Lesson Overview

• Why and When to Use Reported Speech?
• Key Rules for Reported Speech

Have you ever told a friend what someone else said? If so, you were using reported speech. Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is how we share another person's words without quoting them exactly​

For example, instead of repeating "I am tired," you might say: He said (that) he was tired. This topic can be tricky for many students – the changes in verb tenses, pronouns, and time words can feel confusing​. In this lesson, we'll break down the rules of reported speech step by step. 

What is Reported Speech?

Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said, but without using the exact words of the original speaker​. In reported speech, we do not put the words in quotation marks, because we are not quoting the person directly​

Instead, we often retell the message in our own words, usually adjusting pronouns and verb tenses as needed.

Why and When to Use Reported Speech?

We use reported speech to share or report information that someone said, especially if we are telling it at a later time or to a different person. Instead of repeating every word, we summarize or paraphrase what was said​. 

This makes it easier to tell stories, talk about past conversations, or explain what someone said without remembering their exact words. For example, if your friend tells you "I lost my book," you might later report this to the teacher by saying: My friend said that he lost his book. Here, you passed along the same information in a simple way.

Example of Reported Speech:

Direct speech: "I am tired," said Sam.
Reported speech: Sam said he was tired.

In the direct speech example, Sam's exact words "I am tired" are given inside quotes. In the reported speech version, we do not use quotes and we changed "I am" to "he was" to fit the sentence. This way, we conveyed the same idea in our own words.

Reported speech is different from direct speech. Direct speech uses the speaker's exact words inside quotation marks (for example: She said, "I like cats."). Reported speech does not use the exact words or quotation marks​.

We often change little details like pronouns or verb tenses when using reported speech, but the main message stays the same. This allows us to clearly share what someone said without having to quote every word they spoke.

Take This Quiz:

EFI File Test 8 - Grammar Quiz: Reported Speech Challenge

Key Rules for Reported Speech

When changing direct speech into reported speech, there are a few important rules to remember. Mainly, we often need to adjust:

• Pronouns: Words like I, you, my may change to he, she, they, his, etc.
• Verb Tenses: If the original quote is in present tense, it usually shifts to past tense in reported speech​ (this is called backshift).
• Time and Place Words: Words like today, tomorrow, here, or now may change to that day, the next day, there, or then​.
• Sentence Structure for Questions/Commands: We might need to use "that", "if", or "to" and adjust word order to turn questions or commands into statement form​.

Now, let's have a detailed look at each of these rules with examples. 

1. Changing Pronouns (Who is Speaking?)

One of the first things to check is pronouns – the words that replace names (I, you, he, she, we, they, etc.). In reported speech, the pronouns usually change depending on who said it and who you're talking to. 

For example, if Alice says "I am happy," Alice is "I" in her own words. But when we report it, we talk about Alice, so "I" becomes she (because Alice is a girl). The sentence becomes Alice said she was happy.

Here's a quick pronoun guide for reported speech:

• I -> he/she ("I am hungry" -> He said he was hungry.)
• We -> they ("We won the game" -> They said they won the game.)
• You -> I (or we/they) ("You need to rest," Mom said -> Mom said I needed to rest.)
• My -> his/hers ("My foot hurts," Jenny said -> Jenny said her foot hurt.)
• Our -> their ("Our plan is ready," they said -> They said their plan was ready.)

2. Changing Verb Tenses (Backshift in Time)

The biggest change in reported speech is usually the verb tense. When the original words were said in the past, we typically shift the verbs one step back into the past​. This is known as backshift. The idea is that something someone said before is now even further in the past when we report it.

Here is a handy chart of common tense changes from direct to reported speech:

(In reported speech, some modal verbs like would, could, should, might usually stay the same​. For example: "I could swim at age 5," she said. → She said she could swim at age 5.)

3. Changing Time and Place Words

When reporting speech, words that talk about time and place often need to change, because the point of reference has shifted. Imagine someone yesterday said "I'll do it tomorrow." If you tell me about it today, tomorrow from their view is actually today from our view – confusing, right? To avoid confusion, we usually change these words in reported speech​:

Here are some common time word changes:

• today -> that day (or you can specify the day, e.g. on Monday if known)
• tomorrow -> the next day / the following day​
• yesterday -> the day before (or the previous day)​
• now -> then / at that time​
• tonight -> that night
• last week/month/year -> the week/month/year before

And common place word changes:

• here -> there​
• this -> that
• this (thing) -> the (thing) or that (thing)
• these -> those

We change "here" to "there" if we are now in a different place, and similar for other words that indicate location​. For example, "I'm waiting here," he said. → He said he was waiting there (assuming he's no longer in the same place when we report it).

4. Reporting Questions (Asked + Statement Order)

Turning questions into reported speech is a common challenge, but here's a secret: reported questions are not actual questions anymore​. That means you do not use a question mark and you switch to normal sentence word order. We usually introduce a reported question with verbs like asked or wondered instead of said. Let's break it down:

• If the direct question starts with a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how), we keep that word in the reported question​. 

For example:
Direct: "Where do you live?"
Reported: She asked me where I lived.

What changed? We removed the quotation marks and did (notice "do you live" became "I lived"). The verb tense went from present do/live to past lived (backshift). Crucially, "where I lived" is now in statement order (subject I before verb lived). In direct questions, especially with "do/does/did", we drop those helping verbs in reported speech​. 

The sentence no longer looks like a question; it's part of a statement saying what she asked. As one guide says, once we tell the question to someone else, it isn't a question any more​.

• If the direct question is a yes/no question (one that could be answered with "yes" or "no"), there is no question word to keep. In this case, we add if or whether to connect the clause​. 

For example:
Direct: "Did he finish his homework?"
Reported: I asked if he had finished his homework.

Here, "did he finish" becomes "he had finished" (past simple -> past perfect). We put if at the start of the reported question clause. We could also say whether instead of if. Both serve to introduce a yes/no question indirectly. No question mark is used, and the word order is like a normal statement (he had finished, not had he finished).

5. Reporting Commands and Requests (Told/Asked + "to")

Now, how about sentences that aren't statements or questions, but commands or requests? For example, "Stop talking," or "Please help me." In direct speech, these use the imperative form of the verb (like go, do, stop – giving an order or request). 

When we report commands, we usually use tell (or order) and for requests, we often use ask (or ask politely). The structure is [told/asked] [someone] to [do something]​. Basically, we turn the command into a to-infinitive phrase.

Rules for commands/requests in reported speech:

• Use a reporting verb like told (for orders) or asked (for requests), followed by the person who was instructed (the object).
• Then use to + base verb to express the command.
• For negative commands (like "Don't X"), use told/asked [someone] not to [do something].

Examples:

• Direct: "Be quiet!" the teacher said. → Reported: The teacher told us to be quiet.
• Direct: "Please, don't be late," Mom said. → Reported: Mom asked me not to be late.
• Direct: "Leave the door open," he said to his sister. → Reported: He told his sister to leave the door open.

Common Mistakes and Tips

Reported speech has a lot of pieces to remember. Here are some common mistakes and tips to get them right:

• Mixing up "say" and "tell": Remember, say is usually used without a personal object, and tell is used with an object​. 

For example, Julia said (that) she was coming. ✔️ But "Julia said me..." ❌ is wrong. It should be "Julia told me..." if you mention the listener. Make sure to use told when you mention who was told: He told us that he would help. If you don't mention a person, use said: He said that he would help. This small detail is important for correct grammar.

• Not changing the verb tense when needed: A lot of errors happen when the tense isn't backshifted. For instance, direct: "I feel sick," she said. If you report it as She said she feels sick, it might be understood, but it's not following the typical rule. It should be She said she felt sick. Remember to shift present to past, past to past perfect, etc., in general cases​. However, as noted, if it's a general fact or still true, you can keep the present tense​. 

For example: "Water boils at 100°C," he said → He said water boils at 100°C (still true fact). If you did change it: He said water boiled at 100°C, it's not wrong, but not necessary. Tip: When in doubt for school quizzes, follow the backshift rule unless you have a good reason not to.

• Forgetting to change pronouns or time words: Always double-check the pronouns and time expressions. A common mistake is to leave words like "today" or "tomorrow" unchanged, which can make the reported statement confusing or incorrect. 

For example, "I'll do it tomorrow," Mark said. If you report on a different day, don't say: Mark said he'd do it tomorrow (because "tomorrow" now means a day after today, not the day after Mark spoke). Instead say: Mark said he'd do it the next day. Similarly, if someone said "I, me, my", those should usually change to "he/him/his" or "she/her/hers" in your sentence.

• Too many or too few changes: Sometimes learners over-correct or under-correct. 

For example, "I didn't go," she said. Reported should be: She said she hadn't gone (past simple → past perfect). It's also acceptable in many cases to say She said she didn't go (especially in spoken English). But if your teacher expects the formal change, use hadn't gone​.