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• English Grammar
• Reported Speech

Reported Speech - Definition, Rules and Usage with Examples

Reported speech or indirect speech is the form of speech used to convey what was said by someone at some point of time. This article will help you with all that you need to know about reported speech, its meaning, definition, how and when to use them along with examples. Furthermore, try out the practice questions given to check how far you have understood the topic.

Table of Contents

Definition of reported speech, rules to be followed when using reported speech, table 1 – change of pronouns, table 2 – change of adverbs of place and adverbs of time, table 3 – change of tense, table 4 – change of modal verbs, tips to practise reported speech, examples of reported speech, check your understanding of reported speech, frequently asked questions on reported speech in english, what is reported speech.

Reported speech is the form in which one can convey a message said by oneself or someone else, mostly in the past. It can also be said to be the third person view of what someone has said. In this form of speech, you need not use quotation marks as you are not quoting the exact words spoken by the speaker, but just conveying the message.

Now, take a look at the following dictionary definitions for a clearer idea of what it is.

Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words.” The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as “speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, reported speech is defined as “the act of reporting something that was said, but not using exactly the same words.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines reported speech as “the words that you use to report what someone else has said.”

Reported speech is a little different from direct speech . As it has been discussed already, reported speech is used to tell what someone said and does not use the exact words of the speaker. Take a look at the following rules so that you can make use of reported speech effectively.

• The first thing you have to keep in mind is that you need not use any quotation marks as you are not using the exact words of the speaker.
• You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech.
• You can use verbs like said, asked, requested, ordered, complained, exclaimed, screamed, told, etc. If you are just reporting a declarative sentence , you can use verbs like told, said, etc. followed by ‘that’ and end the sentence with a full stop . When you are reporting interrogative sentences, you can use the verbs – enquired, inquired, asked, etc. and remove the question mark . In case you are reporting imperative sentences , you can use verbs like requested, commanded, pleaded, ordered, etc. If you are reporting exclamatory sentences , you can use the verb exclaimed and remove the exclamation mark . Remember that the structure of the sentences also changes accordingly.
• Furthermore, keep in mind that the sentence structure , tense , pronouns , modal verbs , some specific adverbs of place and adverbs of time change when a sentence is transformed into indirect/reported speech.

Transforming Direct Speech into Reported Speech

As discussed earlier, when transforming a sentence from direct speech into reported speech, you will have to change the pronouns, tense and adverbs of time and place used by the speaker. Let us look at the following tables to see how they work.

Here are some tips you can follow to become a pro in using reported speech.

• Select a play, a drama or a short story with dialogues and try transforming the sentences in direct speech into reported speech.
• Write about an incident or speak about a day in your life using reported speech.
• Develop a story by following prompts or on your own using reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written. Check them out.

• Santana said that she would be auditioning for the lead role in Funny Girl.
• Blaine requested us to help him with the algebraic equations.
• Karishma asked me if I knew where her car keys were.
• The judges announced that the Warblers were the winners of the annual acapella competition.
• Binsha assured that she would reach Bangalore by 8 p.m.
• Kumar said that he had gone to the doctor the previous day.
• Lakshmi asked Teena if she would accompany her to the railway station.
• Jibin told me that he would help me out after lunch.
• The police ordered everyone to leave from the bus stop immediately.
• Rahul said that he was drawing a caricature.

Transform the following sentences into reported speech by making the necessary changes.

1. Rachel said, “I have an interview tomorrow.”

2. Mahesh said, “What is he doing?”

3. Sherly said, “My daughter is playing the lead role in the skit.”

4. Dinesh said, “It is a wonderful movie!”

5. Suresh said, “My son is getting married next month.”

6. Preetha said, “Can you please help me with the invitations?”

7. Anna said, “I look forward to meeting you.”

8. The teacher said, “Make sure you complete the homework before tomorrow.”

9. Sylvester said, “I am not going to cry anymore.”

10. Jade said, “My sister is moving to Los Angeles.”

Now, find out if you have answered all of them correctly.

1. Rachel said that she had an interview the next day.

2. Mahesh asked what he was doing.

3. Sherly said that her daughter was playing the lead role in the skit.

4. Dinesh exclaimed that it was a wonderful movie.

5. Suresh said that his son was getting married the following month.

6. Preetha asked if I could help her with the invitations.

7. Anna said that she looked forward to meeting me.

8. The teacher told us to make sure we completed the homework before the next day.

9. Sylvester said that he was not going to cry anymore.

10. Jade said that his sister was moving to Los Angeles.

What is reported speech?

What is the definition of reported speech.

Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words.” The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as “speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, reported speech is defined as “the act of reporting something that was said, but not using exactly the same words.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines reported speech as “the words that you use to report what someone else has said.”

What is the formula of reported speech?

You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech. Subject said that (report whatever the speaker said)

Give some examples of reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written.

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Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions

👉 Quiz 1 / Quiz 2

Advanced Grammar Course

What is reported speech?

“Reported speech” is when we talk about what somebody else said – for example:

• Direct Speech: “I’ve been to London three times.”
• Reported Speech: She said she’d been to London three times.

There are a lot of tricky little details to remember, but don’t worry, I’ll explain them and we’ll see lots of examples. The lesson will have three parts – we’ll start by looking at statements in reported speech, and then we’ll learn about some exceptions to the rules, and finally we’ll cover reported questions, requests, and commands.

So much of English grammar – like this topic, reported speech – can be confusing, hard to understand, and even harder to use correctly. I can help you learn grammar easily and use it confidently inside my Advanced English Grammar Course.

In this course, I will make even the most difficult parts of English grammar clear to you – and there are lots of opportunities for you to practice!

Backshift of Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

When we use reported speech, we often change the verb tense backwards in time. This can be called “backshift.”

Here are some examples in different verb tenses:

Reported Speech (Part 1) Quiz

Exceptions to backshift in reported speech.

Now that you know some of the reported speech rules about backshift, let’s learn some exceptions.

There are two situations in which we do NOT need to change the verb tense.

No backshift needed when the situation is still true

For example, if someone says “I have three children” (direct speech) then we would say “He said he has three children” because the situation continues to be true.

If I tell you “I live in the United States” (direct speech) then you could tell someone else “She said she lives in the United States” (that’s reported speech) because it is still true.

When the situation is still true, then we don’t need to backshift the verb.

He said he HAS three children

But when the situation is NOT still true, then we DO need to backshift the verb.

Imagine your friend says, “I have a headache.”

• If you immediately go and talk to another friend, you could say, “She said she has a headache,” because the situation is still true
• If you’re talking about that conversation a month after it happened, then you would say, “She said she had a headache,” because it’s no longer true.

No backshift needed when the situation is still in the future

We also don’t need to backshift to the verb when somebody said something about the future, and the event is still in the future.

Here’s an example:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Friday .”
• “She said she ‘ll call me on Friday”, because Friday is still in the future from now.
• It is also possible to say, “She said she ‘d (she would) call me on Friday.”
• Both of them are correct, so the backshift in this case is optional.

Let’s look at a different situation:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Tuesday .”
• “She said she ‘d  call me on Tuesday.” I must backshift because the event is NOT still in the future.

Review: Reported Speech, Backshift, & Exceptions

Quick review:

• Normally in reported speech we backshift the verb, we put it in a verb tense that’s a little bit further in the past.
• when the situation is still true
• when the situation is still in the future

Reported Requests, Orders, and Questions

Those were the rules for reported statements, just regular sentences.

What about reported speech for questions, requests, and orders?

For reported requests, we use “asked (someone) to do something”:

• “Please make a copy of this report.” (direct speech)
• She asked me to make a copy of the report. (reported speech)

For reported orders, we use “told (someone) to do something:”

• “Go to the bank.” (direct speech)
• “He told me to go to the bank.” (reported speech)

The main verb stays in the infinitive with “to”:

• She asked me to make a copy of the report. She asked me  make  a copy of the report.
• He told me to go to the bank. He told me  go  to the bank.

For yes/no questions, we use “asked if” and “wanted to know if” in reported speech.

• “Are you coming to the party?” (direct)
• He asked if I was coming to the party. (reported)
• “Did you turn off the TV?” (direct)
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.” (reported)

The main verb changes and back shifts according to the rules and exceptions we learned earlier.

Notice that we don’t use do/does/did in the reported question:

• She wanted to know did I turn off the TV.
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.

For other questions that are not yes/no questions, we use asked/wanted to know (without “if”):

• “When was the company founded?” (direct)
• She asked when the company was founded.” (reported)
• “What kind of car do you drive?” (direct)
• He wanted to know what kind of car I drive. (reported)

Again, notice that we don’t use do/does/did in reported questions:

• “Where does he work?”
• She wanted to know  where does he work.
• She wanted to know where he works.

Also, in questions with the verb “to be,” the word order changes in the reported question:

• “Where were you born?” ([to be] + subject)
• He asked where I was born. (subject + [to be])
• He asked where was I born.

Reported Speech (Part 2) Quiz

Learn more about reported speech:

• Reported speech: Perfect English Grammar
• Reported speech: BJYU’s

If you want to take your English grammar to the next level, then my Advanced English Grammar Course is for you! It will help you master the details of the English language, with clear explanations of essential grammar topics, and lots of practice. I hope to see you inside!

I’ve got one last little exercise for you, and that is to write sentences using reported speech. Think about a conversation you’ve had in the past, and write about it – let’s see you put this into practice right away.

Master the details of English grammar:

More Espresso English Lessons:

About the author.

Shayna Oliveira

Shayna Oliveira is the founder of Espresso English, where you can improve your English fast - even if you don’t have much time to study. Millions of students are learning English from her clear, friendly, and practical lessons! Shayna is a CELTA-certified teacher with 10+ years of experience helping English learners become more fluent in her English courses.

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 Speech in English Grammar

Direct speech, changing the tense (backshift), no change of tenses, question sentences, demands/requests, expressions with who/what/how + infinitive, typical changes of time and place.

• Lingolia Plus English

Introduction

In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. We can use their exact words with quotation marks , this is known as direct speech , or we can use indirect speech . In indirect speech , we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed. Indirect speech is often introduced by a reporting verb or phrase such as ones below.

Learn the rules for writing indirect speech in English with Lingolia’s simple explanation. In the exercises, you can test your grammar skills.

When turning direct speech into indirect speech, we need to pay attention to the following points:

• changing the pronouns Example: He said, “ I saw a famous TV presenter.” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter.
• changing the information about time and place (see the table at the end of this page) Example: He said, “I saw a famous TV presenter here yesterday .” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter there the day before .
• changing the tense (backshift) Example: He said, “She was eating an ice-cream at the table where you are sitting .” He said (that) she had been eating an ice-cream at the table where I was sitting .

If the introductory clause is in the simple past (e.g. He said ), the tense has to be set back by one degree (see the table). The term for this in English is backshift .

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to normally do not change.

If the introductory clause is in the simple present , however (e.g. He says ), then the tense remains unchanged, because the introductory clause already indicates that the statement is being immediately repeated (and not at a later point in time).

In some cases, however, we have to change the verb form.

When turning questions into indirect speech, we have to pay attention to the following points:

• As in a declarative sentence, we have to change the pronouns, the time and place information, and set the tense back ( backshift ).
• Instead of that , we use a question word. If there is no question word, we use whether / if instead. Example: She asked him, “ How often do you work?” → She asked him how often he worked. He asked me, “Do you know any famous people?” → He asked me if/whether I knew any famous people.
• We put the subject before the verb in question sentences. (The subject goes after the auxiliary verb in normal questions.) Example: I asked him, “ Have you met any famous people before?” → I asked him if/whether he had met any famous people before.
• We don’t use the auxiliary verb do for questions in indirect speech. Therefore, we sometimes have to conjugate the main verb (for third person singular or in the simple past ). Example: I asked him, “What do you want to tell me?” → I asked him what he wanted to tell me.
• We put the verb directly after who or what in subject questions. Example: I asked him, “ Who is sitting here?” → I asked him who was sitting there.

We don’t just use indirect questions to report what another person has asked. We also use them to ask questions in a very polite manner.

When turning demands and requests into indirect speech, we only need to change the pronouns and the time and place information. We don’t have to pay attention to the tenses – we simply use an infinitive .

If it is a negative demand, then in indirect speech we use not + infinitive .

To express what someone should or can do in reported speech, we leave out the subject and the modal verb and instead we use the construction who/what/where/how + infinitive.

Say or Tell?

The words say and tell are not interchangeable. say = say something tell = say something to someone

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A Comprehensive Guide To Reported Speech In English

There are times when someone tells you something and you’ll have to report what they said to someone else.

How can you do this in English?

You’ll need to know how to use what's called reported speech in English and this is what you’ll learn in this blog post.

What Is Reported Speech In English?

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words. 

For example, let’s say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon. 

Jon, however, is not feeling well. He says to you, “Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today.” 

A few days after the party, you meet Sarah. She’s another one of your friends and she was at the party too, but she arrived late – a moment before you left. You only had time to say hello to each other. 

She asks you, “I saw you at the party but I didn’t see Jon. Where was he?”

When Sarah asks you, “Where was Jon?” you can say, 

“Jon said, ‘Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today’.”

However, it would be more natural to use indirect speech in this case. So you would say, “Jon said he couldn’t come to the party. He had spent all day working outside under the rain and he felt ill that day .” 

Did you notice how the sentence changes in reported speech?

Here’s what happened:

• “I” became “he”
• “Cannot” became “couldn’t”
• “Spent” became “had spent”
• “I feel ill today” became “he felt ill on that day” 

Let’s take a closer look at how we form reported speech.

How To Form Reported Speech In English

To form reported speech, you might have to make a few changes to the original sentence that was spoken (or written). 

You may have to change pronouns, verb tenses, place and time expressions and, in the case of questions, the word order.

There are certain patterns to learn for reporting promises, agreements, orders, offers, requests, advice and suggestions.

Let’s have a look at all these cases one by one.

Reported Speech In English: Changing Verb Tenses

In general, when we use reported speech, the present tenses become past tenses.  

We do this because we are often reporting someone else’s words at a different time (Jon’s words were spoken 3 days before you reported them to Sarah).

Here’s an example:

Jenny (on Saturday evening) says,  “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”(present tenses)

Matt (on Sunday morning) talks to James and says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home. (past tenses)

So this is how different verb tenses change:

Simple Present → Simple Past

DIRECT: I need money.

INDIRECT: She said she needed money.

Present Progressive → Past Progressive

DIRECT: My French is improving.

INDIRECT: He said his French was improving.

Present Perfect → Past Perfect

DIRECT: This has been an amazing holiday.

INDIRECT: She told me that it had been an amazing holiday.

What if there is a past simple form of the verb in direct speech? Well, in this case, it can stay the same in reported speech or you can change it to past perfect .

Past Simple → Past Simple Or Past Perfect

DIRECT: I didn’t go to work.

INDIRECT: Mary said that she didn’t go to work / Mary said that she hadn’t gone to work 

Past Perfect Tenses Do Not Change

DIRECT: I arrived late because I had missed the bus.

INDIRECT: He said he arrived (or had arrived) late because he had missed the bus.

Modal verbs like “can,” “may,” and “will” also change in reported speech.

Will → Would

DIRECT: The exam will be difficult.

INDIRECT: They said that the exam would be difficult.

Can → Could

DIRECT: I can’t be there.

INDIRECT: He told me he couldn’t be there.

May → Might

DIRECT: We may go there another time.

INDIRECT: They said they might go there another time.

However, past modal verbs don’t change (would, must, could, should, etc.) don’t change in reported speech.

DIRECT: It would be nice if we could go to Paris.

INDIRECT: He said it would be nice if we could go to Paris.

Here are some other examples:

So, in summary, 

• am/is → were
• do/does → did
• have/has → had
• had done → had done
• will → would
• can → could
• may → might
• could → could
• would → would
• like/love/buy/see → liked/loved/bought/saw or had liked/ had loved/had bought/had seen.

You make these verb tense shifts when you report the original words at a different time from when they were spoken. However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker’s tenses when the situation is still the same.

For example, 

1. DIRECT: I am feeling sick.

   INDIRECT: She said she is feeling sick.

2. DIRECT: We have to leave now.

   INDIRECT: They said they have to leave now.

3. DIRECT: I will call you later.

   INDIRECT: He said he will call me later.

4. DIRECT: She is not coming to the party.

   INDIRECT: He said she is not coming to the party.

5. DIRECT: They are working on a new project.

   INDIRECT: She said they are working on a new project.

What about conditional sentences? How do they change in reported speech?

Sentences with “if” and “would” are usually unchanged.

DIRECT: It would be best if we went there early.

INDIRECT: He said it would be best if they went there early.

But conditional sentences used to describe unreal situations (e.g. second conditional or third conditional sentences) can change like this:

DIRECT: If I had more money I would buy a new car.

INDIRECT: She said if she had had more money, she would have bought a new car OR She said if she had more money, she would buy a new car.

Reported Speech In English: Changing Pronouns

In reported speech, because you’re reporting someone else’s words, there’s a change of speaker so this may mean a change of pronoun.

An example:

Jenny says,  “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”

Matt says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home.” 

In this example, Jenny says “I” to refer to herself but Matt, talking about what Jenny said, uses “she”.

So the sentence in reported speech becomes:

• Jenny said that she didn’t like . . . ( not Jenny said that I didn’t like . . .)

Some other examples:

1 . DIRECT: I have been studying for hours.

   INDIRECT: He said he had been studying for hours.

2. DIRECT: I don’t like that movie.

   INDIRECT: She said she didn’t like that movie.

3. DIRECT: He doesn't like coffee.

   INDIRECT: She said he doesn't like coffee.

4. DIRECT: We have a new car.

   INDIRECT: They told me they had a new car.

5. DIRECT: We are going on vacation next week.

    INDIRECT: They said they are going on vacation next week.

Reported Speech In English: Place And Time Expressions

When you’re reporting someone’s words, there is often a change of place and time.  This may mean that you will need to change or remove words that are used to refer to places and time like “here,” “this,” “now,” “today,” “next,” “last,” “yesterday,” “tomorrow,” and so on. 

Check the differences in the following sentences:

DIRECT: I'll be back next month.

INDIRECT: She said she would be back the next month , but I never saw her again.

DIRECT: Emma got her degree last Tuesday.

INDIRECT: He said Emma had got her degree the Tuesday before.

DIRECT: I had an argument with my mother-in-law yesterday .

INDIRECT: He said he’d had an argument with his mother-in-law the day before .

DIRECT: We're going to have an amazing party tomorrow.

INDIRECT: They said they were going to have an amazing party the next day.

DIRECT: Meet me here at 10 am.

INDIRECT: He told me to meet him there at 10 am.

DIRECT: This restaurant is really good.

INDIRECT: She said that the restaurant was really good.

DIRECT: I'm going to the gym now.

INDIRECT: He said he was going to the gym at that time.

DIRECT: Today is my birthday.

INDIRECT: She told me that it was her birthday that day .

DIRECT: I'm leaving for Europe next week.

INDIRECT: She said she was leaving for Europe the following week.

Reported Speech In English: Word Order In Questions

What if you have to report a question? For example, how would you report the following questions?

• Where’s Mark?
• When are you going to visit your grandmother?
• What do I need to buy for the celebration?
• Where are your best friend and his wife staying?
• Do you like coffee?
• Can you sing?
• Who’s your best friend?
• What time do you usually wake up?
• What would you do if you won the lottery?
• Do you ever read nonfiction books?

In reported questions, the subject normally comes before the verb and auxiliary “do” is not used.

So, here is what happens when you're reporting a question:

DIRECT: Where’s Mark?

INDIRECT: I asked where Mark was. 

DIRECT: When are you going to visit your grandmother?

INDIRECT: He wanted to know when I was going to visit my grandmother.

DIRECT: What do I need to buy for the celebration?

INDIRECT: She asked what she needed to buy for the celebration.

DIRECT: Where are your best friend and his wife staying?

INDIRECT: I asked where his best friend and his wife were staying.

DIRECT: Do you like coffee?

INDIRECT: I asked if she liked coffee.

DIRECT: Can you sing?

INDIRECT: She asked me if I could sing.

DIRECT: Who’s your best friend?

INDIRECT: They asked me who my best friend was. 

DIRECT: What time do you usually wake up?

INDIRECT: She asked me what time I usually wake up.

DIRECT: What would you do if you won the lottery?

INDIRECT: He asked me what I would do if I won the lottery.

DIRECT: Do you ever read nonfiction books?

INDIRECT: She asked me if I ever read nonfiction books.

You might have noticed that question marks are not used in reported questions and you don’t use “say” or “tell” either.

Promises, Agreements, Orders, Offers, Requests & Advice

When you’re reporting these, you can use the following verbs + an infinitive:

Here are some examples:

DIRECT SPEECH: I’ll always love you.

PROMISE IN INDIRECT SPEECH: She promised to love me.

DIRECT SPEECH: OK, let’s go to the pub.

INDIRECT SPEECH: He agreed to come to the pub with me.

DIRECT SPEECH: Sit down!

INDIRECT SPEECH: They told me to sit down OR they ordered me to sit down.

DIRECT SPEECH: I can go to the post office for you.

INDIRECT SPEECH: She offered to go to the post office.

DIRECT SPEECH: Could I please have the documentation by tomorrow evening?

INDIRECT SPEECH: She requested to have the documentation by the following evening.

DIRECT SPEECH: You should think twice before giving him your phone number.

INDIRECT SPEECH: She advised me to think twice before giving him my phone number.

Reported Speech In English

All right! I hope you have a much clearer idea about what reported speech is and how it’s used. 

And the good news is that both direct and indirect speech structures are commonly used in stories, so why not try the StoryLearning method ? 

You'll notice this grammatical pattern repeatedly in the context of short stories in English.

Not only will this help you acquire it naturally, but you will also have a fun learning experience by immersing yourself in an interesting and inspiring narrative.

Have a wonderful time learning through books in English !

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What is Reported Speech and how to use it? with Examples

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. 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: ●  Direct speech: "I will call you later." Reported speech: He said that he would call me later. ●  Direct speech: "Did you finish your homework?" Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework. ●  Direct speech: "I love pizza." Reported speech: They said that they loved pizza.

When do we use reported speech?

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.

How to make reported speech?

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.

How do I change the pronouns and adverbs in reported speech?

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.

How do I change the tense 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.

Do I always need to use a reporting verb 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.

How to make questions in reported speech?

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: "What time is the meeting?" Reported speech: She asked what time the meeting was. 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

What is the difference between reported speech an indirect speech?

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.

Examples of direct speech to reported

1. Direct speech: "I am hungry," she said. Reported speech: She said she was hungry. 2. Direct speech: "Can you pass the salt, please?" he asked. Reported speech: He asked her to pass the salt. 3. Direct speech: "I will meet you at the cinema," he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet her at the cinema. 4. Direct speech: "I have been working on this project for hours," she said. Reported speech: She said she had been working on the project for hours. 5. Direct speech: "What time does the train leave?" he asked. Reported speech: He asked what time the train left. 6. Direct speech: "I love playing the piano," she said. Reported speech: She said she loved playing the piano. 7. Direct speech: "I am going to the grocery store," he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to the grocery store. 8. Direct speech: "Did you finish your homework?" the teacher asked. Reported speech: The teacher asked if he had finished his homework. 9. Direct speech: "I want to go to the beach," she said. Reported speech: She said she wanted to go to the beach. 10. Direct speech: "Do you need help with that?" he asked. Reported speech: He asked if she needed help with that. 11. Direct speech: "I can't come to the party," he said. Reported speech: He said he couldn't come to the party. 12. Direct speech: "Please don't leave me," she said. Reported speech: She begged him not to leave her. 13. Direct speech: "I have never been to London before," he said. Reported speech: He said he had never been to London before. 14. Direct speech: "Where did you put my phone?" she asked. Reported speech: She asked where she had put her phone. 15. Direct speech: "I'm sorry for being late," he said. Reported speech: He apologized for being late. 16. Direct speech: "I need some help with this math problem," she said. Reported speech: She said she needed some help with the math problem. 17. Direct speech: "I am going to study abroad next year," he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to study abroad the following year. 18. Direct speech: "Can you give me a ride to the airport?" she asked. Reported speech: She asked him to give her a ride to the airport. 19. Direct speech: "I don't know how to fix this," he said. Reported speech: He said he didn't know how to fix it. 20. Direct speech: "I hate it when it rains," she said. Reported speech: She said she hated it when it rained.

What is Direct and Indirect Speech?

Direct and indirect speech are two different ways of reporting spoken or written language. Let's delve into the details and provide some examples. Click here to read more

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• B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech

Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. 

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of reported speech. They are in  red  in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, reported speech correctly.

Sophie:  Mmm, it’s so nice to be chilling out at home after all that running around.

Ollie: Oh, yeah, travelling to glamorous places for a living must be such a drag!

Ollie: Mum, you can be so childish sometimes. Hey, I wonder how Daisy’s getting on in her job interview.

Sophie: Oh, yes, she said she was having it at four o’clock, so it’ll have finished by now. That’ll be her ... yes. Hi, love. How did it go?

Daisy: Well, good I think, but I don’t really know. They said they’d phone later and let me know.

Sophie: What kind of thing did they ask you?

Daisy: They asked if I had any experience with people, so I told them about helping at the school fair and visiting old people at the home, that sort of stuff. But I think they meant work experience.

Sophie: I’m sure what you said was impressive. They can’t expect you to have had much work experience at your age.

Daisy:  And then they asked me what acting I had done, so I told them that I’d had a main part in the school play, and I showed them a bit of the video, so that was cool.

Sophie:  Great!

Daisy: Oh, and they also asked if I spoke any foreign languages.

Sophie: Languages?

Daisy: Yeah, because I might have to talk to tourists, you know.

Sophie: Oh, right, of course.

Daisy: So that was it really. They showed me the costume I’ll be wearing if I get the job. Sending it over ...

Ollie: Hey, sis, I heard that Brad Pitt started out as a giant chicken too! This could be your big break!

Daisy: Ha, ha, very funny.

Sophie: Take no notice, darling. I’m sure you’ll be a marvellous chicken.

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.

He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted .

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could ; will changes to would ; etc.

She said she was having the interview at four o’clock. (Direct speech: ' I’m having the interview at four o’clock.') They said they’d phone later and let me know. (Direct speech: ' We’ll phone later and let you know.')

OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.

'We went yesterday.'  > She said they had been the day before. 'I’ll come tomorrow.' >  He said he’d come the next day.

I see, but what if you’re reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn’t change the tense.

'Dogs can’t eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can’t eat chocolate. 'My hair grows really slowly.' >  He told me that his hair grows really slowly.

What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether , then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don’t use question forms after the reporting verb.

'Do you have any experience working with people?' They asked if I had any experience working with people. 'What acting have you done?' They asked me what acting I had done .

Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don’t go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.

She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!') He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don’t forget.')

OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to …' or 'He asked me to …' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise , remind , warn , advise , recommend , encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say , tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

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Reported Speech

If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options:

• We can use the person's exact words - in quotation marks "..." if we are writing ( direct speech ).
• We can change the person's words into our own words ( reported speech ).

In this lesson we learn about reported speech , the structure that we use when we report what another person has said, and reported speech rules.

Now we will look at:

• Reported Statements
• Time and Place
• Reported Questions
• Reported Requests
• Reported Orders And then you can check your understanding of reported speech with...
• Reported Speech Quiz

Reported speech is called "indirect speech" by some people. Other people regard reported speech simply as one form of indirect speech. Other forms are, for example:

• questions-within-questions: Can you tell me if they are expensive?
• mental processes: He believes that politics is a dirty game.

How do you write reported speech in English? - Easy Learning Grammar

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• Grammar & vocab

Reported speech

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is when we report what somebody has said. Native speakers use reported speech very often.

• Structures of reported speech He told me he would be late.
• Structures of reported questions She asked if it was better to wait.

Related Posts

• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): word order in reported speech sentences
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): reported speech
• Structures of reported speech
• Make someone do, be made to do
• Confusing words: say, tell
• Intermediate grammar exercise (B1 level): verb + object + to infinitive structure
• How to start and end a business email
• Structures of reported questions
• Verb structures in English
• Elementary vocabulary exercise (A1 level): opposites of verbs

British Council Teaching English Africa

Reported speech.

Author: British Council | Published on 1 November 2022

Stage 1: Present examples

Write these sentences on the board with the words underlined as shown.                

Ask: “What do you notice about the underlined words in the sentences?”

a) “I am tired.”

b) He said he was tired.

c) “I am listening to the radio.”

d) She said she was listening to the radio.

e) Portia can sing really well.

f) She said that Portia could sing really well.

g) It will be great!

h) She thought it would be great.

To help learners:

Ask: “What happens to the verb when what is said is reported ?” Elicit – it changes.

i) “I am 15”

j) He told me he is 15.

Ask: “Why do you think the verb didn’t change when sentence i) was reported?” Elicit – because he is still fifteen so it’s true. 

k) “ We are going to be late.”

l) He said they were going to be late.”

m) “I have a test tomorrow .”

n) She said she had a test the next day . 

o) “I like it here .”

p) He said he liked it there .

Ask: What happens to the underlined word in the direct speech when it is reported? Elicit – it changes.

Stage 2: Take feedback

Ask learners to share their feedback on what they noticed in the examples. Some key points you might want to share with them include:

• When the verb is in present simple it changes to past simple when it is reported (Sentence a & b). 
• When the verb is in present continuous it changes to past continuous when it is reported (Sentences c & d).
• When the modal is can it changes to could in the reported sentence (Sentences e & f).
• When the modal is will it changes to would in the reported sentence (Sentences g & h).
• The verb in the reported speech doesn’t need to change if the information is still true. (Sentences i) & j). 
• Some pronouns and expressions of time and place often change when reported (Sentences k, l, m, n, o & p)

Stage 3: Use the grammar

A. change it.

Write up some sentences either in direct speech or reported speech and get the learners to write how they were said / reported. 

• Gift: “It’s raining.” (Gift said that it was raining) 
• She said she would be late. (“I will be late.”)
• Florence: “I’ll talk to the teacher.” (Florence said she would talk to the teacher.”)
• Vincent said they would leave soon. (“I will leave soon.”)
• Rejoice: “I can cook really well.” (“Rejoice said she could cook really well”)

b. What they said

Say: “Make a list of the different people you have spoken to in your life.” You might want to give an example. Then elicit a list of people / jobs and write them up on the board i.e. teacher, doctor, bus driver, policeman etc.

Then demonstrate the game. Say: “I’m going to tell you something one of these people said to me. You have to guess which person it was.” The say: “He said I was driving too fast.” Ask the learners: “Who do you think it was?” Elicit – policeman. Then say: “What did he actually say to me?” and elicit the direct sentence.

Put learners in groups and say: “Take turns saying something one of these people said to you and the other learners guess who the person was.”

c. The go-between

Demonstrate the game first.

Choose a learner to sit in a chair facing you (A), but about 5 metres away. Say: “I need a volunteer (B).” Ask Learner B to stand halfway between you and Learner A. Say: “Come here. I’m going to tell you a sentence. When I have done this, tell Learner B what I said.”

Tell learner B a short sentence.

Say: “Go and report what I said to learner A.”

Make sure you can hear what learner B says, so you can check it’s correct.

Then say: “Learner A say something to Learner B.”

Then say: “Learner B come and tell me what Learner A said to you.” 

Repeat this a few times.

Next, put learners in groups of three, two sitting facing each other and the third as the ‘go-between’. Play the game.

It’s nice to set a situation where this might happen i.e. You’ve had an argument with a friend. Your friend won’t speak to you, but you want to solve the problem.

Verb : words that show an action (sing), occurrence (develop), or state of being (exist)

Reported : speech which tells you what someone said

Elicit : How a teacher gets information from learners, e.g. asking questions, prompting.

modal verb : a type of verb that contextually indicates a modality such as a likelihood, ability, permission, request, capacity, suggestion, order, obligation, or advice. 

direct speech : a sentence in which the exact words spoken are reproduced in speech marks

demonstrate : To show and explain how learners should do a task.

• Reported Speech – Say and Tell

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Reported speech: indirect speech

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech , the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command.

Indirect speech: reporting statements

Indirect reports of statements consist of a reporting clause and a that -clause. We often omit that , especially in informal situations:

The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane came in to land. (The pilot’s words were: ‘The weather was extremely bad as the plane came in to land.’ )

I told my wife I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday. ( that -clause without that ) (or I told my wife that I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday .)

Indirect speech: reporting questions

Reporting yes-no questions and alternative questions.

Indirect reports of yes-no questions and questions with or consist of a reporting clause and a reported clause introduced by if or whether . If is more common than whether . The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She asked if [S] [V] I was Scottish. (original yes-no question: ‘Are you Scottish?’ )

The waiter asked whether [S] we [V] wanted a table near the window. (original yes-no question: ‘Do you want a table near the window? )

He asked me if [S] [V] I had come by train or by bus. (original alternative question: ‘Did you come by train or by bus?’ )

Questions: yes-no questions ( Are you feeling cold? )

Reporting wh -questions

Indirect reports of wh -questions consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a wh -word ( who, what, when, where, why, how ). We don’t use a question mark:

He asked me what I wanted.

Not: He asked me what I wanted?

The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She wanted to know who [S] we [V] had invited to the party.

Not: … who had we invited …

Who , whom and what

In indirect questions with who, whom and what , the wh- word may be the subject or the object of the reported clause:

I asked them who came to meet them at the airport. ( who is the subject of came ; original question: ‘Who came to meet you at the airport?’ )

He wondered what the repairs would cost. ( what is the object of cost ; original question: ‘What will the repairs cost?’ )

She asked us what [S] we [V] were doing . (original question: ‘What are you doing?’ )

Not: She asked us what were we doing?

When , where , why and how

We also use statement word order (subject + verb) with when , where, why and how :

I asked her when [S] it [V] had happened (original question: ‘When did it happen?’ ).

Not: I asked her when had it happened?

I asked her where [S] the bus station [V] was . (original question: ‘Where is the bus station?’ )

Not: I asked her where was the bus station?

The teacher asked them how [S] they [V] wanted to do the activity . (original question: ‘How do you want to do the activity?’ )

Not: The teacher asked them how did they want to do the activity?

Questions: wh- questions

Indirect speech: reporting commands

Indirect reports of commands consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a to -infinitive:

The General ordered the troops to advance . (original command: ‘Advance!’ )

The chairperson told him to sit down and to stop interrupting . (original command: ‘Sit down and stop interrupting!’ )

We also use a to -infinitive clause in indirect reports with other verbs that mean wanting or getting people to do something, for example, advise, encourage, warn :

They advised me to wait till the following day. (original statement: ‘You should wait till the following day.’ )

The guard warned us not to enter the area. (original statement: ‘You must not enter the area.’ )

Verbs followed by a to -infinitive

Indirect speech: present simple reporting verb

We can use the reporting verb in the present simple in indirect speech if the original words are still true or relevant at the time of reporting, or if the report is of something someone often says or repeats:

Sheila says they’re closing the motorway tomorrow for repairs.

Henry tells me he’s thinking of getting married next year.

Rupert says dogs shouldn’t be allowed on the beach. (Rupert probably often repeats this statement.)

Newspaper headlines

We often use the present simple in newspaper headlines. It makes the reported speech more dramatic:

JUDGE TELLS REPORTER TO LEAVE COURTROOM

PRIME MINISTER SAYS FAMILIES ARE TOP PRIORITY IN TAX REFORM

Present simple ( I work )

Reported speech

Reported speech: direct speech

Indirect speech: past continuous reporting verb

In indirect speech, we can use the past continuous form of the reporting verb (usually say or tell ). This happens mostly in conversation, when the speaker wants to focus on the content of the report, usually because it is interesting news or important information, or because it is a new topic in the conversation:

Rory was telling me the big cinema in James Street is going to close down. Is that true?

Alex was saying that book sales have gone up a lot this year thanks to the Internet.

‘Backshift’ refers to the changes we make to the original verbs in indirect speech because time has passed between the moment of speaking and the time of the report.

In these examples, the present ( am ) has become the past ( was ), the future ( will ) has become the future-in-the-past ( would ) and the past ( happened ) has become the past perfect ( had happened ). The tenses have ‘shifted’ or ‘moved back’ in time.

The past perfect does not shift back; it stays the same:

Modal verbs

Some, but not all, modal verbs ‘shift back’ in time and change in indirect speech.

We can use a perfect form with have + - ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past:

He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ )

He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’ )

Used to and ought to do not change in indirect speech:

She said she used to live in Oxford. (original statement: ‘I used to live in Oxford.’ )

The guard warned us that we ought to leave immediately. (original statement: ‘You ought to leave immediately.’ )

No backshift

We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if what a person said is still true or relevant or has not happened yet. This often happens when someone talks about the future, or when someone uses the present simple, present continuous or present perfect in their original words:

He told me his brother works for an Italian company. (It is still true that his brother works for an Italian company.)

She said she ’s getting married next year. (For the speakers, the time at the moment of speaking is ‘this year’.)

He said he ’s finished painting the door. (He probably said it just a short time ago.)

She promised she ’ll help us. (The promise applies to the future.)

Indirect speech: changes to pronouns

Changes to personal pronouns in indirect reports depend on whether the person reporting the speech and the person(s) who said the original words are the same or different.

Indirect speech: changes to adverbs and demonstratives

We often change demonstratives ( this, that ) and adverbs of time and place ( now, here, today , etc.) because indirect speech happens at a later time than the original speech, and perhaps in a different place.

Typical changes to demonstratives, adverbs and adverbial expressions

Indirect speech: typical errors.

The word order in indirect reports of wh- questions is the same as statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order:

She always asks me where [S] [V] I am going .

Not: She always asks me where am I going .

We don’t use a question mark when reporting wh- questions:

I asked him what he was doing.

Not: I asked him what he was doing?

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Israel-Hamas war

Northeast earthquake

Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sbf's parents: "we are heartbroken".

From CNN's Kara Scannell

Bankman-Fried's parents, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, issued a statement after leaving the Manhattan courtroom Thursday, saying: “We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.”

Some in crypto community contrast SBF's sentence with that of shuttered dark market site's founder

From CNN's Elisabeth Buchwald

Several prominent voices in the crypto community took issue with Sam Bankman Fried's 25-year sentence, given Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.

Ulbricht created Silk Road — a website that let users anonymously buy and sell anything, including drugs and hacking tutorials. Transactions on the site took place using bitcoin, making it much harder to trace.

Bitcoin Magazine, a crypto publication with more than 3 million followers, posted on X shortly after SBF was sentenced on Thursday:

Roger Ver, an early bitcoin investor often referred to as "bitcoin Jesus," posted on X Thursday morning ahead of Bankman-Fried's sentencing trial that Ulbricht's "'crime' was building a website where people could trade freely without government permission." Since Bankman-Fried's sentence was announced, his post has been shared by many popular crypto-linked accounts.

US Attorney Williams: SBF's sentence is a warning to others

Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence "will prevent the defendant from ever again committing fraud and is an important message to others who might be tempted to engage in financial crimes that justice will be swift, and the consequences will be severe."

How long will SBF actually serve?

From CNN's Allison Morrow

There is no possibility of parole in federal criminal cases, but Bankman-Fried can still shave time off his 25-year sentence with good behavior.

"SBF may serve as little as 12.5 years, if he gets all of the jailhouse credit available to him," Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor, told CNN.

Federal prisoners generally can earn up to 54 days of time credit a year for good behavior, which could result in an approximately 15% reduction.

Since 2018, however, nonviolent federal inmates can reduce their sentence by as much as 50% under prison reform legislation known as the First Step Act.

Epner says the First Step Act was billed as a civil rights measure, to help minority offenders who committed non-violent drug-trafficking offenses. 

"It has turned out to be an enormous boon for white-collar criminal defendants, who are already given much lower sentences ... than drug-traffickers," Epner added. 

There is also a provision that allows a court to reduce a person’s sentence for extraordinary and compelling reasons, which are often medical, according to Jordan Estes, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner at Kramer Levin.

"Since the pandemic, courts have been more willing to grant early release under this provision if the defendant has served a substantial portion of his or her sentence,” Estes said.

Kaplan recommends medium-security federal prison

From CNN's Lauren del Valle and Allison Morrow

Judge Lewis Kaplan said he would recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Bankman-Fried be placed in a medium-security facility or any lower-security facility the bureau finds appropriate.

Medium-security federal prisons have strengthened perimeters — often double fences with electronic detection systems — and mostly cell housing, according to the Bureau of Prisons. They also have a "wide variety of work and treatment programs."

Kaplan orders $11.02 billion forfeiture

From CNN's Lauren del Valle

Judge Kaplan also ordered a forfeiture of $11.02 billion.

He ruled Bankman-Fried's forfeited assets can be used to help fund the repayment of victims of the FTX collapse.

Correction: A previous version of this post misstated the forfeiture amount. It is $11.02 billion.

Judge Kaplan: "Not a trivial risk" that SBF could commit crimes again

Judge Lewis Kaplan, just before announcing Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence, said there was a risk "that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future, and it's not a trivial risk."

Bankman-Fried acknowledged his mistakes and said he was sorry for what happened to customers but "never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes," Judge Kaplan said.

"He knew it was wrong," he added.

Bankman-Fried is sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for defrauding customers and investors in crypto exchange FTX.

Judge Kaplan: SBF wanted to be a 'hugely, hugely politically influential person'

Kaplan says many facts are not disputed, including that SBF had "an exceptionally privileged background."

"He is extremely smart. And he suffers from autism," Kaplan said, noting his understanding of the condition. Kaplan said SBF "is capable of huge accomplishments" while noting he has "a way of interacting with people that’s unusual and sometimes off-putting."

Kaplan agreed with prosecutors' claim that Bankman-Fried "wanted to be a hugely, hugely politically influential person in this country," and that that propelled his financial crimes.

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U.S.-Israel politics set to roil Democratic primaries

Susan Davis

Political divisions among Democrats over the Israel-Hamas war are at the center of several upcoming primaries against liberal members who oppose the war. Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

Political divisions among Democrats over the Israel-Hamas war are at the center of several upcoming primaries against liberal members who oppose the war.

Freshman Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., is a proud new member of the so-called "Squad" in Congress made up of a handful of the most liberal members in the party. "We put forth the boldest priorities and we fight for them, and we show other people them how to fight for them," she told NPR in a recent interview, "So it's not a pejorative to me at all."

While criticism of the Squad most often comes from conservatives, in the 2024 primaries forces normally aligned with the Democratic Party are working to defeat Lee and other Squad members over their critical position on Israel in the ongoing war with Hamas.

"What we have right now is a representative who has aligned herself with a small minority of the Democratic Party and has taken a lot of votes, I would say, that are not with the majority of Democrats in Congress," said Bhavini Patel, who is challenging Lee in the upcoming April 23 Pennsylvania primary.

Lee was one of just nine Democrats who opposed a resolution to support Israel, condemn Hamas and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Israel's security in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people — the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Israeli president focuses on 'friendship' with U.S. as progressives boycott speech

And earlier this year, under pressure from fellow Democrats including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, Lee cancelled an appearance with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, after reports that some of the event's scheduled speakers had made anti-Semitic remarks about Oct. 7.

"We need to ask the question as to why she'd want to go and share that stage to begin with," Patel said.

It's a question resonating in her Pittsburgh-area district that includes most of the city and eastern suburbs, as well as the historically Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill where Patel campaign signs dot neighborhood lawns and where she made a point to headquarter her opposing campaign. The district is also home to the Tree of Life Synagogue where, in 2018, a gunman killed 11 Jewish worshipers and wounded another six people in the deadliest anti-Semitic assault in U.S. history.

A jury deliberates over the sentence for the Tree of Life synagogue shooter

Shifting views on israel at the center in primary challenges for the "squad".

Lee is favored to win her primary — she has the endorsement of leading Democratic figures like Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman — but it's the first pressure test in a series of Democratic primaries in the coming months in which both wealthy Republican donors and pro-Israel Democrats are focused on defeating fellow Squad members including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York.

House approves aid package for Israel, but not for Ukraine

"We have a small group of anti-Israel members of Congress. It's a small group, but we have to keep it from growing," said Mark Mellman, veteran Democratic pollster and strategist who helped from the Democratic Majority For Israel (DMFI) in 2019. The political arm, DMFI PAC, has endorsed primary challengers against Bush and Bowman — the first ever endorsements against incumbents — and he told NPR more endorsements are likely.

Likewise, American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC), has also endorsed primary challengers against Bush and Bowman, and other endorsements are possible.

This attack on progressive incumbents prompted a coalition of nearly two dozen liberal activist groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America, to launch REJECT AIPAC just last month. It's goal is to counter the reported $100 million AIPAC and its affiliates, including its super PAC United Democracy Project, is prepared to spend in 2024 campaigns.

This is no dispute among friends. Usamah Andrabi, spokesman for Justice Democrats, one of the member groups, told NPR there is a generational shift happening among young progressives in how they view the pro-Israel lobby in Washington.

"AIPAC is our generation's [National Rifle Association]," he said, "As [the NRA] became a right-wing Republican-aligned lobby against all gun safety legislation, no matter what sort of gun violence was the product, we have seen the exact same thing happen with AIPAC, who has moved further and further right with the extremism of the Israeli government that it demands its endorsers unconditionally support [Israel], and further and further right as its donor base has gotten larger and larger shares of Republican mega-donors."

AIPAC does accept money from Republicans. Contributors to their super PAC include GOP megadonors like Bernie Marcus and Paul Singer, who are both Jewish with long histories of also supporting pro-Israel causes. However, AIPAC remains of the largest contributors to the Democratic Party. One of their top recipients is this election is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

AIPAC says their "sole criteria" for endorsing candidates is their position on strengthening the US-Israel relationship, and spokesman Marshall Wittman told NPR in response to this story that AIPAC "believes it is entirely consistent with progressive values to stand with the Jewish state.

Mellman acknowledges that there is no clear resolution to this Democratic divide. "Among Democrats there is a rift that can be healed, but it can't be healed when people are heaping that kind of invective on Democratic groups like ours or on on the state of Israel or on the Jewish people," he said.

For her part, Lee rejected the argument that her position that progressives are out of step with the public on Israel. Just last week a Gallup poll showed a majority of Americans now disapprove of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza, compared to the majority who approved shortly after the Oct. 7 attack.

"Every day our numbers swell, people who are seeing what's happening on the ground in Gaza and are realizing that that is an untenable situation," she said, "And I think that what we see a lot are people who are not shooting the message but the messenger."

Debates among Democrats on Israel are not receding

Retiree Lisa Messineo lives in Lee's district and she's been canvassing to get out to vote later this month. She personally supports Lee but she told NPR she believes Lee's position on Israel hurts her in this primary. "Well," she sighed, "I do think it does, yes." Pennsylvania has closed primaries, which means only registered Democrats can vote in them. Messineo said she complaints about Lee from "the old guard" of area Democrats who generally dislike criticism of Israel. "They don't look at the work that she does," Messineo said, "They just say, 'I don't like her because she wants to be a member of the Squad.'"

Lee told NPR the effort to oust progressives could have negative repercussions for the party come November. "When you see us on ballots, we bring with us our communities," she said, who is black and 36 year old. In Pennsylvania, voter turnout matters not just for Lee but for President Biden in a critical swing state.

What these primaries might indicate is exactly who is welcome inside the Democratic Party. "You can't say that the Democratic Party is a big tent, and then in the same breath into that tent is big enough for [centrist West Virginia Sen.] Joe Manchin, but that tent is not big enough for a black progressive woman," said Lee.

• Democratic Party

Election Updates: Trump-Kennedy 2024? Trump, at least, is intrigued by the idea.

• Share full article

Neil Vigdor

Leah Greenberg, a co-founder of the Indivisible Project, a liberal grass-roots network, said in a statement on Friday that President Biden should have placed tougher conditions on aid to Israel during his phone call on Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , and should have suspended arms transfers immediately. “It is welcome, but insufficient,” she said of talks between the two leaders, which were described as tense.

President Biden today is surveying the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed on March 26 when a cargo ship plowed into the span in Baltimore. He also plans to meet with family members of highway workers who were killed in the catastrophe, which has presented major test for his administration and limited access to one of the nation’s busiest ports. Follow our live coverage .

Chris Cameron

Former President Donald J. Trump, who has portrayed jailed Jan. 6 rioters as martyrs in his effort to subvert the 2020 election, decried the guilty verdict in the jury trial of Rebecca Lavrenz, a 72-year-old woman who was convicted on Thursday of misdemeanor charges for participating in the riot. Trump said she was a “hostage” of President Biden and tied the case to his own upcoming criminal trials.

The Brennan Center for Justice joined the legal fray on Thursday against two groups that sued Maryland’s elections board last month over the accuracy of the state’s voter rolls. In a friend of the court brief, the center said the suit filed by Maryland Election Integrity and United Sovereign Americans — which both denied the results of the 2020 presidential election — was frivolous and should be dismissed.

Katie Glueck

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, seen by many Democrats as one of their party’s biggest stars, is releasing a book in July called “True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between,” according to Simon & Schuster.

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina launched a video series Friday featuring himself and four other Black Republicans in Congress. In the first episode, the panel brought up a 2020 exchange in which Joseph R. Biden Jr. told a radio host that Black voters “ain’t Black” if they’d consider voting for President Donald Trump, whom Scott endorsed this election cycle after ending his own candidacy.

Michael Gold

Melania Trump, who has been mostly absent from the campaign trail as Donald Trump runs for president this year, will appear at a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago on April 20 for the Log Cabin Republicans, said the president of the group, which represents LGBT conservatives, confirming a report by Politico .

Michael C. Bender

Reporting from Washington

Trump-Kennedy 2024? Trump, at least, is intrigued by the idea.

Would a merger between Mar-a-Lago and Camelot prove irresistible for American voters?

That is a question former President Donald J. Trump has weighed as he considers possible options for his running mate, repeatedly asking advisers and associates in recent weeks about the idea of selecting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his No. 2, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

Those close to Mr. Trump do not consider Mr. Kennedy a true contender for the position. Mr. Kennedy, a scion of Democratic royalty, is also already running against Mr. Trump and President Biden as an independent candidate, and he told The New York Times that he would not entertain joining the former president’s ticket.

“I’m flattered by the thought, but it’s not a course I would consider,” Mr. Kennedy said in a text message.

Instead, Mr. Trump’s queries about Mr. Kennedy suggest that the former president remains in the initial stages of his vice-presidential selection process.

Mr. Trump has asked associates about several potential running mates in recent weeks, and while no one knows whom Mr. Trump will choose, he has left some with the impression that he has not yet settled on his first-tier options.

The Trump campaign has begun the early stages of vetting potential contenders, but Mr. Trump does not need to settle on a choice until the Republican National Convention, scheduled to start on July 15 in Milwaukee.

Some people close to Mr. Trump have suggested that choosing a candidate sooner than later might help with fund-raising and campaigning on days he is defending himself in court against the dozens of criminal charges he faces. In 2016, Mr. Trump announced just before the start of his nominating convention in Cleveland that Mike Pence, then the governor of Indiana, would be his running mate.

Mr. Trump’s interest in Mr. Kennedy has centered almost exclusively on the potential power of the branding. He has collected opinions from those around him about whether combining the two famous last names on a single presidential ticket could result in some kind of political magic, according to the people familiar with the conversations.

Mr. Trump has long been intrigued by the Kennedy political dynasty. As president, he often told visitors that he sat at the same Oval Office desk as John F. Kennedy, and he regularly invoked the former president during White House events, including announcements of new tax policies and the ceremonial pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey.

“I like Trump-Kennedy,” the former president recently told one person. “I like the way that sounds.”

Mr. Trump’s curiosity about Mr. Kennedy as a running mate appeared to undermine the public attacks he and his allies have leveled at the independent candidate.

Last week, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Kennedy’s views on climate change and the environment, and cast him as more “radical Left” than Mr. Biden. As he did so, he suggested that Mr. Kennedy would siphon more votes from Mr. Biden. “I love that he is running!” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Kennedy has been running for president as an independent since last year. Last week, he announced Nicole Shanahan , a Silicon Valley lawyer, as his own running mate.

In a Wall Street Journal poll this week across seven battleground states, Mr. Trump had support from 39 percent of voters, compared with 36 percent for Mr. Biden and 11 percent for Mr. Kennedy.

Democrats have signaled more worry about Mr. Kennedy’s potential to play a spoiler role, however, mobilizing a legal and political messaging effort to block him from state ballots and discourage left-leaning voters from supporting him.

While Mr. Kennedy initially tried to challenge Mr. Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, he has also taken positions more likely to be supported by conservatives, including opposing military assistance for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Jonathan Swan contributed reporting from Washington, and Rebecca Davis O’Brien from New York.

R.F.K. Jr. calls for a special counsel to investigate potential wrongdoing against Jan. 6 rioters.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine skeptic running for president as an independent candidate, vowed to appoint a special counsel to investigate the Justice Department’s effort to prosecute those who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, if he is elected, again downplaying the severity of the attack on the Capitol.

“I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences and their harsh treatment,” Mr. Kennedy wrote in a statement a day after his campaign retracted a message of sympathy for the rioters.

A campaign email soliciting donations from supporters on Thursday said that Jan. 6 rioters jailed in Washington had been “stripped of their constitutional liberties.” But hours later, Stefanie Spear, the campaign’s press secretary, said the statement “was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views” and blamed a new marketing contractor, saying the relationship with the company had been terminated.

But on Friday, Mr. Kennedy said that “reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection,” and repeated false claims that the rioters “carried no weapons, had no plans or ability to seize the reins of government.”

Video and other images have shown members of the mob wielding weapons like crowbars . Some have been charged or convicted of having guns and assaulting police officers with stun guns, pepper spray, baseball bats or improvised weapons like flagpoles. Far-right militiamen also amassed an arsenal of firearms near Washington in preparation for the attack, and some were convicted by juries of seditious conspiracy for their role in a plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election .

Mr. Kennedy’s statement on Friday aligned himself closer to the position of former President Donald J. Trump, one of his opponents in the presidential race, as well as others on the right who have presented the Jan. 6 rioters as victims of zealous federal prosecutors.

Mr. Kennedy, whose political rise came from his promotion of vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories about the government, has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the attack on the Capitol. In March 2023, when Mr. Kennedy was still a Democrat, he said on a podcast that members of his party had “an obsession” with the attack. In October, Mr. Kennedy said of Jan. 6: “What’s the worst thing that could happen? Right? I mean, we have an entire military, a Pentagon, a few blocks away.”

He has also repeatedly said this week that President Biden posed a greater threat to American democracy than Mr. Trump, and expressed sympathy for “people who say that the election is stolen” — counting himself as an example. He asserted in an interview on Monday that the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were stolen from the Democrats, adding, “We shouldn’t make pariahs of those people, we shouldn’t demonize, and we shouldn’t vilify them.”

Reid J. Epstein

With No Labels out of the ’24 race, the third-party picture comes into focus.

It’s not usually a surprise when a presidential candidate ends a campaign. There are obvious signs , rumors of an imminent demise and, in the end, a valiant statement that the candidate was right all along but extenuating circumstances ( time , money , lack of attention ) got in the way.

So it went for No Labels, which entered the 2024 discussion boasting of a $60 million war chest and ambitions of fielding a centrist bipartisan ticket that would satisfy a nation shuddering at the prospect of a rematch between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump.

With No Labels’ announcement on Thursday that, after being turned down by a range of senators, former governors, 2024 presidential contenders and others, it would not field a presidential candidate this year , the focus turns to the remaining third-party and independent candidates vying to challenge Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump.

The leading figure among this group is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political scion with a well-funded super PAC and a running mate with access to a Silicon Valley fortune . Mr. Kennedy, running as an independent, polls in the midteens when he’s included in surveys, but it will be months before it is clear whether he can even make the ballot in enough states to make an impact on the general election.

So far, Mr. Kennedy has qualified for the ballot in one state: Utah . It is an open question whether he will get on the ballot in the presidential battlegrounds that will matter this year.

The other well-known independent candidate, the celebrity professor Cornel West , has done little to indicate he is even trying to make the ballot. Campaign finance reports show he is not raising significant funds, nor is he funding a program to collect signatures to get on ballots.

The Green Party and the Libertarian Party have more mature ballot-access programs with long records of getting their candidates onto ballots in most states. Jill Stein, the 2016 Green nominee, is running again . Mr. Kennedy has publicly flirted with the Libertarians , though the evidence so far indicates the attraction is not mutual.

Melania Trump plans to appear at a fund-raiser for the Log Cabin Republicans this month.

Melania Trump, who has been mostly absent from public view while her husband, Donald J. Trump, campaigns for president this year, will appear at a fund-raiser at Mar-a-Lago on April 20 for the Log Cabin Republicans, the group’s president said.

The event, which was first reported by Politico , is a return of sorts to the political arena for Mrs. Trump, who has consistently stayed away from campaign events.

Mr. Trump has insisted for months that Mrs. Trump would join him on the trail. He invokes her often during his rallies, to cheers from the crowd, even as she has not traveled with him. And she did not join him at a Super Tuesday party at Mar-a-Lago, the couple’s home in Palm Beach, Fla.

Last month, Mrs. Trump made a rare public appearance with Mr. Trump, accompanying him when he cast his ballot during Florida’s primary. When asked if she would appear more regularly this year, Mrs. Trump replied, “Stay tuned.”

Mrs. Trump remains a popular surrogate for the former president, but she has shown little interest in hitting the campaign trail.

The fund-raiser for the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of L.G.B.T. conservatives, will still keep her largely out of the public eye. The group’s president, Charles T. Moran, said that Richard Grenell, Mr. Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, was also set to appear.

Mrs. Trump has maintained ties to the Log Cabin Republicans for years. In a financial disclosure last year, she reported receiving a $250,000 payment from the group in December 2022. On Twitter that month, the group posted a photo saying she was the special guest at a “private dinner” and thanking her for “continuing the projects she worked on while in the White House.”

Mrs. Trump’s few public appearances over the last year have been largely disconnected to Mr. Trump’s campaign. Last month, she joined Mr. Trump as he hosted Viktor Orban , the prime minister of Hungary, at Mar-a-Lago.

In January, she delivered a eulogy at the funeral for her mother, Amalija Knavs . And she gave a speech last December at a naturalization ceremony in Washington, where she told new American citizens that citizenship meant “actively participating in the democratic process and guarding our freedom.”

In November, she joined Mr. Trump at a funeral for his older sister . And she attended a memorial service for Rosalynn Carter with other first ladies from both parties. It was the first occasion that all of the living first ladies had been in one place since George H.W. Bush’s funeral in 2018.

The New York Times

Is there a political divide between you and your parents?

As the 2024 election nears, parents and their teenage children and young adults are sometimes finding themselves divided on how they think about social issues, even if they identify with the same political party.

In some cases, immediate families are split in their views across age and gender lines. According to a recent Gallup poll , fewer men in each age group today identify as liberal than do their female counterparts — but the gap is widest among those ages 18 to 29.

The New York Times is looking to hear from readers about how they are approaching family conflicts over questions of gender, climate, equality, abortion and gun control, among other topics. If you are a young adult, do you share your parents’ political values or the values of your partner?

We will not publish any part of your response without talking with you first. We will not share your contact information outside of the Times newsroom, and we will use it only to reach out to you.

Your Family Dynamic

Erica L. Green and Campbell Robertson

Reporting from Baltimore

President Biden visited the site of the Baltimore bridge collapse Friday.

President Biden told the people of Baltimore on Friday that “your nation has your back” as he stood in front of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was destroyed after a cargo ship plowed through it last week, killing six people.

Mr. Biden encountered a tangle more than a mile long of concrete and steel that has snarled traffic , devastated blue-collar communities and disrupted operations at one of America’s biggest ports, threatening chaos that could ripple across supply chains.

“We’re going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible,” Mr. Biden said. He called on Congress to help fulfill his promise that the federal government pay to rebuild the bridge.

Mr. Biden took an aerial tour of the damage and received a briefing from officials overseeing the cleanup and rebuilding efforts, before meeting privately with families of six construction workers who plunged into the Patapsco River when the bridge collapsed.

“The damage is devastating, and our hearts are still breaking,” he said in his public remarks.

Mr. Biden described how the workers had been on a break from filling potholes right before disaster struck. Just seconds before, Mr. Biden said, one of the men, a 24-year-old, sent a message to his girlfriend that said, “We just poured cement, and we’re waiting for it to dry.”

“We’ll also never forget the contributions these men made to this city,” Mr. Biden said. “We’re going to keep working hard to recover each of them.”

In the week since the collapse, the administration has funded the harbor cleanup, unlocked $60 million in emergency funding to help rebuild the bridge, provided low-interest disaster loans to affected businesses and overseen efforts to manage any supply chain disruptions.

On Friday, Mr. Biden called on companies to commit to keeping employees — about 20,000 people depend on the port for jobs — on their payrolls as the port reopens. This week, senior administration officials, including Mr. Biden’s chief of staff, called major employers in the Baltimore area, including retail chains such as Home Depot and distributors like Amazon, to encourage them to retain workers.

Local and federal officials said the road to recovery would be long.

“As you can see behind me the physical impact of this tragedy is massive,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “But let’s be clear, the human impact is immeasurable.”

At a briefing on response efforts, Brig. Gen. John P. Lloyd from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers described a “mangled mess” that was being tackled by 51 divers and 12 cranes. He told the president that one pending task was to remove a large section of the bridge sitting on the ship. The section weighs 5,000 tons and is 125 feet high.

The bridge crumbled in the dead of night when a 985-foot-long cargo vessel crashed into it shortly after departing the Port of Baltimore, a vital economic engine that handles more cars and farm equipment than any other port in the country. The vessel, the Dali, lost power before it hit the bridge but sent a mayday call that gave officials enough time to halt bridge traffic.

But it was not enough time to get to workers who were already on the bridge.

The bodies of two of the workers were recovered from the river on March 27. Recovery efforts for the remaining workers, who are presumed dead, were suspended. The authorities said the bodies were most likely encased in steel and concrete.

Mr. Biden spoke affectionately of his own ties to the port of Baltimore, including his family who worked as watermen in the 1850s and his many years commuting from Delaware.

The structure, which took five years to build, opened in 1977 and served as a critical transportation link on the East Coast. It was named after Francis Scott Key, the Maryland-born author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Mr. Biden’s response drew praise from Gov. Wes Moore, who said he received the first call from the White House at around 3 a.m., just 90 minutes after the collision.

“And every hour since we’ve worked hand in hand with this administration,” Mr. Moore said. “President Biden might not be a Marylander by birth. But I tell you, he’s proven what it means to be Maryland tough, and Baltimore strong.”

Scott Cowan, the president of the local chapter of the International Longshoremen’s Association, said he was encouraged by Mr. Biden’s visit but believed there was more to be done.

As the weeks go by, Mr. Cowan said, the situation for the 2,400 members of his local was getting more difficult. Around 400 people in the local were working at the moment, he said, with around 2,000 idled, roughly the inverse of the normal ratio.

If it had been a gradual work slowdown, people could have adjusted, he said, but “it was like hitting a wall” when the bridge collapsed and all but shut down the port.

“President Biden does know about ports,” Mr. Cowan said. “I think he wants to do so something. But obviously there’s Congress involved too.”

R.F.K. Jr.’s campaign expressed sympathy for Jan. 6 rioters, and then retracted it.

The presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine skeptic running as an independent candidate, said in an email on Thursday that rioters charged with crimes in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and held in a Washington jail had been “stripped of their constitutional liberties.”

Nearly four hours later, the campaign retracted the statement. Stefanie Spear, the press secretary for Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, said the statement “was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views,” adding, “It was inserted by a new marketing contractor and slipped through the normal approval process."

Ms. Spear stressed that “anybody who violated the law on Jan. 6 should be subject to appropriate criminal and/or civil penalties.” The campaign later added that it had terminated its contract with the company it said was responsible for the error.

The email appeared to align the candidate closer to the position of former President Donald J. Trump, one of his opponents in the presidential race, as well as others on the right who say the rioters have been treated unfairly by the justice system — even painting them as martyrs. It follows comments from Mr. Kennedy this week suggesting that President Biden posed a greater threat to American democracy than Mr. Trump .

The Kennedy campaign email, soliciting donations from supporters, focused mostly on the plight of Julian Assange, the embattled WikiLeaks founder who is facing extradition to the United States to face charges of violating the Espionage Act. The campaign described Mr. Assange as a “political prisoner” and asked supporters to sign a petition urging the United States to drop the charges against him.

“The Brits want to make sure our government doesn’t kill Assange,” the email said, before adding that “this is the reality that every American citizen faces — from Ed Snowden , to Julian Assange to the J6 activists sitting in a Washington, D.C., jail cell stripped of their constitutional liberties.”

Mr. Trump and allies in Congress, as well as far-right circles online, have presented the Jan. 6 rioters as heroes and martyrs, falsely suggesting either that the riot was a peaceful protest against voter fraud or that the violence they carried out on that day was necessary to overturn the results of the election and install Mr. Trump in office for another term. Particular attention has been paid to those rioters who have been held at the local jail in Washington .

Mr. Trump has made this revisionist view of the events of Jan. 6 central to his campaign. He has vowed to pardon those facing charges over their participation in the attack at the Capitol, and he has at recent rallies referred to those detained in connection with their participation as “hostages.”

Mr. Kennedy, who has founded his political career on promoting vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories about the government, has described Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election as “appalling,” but he has also expressed sympathy for “people who say that the election is stolen” — counting himself as an example. He asserted in an interview on CNN on Monday that the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were stolen from the Democrats, adding, “We shouldn’t make pariahs of those people, we shouldn’t demonize, and we shouldn’t vilify them.”

Mr. Kennedy also told The Washington Post in response to a questionnaire last year that he would consider pardoning people convicted in connection with Jan. 6. “If prosecutorial malfeasance is demonstrated, then yes,” he said. “Otherwise, no.”

Mr. Assange and Mr. Snowden have at times received sympathy from both liberal and conservative figures, as well as nonpartisan press freedom advocates, who say they are the victims of overzealous prosecution in violation of the constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of the press. Mr. Trump, who once sided with Mr. Assange over the conclusions of America’s intelligence services, had considered pardoning both Mr. Assange and Mr. Snowden — who fled into exile in Russia more than a decade ago — during his term in office.

The Kennedy campaign’s grouping the two men, wanted for leaking U.S. intelligence secrets, with the rioters who stormed the Capitol stood out — particularly the reference to the Washington jail.

More than 1,250 people have been charged with crimes in connection with the attack — and hundreds of people have been convicted . But only 29 defendants are being held in the Washington jail, according to a review of the cases by NBC News , and most have already been convicted of violent crimes, including assaulting police officers during the attack. NBC also reported that just 15 Jan. 6 defendants were still in pretrial detention.

Michael Gold contributed reporting from New York.

Reporting from Los Angeles

Proof that every vote matters: California congressional primary has a rare tie for a runoff spot.

California’s primary system — in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election — has seeded plenty of unusual showdowns since it was established a little more than a decade ago.

But never before has the system resulted in a three-way runoff for a congressional seat.

That’s the situation facing three candidates in California’s 16th Congressional District, in the heart of the Silicon Valley, who could vie for the seat during a November runoff. The final count shows two primary candidates in an exact tie for second place.

After nearly a month of counting, both Evan Low, a state lawmaker, and Joe Simitian, a Santa Clara County supervisor, received 30,249 votes, or 16.6 percent each.

They trailed Sam Liccardo, the former mayor of San Jose, who received 38,489 votes, or 21.1 percent.

The three men — all Democrats — were among 11 candidates vying to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo, who opted not to run again after more than three decades in the House.

In California, vote counting takes several weeks because the state relies on mail balloting and gives latitude to voters who wait until Election Day to send their ballots. All county election officials are required to certify their March election results by Thursday.

But the tie for second place is not a certainty: Any campaign or any voter in the district can request a recount, as long as the request is filed within five days of the 31st day after the election — and as long as they pay for it. A full recount by hand would likely cost more than $300,000 . That means a recount can be requested as late as next Wednesday.

All three campaigns face a tough decision, said Paul Mitchell, a Democratic political consultant and political data expert. If Mr. Low or Mr. Simitian seek a recount, it could backfire; each could end up paying to knock himself out of the race.

And the campaigns likely don’t have data showing clearly that a two-person or a three-person race in November would be easier to win, Mr. Mitchell said.

Still, he noted that “it only takes one rich, eccentric person” to set the recount wheels in motion. “And they’re on every corner in this district.”

Both Mr. Low’s and Mr. Simitian’s campaigns declined to comment until the results were certified later Thursday. Mr. Liccardo’s campaign also declined to comment on whether he would request a recount.

“We welcome the opportunity to continue to talk to voters about the issues facing our communities, including the high cost of living, utility rates and housing and Sam’s long record of fighting on behalf of residents,” Mr. Liccardo’s campaign said in a statement.

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of the headline incorrectly described the tie in the congressional race. It is a two-way tie for second place, not a three-way tie.

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• 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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Texas woman's prison sentence for attempting to vote illegally is thrown out

A Texas appeals court tossed out a woman's five-year prison sentence for voting illegally Thursday, ending a yearslong saga that garnered national attention.

Crystal Mason was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison after she testified she did not know that she was ineligible to vote because she was convicted of tax fraud in 2011. She cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 presidential election with the help of a poll worker.

In Thursday's ruling to overturn Mason's sentence, Second District Appeals Court Justice Wade Birdwell wrote that "finding Mason to be not credible — and disbelieving her protestation of actual knowledge — does not suffice as proof of guilt."

Mason had testified that when she was in prison, she was not informed that she could not vote upon her release, Birdwell detailed. She also "emphatically denied" having read the provisional ballot's affirmations detailing felon voting restrictions, testifying that she did not know she was not allowed to cast a ballot because she was on supervised release from prison, according to Birdwell.

Mason's ballot was not counted when officials determined that she was ineligible to vote because of her 2011 conviction, the ruling said.

"In the end, the State’s primary evidence was that Mason read the words on the affidavit," Birdwell said.

"But even if she had read them, they are not sufficient — even in the context of the rest of the evidence in this case — to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she actually knew that being on supervised release after having served her entire federal sentence of incarceration made her ineligible to vote by casting a provisional ballot when she did so," he added.

The Court of Criminal Appeals announced in 2021 that it would consider an appeal from Mason, who was out of prison on an appeal bond.

Her 2018 sentence drew national attention, and critics have rallied against the lower court's decision.

Megan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.

Crime and Public Safety | Man sentenced for punching reporter at…

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Crime and Public Safety

Subscriber only, crime and public safety | man sentenced for punching reporter at pro-trump march in huntington beach.

A Redondo Beach man who admitted to punching a reporter in the face while marching with a white supremacist group at a violent 2017 pro-Trump rally in Huntington Beach was sentenced to time already served in custody and a year of supervised release by a federal judge who once again criticized prosecutors for allegedly focusing on “far-right” groups and ignoring the actions of “far-left” groups.

Tyler Laube, 27, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of interfering with a federally protected right without bodily injury for his actions at a “Make America Great Again” march at Bolsa Chica State Beach on March 25, 2017 that turned into a 30-minute violent brawl . An OC Weekly reporter, as well as two photographers, later described being physically assaulted by pro-Trump demonstrators at the rally.

At the time, Laube was alleged by prosecutors to be a member of the Rise Above Movement, a Southern California-based militant, combat ready, racist right-wing group that traveled to rallies around the country in order to attack counter-protestors. He was initially charged with multiple felonies under the federal anti-riot act.

Rather than a six-month sentence requested by prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney gave Laube credit for 35 days he already served in custody, and did not order him to spend any additional time behind bars.

Carney recently drew headlines for dismissing a criminal case against Robert Rundo , a 33-year-old Huntington Beach man alleged to have founded the Rise Above Movement. Rundo is currently in federal custody while prosecutors appeal Carney’s decision to toss the charges he was facing.

Rundo — who was indicted alongside Laube — is alleged to have recruited and trained others to take part in violence alongside of him at the Huntington Beach march, as well as political rallies in San Bernardino and Berkeley.

Carney in a written sentencing memorandum released during Laube’s hearing on Thursday morning at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana continued to accuse prosecutors of “selective prosecution,” arguing they ignored similar violence carried out by extremist Antifa members at the other end of the ideological spectrum at the same rallies.

Carney in his memo described Antifa members “detonating fireworks, carrying improvised explosives, using pepper spray, throwing objects, pouring water on an elderly disabled veteran in a wheelchair when surrounded by a larger group of members of Antifa, and more” in order to “shut down political speech with which they disagreed.”

Prosecutors in their sentencing brief wrote that 10 days before the Huntington Beach march, Laube attended a “combat training” event in San Clemente. During the march, prosecutors wrote, Laube punched the journalist several times before a counter-protestor used pepper spray to momentarily disperse the crowd.

“Defendant’s conduct — intentionally committing an act of violence at a political rally — was something he trained for and willfully engaged in,” prosecutors wrote. “And defendant’s conduct was less excusable given that he committed it against a journalist documenting the free expression of ideas.”

The judge, in his own sentencing memo, noted that Laube described being assaulted by Antifa members prior to punching the journalist.

Laube contended that in the midst of the march, multiple Antifa members slapped him, followed by a cameraman stepping on and breaking a rallygoer’s American flag, leading someone else to start a fight. The journalist “stepped in to assist the cameraman,” according to the judge.

“From Mr. Laube’s perspective, the journalist was dressed like a member of Antifa and was assisting somebody who had harassed a supporter of President Trump, which, wrongfully, led Mr. Laube to punch the journalist,” Carney wrote. “As the rally organizer pushed Mr. Laube away from the journalist, the Antifa member who had slapped Mr. Laube twice proceeded to pepper spray Mr. Laube and other Trump supporters in the area.”

According to an OC Weekly article published a day after the march , one of their photographers had taken the American flag away from a Trump supporter after she used it to swat at another media photographer. In the ensuing fight, OC Weekly intern Frank John Tristan was punched in the head and the face, according to the Weekly article. The journalist is not named in the court filings, but is referenced at times by the initials “F.T.”

During Laube’s sentencing hearing, his attorney acknowledged that Laube, at the age of 19, served as a getaway driver while an armed accomplice robbed a 7-Eleven store. But the defense attorney also described a difficult childhood in which Laube’s father served time in prison while his mother struggled with addiction and relationships with abusive men.

Laube is now three years sober, after seeking treatment for heroin and alcohol addiction, his attorney said, and he has had no contact with the members of the Rise Above Movement since before his indictment.

“My younger years I was troubled, looking for guidance, to be a part of something,” Laube told the judge. “I definitely am a changed man.”

In his sentencing memo, Carney wrote, “No doubt, the government and others will object to the court’s sentence, focusing entirely on Mr. Laube’s past white supremacist beliefs and ignoring the violent conduct of Antifa and similar groups …

“The Constitution and the laws of the United States apply to everyone,” the judge added. “We must never forget that if the political winds change in this country, and the new government decides to turn on those not sharing the new government’s views, it will be the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws of the United States that will protect us.”

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Trump sues two Trump Media co-founders, seeking to void their stock in the company

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Mich., Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Trump filed a law suit on March 24, suing two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group, the newly public owner of his Truth Social platform, arguing that they should forfeit their stock in the company after allegedly setting it up improperly. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Donald Trump is suing two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group, the newly public parent company of his Truth Social platform, arguing that they should forfeit their stock in the company because they set it up improperly.

The former U.S. president’s lawsuit, which was filed on March 24 in Florida state court, follows a complaint filed in February by those co-founders, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss. Their lawsuit sought to prevent Trump from taking steps the two said would sharply reduce their combined 8.6% stake in Trump Media. The pair filed their lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Trump’s lawsuit claims that Litinsky and Moss, who were both contestants on Trump’s reality-TV show “The Apprentice,” mishandled an attempt to take Trump Media public several years ago, allegedly putting the whole project “on ice” for more than a year and a half.

But it also targets the pair over their Delaware suit against Trump, saying that it was one of several attempts they made to block Trump Media’s ultimately successful plan to go public. Trump Media accomplished that goal by merging with a publicly traded shell company called Digital World Acquisition in March.

Trump Media shares have fluctuated wildly since its stock market debut. On Tuesday, the stock closed at $51.60, up 6%, valuing the entire company at $5.9 billion.

Fact Check: 'Free Speech' Sign On Campus Did NOT Say 'You're Not Ready For University Yet'

• Apr 5, 2024
• by: Uliana Malashenko

Did a "free speech" sign on a campus say "You're not ready for university yet"? No, that's not true: The image was digitally altered to replace the original content. The sign was first photographed in January 2022, not in 2024.

The claim appeared in a post (archived here ) on Facebook on April 3, 2024. The caption said:

These should be posted all over the place at every university .

The post contained an image showing a sign that read:

If you (or someone you know) are affected by a free speech event on campus, Call your parents and ask them to come and take you home. You are not ready for university yet.

This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of the writing of this fact check:

A closer look at the image showed several irregularities. The bottom of some letters on the second line was smudged; a capital letter appeared in the middle of the sentence against grammar rules; and the font of the top paragraph was different from the rest of the text. Furthermore, the green background in the middle of the sign didn't show any reflections or shadows typically seen in authentic images of objects photographed in natural light in the street.

The bottom left corner of the post contained an attribution: the tpusa_rockies account on Instagram, affiliated with Turning Point USA. This is an American conservative group with a lengthy history of spreading false claims .

On January 24, 2022, this account on Instagram posted an image of a green sign (archived here ) at Colorado State University that had a first sentence similar to the sign seen on Facebook, but the rest of its content was different:

(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Fri Apr 5 14:01:26 2024 UTC)

The 2022 post on Instagram, seen in the screenshot above and subsequent media reports, appeared to mock the sign's content while also omitting key context.

For instance, Turning Point USA, the group associated with the Instagram account that posted the image, runs a so-called "Professor Watchlist," which, as described by the Anti-Defamation League (archived here ), "seeks to 'expose' professors who allegedly 'discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.'" As previously reported by The Guardian (archived here ), the group targeted many academicians who were nonwhite or represented historically marginalized communities.

Fox News, The Daily Mail and Reason all covered the "free-speech-event" sign's appearance in 2022, but none of them mentioned the supposed "You're not ready for university yet" inscription cited in the 2024 post on Facebook.

On January 29, 2022, Fox News (archived here ) aired a report about the sign, citing a Colorado State University spokesperson who specifically addressed its content:

The sign is a list of some of the many resources available to our students. It is not related to any event in particular, but rather is intended to share resources knowing that protected speech will always, and must always, be part of higher education.

On January 30, 2022, the photo of the sign offering resources was republished by the Daily Mail (archived here ). A day later, the libertarian website Reason (archived here ) did the same.

Lead Stories contacted Colorado State University for a response to the claim on Facebook that the sign had said "You're not ready for university yet." On April 5, 2024, Director of Issues Management Dell Rae Ciaravola (archived here ) confirmed via email that the claim is false:

The image referencing parents is altered and is not an actual sign. The sign listing office contact information was briefly used years ago but has been discontinued. Current signs are attached, and here's a link to CSU's first amendment site . Freedom of speech is vital to CSU's core values and mission.

An overview of Colorado State University's free-speech policy can be read here . A digitally altered version of a sign that read "You're not ready for university yet" has been circulating online since 2022. The earliest version of it (archived here ) found by Lead Stories was posted on Imgur in October of that year under the title "Unfortunately not true" -- a clear statement that it was not an authentic image:

(Source: Imgur screenshot taken on Fri Apr 5 15:53:23 2024 UTC)

Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims that involve free-speech issues can be found here .

Uliana Malashenko is a  New York-based freelance writer and fact checker. Read more about or contact Uliana Malashenko

Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet. Spotted something? Let us know! .

Lead Stories is a:

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