ESCOLA SECUNDÁRIA RAUL PROENÇA

2022/ 2023
Reported Speech - Explanation and Practice
11th form
September2022

Reported Speech (also known as indirect speech)

When do we use reported speech? Sometimes someone says a sentence, for example "I'm going to the
cinema tonight". Later, maybe we want to tell someone else what the first person said. Here's how it works:

We use a reporting verb like 'say' or 'tell'. If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put
'she/he says' and then the sentence.

 Direct speech: "I like ice cream". Reported speech: She says she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I'
to 'she/he', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.

On the other hand, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the
reported speech:

 Direct speech: "I like ice cream". Reported speech: She said she liked ice cream.

Take note: the structures of say and tell are different:

1. when using say, we cannot include an object: He said (that) he was leaving.

2. when using tell, we must include an object: He told John (that) he was leaving.

Now have a look at the following table on the verb tenses changes you have to bear in mind.

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

Present Simple Past Simple

“I often play tennis,” she said. She said (that) she often played tennis.

Present Continuous Past Continuous

"I am living in London," she said She said (that) she was living in London.
 Past Simple Past Perfect

“I stayed in Rome,” he said. He told me (that) he had stayed in Rome.

Present Perfect Past Perfect

“I haven't seen Julie,” Peter said. Peter said (that) he hadn't seen Julie.

*Past Perfect*Past Perfect

“Our taxi had just arrived,” James said. James told me their taxi had just arrived.

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

“I have been studying,” Ryan said. Ryan said (that) he had been studying.

Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

"I was walking along the street." She said she had been walking along the street.

Imperative (orders / requests) Infinitive

"Sit down, Jane!" (order) He told Jane to sit down.

" Close the window, please." (request) She asked me to close the window.

" Please, don't be late."(request) She asked me not to be late.

will  would

“I’ll wash the dishes,” Adam said. Adrian said (that) he would wash the dishes.

“I won't wash the dishes,” Adam said. Adrian said (that) he wouldn't wash the dishes.

can could

“I can swim well.” She said she could swim well.

"I can't swim well." She said she couldn't swim well.

must (obligation) had to

"I must study at the weekend." She said she had to study at the weekend.

mustn't (prohibition) shouldn't (mustn't)

 “You mustn’t touch that,” he said. He told me (that) I shouldn’t touch that.
OR
He told me (that) I mustn’t touch that.

*might*might
"I might be late." She said she might be late.

*could*could
"I could swim when I was four." She said she could swim when she was four.

*should*should
"I should call my mother." She said she should call her mother.

shall  would

"I shall come later." She said she would come later.

*would *would
"Iwould help, but...." She said she would help, but ....

*doesn't change.

Take note:

a. 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.

b. When we talk about places, if the direct speech statement includes here, it changes to there in the
reported version:

 Direct speech: “They make the best pizza here,” said Brandon.

Reported speech: Brandon said (that) they made the best pizza there.
c. In reported Speech, adverbs of time also change as follows:

now  then / at that time

today (tonight)  that day / that night
yesterday the day before / the previous day
tomorrow  the next day / the day after / the following day
last week the week before / the previous week
this morning that morning
next week  the following week
ago  before

Let's practice!
Change the following sentences from direct speech into reported speech:

1. “I am always in a bad mood on Monday mornings,” said Brian.

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2. “They were working last week,” she said.

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3. “I have been to Zimbabwe,” said Evelyn.

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4. “Isabella will give you a lift to the airport tomorrow,” he said.

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5. “Are you going to eat there?”, he wanted to know.

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6. “I can’t come to the party tonight, I have to study,” she said.

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7. “You mustn’t go near that cliff edge, it’s dangerous!” said Zoey.
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8. “You weren’t looking well yesterday,” Luke said.

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9.Dad warned us, "Don't touch the fresh paint !"
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10. The teacher explained to us, "The moon takes 28 days to go around the earth."
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