Reported Speech
Material prepared by: Javier Medina, Valeria Martinez, Carlos Monceratt, and
Eduardo Morales.
What is?
Reported speech is a device used to communicate
to another person what you or someone else has
said previously.
(direct speech)
I am happy to drive you to the airport.
(Reported speech)
She said she was happy to drive me to the airport.
What are it use?
● In the case of explaining something that someone else said, you should speak from the
third person.
Rules for use
➔ Rule #1: Pronoun
The pronoun of the person spoken about must be changed.
➔ Rule #2 Tense
Depending on the time at which the message was given, the reported speech can change.
●Rule #2.1 :If the reporting verb (say or tell) is in the past tense the sentence of the
reported speech will be in the past tense.
● Rule#2.2: Modal verbs also change. For example, can should be changed to could.
➔ Rule#3: Place, demonstrative and time expressions
place, demonstrative and time expressions change if the context of the reported statement is
different from that of the direct speech.
Structure
The structure of the independent clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a
statement, a question or a command.
Tenses:
● If the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of tenses in reported
speech.
● If the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of tenses in reported
speech.
Examples:
● Direct speech: I like ice cream. Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice
cream.
● Direct speech: I like ice cream. Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice
cream.
● Direct Speech:I was walking along the street. Reported Speech: She said (that) she had been
walking along the street.
Occasionally, we don't need to change the present tense into the past if the information in direct
speech is still true (but this is only for things which are general facts, and even then usually we like
to change the tense):
● Direct speech: The sky is blue. Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue
Reported Questions
The tense changes are the same, and we keep the question word. The very important thing though is that,
once we tell the question to someone else, it isn't a question any more. So we need to change the grammar
to a normal positive sentence
■ transform the question into an indirect question
■ use the question word (where, when, what, how) or if / whether
Examples
● Direct speech: Where do you live?. Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
● "Why" don’t you speak English?”. Reported speech: He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
● Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?. Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate
Reported Orders
We can call this an 'order' in English, when someone tells you very directly to do [Link] are
not relevant for requests – simply use to / not to + verb (infinitive without "to")
Examples
● Direct speech: “Nancy,do the exercise.“. Reported speech: He told Nancy to do the exercise.
Direct Speech Reported Speech
Simple Present Simple Past
He said: "I am happy" He said that he was happy
Present Progressive Past Progressive
He said: "I'm looking for my keys" He said that he was looking for his keys
Simple Past Past Perfect Simple
He said: "I visited New York last year" He said that he had visited New York the previous year.
Present Perfect Past Perfect
He said: " I've lived here for a long time " He said that he had lived there for a long time
Past Perfect Past Perfect
He said: "They had finished the work when I arrived" He said that they had finished the work when he had arrived"
Past Progressive Past Perfect Progressive
He said: "I was playing football when the accident occurred" He said that he had been playing football when the accident had occurred
Present Perfect Progressive Past Perfect Progressive
He said:"I have been playing football for two hours." He said that he had been playing football for two hours
Past Perfect Progressive Past Perfect Progressive
He said: "I had been reading a newspaper when the light went off" He said that he had been reading a newspaper when the light had gone off
Future Simple (will+verb) Conditional (would+verb)
He said: "I will open the door." He said that he would open the door.
Conditional (would+verb) Conditional (would+verb)
Examples
She said that her mom He said that he travelled a She said that Derek was
was cooking lot in his job doing Yoga
