reported speech negative

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Reported speech - indirect speech

• English year 1
• English year 2
• English year 3
• English year 4
• You are learning...
• Reported Speech
• 01 Reported Speech rules
• 02 Pronouns change
• 03 Pronouns change
• 04 Change place and time
• 05 Simple Present
• 06 Introduction Simple Pres.
• 07 Backshift
• 08 Backshift Tenses
• 09 Simple Past negative
• 10 Simple Past negative
• 11 Questions
• 12 Questions
• 13 Past - Past Perfect
• 14 Past - Past Perfect
• 15 Past Perfect negative
• 16 Past Perfect negative
• 17 with-out question word
• 18 with-out question word
• 19 Perfect Past Perfect
• 20 Perfect - Past Perfect
• 21 Perfect - Past Perfect
• 22 Perfect - Past Perfect
• 23 Questions without qw.
• 24 Questions with qw.
• 25 will - would
• 26 Will-Future
• 27 Will-Future negative
• 28 Will-Future negatives
• 29 Will-Future Questions
• 30 Will-Future will - would
• 31 Commands
• 32 Commands Reported
• 33 Commands negative
• 34 Commands negative
• 35 Mixed exercises
• 37 Questions all tenses
• 38 Questions all tenses
• 39 Commands all tenses
• 40 Commands all tenses
• 41 all forms all tenses
• 42 all forms all tenses
• 43 Change place and time
• 44 Change place and time
• 45 Test Reported Speech
• English Tenses
• Simple Present Tense
• Simple past Tense
• Present perfect
• Past Perfect
• Simple Future
• Future Perfect
• Going-to-Future
• Continuous Tenses
• Present Continuous
• Past Continuous
• Present perfect Progr.
• Past Perfect Continuous
• Simple Future Continuous
• Future 2 Continuous
• Comparison of Tenses
• Passive exercises
• If clauses - Conditional

Reported speech negatives

Reported speech - negatives.

Ann said that she wanted coke. Ann said that she did n`t want coke. Tom said that he was ill. Tom said that he was n't ill.

English Reported speech exercises

Reported speech - indirect speech with free online exercises, Reported speech - indirect speech examples and sentences. Online exercises Reported speech - indirect speech, questions and negative sentences.

Online exercises English grammar and courses Free tutorial Reported speech - indirect speech with exercises. English grammar easy to learn.

Reported commands, negations – Exercise 2

Task no. 2329.

Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

Peter, "Don't clean the black shoes!" Peter told me  

Peter told me not to clean the black shoes .

Do you need help?

Reported commands and requests in English

• Karen, "Don't play football in the garden!" Karen told me .
• Teacher, "Don't forget your homework!" The teacher reminded me .
• Mike, "Don't shout at Peter!" Mike told me .
• Yvonne, "Don't talk to your neighbour!" Yvonne told me .
• Denise, "Don't open the door!" Denise told me .
• Marcel, "Don't sing that song!" Marcel reminded me .
• Jane, "Don't watch the new film!" Jane advised me .
• Walter, "Don't ring Romy on Sunday!" Walter told me .
• Lisa, "Don't fly via Paris!" Lisa advised me .
• Jamie, "Don't eat so much junk food!" Jamie reminded me .
• You are here:
• Grammar Exercises
• Reported Speech

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Exercises on reported speech.

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

• present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
• place and time expressions
• tenses (backshift)

→ more on statements in reported speech

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

Also note that you have to:

• transform the question into an indirect question
• use the interrogative or if / whether

→ more on questions in reported speech

→ more on requests in reported speech

Additional Information and Exeptions

Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:

• main clauses connected with and / but
• tense of the introductory clause
• reported speech for difficult tenses
• exeptions for backshift
• requests with must , should , ought to and let’s

→ more on additional information and exeptions in reported speech

Statements in Reported Speech

• no backshift – change of pronouns
• no backshift – change of pronouns and places
• with backshift
• with backshift and change of place and time expressions

Questions in Reported Speech

Requests in reported speech.

• Exercise 1 – requests (positive)
• Exercise 2 – requests (negative)
• Exercise 3 – requests (mixed)

Mixed Exercises on Reported Speech

• Exercise on reported speech with and without backshift

Grammar in Texts

• „ The Canterville Ghost “ (highlight direct speech and reported speech)

Reported speech

Speech can be direct and indirect, or reported. 

When you express your thought orally or in writing, it is direct speech. We usually put it in quotes.

When you communicate what someone else said, it is reported speech.

Reported statements

Sue: "I am hungry."

Sue says (that)  she is hungry.

To transfer a positive or a negative sentence to reported speech, we need two parts:

• the main part (she says that... / he claims that... / they deny that...),
• the dependent part which is the transformed direct speech.

Pay attention

In the reported speech, we must replace the pronouns. Otherwise, we won't keep the meaning.

Mary: "I am glad to help you!"

Mary says she is glad to help me . BUT NOT Mary says I am glad to help you.

You should also be careful with  time indicators (today, now, next week etc.) not to lose the idea of the original direct statement.

The word  that  can be used or left out, both options are correct.

Backshift of tenses in reported speech

When we have a sentence that consists of the main and the dependent part we need to be careful with the verb tenses. The tense in the main part affects the tense in the dependent part. This is called backshifting.

If the main part is in the present simple (e.g., "she says...", "he tells me..."), the dependent part remains unchanged.

John: "I have just got up."

John says he has just got up. "Says" is the present simple → no backshifting

If the main part is in the  past simple, we have to do the backshifting. Its basic principle is that the past simple in the main part "pushes" the tense of the dependent part one step back in time. This way we balance both parts of the sentence.

You can view the topic ' reported statements ' with an explanation and exercises.

Reported questions

If the direct question began with a question word (when, what, how, why and so on), then in the reported speech:

• the sentence changes from question to positive, with a direct word order
• we need to do the backshifting if we have the past simple in the main part

"Why did you leave the door open?" → She asked me why I had left the door open.

"Where have you been?" → She asked me where I had been.

If the direct question didn't have a question word (it was a yes/no question), we add the word "if" to transform it into reported speech. The rules of backshifting are the same.

"Will it rain tomorrow?" → They wanted to know if it would rain the next day.

"Can I lend your pen for a second?" → I asked if I could lend his pen for a second.

You can also view the topic ' reported questions ' for a detailed explanation and exercises.

Reported requests and demands

If we want to transform somebody's demand or request into reported speech, we say:

• tell somebody to do something — for reported commands
• ask somebody to do something — for reported requests

If the imperative was negative (don't go, don't do), we put "not" before "to":  tell somebody not to do something.

"Do not cross the red line, please!" → The officer told us not to cross the red line.

"Could you put the flowers in the vase, please?" → She asked me to put the flowers in the vase.

You can also view the topic ' reported requests & demands ' for a detailed explanation and exercises.

Reported Requests

A request is when somebody asks you to do something – usually politely. Reported requests are one form of reported speech .

We usually introduce reported requests with the verb "ask". The structure is very simple:

• We asked the man to help us.
• They asked us to wait.

Because we use the infinitive there is no need to worry about tense. But as with reported statements and reported questions , we may need to change pronouns as well as time and place in reported requests.

Here are some examples:

Contributor: Josef Essberger

Reported Speech. Affirmative and Negative Sentences (say, tell, ask, etc.)

Communicative Function

• Revision of the formation and uses of the past participle and present perfect.

Presentation / Objective

Do you get home and tell your family how your day was, do you talk to your friends about the latest news.

These are examples of real uses of Reported speech in everyday situations.

Through this topic, you will learn how to use reported speech in negatives sentences as well as using reporting verbs to express the ideas.

This topic is quite essential because its use is widespread in the daily use of the English Language.

Along with the topic, you will work with the four skills as follows.

So let’s start!

By the end of this topic, you will: Be able to use Reported Speech from conversations and ideas from a third person to transmit them in its negative form.

Let’s start reporting, shall we?

Brian. (2014). Reinventing the Wheel: Shakespeare for Community Theaters. Tomada de: http://ticketpeak.com/blog/blog/reinventing-the-wheel-shakespeare-for-community-theatres/#sthash.RbtGugYf.dpbs

• What did he say?
• He said he couldn’t find the words so he would invent new ones.
• The law is not very difficult to understand.
• I said the law was not very difficult to understand.

Check the following chart to get to know this critical topic.

• Reported Speech.
• Uses of reported speech.
• Verbs used in reported speech: Say.
• Verbs used in reported speech: Tell

In English, we have two ways of repeating what another person said.

When you report people’s words, you can give exact words; this is called “direct speech.”

You can also report someone’s ideas or words as part of your sentence; this is “reported speech”.

Foammi, J. (2016). Hermanas. Tomada de: https://pixabay.com/es/ni%C3%B1as-chismes-mujeres-la-moda-1733357/

We can use reported speech in a variety of situations, for example:

• Re-telling a story.
• Giving the news.

You use say when You don’t want to mention the person who is listening to the information.

Note: If you want to mention the person who is listening to the information, you need to use the preposition “TO”

• He said to the journalists that Mexican women had a moustache.
• She said to him it was not true.

NA. (2015). Llamada. Tomado de: https://pixabay.com/es/hablar-tel%C3%A9fono-la-comunicaci%C3%B3n-845619/

The following common reporting verbs follow the same pattern as  SAY

verb + (that) + clause

Admit Answer Agree Confirm Deny Suggest Mention Insist

(ELT base, 2008-2016)

Altmann, G. (2013). Parley. Tomado de: https://pixabay.com/es/intercambio-de-ideas-debate-222788/

We use tell when we want to mention the person who is listening to the information or receiving it.

• He told the journalists that Mexican women had a moustache.
• She told him it was not true.
• The following common verbs follow the same pattern as TELL

verb + direct object + (that) + clause

advise convince promise warn

When you report it is necessary to pay attention to some aspects

• The sentences change.
• The person talking.
• The place and time expressions.
• In the case of the question, the order of the sentence.
• Sentence Changes
• Person changes
• Time changes
• Negative sentences

Remember you have to consider logical changes. If you are reporting the information and you are the person or included in the group who did the action, you may not need to make any change.

When we report negative sentences it is necessary to remember they are not negatives to the person you are talking to, you are just telling that person that somebody denied something.

In these sentences you can use auxiliary verbs.

Direct: I didn’t say anything yesterday

Indirect: The student said he didn’t say anything the day before.

What did you say yesterday?

Direct: I don’t know what I said but I deny everything. I wasn’t thinking

Indirect: She said she didn’t know what she said but she denied everything. She said she wasn’t thinking .

Letter from Colette to Jason.

Colette and Jason are a famous couple. They were so renowned in the ’80s that they were usually on the front page of magazines. Unfortunately, one morning Colette was murdered, and the prime suspect was Jason.

Colette wrote the following letter to Jason a few days before her death. You will practice your reading comprehension.

Read the letter and answer the questions, explain your answers.

Click here for the reading: A letter from Colette to Jason.

Now answer to the following questions, in the end, you will know your performance.

Reading Activity

The myths and truths about america’s sweethearts..

The next conversation took place at a psychologist practice during Jason and Colette’s session, you will practice your understanding of Reported Speech, negative sentences by reporting only 5 negative ideas from the conversation above. Before you send your activity make sure it has the following characteristics.

• I selected only 5 sentences.
• I made the appropriate changes in the verbs.
• My sentences are in negative.
• I used told/said according to each sentence.

Jason: Hello! (1) You don’t look well. Colette: (2) I am not feeling ok. Jason: (3) I have not seen you like this before. Colette: (4) I haven’t felt this broken ever. Jason: Is there anything I can do for you? (5) I wouldn’t like to thing I am responsible of your pain. Colette: (6) You are not. Jason: Good. (7) I won’t say I’m perfect but I want to try. Colette: (8) You can’t know how much I love you. Jason: (9) No, I can’t but I will try to love you just as much.

To post your contribution, click on the Add assignment button. A word processor will appear and you can type your activity or answer. Once you finished, save your work by clicking on the Save changes button.

As we mentioned before, Jason and Colette were the most famous couple in America. In the next exercise, decide if the following statements are True or False by choosing the appropriate option according to the reading. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.

The Jason Thompson murder case.

You will listen to a news show commenting on Jason Thompson's case. Through this activity, you will practice your listening comprehension, and the topic reviewed along with the unit, then decide if the sentences are True (T) or False (F).

To hear the audio click here:

Listening Activity

What is the information told by the media.

Along with the exercises you have noticed about the sad story of Jason and Colette. Change the following sentences from the audio into reported speech. Be careful to make the appropriate changes.

Re-telling your favourite scene.

Re-tell your favourite scene from a movie or TV show. Reported Speech will help you re-tell what other people said. You do not have to use reported Speech all the way, but you have to use it when you mention their dialogues. Use between 120 – 150 words.

Look at the following example:

My Favorite movie

E.G. My favorite movie is “Kill Bill” by Quentin Tarantino. The title sounds very vindictive but everything is so exaggerated that it is actually funny. My favorite part is when Daryl Hannah dresses as a nurse and talks to Uma Thurman while she is in a comma.

Daryl Hannah said she might never have liked Uma. She said that in fact she despised her but that shouldn’t suggest Daryl didn’t respect her.

Daryl Hannah said to Uma that dying in their sleep was a luxury for their kind (they are assassins) while she was inserting a needle in Uma’s intravenous line she receives a call from her boss Bill. He told her Daryl should leave the hospital and she had to wait for further instructions.

Please, check your activity, make sure it has the characteristics of the following checklist:

• 6 mistakes deduct one point.

After typing your activity on a word processor, save it to your computer.  Click on the Submit button and browse the file in your computer.  Click on Upload this file and press the Save changes button.

Read the letter attached below which was written by Colette Tompson to her husband to learn new vocabulary from context and drag the highlighted words or phrases to the following meanings.

Click here for the reading: A letter from Colette to Jason

Once you finished, begin your activity. Drag the different options to the appropriate spaces to complete the sentences. You have two attempts to answer the exercise.  You can know your score at the end of the exercise.

Writing Activity

Colette's 911 call of 1993..

Here you can listen to the complete audio with all the verbs!

Remember to consider all the appropriate changes. You will practice everything checked in this topic. The following are excerpts from the two 911 calls Colette Brown Thompson made to police on Oct. 25, 1993, from her townhouse.

Report what they said.

DISPATCHER: What does he look like?

COLETTE: He's Jason Thompson. You don't know that! Could you send somebody over here?

DISPATCHER: What is he doing there?

COLETTE: I don't know.

DISPATCHER: Can you wait a minute? What kind of car is he in?

COLETTE: No, I can't! He is not in a car. He's in a white Bronco.

(Jack Walraven, 1993)

Once you have finished reading the dialogue, record yourself reporting the facts.

Make sure it has the following characteristics and the aspects described in the rubric:

• Consider the correct use of the reported sentences.
• Pay attention to the changes of person, time and place that apply.
• Be careful with the intonation given to the sentences. Remember “The way you say it is as important as what you say.”

Listen to the following example:

Self-assessment

Activity 2.

Reported speech self-evaluation

In the exercise below, you will practice the changes you must do while reporting sentences.

You must drag the words in the box to the correct space to complete the text coherently. There are two extra options.

When you finish press submit to check your answers.

When I was younger, you couldn’t watch the television without catching something about Jason Thompson, who was a massive football star at the end of the ’80s, but I am not a huge fan of sports, so I am not sure, anyway.

Self-assessment 1

Colette's 911 call of 1993

The following are excerpts from the two 911 calls Colette Brown Tompson made to police on Oct. 25, 1993, from her townhouse.

Self-assessment 2

Basic references.

ELT base. (2016). ELT base . Obtenido de http://www.eltbase.com/notes.php?id=59 Jack Walraven. (1993).   The Simpson Trial Transcripts. Recuperado de http://simpson.walraven.org/index.html

Complementary references

Perfect English Grammar. (2016).  Reported Speech. Taken from: http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/reported-speech.html English Lessons4u. (2015). Grammar: Learn to use reported speech in English . URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcnVMh0tR9w Teacher PhilEnglish. (2015). Changing Direct into Indirect Speech. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew4YHmNigRs Lopera, A. (2015). Reported Speech explicado de forma sencilla. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLFqFIjelFg

How do you write suggestions, advice, promises, etc. in reported speech in English? - Easy Learning Grammar

• suggest, insist on     + present participle
• advise, invite, warn     + direct object +  not  +  to  infinitive
• refuse, threaten     +  to  infinitive
• offer, promise     +  to  infinitive

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Score: 0 / 5

• B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech: questions

Do you know how to report a question that somebody asked? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how we can tell someone what another person asked.

direct speech: 'Do you work from home?' he said. indirect speech: He asked me if I worked from home. direct speech: 'Who did you see?' she asked. indirect speech: She asked me who I'd seen. direct speech: 'Could you write that down for me?' she asked. indirect speech: She asked me to write it down.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 2: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

A reported question is when we tell someone what another person asked. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.

direct speech: 'Do you like working in sales?' he asked. indirect speech: He asked me if I liked working in sales.

In indirect speech, we change the question structure (e.g. Do you like ) to a statement structure (e.g. I like ).

We also often make changes to the tenses and other words in the same way as for reported statements (e.g. have done → had done , today → that day ). You can learn about these changes on the Reported speech 1 – statements page.

Yes / no questions

In yes / no questions, we use if or whether to report the question. If is more common.

'Are you going to the Helsinki conference?' He asked me if I was going to the Helsinki conference. 'Have you finished the project yet?' She asked us whether we'd finished the project yet.

Questions with a question word

In what , where , why , who , when or how questions, we use the question word to report the question.

'What time does the train leave?' He asked me what time the train left. 'Where did he go?' She asked where he went.

Reporting verbs

The most common reporting verb for questions is ask , but we can also use verbs like enquire , want to know or wonder .

'Did you bring your passports?' She wanted to know if they'd brought their passports. 'When could you get this done by?' He wondered when we could get it done by.

Offers, requests and suggestions

If the question is making an offer, request or suggestion, we can use a specific verb pattern instead, for example offer + infinitive, ask + infinitive or suggest + ing.

'Would you like me to help you?' He offered to help me. 'Can you hold this for me, please?' She asked me to hold it. 'Why don't we check with Joel?' She suggested checking with Joel.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 2: 2

Language level

Hello, dear teachers and team!

Could you please help me with the following: 

• She asked me "Does the Earth turn around the Sun?"

  Does it have to be: "She asked me if the Earth TURNED around the Sun" ? 

Do we have to change the question into the past form here as well? 

2. She asked: "Was coffee originally green"?

Is "She asked me if the coffee HAD BEEN originally  green" correct option? Can I leave WAS in an inderect speech here? 

3. Is "She asked me if I knew if the Sun IS a star" or  "She asked me if I knew if the Sun WAS / HAD BEEN a star" (if any)  correct?  

I'm very very grateful for your precious help and thank you very much for your answering this post in advance!!! 

• Log in or register to post comments

Hello howtosay_.

1. She asked me "Does the Earth turn around the Sun?"  Does it have to be: "She asked me if the Earth TURNED around the Sun" ?

No, you can use the present here as well. The verb for this context would be 'go' rather than 'turn':

She asked me if the earth goes around the sun.

She asked me if the earth went around the sun.

Do we have to change the question into the past form here as well? 2. She asked: "Was coffee originally green"? Is "She asked me if the coffee HAD BEEN originally  green" correct option? Can I leave WAS in an inderect speech here?

You can use either 'had been' or 'was' here. The adverb 'originally' removes any ambiguity.

3. Is "She asked me if I knew if the Sun IS a star" or  "She asked me if I knew if the Sun WAS / HAD BEEN a star" (if any)  correct?

You can use 'is' or 'was' here but not 'had been' as that would suggest the sun is not a star any more.

The LearnEnglish Team

She offered me to encourage studying English. She asked us if we could give her a hand.

He said, "I wished she had gone."

How to change this sentence into indirect speech?

Hello bhutuljee,

'He said that he wished she had gone.'

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

He said, "I wish she went."

How to change the above sentence into indirect speech?

Hi bhutuljee,

It would be: "He said that he wished she had gone."

LearnEnglish team

He said , "She wished John would succeed."

This is the third sentence you've asked us to transform in this way. While we try to offer as much help as we can, we are not a service for giving answers to questions which may be from tests or homework so we do limit these kinds of answers. Perhaps having read the information on the page above you can try to transform the sentence yourself and we will tell you if you have done it correctly or not.

Hi, I hope my comment finds you well and fine. 1- reported question of "where did he go?"

Isn't it: She asked where he had gone?

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/reported-…

2- how can I report poilte questions with( can I, May I) For example: She asked me" Can I borrow some money?"

Your reply will be highly appreciated.

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Reported Speech Exercises

Perfect english grammar.

Here's a list of all the reported speech exercises on this site:

( Click here to read the explanations about reported speech )

Reported Statements:

• Present Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Present Continuous Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Past Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Present Perfect Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Future Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Mixed Tense Reported Statement Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• 'Say' and 'Tell' (quite easy) (in PDF here)

Reported Questions:

• Present Simple Reported Yes/No Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Present Simple Reported Wh Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Mixed Tense Reported Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)

Reported Orders and Requests:

• Reported Requests and Orders Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 1 (difficult) (in PDF here)
• Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 2 (difficult) (in PDF here)

Hello! I'm Seonaid! I'm here to help you understand grammar and speak correct, fluent English.

Read more about our learning method

• ESL Discussion Topic — Talking about the Weather (Agree or Disagree Statements)
• ESL Speaking Activity — Find Someone Who to practice Present Perfect Continuous [Set 1]
• ESL Discussion Topic — Routines
• ESL Speaking Activity — Gerunds and Infinitives [Set 2]
• ESL Speaking Activity — Would you like? [Set 1]
• Reported commands — Mix — Positive and Negative sentences

Reported commands — Positive sentences

Task: Finish commands in Reported speech.

Reported commands — Negative sentences

Reported commands — Mix — Positive and Negative sentences — Exercise 2

Task: Finish commands in Reported speech.

Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 1

Task: Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Pay special attention to changing pronouns and time phrases where necessary.

Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 2

• Types of Verbs
• Types of Adjectives
• Types of Noun
• Participles
• Phrases and Clauses
• Parts of Speech
• Parts of a Sentence
• Determiners
• Parallelism
• Direct & Indirect Speech
• Modal Verbs
• Relative Clauses
• Nominalisation
• Substitution & Ellipsis
• Demonstratives
• Pronoun Reference
• Confusing Words
• Online Grammar Quizzes
• Printable Grammar Worksheets
• Courses to purchase
• Grammar Book
• Grammar Blog
• Direct & Indirect Speech

Reported Speech Imperatives

Reported speech imperatives differ in structure to other reported speech sentences.

Imperatives are:

• Commands: Keep quiet!
• Requests: Please close the window
• Advice: Go and lie down
• Suggestions: Take the test next year instead

This is the structure that we use:

Structure: reporting verb (e.g. ask, tell)   + noun/pronoun +  to infinitive 

Example: She asked me   to come  later

Here are some further examples using the imperative sentences above, showing them in direct speech and indirect speech.

Direct Speech:

• She said, "Keep quiet!"
• "Please close the window", the teacher said
• He told her, "Go and lie down"
• She said, "Take the test next year instead"

Reported Speech:

• She instructed me to keep quiet
• The teacher asked me to close the window
• He told her to go and lie down
• She advised them to take the test next year instead

Reporting Verbs for Imperatives

In normal reported speech, the common reporting verbs are said and told . For instance:

• She said she was tired
• He told me I should come tomorrow

There are many more, however, that are used with reported speech imperatives. Some are for orders while others are for polite requests.

Polite Request

Here are some more examples of reported speech imperatives using these verbs:

Polite Requests

• My doctor  advised  me to sleep more
• The government  urged  the people to use less water
• She asked me to join her on holiday
• They  reminded  us to put our seat belts on
• He  requested  the guests to vacate their rooms
• He begs her to stay
• John told his brother to change direction
• My boss  orders  me to work harder
• She instructed them to learn the alphabet
• The general  commanded his  soldiers to obey
• The sign  forbade  them to enter

Suggest / demand / insist as Reported Verbs

Suggest  / demand / insist can be used as reported verb for imperatives; however, they do not follow the same pattern as above. That is because the structure for using them is as follows:

• Suggest  /  demand / insis t  + that + someone

So this is how reported speech with these verbs will look:

• Direct Speech: She said, "Study harder to pass your test"
• Reported Speech: She suggested that I study harder to pass my test
• Direct Speech:  He said, "Take a taxi home"
• Reported Speech:  He insisted that we take a taxi home

You can't say:

• She suggested me to study harder X
• He insisted us to take a taxi home X

Negative Imperatives in Reported Speech

When we want to make an imperative reported speech sentence negative, we simply add in not before the ' to infinitive ': 

Negative Imperatives in Reported Speech

Structure: reporting verb  + noun/pronoun + not +  to infinitive 

Example: She advised me   not  to come late

Here are some examples of direct speech changed into indirect speech using negative imperatives.

• She said, "Don't keep talking!"
• "Please don't study too hard", the teacher said
• He told her, "Don't wait up for me"
• The doctor said, "Don't over eat" 
• She instructed us not to keep keep talking
• The teacher asked them  not to study to hard
• He urged me not to wait up for him
• The doctor advised me not to over eat

More on Reported Speech:

Reported Speech Tenses Chart: How to convert tenses

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.

Reported Speech Quiz - Practice forming 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.

Direct and Indirect Speech: The differences explained

Direct and indirect speech are different because in direct speech the exact words said are spoken, but in indirect or reported speech, we are reporting what was said, usually using the past tense.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

In these examples of direct and indirect speech you are given a sentence in direct speech which is then connected to indirect speech.

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Exercise: reported speech 1.

Changing direct speech to reported speech (affirmative, negative phrases)..

The direct speech sentences below were said a few days ago . Complete the reported speech version. You should omit the relative pronoun that . You can use the contracted (I'm) form or the complete (I am) form of the verb.

Example: Mary: "I don't like watching television."

Mary said she didn't like watching      television.

1) Mary: "I like eating out."

Mary said out.

2) John: "I don't want to see that new film."

John said to see that new film.

3) Dave: "I've had a hard day."

Dave said a hard day.

4) Steve: "I can't play the piano."

Steve said the piano.

5) Melissa: "I've got lots of homework."

Melissa said lots of homework.

6) Mary: "I'm speaking on the phone."

Mary said on the phone.

7) John: "I had an accident on the way home."

John said an accident on the way home.

8) Dave: "I'll call when I get home."

Dave said when he got home.

9) Steve: "I wasn't having a bath."

Steve said a bath.

10) Melissa: "I may stay in bed."

Melissa said in bed.

Solutions and help...

(Use of "that" also possible in all sentences: "Mary said that..." )

1) Mary said she liked eating out.

2) John said he didn't want to see that new film.

3) Dave said he'd had a hard day.

4) Steve said he couldn't play the piano.

5) Melissa said she'd got lots of homework.

6) Mary said she was speaking on the phone.

7) John said he'd had an accident on the way home.

8) Dave said he'd call when he got home.

9) Steve said he hadn't been having a bath.

10) Melissa said she might stay in bed.

Explanation of changing direct speech to reported speech ...

Index of English exercises... (return to same section)

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English With Ashish

Interrogative sentences in reported speech: rules and examples

Hey learners! In this post, we will master how to change direct speech to indirect speech when the reported speech in the direct speech is an interrogative sentence. Before we do that, we must know what direct and indirect speech is.

What is a direct speech?

Direct speech definition: It is a way to narrate what someone said using the speaker’s exact words. The reported speech (the speaker’s words) is placed in quotation marks and is offset using a comma.

What is an indirect speech?

Indirect speech definition: it is a way to narrate what someone said but not using the speaker’s exact words. Unlike a direct speech, it is not placed in quotation marks and separated by a comma.

Direct speech: She said to me, “Do you love me?” Indirect speech: She told me if I loved her.

Important things to understand :

1. Directing speech: It is the part (clause) that you (the person who narrates the speaker’s original words) say. In the above examples, “She said to me” and “She told me” are reporting speeches. These are the parts the narrator of the reported speech says.

2. Directed speech: it is the part that comes from the original speaker. In the above examples, “ Do you love me? “ and “ if I loved her “ are reported speeches.

Interrogative sentences in the reported speech

Interrogative sentence definition: Sentences that are used to ask questions are called interrogative sentences. They end with a question mark.

There are two types of interrogative sentences:

• Ones that can be answered in YES or NO .
• Ones that can not be answered in YES or NO . They need to be explained.
• Direct speech : My uncle said to me, “What are you studying?”
• Direct speech : She asked me, “Do you still love me?”
• Indirect speech: My uncle asked me what I was studying.
• Indirect speech: She asked me if I still loved her .

NOTE : Interrogative sentences in direct speech are changed into assertive sentences.

Process/steps of changing Interrogative sentences (reported speech) into indirect speech:

• Remove the quotation marks and the comma from the reported speech.
• Put the question word (WH family word) at the beginning of the reported speech when the question can’t be answered in YES or NO. If the question can be answered in YES/NO, replace the helping verb (auxiliary) with IF or WHETHER.
• Put the subject of the reported speech after it.
• Put the verb after the subject.
• Replace the question mark with a period/full stop.
• The reporting verb SAY in the direct speech is changed into ASK/INQUIRE.

NOTE : Interrogative sentences that can be answered in YES/NO start with auxiliary verbs (is/am/are/do/does/has/have/will/shall/can/could/may/might/should/would…). And interrogative sentences that can’t be answered in simple YES/NO start with WH family words (what/why/where/when/how/who/whom).

Direct speech structure : Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + subject complement? Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + object/modifier?

Indirect speech structure : If/whether + subject + main verb + subject complement. If/whether + subject + main verb + object/modifier.

• Direct speech: I asked her, “Will you go out with me?” Indirect speech: I asked her if/whether she would go out with me.
• Direct speech: The guy on the street said to me, ” Do you know whom you are messing with?” Indirect speech: The guy on the street asked me if I knew whom I was messing with.
• Direct speech: On the very first date, she asked me, “Have you kissed a girl?” Indirect speech: On the very first date, she asked me if I had kissed a girl.
• Direct speech: The other night, Jon asked me, “Are you taking drugs?” Indirect speech: The other night, Jon asked me if I was taking drugs.
• Direct speech: She said, “Can you kiss me right now?” Indirect speech: She asked if I could kiss her right then.

In the indirect speech of the reported part, we replace the auxiliary verb with IF or WHETHER . The subject is put before the verb so that the interrogative sentence changes into an assertive sentence.

All these questions can be answered in YES/NO. If the questions can’t be answered in YES/NO, don’t use if/whether . Let’s look at the following examples:

Direct speech structure : WH family word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + object/modifier (optional)?

Indirect speech structure : WH family word + subject + main verb + object/modifier.

• Direct speech: The police asked, “What were you doing when the incident happened?” Indirect speech: The police asked what I had been doing when the incident had happened .
• Direct speech: He said, “What can I do for you?” Indirect speech: He asked what he could for me.
• Direct speech: Ron asked my father, “What do you do?” Indirect speech: Ron asked my father what he did.
• Direct speech: She said to us, “What do you think of yourselves?” Indirect speech: She asked us what we thought of ourselves.
• Direct speech: My brother asked, “Who is that girl?” Indirect speech: My brother asked who that girl was.

Now, we know how to change an interrogative sentence into a reported speech. Feel free to share your question, doubt, or feedback in the comment section, and also, share the post with the people that need it.

For one-on-one classes, contact me at  [email protected] .

Watch my YouTube lesson on how to change direct speech to indirect when the reported speech is an interrogative sentence:

Ashish Sharma

Ashish found his first love—the English language—a few years back. Since then, he has been immersed in the language, breaking down the language and teaching it to passionate English learners. He has a flair for listening to the English language (podcasts, sitcoms, stories), observing the nuances, and making it easy for English learners. He is known for breaking down complex English topics and making them easy to be understood.

15 thoughts on “Interrogative sentences in reported speech: rules and examples”

Sir in the Wh-question u make wrong indirect speech . Ex.1 The police asked, “what were you doing when the incident happened..? ” Ans-The police asked what I had been doing when the incident had happened.. Plz check this ex if I will wrong then plz tell me where I was wrong…

Hello, Ritesh! Yes, I had forgotten to change the subject of the clause from YOU to I. Thank you for pointing out the mistake!

Sunil said to Sunita, “What was the theme of the story?”

Sunil asked Sunita what the theme of the story was.

Sunita asked sunil that what was the theme of the story. Is it correct or not

It’s not. Correction: Sunita asked Sunil what the theme of the story was. 1) We don’t use two conjunctions together. We can’t. 2) A noun clause does not take a question structure (use inversion in it).

Can it not be, Sunil asked Sunita what had been the theme of the story.

That’s grammatical incorrect. A verb or a verb phrase can’t come before the subject in a dependent clause. Also, the right verb tense of the reported speech is the Simple Past tense.

“Be not so amazed, daughter Miranda”,said Prospero. change this.

That’s not a question.

Calling Miranda as his daughter Prospero forbade/advised her not to be amazed.

the gate keeper said,” who made this mess?”

The gatekeeper asked whom that mess had been made by.

He said to me,” do you know him kiran”.

He asked if me I knew him/kiran.

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NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

David Folkenflik

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust.

NPR's top news executive defended its journalism and its commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views on Tuesday after a senior NPR editor wrote a broad critique of how the network has covered some of the most important stories of the age.

"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an audience that reflects America," writes Uri Berliner.

A strategic emphasis on diversity and inclusion on the basis of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, promoted by NPR's former CEO, John Lansing, has fed "the absence of viewpoint diversity," Berliner writes.

NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday afternoon that she and the news leadership team strongly reject Berliner's assessment.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

NPR names tech executive Katherine Maher to lead in turbulent era

She added, "None of our work is above scrutiny or critique. We must have vigorous discussions in the newsroom about how we serve the public as a whole."

A spokesperson for NPR said Chapin, who also serves as the network's chief content officer, would have no further comment.

Praised by NPR's critics

Berliner is a senior editor on NPR's Business Desk. (Disclosure: I, too, am part of the Business Desk, and Berliner has edited many of my past stories. He did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Berliner's essay , titled "I've Been at NPR for 25 years. Here's How We Lost America's Trust," was published by The Free Press, a website that has welcomed journalists who have concluded that mainstream news outlets have become reflexively liberal.

Berliner writes that as a Subaru-driving, Sarah Lawrence College graduate who "was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother ," he fits the mold of a loyal NPR fan.

Yet Berliner says NPR's news coverage has fallen short on some of the most controversial stories of recent years, from the question of whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, to the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, to the significance and provenance of emails leaked from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. In addition, he blasted NPR's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On each of these stories, Berliner asserts, NPR has suffered from groupthink due to too little diversity of viewpoints in the newsroom.

The essay ricocheted Tuesday around conservative media , with some labeling Berliner a whistleblower . Others picked it up on social media, including Elon Musk, who has lambasted NPR for leaving his social media site, X. (Musk emailed another NPR reporter a link to Berliner's article with a gibe that the reporter was a "quisling" — a World War II reference to someone who collaborates with the enemy.)

When asked for further comment late Tuesday, Berliner declined, saying the essay spoke for itself.

The arguments he raises — and counters — have percolated across U.S. newsrooms in recent years. The #MeToo sexual harassment scandals of 2016 and 2017 forced newsrooms to listen to and heed more junior colleagues. The social justice movement prompted by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 inspired a reckoning in many places. Newsroom leaders often appeared to stand on shaky ground.

Leaders at many newsrooms, including top editors at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times , lost their jobs. Legendary Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron wrote in his memoir that he feared his bonds with the staff were "frayed beyond repair," especially over the degree of self-expression his journalists expected to exert on social media, before he decided to step down in early 2021.

Since then, Baron and others — including leaders of some of these newsrooms — have suggested that the pendulum has swung too far.

Author Interviews

Legendary editor marty baron describes his 'collision of power' with trump and bezos.

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warned last year against journalists embracing a stance of what he calls "one-side-ism": "where journalists are demonstrating that they're on the side of the righteous."

"I really think that that can create blind spots and echo chambers," he said.

Internal arguments at The Times over the strength of its reporting on accusations that Hamas engaged in sexual assaults as part of a strategy for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel erupted publicly . The paper conducted an investigation to determine the source of a leak over a planned episode of the paper's podcast The Daily on the subject, which months later has not been released. The newsroom guild accused the paper of "targeted interrogation" of journalists of Middle Eastern descent.

Heated pushback in NPR's newsroom

Given Berliner's account of private conversations, several NPR journalists question whether they can now trust him with unguarded assessments about stories in real time. Others express frustration that he had not sought out comment in advance of publication. Berliner acknowledged to me that for this story, he did not seek NPR's approval to publish the piece, nor did he give the network advance notice.

Some of Berliner's NPR colleagues are responding heatedly. Fernando Alfonso, a senior supervising editor for digital news, wrote that he wholeheartedly rejected Berliner's critique of the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, for which NPR's journalists, like their peers, periodically put themselves at risk.

Alfonso also took issue with Berliner's concern over the focus on diversity at NPR.

"As a person of color who has often worked in newsrooms with little to no people who look like me, the efforts NPR has made to diversify its workforce and its sources are unique and appropriate given the news industry's long-standing lack of diversity," Alfonso says. "These efforts should be celebrated and not denigrated as Uri has done."

After this story was first published, Berliner contested Alfonso's characterization, saying his criticism of NPR is about the lack of diversity of viewpoints, not its diversity itself.

"I never criticized NPR's priority of achieving a more diverse workforce in terms of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. I have not 'denigrated' NPR's newsroom diversity goals," Berliner said. "That's wrong."

Questions of diversity

Under former CEO John Lansing, NPR made increasing diversity, both of its staff and its audience, its "North Star" mission. Berliner says in the essay that NPR failed to consider broader diversity of viewpoint, noting, "In D.C., where NPR is headquartered and many of us live, I found 87 registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans."

Berliner cited audience estimates that suggested a concurrent falloff in listening by Republicans. (The number of people listening to NPR broadcasts and terrestrial radio broadly has declined since the start of the pandemic.)

Former NPR vice president for news and ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin tweeted , "I know Uri. He's not wrong."

Others questioned Berliner's logic. "This probably gets causality somewhat backward," tweeted Semafor Washington editor Jordan Weissmann . "I'd guess that a lot of NPR listeners who voted for [Mitt] Romney have changed how they identify politically."

Similarly, Nieman Lab founder Joshua Benton suggested the rise of Trump alienated many NPR-appreciating Republicans from the GOP.

In recent years, NPR has greatly enhanced the percentage of people of color in its workforce and its executive ranks. Four out of 10 staffers are people of color; nearly half of NPR's leadership team identifies as Black, Asian or Latino.

"The philosophy is: Do you want to serve all of America and make sure it sounds like all of America, or not?" Lansing, who stepped down last month, says in response to Berliner's piece. "I'd welcome the argument against that."

"On radio, we were really lagging in our representation of an audience that makes us look like what America looks like today," Lansing says. The U.S. looks and sounds a lot different than it did in 1971, when NPR's first show was broadcast, Lansing says.

A network spokesperson says new NPR CEO Katherine Maher supports Chapin and her response to Berliner's critique.

The spokesperson says that Maher "believes that it's a healthy thing for a public service newsroom to engage in rigorous consideration of the needs of our audiences, including where we serve our mission well and where we can serve it better."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

Legend Lynette Woodard Hit with Major Backlash Over Criticizing Caitlin Clark's Scoring Record, Reverses Course

Basketball legend Lynette Woodard is walking back negative comments she made about basketball phenom Caitlin Clark.

According to Fox News , Woodard changed her tune on Clark becoming the NCAA women's all-time leading scorer, a record previously held by Woodard .

Woodard previously said that she did not believe that Clark had actually broke her record during a speech at the Women's Basketball Coaches Association convention in Cleveland on Saturday, according to the New York Post .

Her reason? Clark had an unfair advantage.

Woodard noted that, when she played for the University of Kansas in the 1970s and 1980s, there was no three-point shot, and the women had to use a men's basketball.

Clark has utilized the three-point shot to her advantage, draining over 500 shots from beyond the arc during her four seasons at Iowa. The men's basketball used in Woodard's day was also larger than the current basketball women use today.

"I’ll just go ahead and get the elephant out of the room: I don’t think my record has been broken," Woodard said, the Post reported.

Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard says her all-time scoring record has NOT been broken by Caitlin Clark

#caitlinclark #lynettewoodard #ncaabasketball #collegebasketball #womenscollegebasketball #wfinalfour #finalfour #marchmadness pic.twitter.com/R9X1neT9Bo

— Chrystal Stone (@chrystalstone_) April 6, 2024

But apparently, Woodard has come to see the light, acknowledging, "Caitlin holds the scoring record," Fox reported.

"To clarify my remarks made at an awards ceremony on Saturday, no one respects Caitlin Clark’s accomplishments more than I do," Woodard wrote.

"My message was: a lot has changed, on and off the court, which makes it difficult to compare statistical accomplishments from different eras," she explained.

Woodard's previous comments were not well received, being labeled "jealous," "salty," and "the cringiest thing I’ve ever seen in sports," according to Unilad .

It's comments like these that demonstrate why Caitlin Clark has catapulted women's basketball to the forefront of the sports world. She stands for everything that sports fans love and not what they hate.

Caitlin Clark embodies the ideal face of a sport: exceptionally talented, tenacious yet humble, and uninterested in using her platform to impose her political beliefs on the audience.

Her popularity has only continued to skyrocket, as her final three collegiate games set viewership records .

She even reportedly received a $5 million offer to play in Ice Cube's BIG3 3-on-3 basketball league .

So, while Clark is currently on top of the sporting world, it's sad to see Woodard try and tear down the best thing that's happened to women's sports in years.

The sports media has largely taken a woke approach to women's sports over the past few years, campaigning for pay increases and arguing that transgender athletes should be able to compete against women. This has stymied any possible chance for women's sports to grow, as coverage of such feels more like a lecture on politics rather than reporting on sports.

Many perceive female athletes have exhibited jealously akin to Woodard's at the success of their male counterparts and demand that they receive the pay and recognition that male athletes do, all in the name of equity.

Do these people seriously think that promulgating wokeness is really what is going to bring people to watch women's sports?

This is why Clark has been so good for women's sports. Her skill and lack of woke agenda have led to women's basketball becoming the most talked about sport this year.

And now that women's sports are center stage, sports media pundits should drop their politics and allow the interest in stars like Clark to carry women's sports into the future.

Woodard was right to acknowledge Clark as the all-time scoring leader, and its admirable she walked back her previous remarks.

Hopefully, athletes like Caitlin Clark can bring about positive change in the world of sports, where the sport itself, and not some nefarious woke agenda , can go back to being the primary focus.