reported speech 3as

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Reported speech

Tense changes in reported speech

Indirect speech (reported 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.

Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech: She said, "I am tired." = She said that she was tired.

You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement was about something that is still true (but this is only for things which are general facts, and even then usually we like to change the tense) , e.g.

He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.
We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.
Direct speech: The sky is blue.
Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

These modal verbs do not change in reported speech: might, could, would, should, ought to :

We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be difficult to find our house.
She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to the party.

Course Curriculum

Direct and indirect speech 15 mins
Tense changes in reported speech 20 mins
Changing time and place in reported speech 20 mins
Reported questions 20 mins
Reporting verbs 20 mins
Reporting orders and requests 15 mins
Reporting hopes, intentions and promises 20 mins

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?

Word of the Day

be up to your eyeballs in something

to be very busy with something

Binding, nailing, and gluing: talking about fastening things together

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Direct & Indirect Speech

Reported Speech Tenses

Reported speech tenses will change from that of the direct speech in most cases.

This is known as backshifting in reported speech , with the basic rule that a tense is shifted back to its past tense form.

This is because we are usually talking about something in the past.

You can also watch a video of this lesson:

Backshifting in Reported Speech

Here are some examples of backshifting, with tenses going back from present to past:

Reported Speech Tenses Change Chart

Below is a reported speech tense change chart with the rules for backshifting for each tense and for modal verbs.

You will see reported speech does not go back a tense if it is already in the past perfect (there is no further back it can go), and some modal verbs also do not change.

If you are tested on this, though, these are the changes you need to make.

Exceptions to the rules

This is a useful starting point. However, it is a simplification as we may not always decide or need to shift the tense back.

For instance, if the circumstances we are reporting on have not changed since they were directly said, then the tense would not need to be changed. For example:

Direct Speech

I am happy
(present simple)

Reported Speech

She said she is happy

So if we want to convey that the situation is still true then we may keep the tense the same.

Alternatively, the tense could even forward shift. An example would be in relation to a film or book. In this case, the person may use the past tense to say that the film was good, but the present or past tense could be used when you convey that to someone else:

Direct Speech:

The film was really good!
(past simple)

Reported Speech:

He said that the film was very good!
(past simple) Or
He said that the film is very good!

As you can see, either reported speech tenses would be ok if you wanted to pass the information on to somebody else. The person said the film was good, and it is still good (it hasn't gone away).

So there are some general rules for reported speech tense changes but it can depend on the context. There may be no need to change it or you may be able to choose either tense.

Click the ' reported speech: practice forming indirect speech ' link below to practice changing tenses.

More on Reported Speech:

Reported Speech Quiz - Practice forming indirect speech

This reported speech quiz gives you the chance to practice converting direct speech to reported speech, also known as indirect speech. This involves backshifting with the tenses.

Reported Speech Imperatives: Reporting commands in indirect speech

Reported speech imperatives, also known as reported commands, follow a slightly different structure to normal indirect speech. We use imperatives to give orders, advice, or make requests.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

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

Direct and Indirect Speech: The differences explained

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

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Reported or indirect speech

The first section mostly reiterates material in the initial training section and is here as a reminder of the basics. You can skip this if you are already aware of the basic issues or have recently worked through the initial training section for this area. If that is the case, skim through what follows, and/or do the mini-test or use this menu to go to the area you need and then move on. It's up to you.

At the end of each section, you can click on -top- to return to this menu, simply read on, scroll back or bookmark the page for another time.

In what follows, we are going to consider four sorts of utterances which are often reported:

Statements such as: It is in the cupboard which are usually reported with that- clauses
Questions such as: When did you go? which are usually reported with dependent wh -clauses
Exclamations such as: What a lovely view! which are usually reported with wh -clauses
Commands such as: Get this done today which are usually reported with to- infinitive clauses

On the left we have the direct speech – the words uttered. On the right we have reported or indirect speech – how the message is passed on.

On the face of it, there's nothing terribly difficult about this idea. The tense shifts back one (from, e.g., was to had been, from can to could ) . At the same time, I changes to he , we changes to they and so on. Here's a list of the changes in English.

A small but significant source of error in reporting in British English is that the intrusive got in, for example: I have got enough money is dropped when the tense is backshifted so we get: He said he had enough money However, when the structure is used to express either:

strong obligation as in: I have got to go now the got may be retained and the reporting becomes: He said he had got to go then
the sense of receive , as in: I have got a letter from her the got may also be retained and the reporting becomes: She said she had got a letter from her

Here's a definition:

The name given to those aspects of language whose interpretation is relative to the occasion of utterance Fillmore (1966) in Harman (1989)

It's an important phenomenon in this area because the use of deixis neatly explains a lot of the so-called anomalies of indirect speech. Because meaning is dependent on the identity, point of view, time and location of the speaker / writer we are obliged (or not) to change, e.g., I to he or she, we to they , bring to come, come to go (and go to come ) , this to that, here to there, yesterday to the previous day, now to then, bring to take and so on. We make these changes because of a movement to the deictical centre. This is usually I, now and here so we make changes to allow for this. There are three types of deixis which affect the way we report what people say:

Personal deixis: We change pronouns to reflect who is addressing whom so we report, e.g.: "Will you please come early?" as any of She asked me to come early She asked him / her to come early She asked you to come early She asked them to come early She asked [name(s)] to come early depending on the context of who was addressed.
we often need to change bring to take when reporting in another place.
we often need to change this to that and these to those (and vice versa )
Temporal deixis: When reporting times, we need to consider that most people will expect any utterance to be centred on now so we make the appropriate changes as in, e.g., reporting: "I want to see you this afternoon" as She asked to see me that afternoon and "I'm leaving next year" as She said she was leaving the following year if the reporting takes place much later.

In this regard, the following changes now make more sense:

Once again, we find that context makes meaning .

For more, there is a guide to deixis on this site, linked below, which includes a larger image of the wheel above and explains what it all means.

Of course, not all changes are always appropriate (but using the changes will usually be correct). If we are reporting something virtually simultaneously, then we often don't change the tense or time expressions. If we are reporting something in the same place, then we don't change the place expressions. Another way of putting this is to refer to the encoding time (when the statement was made) and the decoding time (when the statement was reported). If the encoding and decoding times are the same, few if any changes need to be made to time markers and tense forms. So we might get: A: I'm going there now. B: What did he say? C: He said he's going there now However, if the encoding and decoding times are sufficiently separated, we do make changes accordingly so the exchange might end as: He said he was going there then.

If an utterance remains true, we often don't change the tense so we get, e.g., I'm from South Africa = He said he's from South Africa I love the countryside = She said she loves the countryside

Try this matching exercise to make sure you have understood so far.

Did you notice the changes, particularly with time and place expressions but also with the verb come (which changed to go )?

If you have followed so far, this will be familiar:

It's clear that we have examples of direct speech and indirect speech here in sentences 1, 4, 2 and 5 but Sentence 6 is what is called a hybrid form because the first part follows the 'rules' but the second part actually changes only the pronoun, from you to I . If the sentence followed the reported speech 'rules', it should be He said I was welcome to come and asked if I would like to bring Mary which is another possibility, of course, but sounds quite formal.

Statements or declarative utterances are routinely reported using that- clauses as in, for example:

There are two things to notice even with the simplest type of reporting of direct statements.

The omission of that . All the examples in the table here include that . However, it can be and routinely is omitted (something which, incidentally, is not allowed in some languages which have a parallel structure). When it is omitted, it is still, in technical terms a that- clause but referred to as a zero- that- clause, often written as Ø-that -clause . When the clause is short and concise, that is conventionally ellipted so most users of English will prefer: She said it's OK rather than: She said that it's OK However, if the utterance is structurally heavy, including multiple adverbials, subordinated and coordinated clauses and other modifiers, it is usually stylistically inappropriate to ellipt that . For example, if we report: Mary explained, "Up to now, I had always assumed the guy in the suit was the boss of the enterprise but now I see I was mistaken." we would normally include that in indirect speech and have: Mary explained that she had up to then she had always assumed that the guy in the suit was the boss of the enterprise but now she saw that she was mistaken.
Reporting verbs. If we report something like: "It's the switch on the left," explained Peter. we may choose to structure the report differently and simply have: Peter explained which switch it was rather than the more tortuous: Peter explained that it was the switch on the left. There is more on reporting verbs below.

Incidentally, the rule for ordering in direct speech is that you cannot reverse the verb and subject pronoun but you can reverse a noun or noun phrase subject and verb. We allow, therefore: "That's the bus," said John and "That's the bus," John said and "That's the bus," he said but "That's the bus,", said he is now hopelessly archaic.

Closed questions are those which require a Yes or No response and they are usually reported with if or whether . We get, therefore, for example: Are you going to the cinema? reported as He asked her if she was going to the cinema There is a bit more to it, however.

Consider what direct speech is being reported in the following.

I asked whether there were any good recipes in it.
I asked if there were any good recipes in it.
She wondered whether to go.
He asked whether or not they could come.

When you have done that, try reporting these sentences (from the point of view of later and elsewhere). Then click to reveal the comment .

“Are they English?” she asked
“Are they English?” he wondered
“I’m wondering whether to join you.” she said
"Can I talk to you?" asked Mary

You should have something like:

"Are there any good recipes in it?" I asked
"Shall I go?" she wondered / asked herself
"Can they come?" he enquired
She asked whether / if they were English
He wondered whether they were English
She was wondering whether to join us
She asked whether / if she could speak to me

In reporting a direct question, you can use if or whether interchangeably but if you are reporting someone's thoughts and doubts, only whether is usually the choice.

The other important thing to make sure that learners get right is the word ordering when reporting a question. There are three issues to consider:

The word order in these clauses is the one we would expect for a normal declarative statement. We have, e.g.: I asked if he was coming not *I asked if was he coming
The do, does, did operator which is used for forming questions in present and past simple tenses is not used in a reported question. We have, e.g.: I enquired if she worked in London not *I enquired if did she work in London
There is no reversal of subject and object with primary or modal auxiliary verbs. We have, e.g.: He wondered if she could manage the project not *He wondered if could she manage the project

Many languages do not work this way and the transfer from L 1 to L T often produces errors like: *She asked were they English *She wondered should she go *They enquired whether did the train stop at Margate?

Questions phrased using wh- words: who, what, why, when, which, where, how cannot be predicted to have a Yes-No-Maybe answer. Questions formed in this way cannot be reported with if or whether . The reporting is done by embedding the questions. This means that reporting this type of question requires a different word ordering from that used in reporting yes-no questions (see above) and that is non-intuitive. Many learners, having struggled to get the word ordering of yes-no questions right, logically transfer the rule concerning not disturbing the natural word ordering to wh-question s with resulting error. We can get, therefore: *She asked me where is the station *They enquired when are we coming *She asked what did I do for a living etc.

Embedding is often associated with polite questioning so, instead of the direct: Where is the station? we form polite embedded questions such as Can you tell me where the station is?

So it is with reported questions. Thus:

The tense chosen will often conform to the time and place of the reporting using the common-sense rules discussed above although back-shifting tenses where possible is common even when the reporting is virtually simultaneous.

The big issue for learners with this kind of reporting is the ordering of the subject and verb. Most first languages will lead learners to produce errors such as: *Can you tell me when is the film beginning? *Do you know who is the lady there? etc. And this will also carry over to reported questions so we get: *She asked me where is the zoo *They enquired what time did the train leave and so on.

Other reporting verbs such as explain, clarify, complain, mention, remember and state will produce similar errors because the structures are parallel to reported questions in English but not parallelled in many other languages. We may encounter, therefore: *She explained how did the machine work *They clarified what did they need *I remembered where was I going

There is more on the quirky nature of some reporting verbs below.

If the direct question is formed with who, which or what with the verb be as part of the predicate, it is possible to disturb the word order outlined above. For example, the following can be reported in two ways, like this:

However, the word ordering with the reversal of subject and verb is always correct, so, for teaching purposes, that is the way to go. Your learners may, however, encounter this disturbance so it's as well to be prepared for it and note that it only occurs in the limited circumstances set out here.

The disturbed word order is, however, always conventional when the question involves be as a simple copula with an adjectival attribute. So, for example: Which is best? is reported as: She asked which was best not as: *She asked which best was

What are the rules for using that and what in reported speech? Report the following using that or what if possible and then reveal the commentary .

"I am coming now."
"I don't know her name."
"What's your name?"
"My name is Mary."
"I will not go if it rains"

Rule 1: you can't use that in reporting questions or if -clauses. So we can have: He said (that) he was coming then / is coming now She said (that) she didn't / doesn't know her name She said (that) her name is / was Mary but not: *He asked that is her name *She said she would not go that if it rained Rule 2: Conditional sentences may be back-shifted but that may not be used in them. At all other times, that can be dropped with no loss of sense, but some loss of formality. On the dropping or not of that with bridge and non-bridge verbs, see below. Rule 3: to report open questions , we have choices. We can't use that but we can, with a change to an embedded question, use what : He asked her her name / He asked her what her name was but not, usually: ?He asked her what was her name

As we saw in part 1 of this guide, tense shifting is common in English and it is rarely wrong to do it. However:

If the reporting verb is in the present, we don't shift tenses. So we get She often says, "I don't know what to do" changing to She often says she doesn't know what to do "There was a nasty accident here last night," John informs me changing to John tells me there was a nasty accident here / there last night. (Note that last night does not change because the reporting is of a recent utterance.)
If the validity of what was said still holds. For example: Darwin wrote, "There is grandeur in this view of life." changes to Darwin wrote that there is grandeur in this view of life. not to Darwin wrote that there was grandeur in this view of life
Although back-shifting could be used in all the above examples, there are rare times when it actually produces nonsense. Try reporting "I chose to study French because it was a beautiful language." Will you accept He said he had chosen to study French because it had been a beautiful language ?

We saw above that question forms are reported differently from statements. How would you report these? Click here to reveal some comments .

"What awful weather!" she exclaimed.
"Stop fidgeting!" she said to John.
"Stop fidgeting," she growled.

Sentence 19 could be rendered as She exclaimed / said / remarked loudly what awful weather it was . It can't be reported without a change of grammar. Sentence 20 can be reported as She told John to stop fidgeting but ... Sentence 21 can't be reported this way. It has to be something like She growled at John to stop fidgeting Note that we have to insert the object here.

Essentially, there are three types. Can you categorise this list into three groups? Click to reveal , as usual.

The simple reporting verbs in the left-hand column often require only the deixis, pronoun and tense shifts covered in this guide. So we can have, e.g.:

in which the verbs are arranged in relation to the strength of the statement made so, for example: "I must have the steak," she said could be reported as: She insisted on having the steak and "I'd like the steak," she said as She said she'd like the steak but "I wonder if I might have the steak," she said as She enquired whether she could have the steak This has some pedagogical utility, of course, because it gives learners a way of understanding the connotations of the verbs. However, the categories are not unarguable and people will put different verbs in different boxes. It is a rule of thumb at best.

Some reporting verbs are used to report an embedded or fronted comment clause so, for example, something like: "She is, as you well know, quite capable." may be reported as: He insisted that I knew that she was quite capable. Other comment clauses such as in: "Well, to be honest, I don't have a clue." and "As you know, I've been living here for years." may be reported using an appropriate reporting verb but maintaining the adverbial as: He explained that he honestly didn't have a clue. or as: He reminded me that he had been living there for years.

There is a difference in the way that such clauses are reported depending on the role of the disjunct adverbial.

Style disjuncts express the speaker / writer's view of what is being expressed and how it should be understood. So, for example: "Seriously, I don't think it will arrive in time." expresses how the speaker wishes to be understood and may be reported as: She seriously doubted whether it would arrive in time.
Attitude disjuncts indicate how generally the speaker wants to be understood or what limitations apply and they are reported using the same disjuncts usually (so are considerably easier to form). For example: "More or less, that's the same conclusion I arrived at." and "Administrationally, this is quite a simple matter." can be reported simple as: He said that it was more or less the same conclusion he had arrived at. and She said it was administrationally quite a simple matter.

Purely for information, there's a PDF of a list of reporting verbs in English list which considers the syntactical restraints concerned with them. The list also includes some consideration of the functions of reporting verbs and categorises them accordingly. Click to download a list of reporting verbs . Don't try to teach them all at once!

There is also a guide to the kinds of reporting verbs used in academic writing, linked below, which contains a list of over 150 verbs such as state, aver, suggest, discount, dismiss, investigate etc.

The issue here is whether one can omit the word that from a reported statement. The theoretical distinction is between what are called bridge verbs and non-bridge verbs. Many simple reporting verbs verbs such as say, tell, think, know, write, claim and hear are bridge verbs and it is perfectly in order to omit the word that when they are followed by a clause so we allow both: He said that he was coming tomorrow John thinks that it's too expensive She claims that she lost the money etc. and: He said he was coming tomorrow John thinks it's too expensive She claims she lost the money Many find (that) the sentences without that are more stylistically acceptable.

However, some verbs, exemplified above with verbs like cry, sneer and shout , refer not only to what was said but to how it was said and these are often non-bridge verbs and leaving out that results in clumsiness at best. For example, many people find: She shouted she was coming She whispered the chairman was drunk He lied he was married They acknowledged coming late was rude are all clumsy or even wrong and should be expressed with that as: She shouted that she was coming She whispered that the chairman was drunk He lied that he was married They acknowledged that coming late was rude In general terms, the less common and more loaded reporting verbs require that when followed by a clause . Here are some examples of how non-bridge verbs are used when reporting:

In all those case where we choose to follow the reporting verb with a clause, the insertion of that is almost obligatory. In the last case, not including that results in: The minister conceded having long periods of unemployment made it difficult to get work in the future which forces the hearer to reconsider who has long periods of unemployment.

In academic writing simple verbs are often avoided for the sake of style or precision and less frequently used so non-bridge verbs are usually preferred. For example: Guru confirms that the results are reliable He acknowledged that the experiment was flawed The findings indicate that there is a need for ... She emphasises that findings are provisional all sound clumsy without that .

Clause length is a factor which tends to override the omission of that even with simple reporting verbs so while, for example: I said, without much optimism based on his previous track record, he would come is correct and the omission of that is acceptable, most native speakers would insert it to signal the subordinate clause as: I said, without much optimism based on his previous track record, that he would come

The categories are not watertight but once a learner has decided on a speaker's intentions in terms of the function of what was said (rather than the form), it becomes a good deal simpler to select an appropriate reporting verb providing, of course, that the structural constraints which apply to many of them are understood, too. Should you wish it, that list is included in the list of reporting verbs with the colligational characteristics, available here .

Reporting verbs for true questions form a restricted set which is straightforward to teach. Almost a complete list is: ask, enquire, want to know, wonder For example:

However, question forms also routinely perform other functions than asking for information and when this happens, other reporting verbs are necessary to reflect the illocutionary force of the utterance. Like this:

As with much in language, we have to look at the function, not the form, to decide on the right way to report the words.

Colligation with reporting verbs is something of a headache for learners of English and there are numerous constraints and possibilities. Reporting verbs can be categorised by what they may be followed by and it is certainly not intuitive to understand, for example, that we can say: He confirmed that I had passed but we cannot say: *He congratulated that I passed Here are some of the common issues. For a list of reporting verbs and their grammatical constraints and possibilities, download the PDF file from the link above or at the end.

There are times when the source of something said or written is obscure, unknown or unimportant and others when we wish to disguise the source and in these cases a passive clause construction with the dummy it comes to the rescue. In academic texts the structure is also used to cite something so well known in a field of enquiry that it needs no sourcing. For example: It has been suggested that ... It is often questioned whether ... It has been asked whether ... It is generally reckoned that ... and so on. These constructions are not difficult to teach and are communicatively very useful ways of avoiding the need to say who said or wrote something.

Sometimes, we can use the same kind of passive construction without the dummy pronoun when the source of what has been said or written is unknown, absent or unimportant. For example: She has been told to ... I have often be accused of ... They are said to be ... The house is reputed to be ... etc.

At other times, we may wish to emphasise the source of a statement and the passive is also used in this way, of course, so we may encounter, for example: I have been accused by Mary of ... She has been asked by the boss to ... The comment has been made by the department head that ... and so on.

Modal auxiliary verbs are frequently defective insofar as some have no tense forms at all, some have past and future forms which use a different verb altogether and some only have tense forms in certain meanings. It is a complicated area. (For more, follow some of the guides from the index of modality.)

There is nothing very difficult about the form of reported speech changes (providing a learner is already familiar with the tense forms of English). However:

Because of the 'common sense' issues touched on above, you need to make sure that the language is very clearly set in a time-and-place context.
It is almost impossible to practise the form changes in class by getting students to report each other's utterances because time and place remain static. You need to spread the practice over time and place to be authentic.
You need to make sure that learners are aware of the common-sense issues and don't slavishly transform every utterance.
Languages deal with the issues differently. Some, for example, reserve a subjunctive tense for reported speech and some hardly make any changes at all.

Teaching the mechanics of indirect speech is not too challenging providing the learners have a grasp of the tense forms and pronoun systems but one does need to address different forms separately or it all becomes a mass of data that bewilders learners. A sensible approach is to apply the analysis as above, focusing on reporting declarative statements, yes-no questions, open, wh- questions, exclamations, orders and so on separately before making any attempt to combine ideas.

Here's an idea for teaching indirect speech and still applying the common-sense rules.

Obviously, this is contrived and artificial to some extent but it is personalised and situates the language temporally and spatially. It is certainly better than meaningless sentence-transformation exercises.

Because the word order when reporting questions and using a number of the reporting verbs is a common source of error, it is worth practising separately. Fortunately, the use of back-shifting, even for virtually simultaneous reporting, is also common so there is less need to set up delayed reporting.

You have to teach the forms before you can launch into this kind of practice and
The questions may well be mixes of wh- questions and closed questions so the reporting will include formulations such as He asked you why you became a teacher and She asked you if / whether you enjoy teaching

You can set up the task to exclude one or other type of question, of course, but that's a lot less natural.

Reporting verbs in English need careful handling and there are a number of issues:

Grammatical / Colligational issues We saw above that these verbs vary considerably in the constructions they can appear in. When deciding on a set of reporting verbs to teach, therefore, it makes sense to focus on those which are colligates and share structural characteristics or we risk encouraging error rather than helping our learners to avoid it. The simplest way to start is to take common verbs which can be followed by that clauses (i.e., most of them) before getting into other complications. Even at higher levels, it makes sense to select sets of verbs which take the same structural forms in the following clauses.
Attitudinal issues Above, we divided reporting verbs into three classes: tentative, neutral and assertive. While this is a rather crude categorisation (and the diagram was meant to alert you to the fact that there is a cline rather than a simple three-part division), it has some utility as far as classroom approaches are concerned because it provides a memorable hook on which to hang the verbs.
Stylistic issues Some reporting verbs are rare and more formal in style or, sometimes, rarer and quite colloquial. We need, therefore, to alert learners to the stylistic differences between, e.g.: She enquired how he felt and She asked how he was because learners need these kinds of data to be able to use the words naturally. We also need to remember the distinction between bridge and non-bridge verbs and the effect of dropping or including that .

Click here for the test .

References: Chalker, S, 1987, Current English Grammar , London: Macmillan Harman, I P, 1989, Teaching indirect speech: deixis points the way, English Language Teaching Journal, Volume 44, No 3, pp230-238, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) in English – Summary

How to use reported speech.

If you have a sentence in Direct Speech, try to follow our 5 steps to put the sentence into Reported Speech..

Define the type of the sentence (statement, questions, command)
What tense is used in the introductory sentence?
Do you have to change the person (pronoun)?
Do you have to backshift the tenses?
Do you have to change expressions of time and place?

1. Statements, Questions, Commands

Mind the type of sentences when you use Reported Speech. There is more detailed information on the following pages.

Commands, Requests

2. The introductory sentence

If you use Reported Speech there are mostly two main differences.

The introductory sentence in Reported Speech can be in the Present or in the Past .

If the introductory sentences is in the Simple Present, there is no backshift of tenses.

Direct Speech:

Susan, “ Mary work s in an office.”

Reported Speech:

Introductory sentence in the Simple Present → Susan says (that)* Mary work s in an office.
Introductory sentence in the Simple Past → Susan said (that)* Mary work ed in an office.

3. Change of persons/pronouns

If there is a pronoun in Direct Speech, it has possibly to be changed in Reported Speech, depending on the siutation.

Direct Speech → Susan, “I work in an office.”
Reported Speech → Susan said (that)* she worked in an office.

Here I is changed to she .

4. Backshift of tenses

If there is backshift of tenses in Reported Speech, the tenses are shifted the following way.

Direct Speech → Peter, “ I work in the garden.”
Reported Speech → Peter said (that)* he work ed in the garden.

5. Conversion of expressions of time and place

If there is an expression of time/place in the sentence, it may be changed, depending on the situation.

Direct Speech → Peter, “I worked in the garden yesterday .”
Reported Speech → Peter said (that) he had worked in the garden the day before .

6. Additional information

In some cases backshift of tenses is not necessary, e.g. when statements are still true. Backshift of tenses is never wrong.

John, “My brother is at Leipzig university.”
John said (that) his brother was at Leipzig university. or
John said (that) his brother is at Leipzig university.

when you use general statements.

Mandy, “The sun rises in the east.”
Mandy said (that) the sun rose in the east. or
Mandy said (that) the sun rises in the east.

* The word that is optional, that is the reason why we put it in brackets.

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Grammar Explanations
Reported Speech

Reported Speech

Perfect english grammar.

Reported Statements

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.
Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)

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

Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

* doesn't change.

Direct speech: The sky is blue.
Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

Reported Questions

So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?

Direct speech: Where do you live?
Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
Direct speech: Where is Julie?
Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.
Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?
Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

Direct speech: Close the window, please
Or: Could you close the window please?
Or: Would you mind closing the window please?
Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.
Direct speech: Please don't be late.
Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders

Direct speech: Sit down!
Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.
Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.
Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

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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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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!!!

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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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.

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.

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

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An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

Reported speech is the report of one speaker or writer on the words spoken, written, or thought by someone else. Also called reported discourse .

Traditionally, two broad categories of reported speech have been recognized: direct speech (in which the original speaker's words are quoted word for word) and indirect speech (in which the original speaker's thoughts are conveyed without using the speaker's exact words). However, a number of linguists have challenged this distinction, noting (among other things) that there's significant overlap between the two categories. Deborah Tannen, for instance, has argued that "[w] hat is commonly referred to as reported speech or direct quotation in conversation is constructed dialogue ."

Observations

" Reported speech is not just a particular grammatical form or transformation , as some grammar books might suggest. We have to realize that reported speech represents, in fact, a kind of translation , a transposition that necessarily takes into account two different cognitive perspectives: the point of view of the person whose utterance is being reported, and that of a speaker who is actually reporting that utterance." (Teresa Dobrzyńska, "Rendering Metaphor in Reported Speech," in Relative Points of View: Linguistic Representation of Culture , ed. by Magda Stroińska. Berghahn Books, 2001)

Tannen on the Creation of Dialogue

"I wish to question the conventional American literal conception of ' reported speech ' and claim instead that uttering dialogue in conversation is as much a creative act as is the creation of dialogue in fiction and drama.
"The casting of thoughts and speech in dialogue creates particular scenes and characters--and . . . it is the particular that moves readers by establishing and building on a sense of identification between speaker or writer and hearer or reader. As teachers of creative writing exhort neophyte writers, the accurate representation of the particular communicates universality, whereas direct attempts to represent universality often communicate nothing." (Deborah Tannen, Talking Voices: Repetition, Dialogue, and Imagery in Conversational Discourse , 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2007)

Goffman on Reported Speech

"[Erving] Goffman's work has proven foundational in the investigation of reported speech itself. While Goffman is not in his own work concerned with the analysis of actual instances of interaction (for a critique, see Schlegoff, 1988), it provides a framework for researchers concerned with investigating reported speech in its most basic environment of occurrence: ordinary conversation. . . .
"Goffman . . . proposed that reported speech is a natural upshot of a more general phenomenon in interaction: shifts of 'footing,' defined as 'the alignment of an individual to a particular utterance . . .' ([ Forms of Talk ,] 1981: 227). Goffman is concerned to break down the roles of speaker and hearer into their constituent parts. . . . [O]ur ability to use reported speech stems from the fact that we can adopt different roles within the 'production format,' and it is one of the many ways in which we constantly change footing as we interact . . .."(Rebecca Clift and Elizabeth Holt, Introduction. Reporting Talk: Reported Speech in Interaction . Cambridge University Press, 2007)

Reported Speech in Legal Contexts

" [R]eported speech occupies a prominent position in our use of language in the context of the law. Much of what is said in this context has to do with rendering people's sayings: we report the words that accompany other people's doings in order to put the latter in the correct perspective. As a consequence, much of our judiciary system, both in the theory and in the practice of law, turns around the ability to prove or disprove the correctness of a verbal account of a situation. The problem is how to summarize that account, from the initial police report to the final imposed sentence, in legally binding terms, so that it can go 'on the record,' that is to say, be reported in its definitive, forever immutable form as part of a 'case' in the books." (Jacob Mey, When Voices Clash: A Study in Literary Pragmatics . Walter de Gruyter, 1998)
Constructed Dialogue in Storytelling and Conversation
Cooperative Overlap in Conversation
Dialogue Guide Definition and Examples
What Are Reporting Verbs in English Grammar?
The Power of Indirectness in Speaking and Writing
Definition and Examples of "Exophora" in English Grammar
Direct Speech Definition and Examples
How to Use Indirect Quotations in Writing for Complete Clarity
Politeness Strategies in English Grammar
Speech Act Theory
The Meaning of Innuendo
Conversation Defined
Dialogue Definition, Examples and Observations
What Is Relevance Theory in Terms of Communication?
Speech Acts in Linguistics
Verbal Hedge: Definition and Examples

Time and Place in Reported Speech

When we report something, we may need to make changes to:

time (now, tomorrow)
place (here, this room)

If we report something around the same time, then we probably do not need to make any changes to time words . But if we report something at a different time, we need to change time words. Look at these example sentences:

He said: "It was hot yesterday ." → He said that it had been hot the day before .
He said: "We are going to swim tomorrow ." → He said they were going to swim the next day .

Here is a list of common time words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

Place words

If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any changes to place words . But if we are in a different place when we report something, then we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences:

He said: "It is cold in here ." → He said that it was cold in there .
He said: "How much is this book ?" → He asked how much the book was.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

Contributor: Josef Essberger

Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct : Mary said, “I am going to the US next month.” Indirect : Mary said that she was going to the US the following month.
Direct : The sports teacher said, “Run fast, boys.” Indirect : The sports teacher asked the boys to run fast.

In these two examples, you might have observed that when we use direct speech, we use quotations to outline the real words of the speaker. As against, in an indirect speech, there is no such thing, as the listener narrates the same in his/her own words.

Content: Direct Speech Vs Indirect Speech

Comparison chart.

Rules with Examples

How to remember the difference

Definition of direct speech.

When a person gives a written or spoken account of the speech, by repeating the exact words of the speaker, then this is known as Direct Speech. It uses inverted commas to highlight the original statement of the speaker, which is supported by a signal phrase or say dialogue guide.

Alex said, “I will be there in five minutes.”
The teacher said to Peter, “If you don’t complete your homework, I will make a call to your parents.”
Paul said to me, “What are you looking at?”
Joseph said, “You should give him a second chance.”

Sometimes, reporting verb appears in the mid of the sentence:

Is that so, she asked, You don’t want to come with us?

Adverbs can be used with the reporting verb, to delineate the manner in which something is spoken.

“I won’t come to your party,” Kate said angrily.
“I will always be there to help you”, he said sympathetically.

Definition of Indirect Speech

Indirect Speech or otherwise called as reported speech is one in which a person reports on what someone else said or wrote to him, not using the actual words. The indirect speech stresses on the content, i.e. what someone stated, instead of the words that are used for stating it.

The formation of the reported clause in an indirect speech is mainly based on whether the speaker is just reporting something, or ordering, commanding, requesting, etc.

Alex said that he would be here in five minutes.
The teacher scolded Peter that if he does not complete his homework, she would call his parents.
Paul asked me what am I looking at.
Joseph advised that I should give him a second chance.

Key Differences Between Direct and Indirect Speech

The difference between direct and indirect speech are discussed as under:

Direct Speech refers to the literal repetition of the words spoken by someone, using a quotative frame. On the other hand, indirect speech is one that reports something said or written by another person, without making the use of exact words.
Direct Speech is also called a quoted speech, as it uses the exact words of the speaker. As against, the indirect speech is termed as reported speech, as it narrates what is said by the speaker.
Direct Speech is from the speaker’s standpoint, whereas indirect speech is from the listener’s standpoint.
Direct speech is when we use the exact rendition of the words of the speaker. Conversely, in an indirect speech own words are used to report the speaker’s statement.
The inverted comma is used in direct speech, but not in indirect speech.

Rules for changing Direct Speech to Indirect Speech

There are certain rules which need to be followed while changing from direct to indirect speech or vice versa:

Rule 1 : Backshift changes

Exception : When the direct speech consists of a universal fact or truth, then the tense of the sentence remains the same.

Direct : The teacher said, “Human Rights day is celebrated on 10th December.” Indirect : The teacher said that Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10th December.

Rule 2 : For change in adverbs, pronouns, demonstratives and auxiliary verbs

Rule 3 : For Interrogative Sentences

Questions may be of two types: Objective questions whose answer can be given in yes or no which starts with an auxiliary verb.

On the other hand, Subjective questions whose answers can be given in detail. Here subjective question refers to the questions that begin with wh-word, i.e. when, how, who, what, which, where, why and so forth. Here, the reporting verb is changed from said to ask in the reporting speech.

Direct : She said, “Are you going to the party?” Indirect : She asked if I was going to the party.
Direct : Joe said to me, What is the time by your watch? Indirect : Joe asked me what was the time by my watch.

Rule 4 : When the direct speech contains orders, request, advise, suggestions command etc. then the reporting verb is changed to tell, request, command, instruct, order, advise, suggestion etc.

Direct : “Don’t make noise”, said the librarian. Indirect : The librarian told me to stop making noise.

Rule 5 : When something is said repeatedly by a person, or it is said by many people we use says/say instead of said in the direct speech. Says when it is said by only one person and say when it is said by many people. Further, in indirect speech, it is replaced by tell/tells accordingly.

Direct : My father says to me, “You are very naughty.” Indirect : My father tells me that I am very naughty.

The reporting verb remains in simple present tense also when the actual words are still true when it is reported.

Rule 6 : When there is an exclamatory sentence in the direct speech, first of all, the exclamatory sentence is changed into an assertive sentence. The inverted commas, interjections like oh, hurray, bravo etc. and the exclamatory mark is removed. The reporting verb, i.e. said is changed into exclaimed, and we use the conjunction that to add the clause.

Direct : “Oh wow! it’s beautiful” she said. Indirect : She exclaimed that it was very beautiful.

The basic tip to recognize the difference between direct and indirect speech is that in case of direct speech we use inverted commas which are not used in case of indirect speech. Further, we use the word ‘that’ in general, in indirect speech.

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josophina emvula says

July 15, 2019 at 2:37 pm

what are the rules that I must know to make the different of this direct and indirect speech?

January 26, 2024 at 2:36 am

Direct speech uses the exact words while indirect speech report what someone said without using the exact word

Ritupallab Bora says

January 4, 2021 at 6:56 pm

So good. Earlier I didn’t understand the difference between direct and indirect speech but now I got the whole concept

Arma Farooqui says

May 18, 2022 at 8:35 pm

It’s really really helpful. I understood everything very well. Thanks a lot…

Garang Chiman says

July 5, 2022 at 10:37 pm

Well illustrated. Thank you so much.

Direct Speech and Reported Speech

There are two ways to report what someone says or thinks:

Direct Speech

Direct speech shows a person's exact words. Quotation marks ("....") are a sign that the words are the exact words that a person used.

Hai asked, "Where are you going?"

Manny replied, "I'm going home."

Reported Speech

Reported speech puts the speaker's words or ideas into a sentence without quotation marks. Noun clauses are usually used. In reported speech, the reader does not assume that the words are the speaker's exact words; often, they are a paraphrase of the speaker's words.

Hai asked Manny where he was going.

Manny said he was going home.

Note: Use of the word "that" is optional in reported speech. Both of the following sentences are correct:

The child said that they were lost.
The child said they were lost.

Verb Tense in Reported Speech

When you report what someone said in the past, you usually shift back a verb tense from the tense the speaker used. These are some examples of verb shifts:

simple present to simple past
past to past perfect
present perfect to past perfect

*If the reported information is still true, you may use the same tense.

Questions in Reported Speech

Word order: The word order in a reported question is the same as in a statement. The subject comes before the verb.

Question: Are you ready?
Statement: I am ready.
Question in reported speech: She wanted to know if I was ready.

Punctuation: If the sentence is a statement, end it with a period even if it contains a reported question.

Statement containing a reported question: She asked me what I thought of the book.
Question containing a reported question: Did she ask what you thought of the book?

Yes or No Questions

To change a yes/no question to a noun clause in reported speech, introduce the noun clause "if" or "whether." "Whether or not" may also be used.

Information Questions

To change an information question to a noun clause in reported speech, begin the noun clause with the question word and remember to use sentence word order.

The person who is reporting what someone said is usually different from the person who made the original statement. As a result, pronouns in reported speech often change.

Place and Time

Changes in the situation between direct and reported speech can result in changes to words indicating place and time.

Recommend and Suggest

The subjunctive, or base, form of the verb (no tense, without "to") is used in reported speech when the main verb is "recommend" or "suggest."

Infinitives

Infinitives (to + the simple form of the verb) may sometimes be used instead of noun clauses, especially in commands and in requests for action or permission.

Commands can be reported two ways:

A noun clause with a modal (usually "should")
An infinitive

Requests for Action or Permission

Requests for action or permission can be reported two ways:

A noun clause with "if"

IMAGES

Reported Speech: English ESL worksheets pdf & doc
Direct Speech And Reported Speech Workbook Definition
ESL Teachers: REPORTED SPEECH
Direct And Indirect Speech: Verb Tense Changes With Rules & Examples
Reported Speech: How To Use Reported Speech
Reported Speech Interactive worksheet

VIDEO

Reported Speech
Reported speech الكلام المنقول
Reported Speech
Reported Speech #bac2024 #bacdz
(Unit Seven) reported speech, yes no questions, and orders
10 grade, Reported speech. Караганда 2024г

COMMENTS

Reported speech
Direct speech (exact words): Mary: Oh dear. We've been walking for hours! I'm exhausted. I don't think I can go any further. I really need to stop for a rest. Peter: Don't worry. I'm not surprised you're tired. I'm tired too.
Direct / Indirect Speech
ان شاء الله كامل ناجحين 🙏 المزيد من الفيديوهات قادمة يا تلاميذي الأعزاء 💯 شارك هذا الفيديو مع الجميع 🙏🏼 ...
Tense changes in reported speech
In indirect speech, the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command. Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech: She said, "I am tired." = She said that she was tired. Phrase in Direct Speech. Equivalent in Reported Speech.
Reported speech: indirect speech
Reported speech: indirect speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
Reported Speech Tenses Chart: How to convert tenses
Reported speech tenses will change from that of the direct speech in most cases. This is known as backshifting in reported speech, with the basic rule that a tense is shifted back to its past tense form. This is because we are usually talking about something in the past. You can also watch a video of this lesson:
Reported or indirect speech
Reported or indirect speech. The first section mostly reiterates material in the initial training section and is here as a reminder of the basics. You can skip this if you are already aware of the basic issues or have recently worked through the initial training section for this area. If that is the case, skim through what follows, and/or do ...
Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) in English
5. Conversion of expressions of time and place. If there is an expression of time/place in the sentence, it may be changed, depending on the situation. Direct Speech → Peter, "I worked in the garden yesterday .". Reported Speech → Peter said (that) he had worked in the garden the day before. Direct Speech.
Reported Speech
Watch my reported speech video: Here's how it works: We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence: Direct speech: I like ice cream. Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.
Reported Speech in English Grammar
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.
Reported speech: questions
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.
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. Q2.
What is Reported Speech?
Also known as indirect speech. Unlike direct speech, which relies on speech-marks to directly quote what someone has said, reported speech relays the same information without quoting the speaker. Examples. Direct speech 'I'm going to buy some milk.' Reported speech. He told me he was going to buy some milk. Direct speech 'Please help me unpack ...
Definition and Examples of Reported Speech
Reported Speech. Reported speech is the report of one speaker or writer on the words spoken, written, or thought by someone else. Also called reported discourse . Traditionally, two broad categories of reported speech have been recognized: direct speech (in which the original speaker's words are quoted word for word) and indirect speech (in ...
Indirect speech
What is indirect speech or reported speech? When we tell people what another person said or thought, we often use reported speech or indirect speech. To do that, we need to change verb tenses (present, past, etc.) and pronouns (I, you, my, your, etc.) if the time and speaker are different.For example, present tenses become past, I becomes he or she, and my becomes his or her, etc.
Time and Place in Reported Speech
Time and Place in Reported Speech. When we report something, we may need to make changes to: time (now, tomorrow) place (here, this room) direct speech. reported speech. She said, "I saw Mary yesterday." She said she had seen Mary the day before. He said: "My mother is here."
Difference Between Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct: Mary said, "I am going to the US next month." Indirect: Mary said that she was going to the US the following month.; Direct: The sports teacher said, "Run fast, boys." Indirect: The sports teacher asked the boys to run fast.; In these two examples, you might have observed that when we use direct speech, we use quotations to outline the real words of the speaker.
Direct Speech and Reported Speech
Direct Speech Direct speech shows a person's exact words. Quotation marks ("....") are a sign that the words are the exact words that a person used. Reported Speech Reported speech puts the speaker's words or ideas into a sentence without quotation marks. Noun clauses are usually used. In reported speech, the reader does not assume that the words are the speaker's exact words; often, they are ...
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Level: Streams Course:: Third Year Classes All Streams. Reported Speech
A handout sugeested to support further practice of reported speech 222222 - Free download as Word Doc (.doc), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Handout of grammar lesson
Direct & Reported Speech 3as
direct & reported speech 3as - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free.
Reported Speech/1as/3as/part 2/Reporting questions/Reporting Orders
Reported Speech/1as/3as/part 2/Reporting questions/Reporting Orders, suggestions..Reported Speech/1as/3as/Reporting Statements/الجزء الأولدروس الاولى ثانوي ا...
Reported Speech/1as/3as/Reporting Statements/الجزء الأول
Reported Speech/1as/3as/Reporting Statements/الجزء الأولdirect and indirect Speechاولى ثانوي إنجليزيةاولى ثانوي إنجليزية فصل ثانياولى ...
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English EFL

Tense changes in reported speech

Course Curriculum

Reported speech: indirect speech

Indirect speech: reporting questions

Reporting wh -questions

Who , whom and what

When , where , why and how

Indirect speech: reporting commands

Indirect speech: present simple reporting verb

Newspaper headlines

Indirect speech: past continuous reporting verb

Modal verbs

No backshift

Indirect speech: changes to pronouns

Indirect speech: changes to adverbs and demonstratives

Typical changes to demonstratives, adverbs and adverbial expressions

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Reported Speech Tenses

Backshifting in Reported Speech

Reported Speech Tenses Change Chart

Exceptions to the rules

Direct Speech

Reported Speech

Direct Speech:

Reported Speech:

More on Reported Speech:

Reported Speech Quiz - Practice forming indirect speech

Reported Speech Imperatives: Reporting commands in indirect speech

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and Indirect Speech: The differences explained

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Reported or indirect speech

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) in English – Summary

1. Statements, Questions, Commands

2. The introductory sentence

Direct Speech:

Reported Speech:

3. Change of persons/pronouns

4. Backshift of tenses

5. Conversion of expressions of time and place

6. Additional information

Reported Speech

Reported Speech in English Grammar

Introduction

Say or Tell?

Reported speech: questions

Grammar explanation

Yes / no questions

Questions with a question word

Reporting verbs

Offers, requests and suggestions

Language level

Online courses

Reported Speech - Definition, Rules and Usage with Examples

Table of Contents

Transforming Direct Speech into Reported Speech

What is reported speech?

What is the formula of reported speech?

Give some examples of reported speech.

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Reported Speech

Observations

Tannen on the Creation of Dialogue

Goffman on Reported Speech

Reported Speech in Legal Contexts

Time and Place in Reported Speech

Place words

Difference Between Direct and Indirect Speech

Content: Direct Speech Vs Indirect Speech

How to remember the difference