Reported Speech

We can report people's words by using direct speech or reported speech.

→ Direct speech is the exact words someone used. We use quotation marks ('') in direct speech.
For example:
-​ I'm tired,' Helen said.

→ Reported speech is the exact meaning of what someone said, but not the exact words. We do
not use quotation marks in reported speech. We can either use the word after the introductory verb
(say, tell, etc.) or we can omit it.

Personal pronouns, possessive adjectives/ possessive pronouns change according to the meaning
of the sentence. For example:
-​ Helen said (that) she was tired.

We can report someone's words either a long time after they were said (out-of-date-reporting) or a
short time after they were said (up-to-date-reporting).

We can use the verbs say and tell both in direct and reported speech.

Say is used with or without a personal object. When used with a personal object, it is always
followed by the preposition to (said to me). For example:
-​ He said, 'I'm cold.'
-​ He said (that) he was cold.
-​ He said to me, 'I'm cold.
-​ He said to me (that) he was cold.

Tell is always followed by a personal object (told me). For example:

-​ He told me, 'I'm cold.
-​ He told me (that) he was cold.

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Expressions with say and tell:

SAY TELL

-​ say good morning/afternoon etc, -​ the truth,

-​ say something/nothing etc, -​ a lie,
-​ say a prayer -​ a secret,
-​ say so -​ a story,
-​ say a few words, etc. -​ a joke,
-​ the time,
-​ the difference,
-​ sb one's name,
-​ sb the way,
-​ one from another,
-​ one's fortune,
-​ sb so. etc.

1- Reported Statements

➔​ Verb tenses and time expressions change in reported speech:

a) when the introductory verb is in a past tense. For example:
-​ I'm moving to a new flat next week,' she said.
-​ She said (that) she was moving to a new flat the following week.

b) in out-of-date reporting. For example:

-​ (Monday 2 May) Mike said, 'I borrowed some money from my parents.
-​ (Thursday 5 May) Mike said (that) he had borrowed some money from his parents.

c) when we consider what the speaker says to be untrue. For example:

-​ 'Paula and I are best friends,' Jack said to me.
-​ Jack said to me that he and Paula were best friends, but Paula had never actually
met him.

➔​ Tense change as follows:

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Present Simple Past Simple

“I need a new car,” Greg said. Greg said (that) he needed a new car.

Present Continuous Past Continuous

“He’s sleeping,” she said. She said (that) he was sleeping.

Present Perfect Past Perfect

“I’ve already seen this film,” he said. He said (that) he had already seen the film.

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 Past Simple Past Simple or Past Perfect

“I got up late,” Tonia said. Tonia said (that) she (had) got up late.

Past Continuous Past Continuous or Past Perfect Continuous

“I was working at four o’clock,” Tim said. Tim said (that) he was working / had been
working at four o’clock.

Future (will) Conditional (would)

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Rea said. Rea said (that) she would call me the
following day.

The past perfect and past perfect continuous remain the same.

➔​ Some words and time expressions change according to the meaning of the sentence:

Direct Reported

now then, at that time, immediately

today / tonight that day / that night

yesterday the day before, the previous day

tomorrow the next day, the following day

this week that week

last week the week before, the previous

week

next week the week after, the following week

two days ago two days before

here there

come go

➔​ When this/these are used in time expressions, they change to that/those.​

e.g. this week → that week​
these days → those days

When this/these/that/those are not used in time expressions, they change as follows:

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 ●​ As adjectives → they change to the when they are followed by a noun. ​
e.g. “This film is boring,” Claire told me.​
Claire told me (that) the film was boring.​

●​ As pronouns (not followed by a noun) → they change to it/they/them​

e.g. “This is an unusual situation,” Dad said.​
Dad said (that) it was an unusual situation.​

➔​ Modal Verbs change as follows:

Direct Speech → Reported Sp Examples

will → would “One day I’ll be able to afford a car,” he said.

He said (that) one day he would be able to afford a
car.

can → could “I can speak French,” he said.

He said (that) he could speak French.

can (future) → could / would “We can meet tomorrow,” he said.

be able to He said (that) we could/would be able to meet the
next day.

may → might “I may call you,” he said.

He said (that) he might call us.

shall → should (asking for “When shall I come?”

advice) He asked when he should come.
→ offer (making an offer) “Shall I help you?”
He offered to help me.

must → must / had to “You must finish this,” he said.

(obligation) He said (that) I must/had to finish it.

needn’t → needn’t / didn’t “You needn’t pay in cash,” he said.

need to / didn’t have to He said (that) I needn’t/didn’t need to/didn’t have to
pay in cash.

Would, could, might, should, ought, had better, used to, and mustn’t do not change.​
Must does not change when it expresses a logical assumption.

●​ “I might talk to her,” Danny said.​

→ Danny said (that) he might talk to her.​

●​ “You must be tired,” Paul told Susan.​

→ Paul told Susan (that) she must be tired.

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➔​ Conditionals in Reported Speech

Type 1 – The present simple becomes past simple in the if-clause, and will becomes would in the
main clause.

Example:​
“If you ask Liz, she’ll help you,” he said.​
He said (that) if I asked Liz, she would help me.

Types 2 & 3 – Tenses do not change.

a) “If I had more time, I would take up a hobby,” Eric said to me.​
Eric told me (that) if he had more time, he would take up a hobby.

b) “If I hadn’t parked my car on a double yellow line, I wouldn’t have got a ticket,” Sam said.​
Sam said (that) if he hadn’t parked his car, he wouldn’t have got a ticket.

➔​ The verb tenses remain the same in reported speech when the Introductory Verb is in
Present, Future, or Present Perfect
●​ “Dinner is ready,” Mum says.​
Mum says (that) dinner is ready.​

➔​ We use the present tense of the introductory verb when:

●​ a) We pass on messages.​
e.g. Debbie says she needs the car tonight.​

●​ b) We report content while reading a letter, article, etc.​

e.g. The article says that people use too much water.​

●​ c) We refer to something someone says often.​

e.g. Mum often says that I shouldn’t talk to strangers.​

➔​ The verb tenses can either change or remain the same in:
●​ up-to-date reporting​

●​ when reporting a general truth or law of nature. Eg:​

“The teacher said, ‘Paris is the capital of France.’”​
The teacher said (that) Paris is/was the capital of France.

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2- Reported Questions

We form reported questions using the same tense and word changes as in reported statements.
However:

➔​ The question word order changes to statement word order.

➔​ We do not use a question mark.
➔​ We use if/whether when there is no question word (i.e., yes/no questions).

Reported questions are usually introduced with the verbs ask, inquire, wonder, or the expression
want to know.

➔​ The verb is in the affirmative.

➔​ The question mark and words/expressions such as please, well, oh, etc. are omitted.
➔​ The verb tenses, pronouns, and time expressions change as in reported statements.

For example:
“What did you make for dinner yesterday?” Bob asked me.
Bob asked me what I had made for dinner the day before.

When the direct question begins with a question word (who, where, how old, how long, when, why,
what, etc.), the reported question is introduced with the same question word.

For example:​
​ “Why do you want to leave your job?” Pam asked me.​
​ Pam asked me why I wanted to leave my job.

When the direct question begins with an auxiliary verb (is, do, have) or a modal verb (can, may,
etc.), the reported question begins with if or whether.

For examples:​
​ “Do you like rock music?” he asked us.​
​ He asked us if/whether we liked rock music.

“Can you ride a motorcycle?” Ben asked David.​

Ben asked David if/whether he could ride a motorcycle.

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3- Reported Commands, Requests, and Suggestions

To report commands, instructions, requests, or suggestions in reported speech, we use an

appropriate introductory verb such as: ask, order, beg, suggest, tell, etc.

The verb that follows may take a to-infinitive, an -ing form or a that-clause, depending on the
introductory verb

For example:
a) “Stop the car!” the policeman said to him.​
The policeman ordered him to stop the car.

b) “Put all the ingredients in a bowl,” she said to me.

She told me to put all the ingredients in a bowl.

c) “Will you please hold this bag for me?” Laura said to Helen.
Laura asked Helen to hold the bag for her.

d) “How about going to the cinema?” I said to them.

I suggested going to the cinema.

Introductory Verbs

Verb + to inf Direct Speech Reported Speech

agree “Yes, I’ll lend you the He agreed to lend me the money.
money.”

claim “I saw the robbers.” He claimed to have seen the robbers.

demand “Give me the money.” He demanded to be given the money.

offer “Would you like me to help He offered to help me.

you?”

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promise “I’ll return the book to you He promised to return the book soon.
soon.”

refuse “No, I won’t call her.” He refused to call her.

threaten “Stop shouting or I’ll punish He threatened to punish her if she didn’t
you.” stop shouting.

Verb + sb + Direct Speech Reported Speech

to-inf

advise “You should eat more fruit.” He advised me to eat more fruit.

allow “You can go to the party.” He allowed me to go to the party.

ask “Could you do me a favour?” He asked me to do him a favour.

beg “Please, please don’t hurt He begged them not to hurt him.
me.”

command “Put your hands up.” He commanded them to put their hands
up.

forbid “You mustn’t stay out late.” He forbade me to stay out late.

invite “Will you come to my He invited me to go to his wedding.

wedding?”

order “Go to your room!” He ordered me to go to my room.

remind “Don’t forget to buy some He reminded me to buy some milk.

milk.”

warn “Don’t touch the iron.” He warned me not to touch the iron.

Verb + ing Direct Speech Reported Speech

accuse sb of “You committed the He accused her of committing/having

crime.” committed the crime.

admit (to) “Yes, I gave away your He admitted (to) giving/having given away
secret.” my secret.

apologise for “I’m sorry I’m late.” He apologised for being late.

boast “I’m the best student in He boasted about/of being the best student
about/of my class.” in his class.

complain to “I have noisy He complained of having noisy neighbours.

sb of neighbours.”

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deny “No, I didn’t use your He denied using/having used my computer.
computer.”

insist on “You must finish by He insisted on me/my finishing by Friday.

Friday.”

suggest “Let’s go out to dinner.” He suggested going out to dinner.

Verb + Direct Speech Reported Speech

that-clause

boast “I’m very rich.” He boasted that he was very rich.

claim “I won a prize.” He claimed that he had won a prize.

promise “I’ll call.” He promised that he would call.

remind “You have a meeting this He reminded me that I had a meeting that
afternoon.” afternoon.

threaten “I’ll leave.” He threatened that he would leave.

admit “I was wrong.” He admitted that he was wrong.

complain “I don’t earn enough He complained that he didn't earn enough

money.” money.

deny “I didn’t take the money.” He denied that he had taken the money.

insist “You must work on He insisted that I (should) work on

Saturday.” Saturday.

suggest “We should take out a He suggested that we (should) take out a
loan.” loan.

explain “I don’t like him because She explained that she didn’t like him
he’s rude.” because he was rude.

inform sb “The results will come out He informed us that the results would come
tomorrow.” out the next day.

exclaim / “What a glorious day!” He exclaimed/remarked that it was a

remark glorious day.

Verb to sb how Direct Speech Reported Speech

explain to sb “That’s how it works.” He explained to us how it worked.

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4- Exclamations, Short Answers, and Question Tags in Reported Speech

➢​ We use the verbs exclaim or say that to report exclamations beginning with "What a/an..." or
"How..." in direct speech.

●​ “What an unusual design!” he said.​

→ He exclaimed/said that it was an unusual design.​
→ He exclaimed/said that the design was unusual.​

For short exclamations such as “Splendid!”, “Great!”, “Good!”, “Excellent!”, “Oh!”, “Oh dear!”,
etc., we use the expression “give an exclamation of + emotion” (delight, disgust, relief,
surprise, etc.)

●​ “Wow!” he said as he unwrapped his gift.​

→ He gave an exclamation of surprise as he unwrapped his gift.​

➢​ Some expressions in direct speech are reported using specific verbs. Study the following
examples:
●​ a) “Thank you,” they said.​
→ They thanked us.​

●​ b) “You fool!” she said.​

→ She called him a fool.​

●​ c) “Happy Birthday!” we said to Tamzin.​

→ We wished Tamzin a happy birthday.​

●​ d) “Congratulations!” they said to us.​

→ They congratulated us.​

➢​ Short answers in reported speech are expressed using subject + appropriate auxiliary
verb or an introductory verb like agree, refuse, etc.

●​ “Will you help me decorate the cake?” she asked him.​

“Yes,” he said.​
→ She asked him to help her decorate the cake, and he said he would / he agreed.​

➢​ Question tags are omitted in reported speech. Instead, we use an appropriate introductory
verb to convey the speaker’s intention.

●​ “You won’t tell anyone, will you?” she said to him.​

→ She asked him not to tell anyone.​

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5- Reporting a Dialogue

When reporting a dialogue (a series of sentences), we often combine statements, questions,

requests, etc. using:
●​ and, as, because, since, while, then, but
●​ adding that, (he/she) added that,
●​ and then (he/she) went on to say (that),
●​ or introductory verbs in -ing form (offering, begging, explaining, etc.)

For example:
a) “I’m exhausted,” she said to him. “Can you make me a cup of tea?”​
→ She exclaimed that she was exhausted and asked him to make her a cup of tea.

b) “I’ll take a taxi home. It’s getting late,” he said.​

→ He said that he would take a taxi home because/since/as it was getting late.

c) Mr Adams: Can I talk to Mr Stephens?​

Secretary: I’m sorry, but he’s not here. Would you like me to take a message?​
Mr Adams: No, thank you. I need to see him in person.
→ Mr Adams asked to speak to Mr Stephens. His secretary said that Mr Stephens wasn’t
there and offered to take a message. Mr Adams declined, explaining that he needed to
see him in person.

6- Punctuation in Directed Speech

➢​ We put the speaker's words in quotation marks and we capitalise the first word of the direct
speech.
➢​ When the speaker is mentioned before the direct speech, we put the comma outside the
quotation marks.
➢​ When the speaker is mentioned after the direct speech, we put the comma inside the
quotation marks.

For example:
He said, 'I love Paris in the winter.
OR
'I love Paris in the winter,' he said.

➢​ If the direct speech is a question and the person being spoken to comes after it, we put a
question mark and not a comma.

For example:
'Shall we go now?' he asked her.
OR
He asked her, 'Shall we go now?'

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