We use reported speech when ¡ PRESENT SIMPLE â PAST SIMPLE Personal pronouns change to the

we want to reproduce what ¡ PRESENT CONTINUOUS â PAST CONTINUOUS third person singular or plural, except
somebody says or said. When ¡ PAST SIMPLE âPAST PERFECT when the speaker reports his own
we report what somebody said ¡ PAST CONTINUOUS â PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS words:
in the past we have to change ¡ PRESENT PERFECT â PAST PERFECT
¡ PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS â PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
the tense(s) we use in I like your new bike”, Mary told him.
¡ PAST PERFECT â PAST PERFECT
reported speech. These tenses Mary told him that she liked his new
¡ PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS â PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
usually go one step back into ¡ SIMPLE FUTURE â PRESENT CONDITIONAL
bike.
the past. ¡ CAN â COULD “I have never been to the zoo”, I said
Ex: “I feel tired”, he said. ¡ MAY â MIGHT to my friend.
He said that he felt tired. ¡ MUST â MUST OR HAD TO I told my friend that I had never been
to the zoo.

We do not need to change the

tense if the reporting verb is in
Time/place references are also changed in reported speech: the present, or if the original In reported statements we often use
¡ TODAY â THAT DAY statement was about something the verbs “say” and “tell”. We use
¡ NOW â THEN that is still true: 'say' when there is no indirect object:
¡ YESTERDAY â THE DAY BEFORE “Mary wants to go to the disco”, He said that he was tired.
¡ TOMORROW â THE NEXT DAY Peter says. Always use 'tell' when you say who
¡ NEXT WEEK/MONTH â THE FOLLOWING WEEK/MONTH was being spoken to (i.e. with an
¡ LAST WEEK/MONTH â THE WEEK/MONTH BEFORE Peter says that Mary wants to go indirect object):
¡ AGO â BEFORE to the disco. He told me that he was tired.
¡ THIS (TIME) â THAT “Mary’s boyfriend lives in Paris”, When we use “say” with an indirect
¡ THIS/THAT / + NOUN â THE + NOUN Sue told me. object we must use the preposition
¡ HERE â THERE “to” before the indirect object:
¡ GO â COME Sue told me that Mary’s He said to me that she was very
boyfriend lives in Paris. happy to be with him.

Put the following statements into reported speech. Use the

introductory verb in the past. Then, match the sentences with the
right picture.

1. “Mary and Paul are going to get married next week”, Jim said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. “If Mum has time, she will make a cake for your birthday”, she said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. “I often ask my father to help me with my homework”, Bill said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. “He spent the afternoon reading before his wife arrived”, Mary said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. “I´m very happy because I have just got my driving license”, I said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. “We have been shopping this afternoon”, my friends said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. “If she accepts me, we will get married in June”, Peter told me.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. “Dave says he loves playing computer games”, my brother told me.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. “I can´t go to the party. I’ve got a terrible headache”, Jim said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. “Bill’s father gets angry when his son arrives late”, they said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. “She doesn’t like doing the housework. She says it is boring”, I said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
12. “John got a big present for his last birthday!, his brother said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13. “My father must travel a lot because he’s a salesman”, she said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
14. “He’s got the biggest nose I have ever seen”, Marta said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
15. “If he drives so fast, he will have an accident”, his friend said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16. “He studied very hard and got an excellent mark”, his teacher said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. “I want to be a basketball player when I grow up”, Tim said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
18. “There are three people waiting at the bus stop”, she said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
We use reported speech when
we want to reproduce what
somebody says or said. When
we report what somebody said
in the past we have to change
the tense(s) we use in
reported speech. These tenses
usually go one step back into
the past.
Ex: “I feel tired”, he said.
He said that he felt tired.
¡ PRESENT SIMPLE â PAST SIMPLE Personal pronouns change to the
¡ PRESENT CONTINUOUS â PAST CONTINUOUS third person singular or plural, except
¡ PAST SIMPLE âPAST PERFECT when the speaker reports his own
¡ PAST CONTINUOUS â PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS words:
¡ PRESENT PERFECT â PAST PERFECT
¡ PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS â PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
I like your new bike”, Mary told him.
¡ PAST PERFECT â PAST PERFECT
Mary told him that she liked his new
¡ PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS â PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
¡ SIMPLE FUTURE â PRESENT CONDITIONAL
bike.
¡ CAN â COULD “I have never been to the zoo”, I said
¡ MAY â MIGHT to my friend.
¡ MUST â MUST OR HAD TO I told my friend that I had never been
to the zoo.

We do not need to change the

tense if the reporting verb is in
Time/place references are also changed in reported speech: the present, or if the original In reported statements we often use
¡ TODAY â THAT DAY statement was about something the verbs “say” and “tell”. We use
¡ NOW â THEN that is still true: 'say' when there is no indirect object:
¡ YESTERDAY â THE DAY BEFORE “Mary wants to go to the disco”, He said that he was tired.
¡ TOMORROW â THE NEXT DAY Peter says. Always use 'tell' when you say who
¡ NEXT WEEK/MONTH â THE FOLLOWING WEEK/MONTH was being spoken to (i.e. with an
¡ LAST WEEK/MONTH â THE WEEK/MONTH BEFORE Peter says that Mary wants to go indirect object):
¡ AGO â BEFORE to the disco. He told me that he was tired.
¡ THIS (TIME) â THAT “Mary’s boyfriend lives in Paris”, When we use “say” with an indirect
¡ THIS/THAT / + NOUN â THE + NOUN Sue told me. object we must use the preposition
¡ HERE â THERE “to” before the indirect object:
¡ GO â COME Sue told me that Mary’s He said to me that she was very
boyfriend lives in Paris. happy to be with him.

Put the following statements into reported speech. Use the

introductory verb in the past. Then, match the sentences with the
right picture.

1. “Mary and Paul are going to get married next week”, Jim said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. “If Mum has time, she will make a cake for your birthday”, she said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. “I often ask my father to help me with my homework”, Bill said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. “He spent the afternoon reading before his wife arrived”, Mary said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. “I´m very happy because I have just got my driving license”, I said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. “We have been shopping this afternoon”, my friends said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. “If she accepts me, we will get married in June”, Peter told me.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. “Dave says he loves playing computer games”, my brother told me.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. “I can´t go to the party. I’ve got a terrible headache”, Jim said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. “Bill’s father gets angry when his son arrives late”, they said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. “She doesn’t like doing the housework. She says it is boring”, I said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
12. “John got a big present for his last birthday!, his brother said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13. “My father must travel a lot because he’s a salesman”, she said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
14. “He’s got the biggest nose I have ever seen”, Marta said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
15. “If he drives so fast, he will have an accident”, his friend said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16. “He studied very hard and got an excellent mark”, his teacher said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. “I want to be a basketball player when I grow up”, Tim said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
18. “There are three people waiting at the bus stop”, she said.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………