported

For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb.

direct order: She said: "Stop!"

reported order: She told him to stop.

We usually introduce reported orders with the verb "tell". The

tell + noun/pronoun + to infinitive

direct order reported order

direct order reported order

For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb.

direct order reported order

The sergeant commanded his men to stand straight.

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