reporting clause first
reported clause
reporting clause second
The reporting clause may sometimes come in the middle of the reported clause, especially in literary styles:
“No,” she said , “I’ve never seen it before.”
‘Was it,’ he asked , ‘the first time you had spoken to Mrs Dalton?’
We can use adverbs with the reporting verb to describe the way someone said something. This is more common when the reporting clause comes second:
“I will not accept it!” he said angrily .
‘Can I speak to the doctor?’ she asked rather nervously .
Reported speech: punctuation
Reported speech: reporting and reported clauses
In narratives, especially novels and short stories, when the reporting clause comes second, we often invert the subject (s) and reporting verb (v):
“Things have always been the same in this village,” [V] said [S] the old man .
‘Hold on! I’m coming!’ [V] cried [S] Maurice .
Informal narratives.
In informal conversation, we sometimes use the present simple in the reporting clause. This makes the direct speech more vivid and dramatic:
So then this guy says , “I’ve got something for you. Come over here.” And he picked up a box and he says , “Open that.”
We can make the direct speech even more vivid and dramatic by using the present continuous. This is very informal:
And he’s looking at me and he ’s asking , “Who are you?” and I said, “I’m your nephew” and he ’s mumbling , “I don’t know you. I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
In very informal conversation, people sometimes use says as a reporting verb for all persons ( I, you, she, he, we, they ):
She says , ‘What’s going on here?’ and I says , ‘Nothing. There’s nothing happening – everything’s okay.’
Many speakers consider the above examples to be incorrect. This applies especially to the use of says with all persons.
We also use the present simple in newspaper headlines. This makes the reported words more dramatic:
‘I WON’T RESIGN,’ SAYS MINISTER
Say or tell ?
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“Reported speech” might sound fancy, but it isn’t that complicated.
It’s just how you talk about what someone said.
Luckily, it’s pretty simple to learn the basics in English, beginning with the two types of reported speech: direct (reporting the exact words someone said) and indirect (reporting what someone said without using their exact words ).
Read this post to learn how to report speech, with tips and tricks for each, plenty of examples and a resources section that tells you about real world resources you can use to practice reporting speech.
How to report indirect speech, reporting questions in indirect speech, verb tenses in indirect reported speech, simple present, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, simple future, future continuous, future perfect, future perfect continuous, authentic resources for practicing reported speech, novels and short stories, native english videos, celebrity profiles.
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Direct speech refers to the exact words that a person says. You can “report” direct speech in a few different ways.
To see how this works, let’s pretend that I (Elisabeth) told some people that I liked green onions.
Here are some different ways that those people could explain what I said:
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” Elisabeth said.
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” she told me. — In this sentence, we replace my name (Elisabeth) with the pronoun she.
In all of these examples, the part that was said is between quotation marks and is followed by a noun (“she” or “Elisabeth”) and a verb. Each of these verbs (“to say,” “to tell [someone],” “to explain”) are ways to describe someone talking. You can use any verb that refers to speech in this way.
You can also put the noun and verb before what was said.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like spaghetti.”
The example above would be much more likely to be said out loud than the first set of examples.
Here’s a conversation that might happen between two people:
1: Did you ask her if she liked coffee?
2: Yeah, I asked her.
1: What did she say?
2. She said, “Yeah, I like coffee.” ( Direct speech )
Usually, reporting of direct speech is something you see in writing. It doesn’t happen as often when people are talking to each other.
Direct reported speech often happens in the past. However, there are all kinds of stories, including journalism pieces, profiles and fiction, where you might see speech reported in the present as well.
This is sometimes done when the author of the piece wants you to feel that you’re experiencing events in the present moment.
For example, a profile of Kristen Stewart in Vanity Fair has a funny moment that describes how the actress isn’t a very good swimmer:
Direct speech: “I don’t want to enter the water, ever,” she says. “If everyone’s going in the ocean, I’m like, no.”
Here, the speech is reported as though it’s in the present tense (“she says”) instead of in the past (“she said”).
In writing of all kinds, direct reported speech is often split into two or more parts, as it is above.
Here’s an example from Lewis Carroll’s “ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ,” where the speech is even more split up:
Direct speech: “I won’t indeed!” said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject of conversation. “Are you—are you fond—of—of dogs?” The Mouse did not answer, so Alice went on eagerly: “There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you!”
Reporting indirect speech is what happens when you explain what someone said without using their exact words.
Let’s start with an example of direct reported speech like those used above.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like coffee.”
As indirect reported speech, it looks like this:
Indirect speech: Elisabeth said she liked coffee.
You can see that the subject (“I”) has been changed to “she,” to show who is being spoken about. If I’m reporting the direct speech of someone else, and this person says “I,” I’d repeat their sentence exactly as they said it. If I’m reporting this person’s speech indirectly to someone else, however, I’d speak about them in the third person—using “she,” “he” or “they.”
You may also notice that the tense changes here: If “I like coffee” is what she said, this can become “She liked coffee” in indirect speech.
However, you might just as often hear someone say something like, “She said she likes coffee.” Since people’s likes and preferences tend to change over time and not right away, it makes sense to keep them in the present tense.
Indirect speech often uses the word “that” before what was said:
Indirect speech: She said that she liked coffee.
There’s no real difference between “She said she liked coffee” and “She said that she liked coffee.” However, using “that” can help make the different parts of the sentence clearer.
Let’s look at a few other examples:
Indirect speech: I said I was going outside today.
Indirect speech: They told me that they wanted to order pizza.
Indirect speech: He mentioned it was raining.
Indirect speech: She said that her father was coming over for dinner.
You can see an example of reporting indirect speech in the funny video “ Cell Phone Crashing .” In this video, a traveler in an airport sits down next to another traveler talking on his cell phone. The first traveler pretends to be talking to someone on his phone, but he appears to be responding to the second traveler’s conversation, which leads to this exchange:
Woman: “Are you answering what I’m saying?”
Man “No, no… I’m on the phone with somebody, sorry. I don’t mean to be rude.” (Direct speech)
Woman: “What was that?”
Man: “I just said I was on the phone with somebody.” (Indirect speech)
When reporting questions in indirect speech, you can use words like “whether” or “if” with verbs that show questioning, such as “to ask” or “to wonder.”
Direct speech: She asked, “Is that a new restaurant?”
Indirect speech: She asked if that was a new restaurant.
In any case where you’re reporting a question, you can say that someone was “wondering” or “wanted to know” something. Notice that these verbs don’t directly show that someone asked a question. They don’t describe an action that happened at a single point in time. But you can usually assume that someone was wondering or wanted to know what they asked.
Indirect speech: She was wondering if that was a new restaurant.
Indirect speech: She wanted to know whether that was a new restaurant.
It can be tricky to know how to use tenses when reporting indirect speech. Let’s break it down, tense by tense.
Sometimes, indirect speech “ backshifts ,” or moves one tense further back into the past. We already saw this in the example from above:
Direct speech: She said, “I like coffee.”
Indirect speech: She said she liked coffee.
Also as mentioned above, backshifting doesn’t always happen. This might seem confusing, but it isn’t that difficult to understand once you start using reported speech regularly.
What tense you use in indirect reported speech often just depends on when what you’re reporting happened or was true.
Let’s look at some examples of how direct speech in certain tenses commonly changes (or doesn’t) when it’s reported as indirect speech.
To learn about all the English tenses (or for a quick review), check out this post .
Direct speech: I said, “I play video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I played video games (simple past) or I said that I play video games (simple present).
Backshifting into the past or staying in the present here can change the meaning slightly. If you use the first example, it’s unclear whether or not you still play video games; all we know is that you said you played them in the past.
If you use the second example, though, you probably still play video games (unless you were lying for some reason).
However, the difference in meaning is so small, you can use either one and you won’t have a problem.
Direct speech: I said, “I’m playing video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I was playing video games (past continuous) or I said that I’m playing video games (present continuous).
In this case, you’d likely use the first example if you were telling a story about something that happened in the past.
You could use the second example to repeat or stress what you just said. For example:
Hey, want to go for a walk?
Direct speech: No, I’m playing video games.
But it’s such a nice day!
Indirect speech: I said that I’m playing video games!
Direct speech: Marie said, “I have read that book.”
Indirect speech: Marie said that she had read that book (past perfect) or Marie said that she has read that book (present perfect).
The past perfect is used a lot in writing and other kinds of narration. This is because it helps point out an exact moment in time when something was true.
The past perfect isn’t quite as useful in conversation, where people are usually more interested in what’s true now. So, in a lot of cases, people would use the second example above when speaking.
Direct speech: She said, “I have been watching that show.”
Indirect speech: She said that she had been watching that show (past perfect continuous) or She said that she has been watching that show (present perfect continuous).
These examples are similar to the others above. You could use the first example whether or not this person was still watching the show, but if you used the second example, it’d probably seem like you either knew or guessed that she was still watching it.
Direct speech: You told me, “I charged my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had charged your phone (past perfect) or You told me that you charged your phone (simple past).
Here, most people would probably just use the second example, because it’s simpler, and gets across the same meaning.
Direct speech: You told me, “I was charging my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had been charging your phone (past perfect continuous) or You told me that you were charging your phone (past continuous).
Here, the difference is between whether you had been charging your phone before or were charging your phone at the time. However, a lot of people would still use the second example in either situation.
Direct speech: They explained, “We had bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Indirect speech: They explained that they had bathed the cat on Wednesday. (past perfect)
Once we start reporting the past perfect tenses, we don’t backshift because there are no tenses to backshift to.
So in this case, it’s simple. The tense stays exactly as is. However, many people might simplify even more and use the simple past, saying, “They explained that they bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Direct speech: They said, “The cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time!”
Indirect speech: They said that the cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time. (past perfect continuous)
Again, we don’t shift the tense back here; we leave it like it is. And again, a lot of people would report this speech as, “They said the cat was going outside and getting dirty for a long time.” It’s just a simpler way to say almost the same thing.
Direct speech: I told you, “I will be here no matter what.”
Indirect speech: I told you that I would be here no matter what. (present conditional)
At this point, we don’t just have to think about tenses, but grammatical mood, too. However, the idea is still pretty simple. We use the conditional (with “would”) to show that at the time the words were spoken, the future was uncertain.
In this case, you could also say, “I told you that I will be here no matter what,” but only if you “being here” is still something that you expect to happen in the future.
What matters here is what’s intended. Since this example shows a person reporting their own speech, it’s more likely that they’d want to stress the truth of their own intention, and so they might be more likely to use “will” than “would.”
But if you were reporting someone else’s words, you might be more likely to say something like, “She told me that she would be here no matter what.”
Direct speech: I said, “I’ll be waiting for your call.”
Indirect speech: I said that I would be waiting for your call. (conditional continuous)
These are similar to the above examples, but apply to a continuous or ongoing action.
Direct speech: She said, “I will have learned a lot about myself.”
Indirect speech: She said that she would have learned a lot about herself (conditional perfect) or She said that she will have learned a lot about herself (future perfect).
In this case, using the conditional (as in the first example) suggests that maybe a certain event didn’t happen, or something didn’t turn out as expected.
However, that might not always be the case, especially if this was a sentence that was written in an article or a work of fiction. The second example, however, suggests that the future that’s being talked about still hasn’t happened yet.
Direct speech: She said, “By next Tuesday, I will have been staying inside every day for the past month.”
Indirect speech: She said that by next Tuesday, she would have been staying inside every day for the past month (perfect continuous conditional) or She said that by next Tuesday, she will have been staying inside every day for the past month (past perfect continuous).
Again, in this case, the first example might suggest that the event didn’t happen. Maybe the person didn’t stay inside until next Tuesday! However, this could also just be a way of explaining that at the time she said this in the past, it was uncertain whether she really would stay inside for as long as she thought.
The second example, on the other hand, would only be used if next Tuesday hadn’t happened yet.
Let’s take a look at where you can find resources for practicing reporting speech in the real world.
One of the most common uses for reported speech is in fiction. You’ll find plenty of reported speech in novels and short stories . Look for books that have long sections of text with dialogue marked by quotation marks (“…”). Once you understand the different kinds of reported speech, you can look for it in your reading and use it in your own writing.
Writing your own stories is a great way to get even better at understanding reported speech.
One of the best ways to practice any aspect of English is to watch native English videos. By watching English speakers use the language, you can understand how reported speech is used in real world situations.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
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Celebrity profiles, which you can find in print magazines and online, can help you find and practice reported speech, too. Celebrity profiles are stories that focus on a famous person. They often include some kind of interview. The writer will usually spend some time describing the person and then mention things that they say; this is when they use reported speech.
Because many of these profiles are written in the present tense, they can help you get used to the basics of reported speech without having to worry too much about different verb tenses.
While the above may seem really complicated, it isn’t that difficult to start using reported speech.
Mastering it may be a little difficult, but the truth is that many, many people who speak English as a first language struggle with it, too!
Reported speech is flexible, and even if you make mistakes, there’s a good chance that no one will notice.
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Table of Contents
If we want to describe the speech of some other people with other people in our own words, that speech is called a Reported speech or Narration.
In the English language, there are certain ways to express the spoken words between two people.
The speech has two main types, Direct speech , and Indirect speech , respectively.
These two ways of narration of spoken words are also called Direct and Indirect speech, also known as Direct and Indirect narrations.
Direct and indirect speech is majorly used in any conversations, scripts, or any biographies, etc. where one or more than one person converses with each other.
It is also called straight speech or quoted speech, which is spoken or written directly in the text by the speaker, writer, or the first person, who is going to speak with anyone with him.
The spoken statements of the speaker normally come under the inverted commas notation, and a speaker who speaks these sentences may come like “he said/he said that.”
The speaker’s words or statements are mentioned in a single phrase pattern or direct discussion.
An Indirect speech is also called a reported speech, or secondary speech means the speech, which has spoken indirectly.
It is simply an overlook statement that is used to say about the incident that has happened in the past time.
The actual words of the speaker changed into the past tense and the sentence, and hence the reported speech of the direct speech does not come inside the inverted commas.
A person who is going to report the speech or a speech that comes in the first part of the direct speech is called a reporting speech.
Reported speech is a speech that is always in an inverted comma or quotation marks.
It is a second part of the direct speech sentence.
The verb, which is used in a reporting speech to report something in a direct speech, is called a reporting verb.
The verb which comes inside the reported speech is called reported verb, respectively.
As we start writing any direct and indirect conversation, we often use reported verbs like “say, tell, ask, inform, instruct, claim, suggest, enquire, etc.”
These reported verbs, whenever used in direct or indirect speech, change into the past simple form like said, told, asked, informed, instructed, claimed, suggested, enquired, etc.
But the verbs used in a speech between the inverted commas will remain as it is.
Rule 1 : “no inverted commas.”.
The reported speech does not come into inverted commas or quotation in an indirect speech.
Example: Direct: He said, “I have completed my assignments yesterday.”
Indirect: He said that he had completed his assignments the previous day.
Using the conjunction word “that” in-between the reporting speech and reported speech in an indirect speech.
Example:
While writing a direct speech into an indirect speech, we have to change the tense of the reported speech because whatever we are writing in indirect speech has already happened in the past timing.
If the tense of the reporting verb of direct speech is in the past tense, then the tense will change according to these criteria.
Simple present tense will change into simple past tense..
Direct: He said, “They come to meet me.”
Indirect: He said that they came to meet him.
Direct: She said, “They are coming to meet me.”
Indirect: She said that they were coming to meet her.
Direct: He said, “They have come to meet me.”
Indirect: He said that they had come to meet him.
Direct: She said, “They have been coming to meet me.”
Indirect: She said that they had been coming to meet her.
Simple past tense will change into the past perfect tense.
Direct: He said, “They came to meet me.”
Indirect: He said that they had come to meet him.
Past continuous tense will change into past perfect continuous tense.
Direct: She said, “They were coming to meet me.”
Indirect: She said that they had been coming to meet her.
Past perfect tense and past perfect continuous tense will remain the same.
Direct: He said, “They had come to meet me.”
Direct: She said, “They had been coming to meet me.”
There are no changes in the future tense sentences; only shall/will may change into would, can change into could.
Indirect: She said that could he come on the next day
Indirect: He said that he would never forgive me.
The pronoun used as an indirect subject speech sometimes needs to be changed accordingly in indirect speech as of the reported verb of the direct speech.
The mentioned time (not the timing) in a direct speech sentence will have to change in indirect speech like now becomes then, tomorrow becomes the next day, yesterday becomes the previous day, today becomes that day, later becomes soon.
Assertive sentences:.
Assertive sentences are simple statements that may be affirmative or negative.
If we are going to convert assertive sentences from direct speech into indirect speech, we have to replace “said” with “told” sometimes.
Here, the subject in direct speech refers to someone in his talk.
Indirect: He told me that she was working on that project.
Indirect: She told me that she was going for a long drive.
Imperative sentences are statements that deliver a command, order, request, appeal, or advice.
It depends on the speaker, how he delivers the message to the other person.
While converting these types of sentences cum statements from direct speech to indirect speech, we have to check the type of sentence, whether it is a command, order, request, or else.
Indirect: The teacher ordered me to sit properly.
Indirect: The Boss commanded an office boy to bring a coffee for him.
Indirect: The teacher requested me to sit properly.
Indirect: The bartender advised me to try that drink.
An interrogative sentence is a sentence which interrogates or ask questions.
Each interrogative sentence ends with an interrogative sign or a question mark sign “?”.
While writing interrogative sentences from direct speech into indirect speech,
Exclamatory sentences are those sentences that show emotions, feelings and ends with an exclamation mark!
If any interjection comes in an exclamation sentence, then the exclamation sign removes in an indirect speech, and an exclamatory sentence gets converted into an assertive sentence.
The replacement of reporting verb “said” with exclaimed with (great wonder, sorrow, joy) exclaimed (joyfully, sorrowfully)
Replace with very or very great , if words like how or what comes at the beginning of the reported speech.
Use of would and could with an example.
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Reported speech and indirect speech are two terms that refer to the same concept, which is the act of expressing what someone else has said.
On this page:
Reported speech is different from direct speech because it does not use the speaker’s exact words. Instead, the reporting verb is used to introduce the reported speech, and the tense and pronouns are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. There are two main types of reported speech: statements and questions.
1. Reported Statements: In reported statements, the reporting verb is usually “said.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and any pronouns referring to the speaker or listener are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. For example, “I am going to the store,” becomes “He said that he was going to the store.”
2. Reported Questions: In reported questions, the reporting verb is usually “asked.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and the word order changes from a question to a statement. For example, “What time is it?” becomes “She asked what time it was.”
It’s important to note that the tense shift in reported speech depends on the context and the time of the reported speech. Here are a few more examples:
Reported speech is used to report what someone else has said, thought, or written. It is often used in situations where you want to relate what someone else has said without quoting them directly.
Reported speech can be used in a variety of contexts, such as in news reports, academic writing, and everyday conversation. Some common situations where reported speech is used include:
News reports: Journalists often use reported speech to quote what someone said in an interview or press conference.
Business and professional communication: In professional settings, reported speech can be used to summarize what was discussed in a meeting or to report feedback from a customer.
Conversational English: In everyday conversations, reported speech is used to relate what someone else said. For example, “She told me that she was running late.”
Narration: In written narratives or storytelling, reported speech can be used to convey what a character said or thought.
1. Change the pronouns and adverbs of time and place: In reported speech, you need to change the pronouns, adverbs of time and place to reflect the new speaker or point of view. Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “I’m going to the store now,” she said. Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then.
In this example, the pronoun “I” is changed to “she” and the adverb “now” is changed to “then.”
2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “I will meet you at the park tomorrow,” he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet me at the park the next day.
In this example, the present tense “will” is changed to the past tense “would.”
3. Change reporting verbs: In reported speech, you can use different reporting verbs such as “say,” “tell,” “ask,” or “inquire” depending on the context of the speech. Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework.
In this example, the reporting verb “asked” is changed to “said” and “did” is changed to “had.”
Overall, when making reported speech, it’s important to pay attention to the verb tense and the changes in pronouns, adverbs, and reporting verbs to convey the original speaker’s message accurately.
1. Changing Pronouns: In reported speech, the pronouns in the original statement must be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. Generally, the first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) are changed according to the subject of the reporting verb, while the second and third person pronouns (you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs) are changed according to the object of the reporting verb. For example:
Direct speech: “I love chocolate.” Reported speech: She said she loved chocolate.
Direct speech: “You should study harder.” Reported speech: He advised me to study harder.
Direct speech: “She is reading a book.” Reported speech: They noticed that she was reading a book.
2. Changing Adverbs: In reported speech, the adverbs and adverbial phrases that indicate time or place may need to be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. For example:
Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech: She said she was going to the cinema that night.
Direct speech: “He is here.” Reported speech: She said he was there.
Note that the adverb “now” usually changes to “then” or is omitted altogether in reported speech, depending on the context.
It’s important to keep in mind that the changes made to pronouns and adverbs in reported speech depend on the context and the perspective of the new speaker. With practice, you can become more comfortable with making these changes in reported speech.
In reported speech, the tense of the reported verb usually changes to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here are some guidelines on how to change the tense in reported speech:
Present simple in direct speech changes to past simple in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I like pizza.” Reported speech: She said she liked pizza.
Present continuous in direct speech changes to past continuous in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I am studying for my exam.” Reported speech: He said he was studying for his exam.
Present perfect in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I have finished my work.” Reported speech: She said she had finished her work.
Past simple in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I visited my grandparents last weekend.” Reported speech: She said she had visited her grandparents the previous weekend.
Will in direct speech changes to would in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I will help you with your project.” Reported speech: He said he would help me with my project.
Can in direct speech changes to could in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I can speak French.” Reported speech: She said she could speak French.
Remember that the tense changes in reported speech depend on the tense of the verb in the direct speech, and the tense you use in reported speech should match the time frame of the new speaker’s perspective. With practice, you can become more comfortable with changing the tense in reported speech.
No, you do not always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech. However, using a reporting verb can help to clarify who is speaking and add more context to the reported speech.
In some cases, the reported speech can be introduced by phrases such as “I heard that” or “It seems that” without using a reporting verb. For example:
Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She said she was going to the cinema tonight. Reported speech without a reporting verb: It seems that she’s going to the cinema tonight.
However, it’s important to note that using a reporting verb can help to make the reported speech more formal and accurate. When using reported speech in academic writing or journalism, it’s generally recommended to use a reporting verb to make the reporting more clear and credible.
Some common reporting verbs include say, tell, explain, ask, suggest, and advise. For example:
Direct speech: “I think we should invest in renewable energy.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She suggested that they invest in renewable energy.
Overall, while using a reporting verb is not always required, it can be helpful to make the reported speech more clear and accurate
How to use reported speech to report questions and commands?
1. Reporting Questions: When reporting questions, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “What time is the meeting?” Reported speech: She asked what time the meeting was.
Note that the question mark is not used in reported speech.
2. Reporting Commands: When reporting commands, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “ordered” or “told” followed by the person, to + infinitive, and any additional information. Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “Clean your room!” Reported speech: She ordered me to clean my room.
Note that the exclamation mark is not used in reported speech.
In both cases, the tense of the reported verb should be changed accordingly. For example, present simple changes to past simple, and future changes to conditional. Here are some examples:
Direct speech: “Will you go to the party with me?”Reported speech: She asked if I would go to the party with her. Direct speech: “Please bring me a glass of water.”Reported speech: She requested that I bring her a glass of water.
Remember that when using reported speech to report questions and commands, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.
To make questions in reported speech, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here are the steps to make questions in reported speech:
Identify the reporting verb: The first step is to identify the reporting verb in the sentence. Common reporting verbs used to report questions include “asked,” “inquired,” “wondered,” and “wanted to know.”
Change the tense and pronouns: Next, you need to change the tense and pronouns in the sentence to reflect the shift from direct to reported speech. The tense of the verb is usually shifted back one tense (e.g. from present simple to past simple) in reported speech. The pronouns should also be changed as necessary to reflect the shift in perspective from the original speaker to the reporting speaker.
Use an appropriate question word: If the original question contained a question word (e.g. who, what, where, when, why, how), you should use the same question word in the reported question. If the original question did not contain a question word, you can use “if” or “whether” to introduce the reported question.
Change the word order: In reported speech, the word order of the question changes from the inverted form to a normal statement form. The subject usually comes before the verb, unless the original question started with a question word.
Here are some examples of reported questions:
Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?”Reported speech: He wanted to know if I had finished my homework. Direct speech: “Where are you going?”Reported speech: She wondered where I was going.
Remember that when making questions in reported speech, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.
Here you can find more examples of direct and indirect questions
In reported or indirect speech, you are retelling or reporting what someone said using your own words. The tense of the reported speech is usually shifted back one tense from the tense used in the original statement. For example, if someone said, “I am going to the store,” in reported speech you would say, “He/she said that he/she was going to the store.”
The main difference between reported speech and indirect speech is that reported speech usually refers to spoken language, while indirect speech can refer to both spoken and written language. Additionally, indirect speech is a broader term that includes reported speech as well as other ways of expressing what someone else has said, such as paraphrasing or summarizing.
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Candace Osmond
Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.
They say gossip is a natural part of human life. That’s why language has evolved to develop grammatical rules about the “he said” and “she said” statements. We call them reported speech.
Every time we use reported speech in English, we are talking about something said by someone else in the past. Thinking about it brings me back to high school, when reported speech was the main form of language!
Learn all about the definition, rules, and examples of reported speech as I go over everything. I also included a worksheet at the end of the article so you can test your knowledge of the topic.
Reported speech is a term we use when telling someone what another person said. You can do this while speaking or writing.
There are two kinds of reported speech you can use: direct speech and indirect speech. I’ll break each down for you.
A direct speech sentence mentions the exact words the other person said. For example:
Indirect speech changes the original speaker’s words. For example:
When we tell someone what another individual said, we use reporting verbs like told, asked, convinced, persuaded, and said. We also change the first-person figure in the quotation into the third-person speaker.
We usually talk about the past every time we use reported speech. That’s because the time of speaking is already done. For example:
Indirect speech: The employer asked me if I had experience with people in the corporate setting.
Indirect speech: I told James that I was working on my thesis.
A speech report has two parts: the reporting clause and the reported clause. Read the example below:
The reporting clause here is William said. Meanwhile, the reported clause is the 2nd clause, which is I need your help.
Aside from direct and indirect, reported speech can also be divided into four. The four types of reported speech are similar to the kinds of sentences: imperative, interrogative, exclamatory, and declarative.
The rules for reported speech can be complex. But with enough practice, you’ll be able to master them all.
The most common conjunction in reported speech is that. You can say, “My aunt says she’s outside,” or “My aunt says that she’s outside.”
Use if when you’re reporting a yes-no question. For example:
Indirect speech: She asked if she was coming with them.
Change the reporting verb into its past form if the statement is irrelevant now. Remember that some of these words are irregular verbs, meaning they don’t follow the typical -d or -ed pattern. For example:
Reported speech: She said she disliked fried chicken.
Note how the main verb in the reported statement is also in the past tense verb form.
Use the simple present tense in your indirect speech if the initial words remain relevant at the time of reporting. This verb tense also works if the report is something someone would repeat. For example:
This rule proves that the choice of verb tense is not a black-and-white question. The reporter needs to analyze the context of the action.
Move the tense backward when the reporting verb is in the past tense. That means:
Here are some examples:
He said that the singers had left the building. (past perfect)
If the original speaker is discussing the future, change the tense of the reporting verb into the past form. There’ll also be a change in the auxiliary verbs.
For example:
Indirect speech: She said that she would be there in a moment.
Do not change the verb tenses in indirect speech when the sentence has a time clause. This rule applies when the introductory verb is in the future, present, and present perfect. Here are other conditions where you must not change the tense:
Changing the place and time adverb when using indirect speech is essential. For example, now becomes then and today becomes that day. Here are more transformations in adverbs of time and places.
Here are some examples.
Indirect speech: He said he was baking cookies then.
Indirect speech: She said Myra went there the day before.
Indirect speech: She said she would go to the market the next day.
If the direct speech contains a modal verb, make sure to change them accordingly.
Indirect speech: He asked if he would come to the ball with me.
Indirect speech: He said Gina could inspect the room the next day because she’s free.
However, sometimes, the modal verb should does not change grammatically. For example:
Indirect speech: She said that he should go to the park.
To change an imperative sentence into a reported indirect sentence, use to for imperative and not to for negative sentences. Never use the word that in your indirect speech. Another rule is to remove the word please . Instead, say request or say. For example:
The host requested them not to interrupt the event.
When reporting a direct question, I would use verbs like inquire, wonder, ask, etc. Remember that we don’t use a question mark or exclamation mark for reports of questions. Below is an example I made of how to change question forms.
Correct: He asked me where I live.
Here’s another example. The first sentence uses direct speech in a present simple question form, while the second is the reported speech.
She asked me where I live.
My guide has shown you an explanation of reported statements in English. Do you have a better grasp on how to use it now?
Reported speech refers to something that someone else said. It contains a subject, reporting verb, and a reported cause.
Don’t forget my rules for using reported speech. Practice the correct verb tense, modal verbs, time expressions, and place references.
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Reported speech, direct and indirect speech, direct speech | indirect speech tense change | time change | pronoun change reporting verbs | use of 'that'.
We often have to give information about what people say or think. In order to do this you can use direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech.
Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech)
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
"Today's lesson is on presentations", she said.
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 past too.
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
---|---|
"I'm going to the cinema", he said. | He said he was going to the cinema. |
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):
| She said it was cold. | |
She said, "I'm teaching English online." | She said she was teaching English online. | |
She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." | She said she had been on the web since 1999. | |
She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years." | She said she had been teaching English for seven years. | |
She said, "I taught online yesterday." | She said she had taught online yesterday. | |
She said, "I was teaching earlier." | She said she had been teaching earlier. | |
She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived." | NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived. | |
She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes." | NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes. |
Modal verb forms also sometimes change:
She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." | She said she would teach English online tomorrow. | |
| She said she could teach English online. | |
She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online." | She said she had to have a computer to teach English online. | |
She said, "What shall we learn today?" | She asked what we should learn today. | |
She said, "May I open a new browser?" | She asked if she might open a new browser. |
!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
---|---|
"I might go to the cinema", he said. | He said he might go to the cinema. |
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still true i.e. my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:-
Direct speech | Indirect speech |
---|---|
, she said. |
|
You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.
Direct speech (exact quote) | Indirect speech (not exact) |
---|---|
, she said. |
|
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.
Now | + 24 hours - Indirect speech |
---|---|
"Today's lesson is on presentations." | She said yesterday's lesson was on presentations. or She said yesterday's lesson would be on presentations. |
In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it you must change the place (here) to the place (there).
For example:-
At work | At home |
---|---|
She asked me how long I'd worked there. |
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.
Me | |
---|---|
teach English online." | She said, " teach English online." " teach English online", she said.
teaches English online. or taught English online. |
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.
We use asked to report questions:-
For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.
We use told with an object.
For example: Lynne told me she felt tired.
!Note - Here me is the object.
We usually use said without an object.
For example: Lynne said she was going to teach online.
If said is used with an object we must include to ;
For example: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China.
!Note - We usually use told .
For example: Lynne told me (that) she'd never been to China.
There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked.
These include:-
Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative.
He asked me to come to the party:-
In reported speech, the word that is often used.
For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich.
However, that is optional.
For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich.
!Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.
For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.
I'm British, so I only tend to place the comma inside quotation marks when it's part of the sentence being quoted.
"I didn't notice that the comma was inside the quotation marks," Lynne said, "but Hekner did."
That said, I read so much American literature, that even I tuck them away sometimes.
Really, no one has set in stone what the rules of the English language are. It's a diverse language, and the rules that exist have arisen through usage, and they can change in exactly the same way, so maybe it doesn't matter, but it's best to be consistent. (Thanks Hekner.)
Direct and indirect speech grammar rules vary so you need to understand them. We'll start by looking at what each one is. Note that indirect speech is also commonly knows as reported speech.
Direct speech is when the words are given in exactly the way that the speaker said them. So in other words they are quoted with no change .
When presenting direct speech, the words are usually placed in quotation marks, with a comma after say(s) / said if it is used to present the speech. Say (s) / said can also be placed at the end of the quotation, in which case a comma comes before it.
Indirect speech is also known as reported speech . You may also see it referred to as indirect discourse or indirect narration .
Indirect speech is the reporting of what someone else said in your own words but without changing the meaning of what was said.
Reporting verbs are used to present indirect speech. The common ones are:
That is in brackets as it can be omitted from the sentence, whether spoken or written.
So the key difference between direct and indirect speech is that with direct speech the exact words are quoted but in indirect speech it is your own words .
Direct speech is fairly simple to use and understand as it involves just repeating what was said. There is not much to get confused about with the grammar, apart from getting say(s)/said correct.
But indirect or reported speech is more difficult so we will look at that in more detail now.
View more examples of direct and indirect speech >>
With direct and indirect speech, there are three main things you need to be aware of when converting one to the other:
The tense of verbs when moving from direct to indirect speech do not necessarily change because if the circumstances of what someone said is the same, then it may be reported as that. For example:
However, as we are reporting what was said in the past, we often change the tense. This rule for this is related to backshifting, which means shifting back a tense. So the present will go back to the past. Some modals also change.
Here are examples using the previous examples of indirect speech, showing you how they look like in direct speech:
There are more details on the site about changing tenses in indirect / reported speech:
Learn more about changing tenses >>
Pronouns in indirect speech also need to be changed from what they were in the indirect speech, as well as of course adapting the first pronoun to fit the person who said the statement:
You may also need to change phrases referring to time, though this depends on the context and when you are reporting the speech.
With these examples you have to assume the speech is being reported at a time in the future so the phrases such as 'yesterday' or 'tomorrow' would not makes sense any more in terms of the reported speech.
Some different rules apply when turning direct speech using imperatives or commands into indirect speech. Check out the rules here:
Rules for Reported Speech Imperatives >>
Reported speech tenses may differ from the tense of the direct speech. The general rule for tenses in reported speech is that it changes to the past tense. This is called backshifting.
In these examples of direct and indirect speech you are given a sentence in direct speech which is then connected to indirect speech.
This reported speech quiz gives you the chance to practice converting direct speech to reported speech, also known as indirect speech. This involves backshifting with the tenses.
Reported speech imperatives, also known as reported commands, follow a slightly different structure to normal indirect speech. We use imperatives to give orders, advice, or make requests.
Any questions or comments about the grammar discussed on this page?
Post your comment here.
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How to use reported speech in english, structure and explanations., table showing tense changes - direct to reported speech..
This table (right column) shows the verb tense or modal verb we use after we change from direct speech to reported speech.
present simple | past simple |
present continuous | past continuous |
present perfect simple | past perfect simple |
present perfect continuous | past perfect continuous |
past simple | past perfect simple |
past continuous | past perfect continuous |
past perfect simple | past perfect simple |
past perfect continuous | past perfect continuous |
|
|
will | would |
shall | should |
can | could |
could | could |
would | would |
must | must / had to |
should | should |
ought to | ought to |
may | might |
might | might |
Learn more about the tenses and modals in this list...
Reported speech is a structure used to repeat what somebody has said before (direct speech):
John: "My name is John" (direct speech) He said (that*) his name was John (reported speech)
* that can be omitted.
Note that after the verb said , which is in past tense, it is natural to continue the rest of the sentence in the past: "...his name was John". This does not mean that John is now not his name; we use the past for agreement of the verbs in the sentence: said and was .
However, if John is still John, we cannot reject the present tense. So that...
He said that his name is John.
...is also correct.
Let's consider a sentence said a week ago:
Mary: "I am going to Madrid."
If, a week later, we repeat what Mary said, we must now use the verb in past tense because the action cannot refer to the present but to seven days before :
Mary said that she was going to Madrid.
We can see that I'm going in direct speech changes to I was going in reported speech. All tenses change to one step further in the past. In the above example, present continuous to past continuous .
In this next example, we can see how present perfect changes to past perfect :
Dave: I have seen that film. Dave said that he had seen that film.
In the case where we can not go further into the past, we repeat the same tense:
Mike: I had been there. He said that he had been there.
Let's now look at other words that can change in reported speech if we refer to past actions:
I'm going tomorrow . He said he was going the next day (o " the following day ").
I'm playing football next week . He said he was playing football the following week .
I went last week . He said he had gone the week before .
If we have also moved in space, in other words, we are not in the same place where the direct speech was said, words referring to place must also change:
I like it here . He said that he liked it there .
here | there |
this | that |
these | those |
today | that day |
tomorrow | the following day |
yesterday | the day before |
next week | the following week |
last week | the week before |
now | then |
two days ago | two days before |
Modal auxiliary verbs, in some cases, have also got a past tense form which is used in reported speech:
I can speak English. He said that he could speak English.
I 'll see you next week. She said that she would see him the following week.
See table above for full list of modals that change...
Let's now consider this question:
Is your name John?
A question in reported speech that requires the answer yes or no (closed question) must include if . In other words, we want to know if the answer is yes or no :
She asked him if his name was John.
Open questions which do not require a yes or no , for example, questions with words like: what?, when?, why?, who?, which?, how?, whose?, where?, how much? , what time?, etc. usually take inversion between the subject and auxiliary (or verb to be) in direct speech but no inversion in reported speech:
What is your name ? She asked what his name was (and not, ... what was his name ).
How much are the potatoes ? They asked how much the potatoes were (and not, ... how much were the potatoes ).
Where can we go? He asked where they could go (and not, ... where could they go ).
When did you see that film? She asked when he had seen that film (and not, ... where had he seen that film).
We will now look at sentences in the imperative. In these cases, it is common to use told + indirect object . Also note that the following verb is in the infinitive with to :
Go away! She told him to go away.
Sit down and be quiet! She told the child to sit down and (to) be quiet. Please take these things into the kitchen. She told him to take the things into the kitchen.
Exercises on reported speech...
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Direct and Indirect Speech
Every day, people relay messages from one person to another. Whether it is to prove a point, describe an event, or disclose an opinion, we use the freedom of speech to share information. There are generally two ways of reporting a spoken idea: direct and indirect speech. This article shall explain and compare these two types of speech. Some examples are also provided to give you a more in-depth understanding.
Both direct and indirect speech are methods to narrate the words spoken by a specific person. The difference between them lies in how they are constructed and in the purpose of using them.
In a direct speech , the actual words of the speaker are quoted explicitly. It is often used to relay something being said in the present tense. It can also be used to recall the exact words of the speaker when retelling a previous conversation. You can recognize a direct speech instantly because it has a text enclosed in a set of quotation marks. That text or idea is known as the reported speech .
As you can see, direct speech can be presented in different tenses: past, present, or future. It depends on when the actual words were spoken and when the reporter is retelling them. Also, reporting verbs (say, ask, answer, etc.) are not necessarily placed before the quoted text. You can also place them after it.
This type of speech is often used in writing novels or telling a story. This is because it gives the text a more actual and realistic effect.
Indirect speech is usually used to relay what was being said by the speaker without directly quoting the original words. In this case, the tense of the sentence is typically changed. Reporting verbs, such as say, tell, ask, and others, are used as an introduction. The words of the original speaker will not be enclosed inside the quotation marks. Instead, the word “that” is used to connect the reporting verb to the reported text.
The above sentences are actually converted from the previous examples of direct speech. Aside from eliminating the quotation marks, correct pronouns are also used. Additionally, the reporting verbs are now all found before the reported speech. The reporting verb is then followed with “that.”
Now, let us specify the rules in converting direct speech to indirect speech. Here are the steps on how to do so:
The quotation marks are the primary indication of a direct speech. Therefore, it is crucial to take them out if you are forming an indirect one.
You have to retain the tense of the reporting verb to allow consistency of reports. Instead of placing a comma to separate the reporting clause from the reported one, the word “that” is added. However, if the reported speech is a yes-no question, you use “if” instead of “that.” If the question starts with who, what, when, where, etc., no additional words are needed. Instead, you have to rearrange the sentence into a declarative form.
If the reporting verb is in the past tense, you should change the tense of the verb inside the reported speech into its past tense. This is not necessary if the reporting verb is in the present or future tense.
Of course, you have to consider the correlation between the report and the idea on the quoted text. Sometimes, a change in tense is not needed even if the reporting verb is in the past tense.
For the first example, the quoted text is still about to happen. So, you don’t need to change the tense of the sentence inside the quotation. For the second example, watching TV series is implied as a habitual action. Therefore, you still have to retain the present tense of the verb.
You should also change the pronoun based on who the speaker, doer, and receiver of the action is.
Appropriate changing of pronouns is done to avoid misunderstanding the whole text. If pronouns are not changed, it might confuse the reader or the listener as to who is saying or doing the action.
The change in pronouns gives rise to changes in the plurality of the verb used. That being said, you have to consider and follow correct subject-verb agreement at all times.
Present Simple Tense into Past Simple Tense
For example:
Present Continuous Tense into Past Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense into Past Perfect Tense
Past Simple Tense into Past Perfect Tense
Past Continuous Tense into Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense ( The tense remains unchanged )
Future Simple Tense (e.g. will ) into “ would “
Future Progressive Tense (e.g. will be ) into “ would be “
Future Perfect Tense (e.g. will have ) into “ would have “
Future Perfect Tense (e.g. will have been ) into “ would have been “
Can into Could
Could ( The verb remains unchanged)
Have to into Had to
Must into Must/Had to
May into Might
Might (The verb remains unchanged)
Should (The verb remains unchanged)
EnglishPost.org
Reported speech (Indirect Speech) is how we represent the speech of other people or what we ourselves say.
Reported Speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words
The structure of the independent clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question, or a command.
Statement | She told me she was sick |
Question | He asked me whether I was sick or not |
Command | They ordered us to take a pill every day |
Table of Contents
Present tenses and reported speech, past tenses and reported speech, reported speech examples, reported speech and the simple present, reported speech and present continuous, reported speech and the simple past, reported speech and the past continuous, reported speech and the present perfect, reported speech and the past perfect, reported speech and ‘ can ’ and ‘can’t’, reported speech and ‘ will ’ and ‘ won’t ’, reported speech and could and couldn’t, reported speech and the future continuous, reported questions exercises online.
To turn sentences into Indirect Speech, you have to follow a set of rules and this is what makes reported speech difficult for some.
To make reported speech sentences, you need to manage English tenses well.
These are some examples of sentences using indirect speech
The present simple tense usually changes to the past simple
He said that he travelled a lot in his job | |
I play video games a lot | She said that he played video games a lot |
We run every morning | They said that they ran every morning |
I do yoga every weekend | She said that he did yoga every weekend |
The present continuous tense usually changes to the past continuous.
She said that her mom was cooking | |
My brother is watching TV | He said that his brother was watching TV |
My family is eating dinner | She said that her family was eating dinner |
I am doing Yoga | She said that she was doing yoga |
The past simple tense usually changes to the past perfect
My mom cooked dinner | She said that her mom had cooked dinner |
My brother watched a movie | He said that his brother had watched a movie |
My family just ate dinner | She said that her family just had eaten dinner |
I really enjoyed the party | |
Bill on Saturday | He said that Bill on Saturday |
The past continuous tense usually changes to the past perfect continuous.
She said that her mom had been cooking dinner | |
My brother was watching a movie | He said that his brother had been watching a movie |
My family was talking in the room | She said that her family had been talking in the room |
Derek was doing Yoga | She said that Derek was doing Yoga |
The present perfect tense usually changes to the past perfect tense
My mom has been kind | She said that her mom had always been kind |
My brother has worked hard | He said that his brother had worked hard |
My girlfriend has contributed a lot | He said that his girlfriend has contributed a lot |
My family has always helped | She said that her family had always helped |
The past perfect tense does not change
My mom had been kind | She said that her mom had always been kind |
My brother had worked hard | He said that his brother had worked hard |
He has played very well | He said that he had played very well |
My family had always helped | She said that her family had always helped |
‘ Can ’ and ‘can’t’ in direct speech change to ‘ could ’ and ‘ couldn’t ’
She said that her mom couldn’t remember his name | |
My brother can play soccer well | He said that his brother could play soccer well |
My family can help you a lot | She said that her family could help me a lot |
My mom can lend me money | She said that she could lend me money |
‘ Will ’ and ‘ won’t ’ in direct speech change to ‘ would ’ and ‘ wouldn’t ’
to my wedding | She said that her mom to her wedding |
My brother in my team | He said that his brother in her team |
My family me with some money | She said that her family her with some money |
She to Europe | She said that she to Europe |
Could and couldn’t doesn’t change
go to the wedding | She said that her mom go to the wedding |
My brother be in your team | He said that his brother be in your team |
My family help me out | She said that her family help me out |
Will ’ and ‘ won’t ’ in direct speech change to ‘ would ’ and ‘ wouldn’t ’
peech | |
the car next Friday | She said that she the car next Friday |
home | He said that he home |
I g in Norway | He said that he in Norway |
I exercises | He said that he exercises |
These are some online exercises to learn more about reported questions
Manuel Campos
I am Jose Manuel, English professor and creator of EnglishPost.org, a blog whose mission is to share lessons for those who want to learn and improve their English
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Direct Indirect Speech
Last updated at April 16, 2024 by Teachoo
If Direct Speech is Present Continuous−−>In indirect Form it becomes Past Continuous
Note:- In Direct Speech,we use "am going" (Present Continous) In Indirect Speech,we use "was going"(Past Continuous)
Father Said" I am driving"
Father said that he was driving
Teacher said" I am speaking to principal"
Teacher said that he was speaking to Principal
They said" We are shopping in Khan Market"
They said that they were shopping in khan market
She said" I am day dreaming"
She said that she was dreaming
The man said" The Politician is lying"
The man said that the politician was lying
The class monitor said" Students are fighting"
The class monitor said that students were fighting
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Back to: Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration)
Examples of narration change in present simple, present continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous are given below –
Table of Contents
If reported verb is in Past Tense, reported speech will change from Present Indefinite Tense to Past Indefinite Tense
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
---|---|
Virat said, “I play cricket.” | Virat said that he played cricket. |
Grandma said to me, “You are a good boy.” | Grandma said to me that I was a good boy. |
Suraj said to Raja, “we are good friends.” | Suraj said to Raja that they were good friends. |
I said, “I often go to park.” | I said that I often went to park. |
Ankur said, “I like to play video games.” | Ankur said that he liked to play video games. |
If reported verb is in Past Tense, reported speech will change from Present Continuous Tense to Past Continuous Tense .
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Direct Speech: Uzair said, "I am reading a great book." Original Statement: "We are going to the market," they announced. Direct Speech: "We are going to the market," they announced. Change the pronoun in the reporting verb: When changing the pronouns in sentences with the present continuous tense from direct speech to reported speech:
For direct and indirect speech complete rules click: Direct and indirect speech complete rules. Direct and Indirect of Present Continuous Tense. Tense Change As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense, therefore, when we report what someone is saying in present continuous we go one tense back. Instead we use past ...
Reported speech: direct speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
The direct question is in the present simple tense. We make a present simple question with 'do' or 'does' so I need to take that away. Then I need to change the verb to the past simple. Another example: Direct speech: Where is Julie? Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was. The direct question is the present simple of 'be'.
Present Continuous. Direct speech: I said, "I'm playing video games." Indirect speech: I said that I was playing video games (past continuous) or I said that I'm playing video games (present continuous). In this case, you'd likely use the first example if you were telling a story about something that happened in the past.
Zoya said, "I want to go there."; Reported verb: The verb which comes inside the reported speech is called reported verb, respectively. Zoya said, "I want to go there."; As we start writing any direct and indirect conversation, we often use reported verbs like "say, tell, ask, inform, instruct, claim, suggest, enquire, etc.". These reported verbs, whenever used in direct or ...
Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then. In this example, the pronoun "I" is changed to "she" and the adverb "now" is changed to "then.". 2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here's an example:
For example: Direct speech: I dislike fried chicken. Reported speech: She said she disliked fried chicken. Note how the main verb in the reported statement is also in the past tense verb form. Use the simple present tense in your indirect speech if the initial words remain relevant at the time of reporting.
Direct speech Indirect speech ; Present simple She said, "It's cold." › Past simple She said it was cold. Present continuous She said, "I'm teaching English online." › Past continuous She said she was teaching English online. Present perfect simple She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." › Past perfect simple She said she had been on ...
"I am feeling tired" (= Direct Speech) Present Continuous; She said she is feeling tired (= Indirect Speech) Present Continuous; However, as we are reporting what was said in the past, we often change the tense. This rule for this is related to backshifting, which means shifting back a tense. So the present will go back to the past.
Reported Speech — Present Continuous — Exercise 1. Change the direct speech into reported speech. Show example. 1. Justin, "Tom is writing an email to his friend.". Justin said (that). Tom was writing an email to his friend. 2. Fred, "Katie is wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans.".
In the above example, the present continuous tense "am studying" changes to the past continuous tense "was studying" in indirect speech. Change of Time and Place References. When reporting indirect speech, the time and place references may also change. For example: Direct speech: "I will meet you at the park tomorrow," said Tom.
We can see that I'm going in direct speech changes to I was going in reported speech. All tenses change to one step further in the past. In the above example, present continuous to past continuous. In this next example, we can see how present perfect changes to past perfect: Dave: I have seen that film. Dave said that he had seen that film.
English grammar exercise about reported speech with the present continuous tense. Login Contact Courses Membership Speaking Explanations Exercises Method. Reported Speech Exercise 10. Perfect English Grammar. This reported speech exercise looks at statements using the present continuous.
Here are the steps on how to do so: 1. Eliminate the quotation marks that enclose the relayed text. The quotation marks are the primary indication of a direct speech. Therefore, it is crucial to take them out if you are forming an indirect one. 2. Retain the tense of the reporting verb and add the word "that" after it.
Reported speech (Indirect Speech) is how we represent the speech of other people or what we ourselves say. Reported Speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. The structure of the independent clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question, or a command.
If Direct Speech is Present Continuous−−>In indirect Form it becomes Past ContinuousExampleDirect SpeechSister said" I am going to market"Indirect SpeechSister said that she was going to marketNote:-In Direct Speech,we use "am going" (Present Continous)In Indirect Speech,we use "was going"(Past Cont
Direct and Indirect Speech Simple Present Tense Examples. If reported verb is in Past Tense, reported speech will change from Present Indefinite Tense to Past Indefinite Tense. Direct Speech. Indirect Speech. Virat said, "I play cricket.". Virat said that he played cricket. Grandma said to me, "You are a good boy.".
Ella, "It's not raining." Ella remarked (that) . Jacob, "Riley is checking the computer." Jacob said (that) . Owen, "They aren't watching TV." Owen told me (that) . Nora, "He is learning Spanish words." Nora said (that) . Sentences in Reported speech in the Present Progressive in English in an Online Exercise.
Direct And Indirect Speech Present Continuous Tense Into Past Continuous Tense | WOKCRelevant Topics: 1. Direct indirect present continuous tense. 2. Direct ...
Direct Speech: Indirect Speech: Present Simple: I like ice cream. He said that he liked ice cream. Present Continuous: I am living in Paris. He said that he was living in Paris. Past Simple: I bought a car. He said he bought a car. Past Continuous: I was walking along the Street. He said he had been walking along the Street. Present Perfect
Direct and Indirect Speech Present Continuous Tense Exercises - In this section, you will play quiz on the Narration or Direct and Indirect Speech with Present Continuous Tense.