reported speech exercise 5

Reported Speech Exercise 5

Perfect english grammar.

• Review reported statments, questions, orders and requests
• Download this quiz in PDF here
• More reported speech exercises here

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Reported Speech – Free Exercise

Write the following sentences in indirect speech. Pay attention to backshift and the changes to pronouns, time, and place.

• Two weeks ago, he said, “I visited this museum last week.” → Two weeks ago, he said that   . I → he|simple past → past perfect|this → that|last …→ the … before
• She claimed, “I am the best for this job.” → She claimed that   . I → she|simple present→ simple past|this→ that
• Last year, the minister said, “The crisis will be overcome next year.” → Last year, the minister said that   . will → would|next …→ the following …
• My riding teacher said, “Nobody has ever fallen off a horse here.” → My riding teacher said that   . present perfect → past perfect|here→ there
• Last month, the boss explained, “None of my co-workers has to work overtime now.” → Last month, the boss explained that   . my → his/her|simple present→ simple past|now→ then

Rewrite the question sentences in indirect speech.

• She asked, “What did he say?” → She asked   . The subject comes directly after the question word.|simple past → past perfect
• He asked her, “Do you want to dance?” → He asked her   . The subject comes directly after whether/if |you → she|simple present → simple past
• I asked him, “How old are you?” → I asked him   . The subject comes directly after the question word + the corresponding adjective (how old)|you→ he|simple present → simple past
• The tourists asked me, “Can you show us the way?” → The tourists asked me   . The subject comes directly after whether/if |you→ I|us→ them
• The shop assistant asked the woman, “Which jacket have you already tried on?” → The shop assistant asked the woman   . The subject comes directly after the question word|you→ she|present perfect → past perfect

Rewrite the demands/requests in indirect speech.

• The passenger requested the taxi driver, “Stop the car.” → The passenger requested the taxi driver   . to + same wording as in direct speech
• The mother told her son, “Don’t be so loud.” → The mother told her son   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t
• The policeman told us, “Please keep moving.” → The policeman told us   . to + same wording as in direct speech ( please can be left off)
• She told me, “Don’t worry.” → She told me   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t
• The zookeeper told the children, “Don’t feed the animals.” → The zookeeper told the children   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t

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Reported Speech 5

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Exercises on reported speech.

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

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

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

→ more on statements in reported speech

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

Also note that you have to:

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

→ more on questions in reported speech

→ more on requests in reported speech

Additional Information and Exeptions

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

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

→ more on additional information and exeptions in reported speech

Statements in Reported Speech

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

Questions in Reported Speech

Requests in reported speech.

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

Mixed Exercises on Reported Speech

• Exercise on reported speech with and without backshift

Grammar in Texts

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

• English Grammar
• Clause structure and verb patterns

Reported speech

Level: intermediate

Reporting and summarising

When we want to report what people say, we don't usually try to report their exact words. We usually give a  summary , for example:

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. I'll tell you what, let's see if we can find a place to sit down, and then we can stop and have our picnic.

Reported speech (summary) :

When Mary complained that she was tired out after walking so far, Peter said they could stop for a picnic.

Reporting verbs

When we want to report what people say, we use reporting verbs . Different reporting verbs have different patterns, for example:

Mary complained (that) she was tired . (verb + that clause) She asked if they could stop for a rest . (verb + if clause) Peter told her not to worry . (verb + to -infinitive) He suggested stopping and having a picnic . (verb + - ing form) 

See reporting verbs with that , wh-  and if clauses , verbs followed by the infinitive , verbs followed by the -ing form .

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Tenses in reported speech

When reporting what people say or think in English, we need to remember that the rules for tense forms in reported speech are exactly the same as in the rest of the language.

This is a letter that Andrew wrote ten years ago:

If we wanted to report what Andrew said in his letter, we might say something like this: 

Andrew said that when he  was  22, he was an engineering student in his last month at university. He wanted  to travel abroad after he  had finished  his course at the university, but he would need to earn some money while he was abroad so he wanted  to learn to teach English as a foreign language. A friend  had recommended  a course but Andrew needed more information, so he wrote to the school and asked them when their courses started  and how much they were . He also wanted to know if there was  an examination at the end of the course.

We would naturally use past tense forms to talk about things which happened ten years ago. So, tenses in reports and summaries in English are the same as in the rest of the language.

Sometimes we can choose between a past tense form and a  present tense  form. If we're talking about the past but we mention something that's still true , we can use the present tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it' s the best hotel in town. Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro is her favourite actor. Helen said she  loves visiting New York.

or the past tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it was the best hotel in town. Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro was her favourite actor. Helen said she  loved visiting New York.

If we're talking about something that  everybody knows is true , we normally use the present tense :

Michael said he'd always wanted to climb Everest because it' s the highest mountain in the world. Mary said she loved visiting New York because it' s such an exciting city.

Hi! I found the following paragraph from a grammar site while I was studying the reported speech. Can you help me? It says; --> 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.’)

And my question is: How do we understand if it is a hypothetical event in the past or not? We normally don't change 'might' in reported speech. (e.g. ‘It might snow tonight,’ he warned. --> He warned that it might snow that night.) But why do we say 'He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters.' instead of 'He said that the noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ What's the difference between these two indirect reported speeches? Could you please explain the difference? And I also found this example which is about the same rule above: --> He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: a) ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or b) ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’) Can you also explain why we report this sentence like that. How can we both change a) and b) into the same indirect reported speech? Thank you very much!

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Hello Melis_06,

1. He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. 2. He said that the noise might be the postman delivering letters.

In sentence 1 it is clear that the noise has ended; it is a noise that 'he' could hear but it is not a noise that you can hear now. In sentence 2 the noise could have ended or it could be a noise that you can still hear now. For example, if the noise is one which is constant, such as a noise that comes from your car engine that you are still trying to identify, then you would use sentence 2. In other words, sentence 2 allows for a wider range of time possibilities - both past (ended) and present (still current).

Your second question is similar:

He said he would have helped us if we needed a volunteer - you no longer need a volunteer

He said he would help us if we needed a volunteer - this could still be relevant; you may still need a volunteer.

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello my friend : what are you doing now? me : I'm eating an apple now and My friend repeated his question now

my question

Can I repeat the sentence in the past ( I was eating an apple) and mean( I'm eating an apple now) ?

You can but it is unusual. If you say  I was eating an apple  (past continuous), it means that it was in the past. You already finished eating the apple and you are not eating it now. But if your friend asked you just a moment ago, I guess you are still eating the apple when she/he asks the second question, so I would say  I'm eating an apple  (because you are still doing it).

Alternatively, you can use a past tense reporting verb e.g. I said I was eating an apple  (referring to the time of the first question), or  I said I 'm eating an apple  (to show that you are still eating it now, at the moment of speaking).

LearnEnglish team

Am I correct then? When someone wants us to repeat the sentence we have just said a moment ago we say 'I said I am doing...' if we are still doing that action. But if we are done with that action, then we say 'I said I was doing...' Did I get it right? Thanks!

Hello Meldo,

Yes, that's correct. Well done!

Hi. I wish to enquire if the verb tense used after a conjunction also changes in complex sentences as per tense transition rules, especially if it is already in simple past tense. In order to explain, could you please solve the following for me: 1. It has been quite a while since I last saw you. 2. Nevertheless, she has been quite desensitized to such perverse actions to the extent that it seldom ever seems obnoxious to her. 3. Let me keep this in my cupboard lest I misplace this. 4. I had arrived at the station before you even left your house. 5. I met my grandfather before he died.

Hi Aamna bluemoon,

The verb may or may not be backshifted, depending on whether the original speaker's point of view and the reporter's point of view are the same or not. For example:

• She said it had been quite a while since she last saw me . (it seems relatively recent, for both the original speaker and the reporter)
• She said it had been quite a while since she had last seen us . (a lot of time has passed between speaking and reporting this, or the situation has changed a lot since then e.g. they have met frequently since then)
• She said she had met her grandfather before he died . (seems quite recent)
• She said she had met her grandfather before he'd died . (a lot of time has passed between speaking and reporting this)

I hope that helps.

Hi, can you help me, please? How could I report this famous quotation: 'There's no such things as good news in America'.

Hi bri.q630,

First of all, the sentence is not grammatically correct. The phrase is 'no such thing' (singular), not 'things'.

How you report it depends. Using 'said' as the reporting verb we have two possibilities:

1. They said (that) there's no such thing as good news in America. 2. They said (that) there was no such thing as good news in America.

Sentence 2 tells that only about the time when 'they' said it. It does not tell us if it is still true or not.

Sentence 1 tells us that what 'they' said is still relevant today. In other words there was no good news (in their opinion) when they spoke, and there is still no good news now.

Thank you Peter,

All things are getting clear to me.

So, you mean, I can use both sentences depending on what I want to indicate, can't I?

then the possible indications are bellow, are those correct?

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.)

1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945. (This would be indicated I might missunderstand.)

2-a I felt time is money. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.)

2-b I felf time was money. (This would be indicated I might not feel any more.)

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. (This would be indicated the statement is still true.)

3-b I knew the sun rase in the east. (This would be indicated I might misunderstand or forget.)

4-a I guessed* that Darth Vader is Luke's father. (This would be indicated I still believe he is.*sorry for the typo)

4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father. (This would be indicated I might know he is not.)

Thank you in advance.

Hello again Nobori,

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.) 1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945. (This would be indicated I might missunderstand.)

Both forms are possible here. The 'ending' is a moment in the past; after this there is no war. By the way, we treat 'World War 2' as a name so there is no article before it.

2-a I felt time is money. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.) 2-b I felf time was money. (This would be indicated I might not feel any more.)

That's correct. Remember that backshifting the verb does not mean something is no longer true; it simply does not tell us anything about the present. Here, it tells the reader how you felt at a given moment in time; you may 

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. (This would be indicated the statement is still true.) 3-b I knew the sun rase in the east. (This would be indicated I might misunderstand or forget.)

That's also correct. Again, remember that backshifting the verb does not mean something is no longer true; it simply does not tell us anything about the present.

4-a I guessed* that Darth Vader is Luke's father. (This would be indicated I still believe he is.*sorry for the typo) 4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father. (This would be indicated I might know he is not.)

Again, correct. In the second example it might still be true that he is Luke's father, or it might have turned out to be not true. The sentence does not tell us.

Hi Peter, Thank you for your thoughtful answer. Allthing is now very clear to me. Best

Hi, I am translating a fiction novel into English and need your help regarding the reporting speech as for few things I am not getting any clear understanding over the internet. As you know in fiction, we need to write in non-ordinary way to create unique impressions of the word and academic writing is different than speaking. Will be grateful if you could give your insight below, especially considering in the context of fiction/academic writing.

1) Let’s say If someone is giving a speech or presentation, I want to mix their speech, indirect-direct and past tense- present tense. Below are three examples:

-He said, their company makes excellent profit every year OR their company made excellent profit every year ( can both be correct? As the sentence)

- Roger had given his speech yesterday. He said, their company makes excellent profit every year and your company will sustain for next hundred years.(Can YOUR be used in the sentence)

- Roger said people wants to feel important OR Roger said people wanted to feel important (which will be correct as this is a trait which is true in past and present)

2) He thought why he is talking to her OR He thought why he was talking to her (are both write? As usually I see in novels the second example with WAS)

3) Gia was sitting with Jake and she told him she had met with her last year. Her mother had taken her to the dinner. Her mother had told her about her future plans. Her mother also had paid the bill for the dinner. (Do I need to use every time past perfect in this example though it doesn’t feel natural? As a rule of thumb I think past perfect needs to be used when we talk about another past event in the past )

Hello Alamgir3,

We're happy to help with a few specific grammar questions, but I'm afraid we can't help you with your translation -- I'd suggest you find an editor for that.

1) In the second clause, you can use present or past. We often use the present when it's still true now, but the past is not wrong. FYI we don't normally use a comma after 'said' in reported speech.

2) 'Why was he talking to her?' he thought.

3) This is really more of a question of style than grammar. Here I would suggest doing something like combining the four sentences into two and then leaving out 'had' in the second verb in each sentence. Even if it isn't written, it's understood to be past perfect.

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello teachers, I'm sorry, I could not find where to new post. Could you tell me about the back-sifting of thoughts bellow? Which forms are correct?

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. 1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945.

2-a I felt time is money. 2-b I felf time was money.

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. 3-b I knew the sun rase in the east.

4-a I guess that Darth Vader is Luke's father. 4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father.

Do those questions have the same conclusion as indirect speech, such as say and tell?

Hello Nobori,

The verb form remains the same when we want to make it clear that the situation described by the verb is still true, and this works in the same way as indirect speech. For example:

She said she loves me. [she loved me then and she loves me still] She said she loved me. [she loved me then; no information on how she feels now]

Other than this rule, the choice is really contextual and stylistic (up to the speaker). Sometimes a choice implies something. For example, the saying 'time is money' is a general statement, so if you choose to backshift here the listener will know it is an intentional choice and suspect that something has changed (you no longer believe it).

Hi teachers, I've read almost the section of comments below and my summarize is the present tense only can be used if the statement is still true now and past simple only tells the statement was true in the past and doesn't tell the statement is true or not now. Just to make sure, I wanna ask, If I'm not sure whether the statement is still true or not now, can I choose backshift instead (this is still apply to past tense become past perfect)? Thank you

Hello rahmanagustiansyah,

It sounds to me as if you've got the right general idea. Could you please give a couple of example sentences that illustrate your question?

Thanks in advance, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

For example, Steve said "Anna hates you." Then I wanna tell about that to my friend, but I'm not sure whether Anna still hates me or not now. What should I choose between these two options. Answer 1:Steve said Anna hates me or Answer 2 : Steve said Anna hated me. Thank you

Hi rahmanagustiansyah,

In that case, I would choose answer 2. I might even add "... but I don't know if she still does" to the sentence to clarify, if that is the key point you want to communicate.

Jonathan The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Natasa Tanasa,

Both sentences are grammatically possible.

The first sentence is only possible if when the person asks the original question the woman is no longer there (she has already gone). The second sentence can be used in this situation too, or in a situation in which the woman was still there when the original question was asked. As the past tense is used in the original question ( Who was... ), both sentences are possible.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

When the situation is still true at the time of reporting, we can leave the verb form unchanged. For example:

1. She told me she loved me.

2. She told me she loves me.

In sentence 1 we know she loved me when she told me but we don't know whether or not she loves me now. In sentence 2, we know she loved me when she told me and we know that she loves me now.

In your example, if the supermarket is still in the same place then we can use either form. If the supermarket has been closed down or moved to another location then we need to use was .

As for which is 'safer', you'll need to make your own mind up! Keeping the verb in the same form carries more specific information and that may be appropriate or even important.

Hello eugelatina87,

I'll give you a hint: a verb is missing from the question.

Does that help you complete it?

All the best,

The first two sentences are possible and they can both mean that he is still Mary's boyfriend now. The first one makes this more clear, but the second one doesn't only refer to the past.

Hello magnuslin

Regarding your first question, the most common way of saying it is the second one. In some very specific situation, perhaps the first option would be possible.

This also answers your second question. It is not necessary to always backshift using the tenses you mention.

As for your third question, no, it is not necessary. In fact, it is probably more common to use the past simple in the reported speech as well. 

All the best

Hello manu,

Both forms are possible. If you use  had been  then we understand that he was there earlier but not when he said it - in other words, when he said it he had already left. If you use was then he may have left at the time of speaking, or he may have still been there.

Hello _princess_

I would recommend using answer a) because this is the general pattern used in reported speech. Sometimes the verb in the reported clause can be in the present tense when we are speaking about a situation that is still true, but the reported verb in the past tense can also have the same meaning. Since here the time referred to could be either past or present, I'd recommend using the past form.

Hello mwright,

This is an example of an indirect question. An indirect question reports a question, but is not a question itself, which is why we do not use a question mark at the end. Since it is not a question, we use the normal word order without inversion or auxiliary verbs. For example:

Indicative: He lives in Rome. Interrogative: Does he live in Rome? (Where does he live?) Reported: She asked if he lives in Rome. (She asked where he lives.)  

Hello ahlinthit

There are different styles of punctuating direct speech -- in other words, you might find other sources that will disagree with me -- but what I would use here is something different: "The boss is dead!" said the doctor.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes

Hello Timmosky,

The form that comes after the auxiliary verb 'do' (or 'does' or 'did') is not the plural present simple verb, but rather the bare infinitive (also known as 'base form' or 'first form') of the verb. Does that make sense?

All the best, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sky-high,

This is very formal language. The phrase 'to the effect that' means 'with the meaning that'. In this context it can be understood to mean 'with the result that'.

Best wishes,

The difference is quite logical. If we use 'said' then we are talking about a claim by Peter in the past which he may or may not still maintain. If we use 'says' then we are talking about an opinion expressed by Peter which he still holds.

The reported information (whether or not Rooney is in good shape) can refer to only the past or to the present as well and the statement (what Peter thinks) can separately refer to only the past or the present as well. Of course, all of this is from the point of view of the person reporting Peter's opinion, and whether or not they think that Peter still thinks now what he thought then.

Both are possible. If you use the present tense then it is clear that the statement is still true (i.e. the business was not growing when Mary spoke and is still not growing now). If you use the past tense then no information is given regarding the present (i.e. the business was growing when Mary spoke and may or may not be growing now).

Hello aseel aftab,

It should be 'if they had'. This is not from this page, is it? I don't see it anywhere here, but if I've missed it please let me know.

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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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Grammar Exercise: Reported Speech Exercise

Grammar exercise - reported speech, do the exercise below on reported speech and click on the button to check your answers..

(Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on reported speech )

Complete the sentences in reported speech.

• John said, "I love this town." John said
• "Do you like soccer ?" He asked me. He asked me
• "I can't drive a lorry," he said. He said
• "Be nice to your brother," he said. He asked me
• "Don't be nasty," he said. He urged me
• "Don't waste your money" she said. She told the boys
• "What have you decided to do?" she asked him. She asked him
• "I always wake up early," he said. He said
• "You should revise your lessons," he said. He advised the students
• "Where have you been?" he asked me. He wanted to know

Before submitting the test, check the following:

• Punctuation and capitalization
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• English Grammar Reported Speech for Class 5

English Grammar Reported Speech For Class 5- Download Free PDF With Solutions

To speak and communicate in English, it is highly important to learn the language. Speaking can be done in many ways, like direct speech, indirect speech, active voice, or passive voice. Class 5 English Chapter 7 is about reported speech, which is a part of direct and indirect speech. To get a clear idea about reported speech, how the subject and verb change, changing tense and tone, etc., are explained in detail in the topic of direct and indirect speech PDF.

The reported speech is a term used in both direct speech and indirect speech. Here direct speech refers to the words given by the speaker as it is without changing any the first person, second person, or third person, the verbs, or anything else. At the same time, indirect speech is conveying the message of the speaker in our own words.

English Grammar for Class 5 Reported Speech Download Free PDF

Today we will study an exciting topic “Reported speech”. Reported speech refers to how we have interpreted the words of the speaker. In simple terms, Reported speech refers to reporting the speech of the speaker i.e. whether conveying directly the words of the speaker or indirectly conveying after altering the words of the speaker. For good understanding and idea clarity, practice questions and solved examples are provided throughout the article. Let's start our journey on this pretty topic.

English Grammar

Parts of Reported Speech in a Sentence

Speech Used Directly and Indirectly. There are two methods we can record a speaker's words:

1. By reiterating the speaker's precise words.

2. By retelling only the pertinent portions of his remarks.

Reported verb 

Reported speech

The Convey of Speech

For Example

1. “Anand is a good boy,” Ram said.

2. Ram praised Anand for being a decent youngster.

We paraphrase or quote the speaker's precise words in the first sentence. Direct speech or narration is what this is. Here, we enclose the speaker's exact words in quotation marks (" ") and add a colon after the word "said." The first word is capitalised and placed within quotation marks.

The second portion of the sentence is separated from the reporting verb by a comma. The reporting verb "said" and the reported speech "Anand is a good boy." are both used in the first sentence.

Reporting Verb

The part of the sentence which is not in the inverted commas is called the reported verb.

When we change direct speech into indirect speech then there are 3 types/ forms of changes that take place.

Change of person

Change of tense and

Change of other parts of speech

Reporting Speech

The part of the sentence which is under inverted commas is called reporting speech.

The second part of the sentence refers to some other person, universal facts, imaginary parts, historical facts, happening events, etc.

For example, Shyam said, “TheTaj Mahal was built by Shahjahan.”

Here the sentence “Taj Mahal was built by Shahjahan” is the reported speech. 

Basically, there are two types of speech.

Direct speech 

Indirect speech

Conversation Between 2 Persons

Direct Speech

It refers to reporting the exact words spoken by the speaker. There is no change in the verb or the sentence.

For example, Ram said to Riya, “go to school”

Priya asked Ram, “where is her bag”

Ratan enquired Raman,” why was he not picking up her call”.

Rules of Direct Speech

Quotes or inverted commas should be used to begin a speech.

The term said is used to join two sentences together.

At the end of the sentence, utilise the reporting clause.

A full stop should be placed at the end of the sentence.

It is the speech that communicates what someone has said but does not explain what the person has stated. It only provides the core narrative of what is spoken.

Indirect Speech

This refers to reporting the words spoken by the speaker in the third person. There will be a few changes in the verb or the sentence.

For example, 

Direct: He says, “I will be on leave from the 12th.”

Indirect: He says that he will be on leave from the 12th.

Direct: Sheena said, “My parents are doing much better.”

Indirect: Sheena informed her parents are doing much better now. 

Rules of Indirect Speech

The past tense is used when the situation is uncertain.

The present tense of a statement is transformed into the past tense through indirect speaking.

The tense of universal facts remains constant.

The term "that" connects the reported verb and sentence.

Difference Between Direct Speech and Indirect Speech

Word meaning, practice question.

Rewrite the following sentence converting from direct speech to indirect speech.

He said, “I live in the city centre”.

He said, “I am going out”.

He said, “I have finished”.

He said, “I have been studying a lot”.

He said, “I arrived before you”.

He said he lived in the city centre.

He said he was going out.

He said he had finished.

He said he had been studying a lot.

He said he had arrived before me.

Importance of Reported Speech in English Grammar for Class 5

Introducing direct and indirect speech for Class 5 is very beneficial and crucial in developing language skills among the students. Besides speaking ability, students can understand the various changes while reading the lessons; they can easily identify the speaker's tone and how he is conveying the message to others. It also benefits them in developing writing skills like writing essays, autobiographies, etc. 

Practicing direct and indirect speech exercises in Class 5 also helps to understand the tenses and how the verb changes from one speech to another speech.

To get fluency in all language skills, reported speech is very useful. Even though it is quite confusing, once you get a command on the topic, it is easy to solve any question asked from it.

Direct and indirect speech for Class 5 is only at a basic level. Students can understand easily and can convert them as this foundation will be strong, and the advanced levels will become easier in the upcoming classes.

Examples of Reported Speech for Class 5

Let's have a glance at a few examples of both direct speech and indirect speech. 

The teacher said to Shelly, “Why are you laughing?”

Dhronacharya said to Arjun, “Shoot the fish’s eye.”

My mother said to me, “You were wrong.”

Mr. Richard said to me, “Please wait here till I return.”

The captain said to me, “Bravo! You have played well.”

“Call the first convict,” said the jury.

“Call the ambulance,” said the man.

Bruce said to me, “I shall do the work.”

Examples for indirect speech:- 

Dhronacharya ordered Arjun to shoot the fish’s eye.

The jury was ordered to call the first convict.

The captain applauded me, saying that I had played well.

The man urged to call the ambulance.

Bruce said to me he would do the work.

My mother told me that I was wrong.

Mr. Richard requested me to wait there till he returned.

Download Direct And Indirect Speech Worksheets With Answers Class 5 PDF

As the topic of reported speech requires practice, downloading a free PDF of Class 5 English Chapter 7 can be of great help for the students. The reported speech for Class 5 will be divided into two topics like direct speech and indirect speech.

Direct and indirect speech for Class 5 PDF contains proper definitions, examples, and conversion rules for direct speech, and indirect speech. These are provided in separate practicing worksheets with the solutions.

Our subject experts prepared the content and exercises in a simple language. Also, providing direct and indirect speech worksheets at various levels helps to access the children and develop themselves slowly level by level.

Students can practice whenever and wherever they want with these free PDF. Also, they can clarify their doubts through live chats with the subject experts. 

Vedantu makes it easier to understand direct and indirect speech in a simplified manner. So that children can enjoy learning and be excited to work on the worksheets.

The only distinction between direct and indirect speech is in transmitting actual words and pirated words, with authentic words expressed in direct speech and pirated words presented in indirect speech. A sentence with inverted commas is considered direct speech, whereas a sentence with a conjunction is considered indirect communication.

FAQs on English Grammar Reported Speech for Class 5

1. What is direct speech? 

Direct speech is a speech where the message of the speaker will be conveyed directly by keeping quotation marks for the speaker's words without changing anything.

2. What is indirect speech?

Indirect speech is a speech where the message of the speaker will be conveyed by the narrators in words without keeping any quotation marks etc. 

3. What is the major benefit of direct and indirect speech? 

Direct and direct speech is widely used to portray the exact moods and tenses of the characters. It creates a feeling like the situation is happening right now. It completely improves the narrating skills. 

• 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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USC cancels ‘main stage’ commencement ceremony

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USC announced Thursday that it is canceling its main May commencement ceremony, capping a dramatic series of moves that began last week after it informed valedictorian Asna Tabassum, who had been opposed by pro-Israel groups, that she would not be delivering the traditional speech .

In ending the university-wide May 10 graduation ceremony altogether, President Carol Folt aimed to quell the controversy that grew as the school chipped away at core parts of the ritual , drawing criticism from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel activists.

The cancellation took place amid unrest on university campuses across the nation stemming from the Israel-Hamas war. On Wednesday at a pro-Palestinian encampment at USC, 93 students and off-campus activists were arrested.

“With the new safety measures in place this year, the time needed to process the large number of guests coming to campus will increase substantially,” USC said in its announcement. “As a result, we will not be able to host the main stage ceremony that traditionally brings 65,000 students, families, and friends to our campus all at the same time and during a short window from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.”

Photos: Tensions grow as pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses continue

As pro-Palestinian protests grow at California colleges and universities, counterprotesters spark clashes at UCLA.

May 1, 2024

A university spokesman did not reply to a request to interview Folt, who has not spoken publicly about the cancellations.

At least 23 satellite graduation ceremonies at USC’s schools and colleges will continue as scheduled, in addition to smaller departmental receptions.

“We understand that this is disappointing; however, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this commencement academically meaningful, memorable, and uniquely USC, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty, and staff, the celebratory releasing of the doves, and performances by the Trojan Marching Band,” USC said in a statement.

The university also announced that it will require tickets for “all commencement events taking place on May 8-11” and direct “all campus access through specific points of entry.”

It said that tickets would be limited to eight per graduating student and that they would not be transferable.

“There will be an appeal process if more tickets are needed,” said the letter, which added that commencement events would include a security screening “similar to those for attending athletic events at the Coliseum.” Guests at the Coliseum enter through a metal detector and their bags are X-rayed. USC also said only clear bags would be allowed at graduation events.

USC valedictorian’s grad speech is canceled: ‘The university has betrayed me’

Asna Tabassum was selected as USC valedictorian and offered a slot to speak at graduation. The university canceled her speech after pro-Israel groups criticized her Instagram.

April 16, 2024

Since citing unspecified security threats as the reason for canceling Tabassum’s speech, USC has seen a series of on-campus protests, including this week’s pro-Palestinian encampment.

University officials had followed their cancellation of Tabassum’s speech by calling off a speech by film director Jon M. Chu and appearances on the main stage by honorary doctorate recipients, including tennis legend Billie Jean King, saying they wanted to “keep the focus on our graduates.”

Some of the smaller commencement ceremonies will still host keynote speakers, including King, who is scheduled to address Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism graduates on May 10.

King has not responded to interview requests from The Times.

National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, who was also deprived of the chance to receive an honorary degree on the main stage, is scheduled to deliver a May 10 keynote speech to graduates of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.

Via an NEA spokeswoman, Price declined an interview request.

Actor and activist Sean Penn will also still give a May 11 address to graduates of the Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, according to his representative.

LAPD arrests 93 people at USC amid Israel-Hamas war protests

LAPD officers in riot gear arrested 93 people on trespassing charges as they cleared an encampment at the center of the USC campus that formed in protest against the Israel-Hamas war.

April 24, 2024

The last time the main USC commencement was canceled was in 2020 after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those graduates participated in online and in-person ceremonies the next year, along with the Class of 2021.

“This is a rather unusual commencement, to put it in obvious terms,” said Donal Manahan, a USC biologist who has been the university marshal for the main stage ceremony since 2016. “It’s the whole country going through it.”

William Tierney, a university professor emeritus at USC’s Rossier School of Education and an expert in higher education policy and administration, said he blames Folt for the university’s failure to engage “in difficult dialogues.”

“This president hasn’t even made a statement. She’s gone. She’s invisible,” he said. Instead, he added, “the university has determined it’s a dangerous place and locked it down. ... And now we’ll cancel the main commencement because it is so dangerous for us to have a dialogue.”

“We could protect the Obamas when they came to campus,” Tierney said, referring to former President Obama and his wife attending their daughter Sasha’s graduation last year. “We could protect the campus at other times. But now it’s simply too dangerous? That just fails the leadership test across the board.”

USC junior Lawrence Sung said he was disappointed to not have a chance to celebrate his graduating friends at the main stage event.

“This is a massive overreaction,” said Sung, who studies international relations. “If USC was to choose the worst option at every step of the way in this controversy, this would be it.”

The saga at USC began April 15, when Provost Andrew T. Guzman released a campus-wide letter citing unnamed threats that came after the university announced Tabassum as the valedictorian and a scheduled speaker. Guzman said the attacks were of an “alarming tenor” and “escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement.”

Guzman did not say what the threats were or who was targeted. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department told The Times that the agency had no crime reports regarding violent threats targeting Tabassum or the commencement ceremony.

The complaints focused on a link on Tabassum’s Instagram profile to a pro-Palestinian website that said, “Zionism is a racist settler-colonialist ideology,” and “One Palestinian state would mean Palestinian liberation and the complete abolishment of the state of Israel” so that “both Arabs and Jews can live together.”

Tabassum has denied she supports antisemitic views and said she is being singled out as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman.

Then last Friday, USC called off an appearance by Chu — the director of “Crazy Rich Asians” — and other commencement honorees. In canceling those events, USC cited “the highly publicized circumstances surrounding our main stage commencement program.”

In an interview prior to Thursday’s announcement of the main stage cancellation, Joel Curran, USC’s senior vice president of communications, said the decision about Chu and honorary degree recipients was made in order to avoid putting them “in an awkward situation” to address the valedictorian controversy or the Israel-Hamas war.

“We are putting them in an awkward situation, difficult situation. There have been a lot of conversations around commencement. We do not want to put them in that position,” Curran said.

Last week, 11 members of the Advisory Committee on Muslim Life at USC — more than half the membership — resigned in protest of the decision on Tabassum. Folt had convened the group in mid-2023 amid complaints of anti-Muslim bias on campus.

USC is one of dozens of colleges and universities where tensions have grown in recent weeks over free speech and protest over the Israel-Hamas war, including Columbia, Yale, UC Berkeley and Cal Poly Humboldt.

In its Oct. 7 attack on Israel , Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took roughly 240 hostages. Gaza health authorities say Israel’s retaliatory war has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians. According to the United Nations, 2 million Gazans are living in near-famine conditions.

Times staff writers Angie Orellana Hernandez and Jenna Peterson contributed to this report.

More to Read

Columbia University cancels main commencement after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests

May 6, 2024

Police remove tents, clear USC pro-Palestinian encampment; no arrests made

May 5, 2024

Metal detectors, fear, frustration. College commencements altered amid Gaza war protests

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Jaweed Kaleem is a national correspondent at the Los Angeles Times. Based in L.A. with a focus on issues outside of California, he has traveled to dozens of states to cover news and deeply reported features on the complexity of the American experience. His articles frequently explore race, religion, politics, social debates and polarized society. Kaleem was previously based in London, where he was a lead news writer on Russia’s war on Ukraine and spearheaded European coverage for the Times, including the Global California initiative. Before joining The Times in 2016, he reported on religion for HuffPost and the Miami Herald, where he was a member of a Pulitzer Prize finalist team recognized for coverage of Haiti. His reporting has also received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society for Features Journalism, the Asian American Journalists Assn., the South Asian Journalists Assn. and the National Headliner Awards.

Matt Hamilton is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting with colleagues Harriet Ryan and Paul Pringle and was part of the team of reporters that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. A graduate of Boston College and the University of Southern California, he joined The Times in 2013.

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Campus protests over the Gaza war

Biden says he supports the right to protest but denounces 'chaos' and hate speech.

NPR Washington Desk

President Biden gives remarks about student protests over the war in Gaza from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Thursday. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

President Biden gives remarks about student protests over the war in Gaza from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Thursday.

President Biden defended the protests roiling college campuses across the country, but also emphasized the importance of the rule of law and denounced hate speech of any kind.

The president gave the brief, hastily arranged remarks from the White House Thursday morning following days of colleges and universities struggling to contain pro-Palestinian protests.

House passes bill aimed to combat antisemitism amid college unrest

How some faculty members are defending student protesters, in actions and in words

"We've all seen images and they put to the test two fundamental American principles," Biden said. "The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard. The second is rule of law. Both must be upheld."

He said people have a right to get an education and freely walk across campus without fear. "There's the right to protest but no the right to cause chaos," he said.

Biden added that there is no place for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind in America.

Watch his remarks below.

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin's words might concern West as he gives inauguration speech; plot to 'kill Zelenskyy' stopped

Vladimir Putin is officially sworn in as Russian president for a new six-year term, although many Western nations have not attended.

Tuesday 7 May 2024 15:05, UK

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• Putin sworn in again as president | Claims Russia would work with West
• 'We elect our president': Kremlin defends 'purely democratic' Russia
• Ivor Bennett analysis : Translating Putin's  speech - and why it might worry West
• Plot to 'kidnap and kill Zelenskyy' stopped, Ukraine says
• Many nations boycott Putin's inauguration ceremony
• Putin has 85% approval rating - here's why
• Big picture : What you need to know as a new week begins
• Your questions answered: Why can't Ukraine destroy key Crimean bridge?
• Live reporting by Lauren Russell  and Ollie Cooper

Pro-Russian Chechen forces are baring the brunt of the frontlines in Ukraine and training Russian troops behind the scenes, the UK's Ministry of Defence says.

Around 9,000 personnel are currently serving within the Pro-Russian Chechen forces in Ukraine, which has been pushed back onto the frontline since the withdrawal of Russia's private military company, Wagner, the MoD said in its daily intelligence update. 

Since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 Chechen forces became known as "TikTok troops" for their presence on social media.

But, they have since provided personnel and given training to Russians at The Special Forces University in Gudermes, Chechnya. 

The MoD said troops receive up to 10 days training at the so-called university. 

Chechnya has historically always supported Russia's military action in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of using banned toxins on the battlefield. 

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is in The Hague, said that all accusations were "insufficiently substantiated".

But it added: "The situation remains volatile and extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons." 

Neither side has asked the OPCW to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons.

Last week, Russia denied allegations from the US that it had used the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and utilised riot control agents "as a method of warfare".

Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, any toxic chemical used with the purpose of causing harm or death is considered a chemical weapon.

We've been covering the fifth inauguration of Vladimir Putin as Russian president.

The ceremony took place in Moscow's Grand Kremlin Palace, and our correspondent Ivor Bennett was there to experience the entire event.

He also interviewed Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov about the state of democracy in Russia and the lack of opposition during the presidential election back in March.

Bennett asked Mr Peskov: "Western leaders and Western governments believe that Vladimir Putin has turned Russia into a dictatorship, why do you think that’s not the case?"

Mr Peskov replied: "This is not the case.

"It's just propaganda, it's rough propaganda, nothing else."

He went on to say Russia was "purely democratic", adding: "We choose our power. We elect our power. We elect our president. We vote for the president or don’t want to vote for the president.

"And we insist that we have the right to do it the way we want to do it.

"And we don’t want a third country to interfere in our choices, in our preferences."

Pressed on whether the lack of opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia was democratic, Mr Peskov said: "But there is opposition inside the country, of course the conditions are much tougher here because we are in war conditions."

Mr Peskov used the word "war" twice in the interview - typically, the Kremlin refers to its invasion of Ukraine as a "special military operation" - a term he also used once.

Ivor Bennett then asked if it was even more important for the public to have the right to speak out in wartime.

"No, to the contrary. It needs tougher measures to ensure the victory, to ensure that we reach our goals," Mr Peskov replied.

Asked whether this was democratic, Mr Peskov insisted: "It is, it is."

He added that the Western media in Europe and the US exists in the "same circumstances".

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside The Hague's Peace Palace in The Netherlands to protest the inauguration of President Vladimir Putin. 

The protesters, many of whom had travelled from Germany, carried a giant carnival float that showed a caricature of the Russian leader with blood on his hands in a striped prison uniform.

They also held Ukrainian flags and placards saying: "Putin to The Hague" - which is the home of the International Court of Justice.

Dina Musina, who works for a Berlin-based charity that supports Russian prisoners, said they need to "raise awareness about Putin's crimes internationally".

A plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been uncovered by Ukraine's state security service (SBU).

The SBU claimed two agents who were posing as Ukrainian state guard servicemen were tasked by Moscow to figure out a way to capture Mr Zelenskyy and later kill him. 

They also planned to kill other high-ranking Ukrainian officials, the SBU said in a statement on Telegram . 

Head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, described the plot as a "gift to Putin before the inauguration".

The SBU said two suspects have been detained after an investigation gradually documented their alleged criminal actions.

Ukrainian claims that plots to kill Mr Zelenskyy are not new. 

The president said in 2022 there had been at least 10 attempts to assassinate him since the start of the war.

The widow of former Putin critic Alexei Navalny has criticised President Vladimir Putin on the day of his fifth inauguration as Russian leader. 

In a video posted on YouTube shortly before the ceremony took place in Moscow, Yulia Navalnaya called Mr Putin a liar, a thief and a murderer. 

She added that the war in Ukraine is "bloody and senseless" and no one wants it apart from the Russian leader.

"Huge sums of money are stolen from all of us every day to fund bombings of peaceful cities, riot police beating people with batons, propagandists spreading lies. And also for [the elite's] own palaces, yachts and private jets," she said.

"And as long as this continues, we can't stop the fight."

Having been exiled from Russia, Ms Navalnaya has vowed to continue the work of her late husband, who died in an Arctic penal colony on 16 February. 

She has accused Mr Putin of having him killed, an accusation which the Kremlin has always denied.

By Ivor Bennett , Moscow correspondent 

The speech was vintage Putin.

Talking up Russia's greatness, blaming the West for Moscow's isolation and doubling down on his current path.

If there was any hope of him mellowing in this next term of office, President Putin dispelled that right at the beginning, referring to the security of the Russian people as a matter "above all". 

Translation - we're in the confrontation with the West for the long haul.

But whose fault is it? 

Not ours, he said. 

All part of the Kremlin's narrative to portray Russia as the victim.

What might concern Western officials is the tone of the speech, especially the last line: "We will realise everything we have planned, together we will win." 

With things going his way at home and on the battlefield, the Russian president appears increasingly confident, and increasingly defiant.

The inauguration of Vladimir Putin has just wrapped up in Moscow. 

The ceremony involved the 71-year-old being sworn in by placing his hand on a version of the Russian constitution.

He then oversaw a parade of the Presidential Regiment on Cathedral Square.

His presidency was later blessed by the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow - the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

Within the last hour, Vladimir Putin has officially been sworn in as Russian president. 

The inauguration was held at the Grand Kremlin Palace, during which Mr Putin placed his hand on the Russian Constitution and vowed to defend it.

As the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Stalin, Mr Putin's new term does not expire until 2030, when he will be constitutionally eligible to run again. 

Watch the moment Mr Putin was sworn in for this third consecutive term in office below.

As Vladimir Putin begins his fifth term as Russian president, our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn shares his thoughts... 

"Having rigged yet another election, subverted the Russian constitution, destroyed the free press and either killed or locked up any opposition, Vladimir Putin today used all the trappings of Russian pomp and ceremony to try and cloak himself in a mantle of false legitimacy," he says. 

"Putin has taken a country that was emerging from communism and economic collapse towards reform and reintegration into the international community, and he's turned it into a pariah state threatening global security while he and his kleptocracy have stolen billions," he says. 

Waghorn then moves to the president's actual address. 

"In his inauguration speech, Putin said Russia stands united," he says.

"An estimated 900,000 Russians have voted with their feet and left the country since his invasion of Ukraine."

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Dozens Arrested at U.Va. as Others Show Defiance at Commencement

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Here is the latest on campus protests.

At least 25 people were arrested on Saturday at the University of Virginia, as protests over the war in Gaza continued to disrupt university campuses and puncture the celebratory atmosphere around graduation ceremonies across the country.

The arrests and aggressive efforts to clamp down on protests underscored just how tumultuous the end of the spring semester has been for universities, many of which are now holding commencement ceremonies this weekend against the backdrop of tense protests on their campuses.

Pro-Palestinian students, for their part, have signaled that they will continue to challenge their universities over their financial ties to Israel and military companies; express outrage over the violence in Gaza; and condemn aggressive treatment of protesters on campus. At one point on Saturday, police in riot gear sprayed dozens of people at the University of Virginia with chemical irritants.

Other protests have extended from campus property to commencement. At the University of Michigan’s ceremony, pro-Palestinian supporters briefly disrupted the ceremony and were met by state police. At Indiana University in Bloomington, students walked out of the commencement remarks in protest.

School officials have struggled with how to respond to the protests as they try to balance free speech with campus security. For the graduation ceremonies, some universities plan to set up designated areas for protests in an attempt to allow the ceremonies to go forward without suppressing speech.

Among other schools set to hold ceremonies this weekend are Northeastern University and Ohio State University — both universities that have grappled with unrest over student protests.

Across the country, more than 2,300 people have been arrested or detained on campuses in the past two weeks, according to a tally by The New York Times .

Here is what else to know:

In Charlottesville, Va., at least three law enforcement agencies moved in to clear out the protesters at the University of Virginia, who said their demonstration was peaceful. Police officials said two people had been released, and all those arrested had been charged with trespassing.

Dozens of protesters were arrested at the Art Institute of Chicago on Saturday, after the museum asked the police to intervene and remove demonstrators from museum property.

The University of Mississippi said it was investigating at least one student after counterprotesters directed racist taunts at pro-Palestinian protesters this week, school officials said. The university chancellor, Glenn F. Boyce, said that statements made at the demonstration were “offensive, hurtful and unacceptable.”

The University of Michigan has seen repeated protests during its graduation festivities. One person was arrested Friday evening during a protest outside a dinner for recipients of honorary degrees, while the Saturday graduation ceremony saw cheers and boos as people brought Palestinian flags down the venue’s aisles.

At the University of Chicago, which adopted a set of free speech standards in 2015 that have been adopted by colleges across the country, the school’s president said an encampment there “cannot continue,” citing disruptions and vandalism .

A handful of universities have agreed to some of the protesters’ demands , bringing peaceful ends to demonstrations but also criticism from some Jewish groups. The schools announcing agreements this week included the University of California, Riverside ; Brown ; Northwestern ; Rutgers ; and the University of Minnesota . It is unclear how many of them might work .

An earlier version of this article misstated where Art Institute of Chicago students were protesting. They were protesting at the museum, not the school.

How we handle corrections

— Emily Cochrane ,  John Yoon ,  Ryan Patrick Hooper and Jackson Landers

Police push protesters off a campus lawn at U.Va. and arrest 25.

Pro-palestinian encampment cleared at the university of virginia, hundreds of protesters were met with police in riot gear on the campus in charlottesville, va., and some were arrested..

Crowd: “Shame on you!” Officer: “Do not touch her!” “Turn around and walk that way.”

The police arrested at least 25 pro-Palestinian protesters on Saturday at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville after aggressively clearing demonstrators off a university lawn and at one point using chemical irritants on dozens of people.

Like hundreds of students, faculty and staff across the country, students in Charlottesville protested this week in the heart of their campus, calling for the university to divest from Israel, weapons manufacturers and companies with ties to Israeli institutions, and to pledge to protect students’ right to peacefully protest. Tents were set up Friday, but cleared the next day.

In a news release, the university said the protesters had violated school policy on Friday by setting up tents on the lawn and by using megaphones. But the encampment was not forcibly removed then, the statement read, “given continued peaceful behavior and the presence of young children at the demonstration site, and due to heavy rain Friday night.”

Jim Ryan, the university president, wrote in a letter to the campus, “I sincerely wish it were otherwise, but this repeated and intentional refusal to comply with reasonable rules intended to secure the safety, operations and rights of the entire university community left us with no other choice than to uphold the neutral application and enforcement of those rules.”

By Saturday afternoon, protesters were met with police officers in riot gear. At one point, the police used chemical irritants against the crowd to get people to disperse.

The university said it was not immediately clear how many of the 25 who were arrested were affiliated with the school. All were charged with trespassing, according to a police official.

“Shame on you, shame on you!” chanted a crowd of hundreds of students and Charlottesville locals as a combined force of dozens of officers from at least three law enforcement agencies pushed them into the street in front of the university’s Rotunda building.

“This is absolutely obscene,” said Colden Dorfman, a third-year student majoring in computer science, who faced down the cordon as the police sprayed chemical irritants. “This is insanity. Everyone came here with peaceful intentions. I’m ashamed that this is what our police force is being used for.”

Some protesters and their supporters directly questioned the magnitude of the police response, particularly compared with the school’s response in 2017 to hundreds of white nationalists marching on campus with torches .

“What did you do when the K.K.K. came to town?” protesters could be heard yelling, as the police moved to push them into University Avenue, which had been blocked off to traffic.

Even as it began to rain, hundreds of people remained for hours before dispersing. Some people headed to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, where a new protest was forming.

— Jackson Landers ,  Hawes Spencer and Emily Cochrane Jackson Landers and Hawes Spencer reported from Charlottesville, Va.

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At Michigan, commencement is briefly disrupted by dozens of pro-Palestinian graduates.

Pro-palestinian graduates briefly interrupt michigan’s commencement, protesters holding flags and signs marched toward the stage during the university of michigan’s commencement ceremony..

“Arrest them.” [crowd boos] [expletives] [expletives]

On a balmy Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., thousands of graduates in caps and gowns filed into the biggest stadium in the country for the University of Michigan’s graduation ceremony.

As tens of thousands of spectators found their seats in the packed Michigan Stadium, planes with dueling messages circled overhead: one with a banner that read, “We stand with Israel. Jewish lives matter,” and another with the message, “Divest from Israel now! Free Palestine!”

Then, dozens of pro-Palestinian graduates draped in flags, kaffiyeh and graduation caps marched down the center aisle toward the stage. They chanted, “Regents, regents, you can’t hide! You are funding genocide!” calling for the university to divest from investments that have benefited Israel.

At least a dozen officers from the Michigan State Police quickly followed to block the parade from making it to the stage, urging protesters to retreat to the back of the graduates section.

As the chants reverberated throughout the stadium and demonstrators talked to the police, some students got up from their seats and joined in, disobeying police officers who told them to sit down.

But other students — some with the Star of David on their caps — were enraged by the disruption and demanded that the protesters be kicked out. “You’re ruining our graduation!” one yelled. Some patrons in private boxes hung Israeli flags from their seats.

Once the demonstrators moved to the back of the ceremony, tensions simmered, and the protest remained peaceful. University officials said that peaceful protests are not uncommon at graduation or university events.

The chants never stopped — though how audible and distracting it was might have depended on where people sat in the stadium — but the audience returned their attention to the stage as the ceremony carried on.

About a mile away from graduation, a pro-Palestinian encampment on the university’s Diag, a central quadrangle on campus, was abuzz with campers, activists and recently graduated students and their parents.

Nestled between brick academic buildings and lush greenery, the encampment sits just outside the steps of a library and not far from a busy pedestrian strip of shops and restaurants. The occupation has seen as many as 200 protesters overnight and includes dozens of tents.

Salma Hamamy, 22, one of the organizers of the encampment, was still wearing her graduation cap and gown after marching down the aisle in protest at commencement. She does not regret protesting at her graduation — a “once in a lifetime” moment, she said.

“It would feel completely wrong of me to not use graduation as an opportunity to call attention to this. That’s where all the regents are,” she said. “It’s important that they can physically see us. They can’t ignore us.”

Jonathan Ellis contributed reporting.

— Ryan Patrick Hooper Reporting from Ann Arbor, Mich.

At least one student at Ole Miss is being investigated after a racist counterprotest.

The University of Mississippi is investigating the conduct of at least one student after counterprotesters directed racist taunts at pro-Palestinian protesters this week, school officials said.

In a letter to students, faculty and staff members on Friday evening, Glenn F. Boyce, the university chancellor, said the school had begun to investigate one student and may look at more.

“From yesterday’s demonstration, university leaders are aware that some statements made were offensive, hurtful and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones,” Mr. Boyce wrote. He did not identify the student, citing privacy law.

He added, “To be clear, people who say horrible things to people because of who they are will not find shelter or comfort on this campus.”

Video captured by the Mississippi Free Press and the Daily Mississippian showed a crowd of white male students jeering and taunting a lone Black woman standing in front of the protest on campus, with one man making monkey gestures and hooting at her. Another video compilation showed the men yelling profane and derogatory insults.

The few dozen pro-Palestinian protesters appeared widely outnumbered by the crowd of counterdemonstrators, though university officials said no one was arrested or injured.

Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi, a Republican, approvingly captioned a separate video of the demonstrations that showed the counterprotesters singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” over the protest chants, though he made no mention of the other video clips that soon circulated. And former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, also shared a separate video on social media from the protests where the men could be heard chanting “we want Trump.”

The university has a painful history of racist episodes, and, for some, the videos evoked the mob and deadly riots that sought to stop the enrollment of James Meredith, the first Black student at the school, in 1962. And while the school has shed some of its Confederate imagery, in 2012, two students were arrested after racial slurs were chanted at a protest over former President Barack Obama’s re-election. In 2014, a noose was placed around a statue of Mr. Meredith.

“It is important to acknowledge our challenging history, and incidents like this can set us back,” Mr. Boyce wrote. “It is one reason why we do not take this lightly and cannot let the unacceptable behavior of a few speak for our institution or define us.”

— Emily Cochrane

Vassar protesters removed their tents after the college agreed to review its investments.

Pro-Palestinian protesters dismantled their encampment at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Saturday after reaching an agreement with the institution that requires administrators to review a divestment proposal.

Student demonstrators pitched dozens of tents on Vassar’s campus, starting on Tuesday. The liberal arts college is a bastion of progressive ideas with a long history of student protest , and Vassar’s president said in a statement this week that she hoped to resolve the current disagreement with pro-Palestinian demonstrators peacefully.

In the agreement reached on Saturday, Vassar officials agreed to review a proposal to divest funds from “defense-related investments, such as militarized surveillance and arms production,” and to support student fund-raising efforts in support of refugees, according to a statement by the president , Elizabeth H. Bradley.

The divestment language did not mention Israel or the war in the Gaza Strip, as the protesters had in their demands.

But Dr. Bradley said administrators had also agreed to “recruit and support Palestinian students and scholars-at-risk, who have lost educational and professional opportunities” since Oct. 7, a reference to the attacks in Israel by Hamas and its allies that prompted Israel’s war in Gaza.

“With these commitments, the college will work to improve our understanding, dialogue about, and educational programming concerning peace and conflict, with focus on Gaza and the Middle East,” she said.

The Vassar agreement is one of several in which student protesters have agreed to clear camps in exchange for commitments to discuss institutional investment policies around Israel. Students for Justice in Palestine at Vassar, the group that organized the encampment and negotiated with administrators, said in a statement on social media that it did not feel like a victory.

“We are not happy about the concessions we’ve made, but our work is not done,” the group said in the statement, adding that the administration had not agreed to all of the demands laid out by protesters when they launched the encampment. Those demands included calls for the Vassar administration to release a public statement calling for “an immediate end to Israel’s siege on Gaza and an end to U.S. aid for Israel,” and to completely boycott Israeli academic institutions, including Vassar-sponsored study abroad programs in Israel.

“At this time, we believe this is the most strategic decision we can make in order to further our efforts for divestment and Palestinian liberation,” the students said of the agreement.

They said they would donate the roughly $7,000 they had raised since launching their encampment to families in Gaza, and redistribute any donated supplies to people and organizations in Poughkeepsie.

— Erin Nolan

Echoing Vietnam War protests, demonstrators at Kent State call for the university to divest.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at Kent State University in Ohio on Saturday to protest the war in Gaza, exactly 54 years after a similar campus demonstration ended in four student deaths.

The activists were silent but impossible to miss. They assembled in a semicircle around a stage on Kent State’s commons where speakers were commemorating the events of May 4, 1970: James Rhodes, then the governor of Ohio, had called in the National Guard to quell a demonstration against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The troops opened fire. Four people — Allison Krause, William Schroeder, Sandra Scheuer and Jeffrey Miller — were killed. Several others were wounded.

The campus still bears the scars of the 1970 shooting. Illuminated columns mark the precise spots where the four students were killed, and the tragedy was immortalized in the song “Ohio” performed by the folk-rock quartet Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

In a speech on Saturday to honor the victims, Sophia Swengel, a sophomore and the president of the May 4 Task Force, a group formed in 1975 to keep the students’ legacy alive, also acknowledged the protesters. Many of them were hoisting signs calling on the university to divest from weapons manufacturers and military contractors.

“Once again students are taking a stand against bloodshed abroad,” she said, referring to Israel’s assault on Gaza, which followed the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7. “Much like they did against the Vietnam War back in the ’60s,” Ms. Swengel added.

Among the student demands in 1970 were abolishing the R.O.T.C. program, ending the university’s ties with police training programs and halting the research and development of the liquid crystal used in heat detectors that guided bombs dropped on Cambodia.

Today, demonstrators at Kent State are asking the university to divest its portfolio of instruments of war. “The university is profiting from war, and they were arguing in ’69 and ’70 that the university was also profiting from war,” said Camille Tinnin, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student studying political science who has met with the school’s administration to discuss divestiture.

While Kent State cannot end the war in Gaza, “what the university can control is its own investment portfolio,” said Yaseen Shaikh, 19, a member of Students for Justice in Palestine who is about to graduate with a degree in computer science.

Ms. Tinnin and Mr. Shaikh, along with two other students, met with Mark Polatajko, senior vice president for finance and administration for Kent State, on Dec. 4, a meeting confirmed in a statement from Rebecca Murphy, a Kent State spokeswoman. Mr. Polatajko shared the university’s investment portfolio with the four activists during the meeting, Ms. Tinnin said in an interview before Saturday’s protest. She said activists who scrutinized the portfolio found that it included investments in weapons manufacturers.

On Saturday, in a nod to nationwide student demonstrations against the war in Gaza, Ms. Swengel said that encampments and demonstrations “stand as living, breathing monuments of the willingness of students to stand up against genocide and for what they believe in.”

In a statement emailed to reporters, Ms. Murphy said the university “upholds the First Amendment rights of free speech and peaceful assembly for all.”

“Consistent with our core values, we encourage open dialogue and respectful civil discourse in an inclusive environment,” she added.

— Patrick Cooley

Dozens of Indiana University graduates walked out in protest during commencement.

Dozens of students walked out of Indiana University’s graduation ceremony on Saturday in protest of the war in Gaza, moving instead to a green space on campus where students had been demonstrating for weeks .

More than 6,700 graduates filed into Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind., to receive their diplomas. There were more than 40,000 people in attendance, according to the university. Outside the stadium, the police presence was heavy. Above it, a plane circled towing a banner that said, “let Gaza live.”

The students walked out in two groups. The first briefly interrupted the ceremony, leaving and chanting “Shut it down” and “Free, free Palestine” as the school’s embattled president, Pamela Whitten, opened the program. The beginning of her remarks was largely drowned out by jeers, but she continued without pausing.

“We have been looking forward to celebrating this moment with you,” she said at one point in her brief remarks. She made no mention of the protests.

The second batch of protesters walked out during a speech by the commencement speaker, the tech entrepreneur Scott Dorsey. Protesters chanted “Free, free Palestine” as they filed out. They were drowned out by boos.

Lauren Ulrich, 21, of Rolla, Mo., graduated on Saturday with degrees in journalism and environmental studies. But she did not stay at the commencement ceremony long enough to turn her tassel. Her decision to walk out was one that Ms. Ulrich said she had not made lightly.

“I think sometimes it is scary to do the right thing,” she said. “I was scared. But people are dying and there’s no way I could not do something about it.”

After months of participating in protests and the school’s encampment, Ms. Ulrich said she planned to leave campus the day after graduation. She said she was “incredibly sad” but felt that the protest movement had enough supporters to keep up momentum over the summer.

“I think they will get creative in how they will continue it,” Ms. Ulrich said.

Liz Capp, 22, of Indianapolis, graduated on Saturday with a degree in therapy and did not participate in the protest. Before the ceremony, she anticipated that there would be some kind of demonstration. But it had not concerned her.

“Everyone has the right to peacefully protest,” she said.

— Kevin Williams

The president of the University of Chicago says an ‘encampment cannot continue.’

The president of the University of Chicago said on Friday that the pro-Palestinian encampment on his campus’s quad “cannot continue,” a position that was being closely watched in higher education because the university has long held itself up as a national model for free expression.

Administrators had initially taken a permissive approach to the camp and pointed toward what is known as the Chicago statement, a set of free speech standards adopted in 2015 that have become a touchstone and guide for colleges across the country. But President Paul Alivisatos said on Friday that those protections were not absolute, and that the encampment had run afoul of university policies.

“On Monday, I stated that we would only intervene if what might have been an exercise of free expression blocks the learning or expression of others or substantially disrupts the functioning or safety of the university,” Dr. Alivisatos said in a message to the campus. “Without an agreement to end the encampment, we have reached that point.”

In the hours after his announcement, hundreds of protesters remained at the encampment, where they chanted and held signs as counterprotesters gathered nearby. At one point, some pro-Palestinian demonstrators and counterprotesters briefly fought one another. By early afternoon, more police officers, both from the university and the city, were visible near the quad.

The scene had quieted down, at least temporarily, by early Friday evening. Several security guards were stationed around the quad, where protesters moved quietly around their encampment while others studied or walked nearby. There was no effort by law enforcement to forcibly disband the encampment.

Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, issued a statement saying he had been in touch with Dr. Alivisatos and had “made clear my commitment to free speech and safety on college campuses.”

Like at dozens of colleges across the country, Chicago students have erected tents on campus and issued a set of demands to administrators, including divesting from weapons manufacturers. A member of a group leading the encampment, UChicago United for Palestine, accused the university of “negotiating in bad faith” in a statement on Friday.

The protest group “refuses to accept President Alivisatos’s repeated condescending offer of a public forum to discuss ‘diverse viewpoints’ on the genocide, as this is clearly a poor attempt at saving face without material change,” said Christopher Iacovetti, a student who participated in negotiations.

Dr. Alivisatos, a chemist who became president of the university in 2021, said in his message to campus that the encampment had become far more than a cluster of tents. He accused protesters of vandalizing buildings, blocking walkways, destroying a nearby installation of Israeli flags and flying a Palestinian flag from a university flagpole.

“The encampment has created systematic disruption of campus,” Dr. Alivisatos said. “Protesters are monopolizing areas of the Main Quad at the expense of other members of our community. Clear violations of policies have only increased.”

The University of Chicago, a private college that is one of the country’s most selective, has been praised by conservatives and free speech advocates in recent years for its approach to expression on its campus.

As part of its free speech philosophy, the university also put forward the principle of institutional neutrality.

In a 1967 declaration , the university called for schools to remain neutral on political and social matters, saying a campus “is the home and sponsor of critics; it is not itself the critic.” But at other colleges, students over the years have frequently and successfully pressed their administrations to take positions on matters like police brutality and global warming.

In August 2016, the University of Chicago informed incoming freshmen : “We do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual safe spaces where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”

Versions of the university’s declaration of free speech principles have been adopted by dozens of other colleges in recent years.

“In a word, the university’s fundamental commitment is to the principle that debate or deliberation may not be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even by most members of the university community to be offensive, unwise, immoral or wrong-headed,” that declaration said.

But the statement also describes clear limits, including a right to prohibit illegal activities and speech “that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment.”

— Mitch Smith and Robert Chiarito Reporting from Chicago

Encampment ends at U.C. Riverside after protesters and school officials reach a deal.

Protesters took down their encampment at the University of California, Riverside, Friday night after they came to an agreement with school administrators.

As part of the deal, the school agreed to disclose and examine its investments; create a task force made of students and faculty members to look at the administering of its endowment; and end a business school study-abroad program in Israel, Jordan, Egypt and other countries because the school said it was not consistent with university policies.

The task force will produce a report by the end of the winter quarter of 2025 to present to the board of trustees, the school said.

In a letter to the campus community on Friday, the school’s chancellor, Kim Wilcox, said that his goal had been to resolve this peacefully and that he was encouraged by the result. He said that school leaders had been meeting with leaders of the student encampment on campus since Wednesday.

The school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine called the agreement “a win for all of us” in a statement posted on Instagram , adding that all of its demands were met.

The school also agreed, at the request of students, to review the availability of Sabra hummus on campus. Pro-Palestinian activists have frequently called on people to boycott the brand over the years, as one of Sabra’s joint owners is the Strauss Group, an Israeli food company. In 2010, the Strauss Group said on its website that it had provided financial support to part of Israel’s military force . And today it says it maintains contact with “IDF divisions.” Sabra is co-owned by PepsiCo. Efforts to reach that company were unsuccessful.

The agreement at U.C. Riverside is not the first between protesters and universities since protests on campus began against the war in Gaza.

Earlier this week, officials at Brown University also made an agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters. Demonstrators agreed to dismantle their encampment at Brown, which had been removed by Tuesday evening, and university leaders said they would discuss, and later vote on, divesting funds from companies connected to the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

Several days ago, an agreement was reached between Northwestern University and the pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus. The agreement included a promise by the university to be more transparent about its financial holdings. In turn, demonstrators removed the tent camp they built last week at Deering Meadow, a stretch of lawn on campus.

Jewish leaders, including officials from the American Jewish Committee , strongly objected to the agreement at Northwestern, saying it “succumbed to the demands of a mob,” and seven members of a Northwestern committee created to advise the university’s president on preventing antisemitism stepped down in protest on Wednesday.

Agreements between school administrators and student protesters have also taken place at other schools, including Rutgers University .

— Anna Betts

Police treatment of a Dartmouth professor stirs anger and debate.

The video is jarring: A gray-haired woman tumbles, gets up to reach for her phone, held by police officers, and is yanked and taken to the ground. “Are you kidding me?” a bystander asks.

“What are they doing to her?” another adds.

Annelise Orleck, a labor historian who has taught at Dartmouth College for more than three decades, was at a protest for Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday night, when she was knocked to the ground. Dr. Orleck, 65, was zip-tied and was one of 90 people who were arrested, according to the local police.

The professor walked away with a case of whiplash. But a short video clip of the episode flew around the internet, intensifying the debate over the relatively swift decision by Dartmouth’s president, Sian Leah Beilock, to call in police to arrest students and clear out an encampment.

Unlike other campuses where tents were tolerated for days, the police action at Dartmouth began a little more than two hours after the encampment first appeared, according to the college’s newspaper, The Dartmouth , and students who observed the events on Wednesday.

Dr. Beilock defended her decision.

“Last night, people felt so strongly about their beliefs that they were willing to face disciplinary action and arrest,” Dr. Beilock said in a message to campus on Thursday. “While there is bravery in that, part of choosing to engage in this way is not just acknowledging — but accepting — that actions have consequences.”

Dr. Beilock did not directly address the treatment of Dr. Orleck, who called the message “outrageous.”

“Her actions have consequences, too,” Dr. Orleck said in an interview. “The campus is in an uproar. Neither the students nor the faculty have been as radicalized in a long time as they’re feeling today.”

“I’ve been teaching here for 34 years,” she added. “There have been many protests, but I’ve never, ever seen riot police called to the green.” Dartmouth declined to comment on the incident.

How to handle the encampments has become a grinding challenge for university administrators. Earlier this month, the decision by Columbia University’s president to call in police stirred up protests at campuses across the country.

Demonstrations over the war in Gaza have led to more than 2,000 arrests over the last two weeks at universities across the country, according to a New York Times tally . The arrests have also angered some faculty, who have sometimes stepped in to try to help students.

The police in Hanover, N.H., the home of Dartmouth, said that the arrested included students and nonstudents, but did not provide a breakdown. The charges included criminal trespassing and resisting arrest. When the Hanover Police Department and the state police asked students to disperse, some did and others didn’t, police officials said.

It was unclear what disciplinary action, if any, the arrested students would face from the university.

Dr. Orleck said she was charged with criminal trespass and temporarily banned from campus, as a condition of her bail. The college’s administrators said on Thursday that the suspension was an error in the bail process, which they were working to fix.

In her message, Dr. Beilock strongly defended the decision to sweep away the encampment. And, she said, a key demand of protesters — that trustees vote on divestment from companies connected with Israel — violated the rules for making such decisions.

“Dartmouth’s endowment is not a political tool,” she said, “and using it to take sides on such a contested issue is an extraordinarily dangerous precedent to set.”

Dr. Orleck, who once served as the head of Jewish studies at the university, said she had watched with unease as police confrontations with student protesters escalated across the country.

She said she wanted to be at the Dartmouth protest because as an older Jewish professor — joined by many other older Jewish professors — her presence, she thought, could help keep her students safe.

As the police moved in, arresting students, Dr. Orleck said she started taking videos.

“I said to them, and I said it with some anger, ‘Leave our students alone. They’re students. They’re not criminals,’” she said. “The next thing I knew, I was rushed from the back.”

Messages left for the local and state police were not immediately returned.

One of the short viral videos begins with Dr. Orleck tumbling to the ground. She gets up. She moves toward an officer with her hand extended — grasping for her phone, she said. She is jerked and knocked down again. It is unclear what took place before the video begins.

Ivy Schweitzer, a recently retired English professor at the college, said the situation took a turn when campus security stepped back, and outside law enforcement moved in to make the arrests.

Dr. Orleck, she said, was recording the police with her phone.

“Annelise would never be physical with a police officer,” Dr. Schweitzer said. “But she would put her phone in their face, and I’m sure they wouldn’t like that.”

Jenna Russell contributed reporting. Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.

— Vimal Patel

Columbia’s president urges the university to ‘rebuild community’ in a video.

Columbia University’s president, Nemat Shafik, released a video message late on Friday, following several weeks of tension over Gaza war protests on campus that have spawned a wave of antiwar activism at universities across the country.

On Tuesday, those tensions erupted after Dr. Shafik asked the New York Police Department to clear a building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters and encampments on campus. Police officers in riot gear arrested more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University .

It was the second time in two weeks that Columbia officials had asked the police to enter the Manhattan campus to remove demonstrators. On April 18, another 100 or so Columbia students were arrested . The decision to bring law enforcement on campus, and also to request that they remain on campus until May 17 , has drawn criticism from many members of the Columbia community, including faculty, alumni and students.

Over the last six months, the university has released numerous letters to its students, faculty and alumni regarding the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, the war in Gaza and the related protests and unrest on campus. But the video released on Friday was the first one by Dr. Shafik released on the school’s Vimeo page in months.

In the video message, Dr. Shafik discussed the need for the community to work together to return civility to the campus after weeks of unrest.

“These past two weeks have been among the most difficult in Columbia’s history,” Dr. Shafik said. “The turmoil and tension, division and disruption have impacted the entire community.”

Speaking directly to the students, Dr. Shafik highlighted the fact that many seniors are now spending their final days in college the way they began in 2020 — online.

“No matter where you stand on any issue, Columbia should be a community that feels welcoming and safe for everyone,” she said.

In the video, Dr. Shafik said that her administration tried “very hard to resolve” the issue of the encampment through dialogue and discussion with the student protesters, but that, ultimately, they could not reach an agreement.

When a group of protesters broke into and occupied Hamilton Hall, Dr. Shafik said, it “crossed a new line,” and put students at risk.

Despite the turmoil of the last few weeks and months, Dr. Shafik told the Columbia community that she has confidence in the future.

“During the listening sessions I held with many students in recent months, I’ve been heartened by your intelligence, thoughtfulness and kindness,” she said.

“Every one of us has a role to play in bringing back the values of truth and civil discourse that polarization has severely damaged,” she added. “Here at Columbia, parallel realities and parallel conversations have walled us off from other perspectives. Working together, I know we can break down these barriers.”

In a break from what the Columbia community may be used to from Dr. Shafik, she also shared personal anecdotes about her upbringing in the video.

“As many of you know, I was born in the Middle East. I grew up in a Muslim family, with many Christian and Jewish friends,” she said. “I spent two decades working in international organizations with people from every nationality and religion in the world where if you can’t bridge divides and see each other’s point of view, you can’t get anything done.”

Dr. Shafik said that she learned from that experience, that “people can disagree and still make progress.”

The issues that are challenging us, she said, namely “the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, antisemitism, and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias” have existed for a long time, she said, adding that Columbia University cannot solve them single-handedly.

“What we can do is be an exemplar of a better world where people who disagree do so civilly, recognize each other’s humanity, and show empathy and compassion for one another,” she said. “We have a lot to do, but I am committed to working at it, every day and with each of you, to rebuild community on our campus.”

Earlier on Friday, more than 700 Columbia University community members attended an online meeting of the university’s Senate, a policymaking body made up of faculty members, students and others.

During the meeting, many expressed a lack of confidence in university leadership. Eventually, the chat was shut down because of arguing.

Jeanine D’Armiento, chair of the Senate, said in the meeting that the group’s executive committee had recommended the university continue negotiations with students instead of calling in the police on Tuesday. But, she said, “We were not asked for our opinion.”

Sharon Otterman contributed reporting.

The University of California, Los Angeles, said on Sunday that it had created a new campus safety position as the school moves to reopen this week and examines what led to clashes between demonstrators.

The appointment of Rick Braziel, a former chief of the Sacramento Police Department and a well-known policing expert, to oversee the school police department comes as the U.C.L.A. administration and other schools across the country face backlash over an aggressive police response to pro-Palestinian demonstrators on university property.

John Thomas, U.C.L.A.’s current school police chief, has defended himself over a delayed police response as counterprotesters attempted to tear down an encampment built by students protesting Israel’s war on Gaza. And on the opposite coast, a group of professors at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville signed an open letter condemning the treatment of pro-Palestinian students and faculty on Saturday, which saw police in riot gear spray people with chemical irritant.

At least 25 people were arrested on Saturday in Charlottesville, adding to more than 2,300 arrests in more than two weeks of campus demonstrations and police sweeps, according to a New York Times tally ,

The way that many universities have responded to protests has further galvanized pro-Palestinian students across the country, who have used public graduation ceremonies this month as yet another opportunity to criticize Israel’s war in Gaza and to renew calls on their universities to divest from Israel.

Here’s what else to know:

At Northeastern University’s graduation ceremony at Fenway Park on Sunday, one student wearing a keffiyeh and red paint on their face and a shirt reading “DIVEST” ran up to the stage chanting before they were forcibly removed by police. And when the student speaker for the commencement, Rebecca Bamidele, called for a permanent end to the violence in Gaza, some students cheered and gave her a standing ovation.

The police early on Sunday removed a pro-Palestinian encampment from the University of Southern California’s campus for a second time. The university has been in turmoil for weeks following its decision not to allow its valedictorian to speak at graduation, citing security concerns.

At least three dozen history professors at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville signed an open letter condemning “the repression of a peaceful protest of our students by armed state police in riot gear,” a day after pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police.

At the University of Chicago, student protesters remained at their encampment for a seventh consecutive day Sunday, holding what they called “teach-ins” on subjects from knowing your rights to the history of the Gaza conflict. Students and officials spent the weekend privately negotiating over the removal of the encampment.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at Kent State University in Ohio on Saturday, exactly 54 years after National Guard troops opened fire on students demonstrating against the Vietnam War, killing four of them.

The University of Mississippi said it was investigating the conduct of at least one student after counterprotesters directed racist taunts at pro-Palestinian protesters. On Sunday, the headquarters of Phi Delta Theta fraternity said that one person had been removed from its membership , saying that the “racist actions” captured in one video were “those of an individual and are antithetical to the values of Phi Delta Theta and the Mississippi Alpha chapter.”

Bob Chiarito and Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting.

— Emily Cochrane ,  Matthew Eadie and Shawn Hubler

• International

Israel-Hamas war

Trump's hush money trial

April 30, 2024 - US university protests

By Rachel Ramirez, Chandelis Duster, Samantha Delouya, Tori B. Powell, Aditi Sangal, Amir Vera, Deva Lee, Kathleen Magramo, Dalia Faheid and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

Our live coverage of the protests rocking US campuses has moved here

Over 100 protesters arrested across 2 New York college campuses, law enforcement official says

From CNN’s Mark Morales

Over 100 protesters were arrested Tuesday at Columbia University and City College of New York, according to a law enforcement official.

Most of the arrests were made at Columbia, including about two dozen protesters who police say tried to prevent officers from entering the campus, the official said.

Tactical teams at Columbia first set up a perimeter around the campus to hold back protesters and prevent further arrests, according to the official. Offers then entered the campus through multiple entry points.

"It's still a student-fueled movement," Columbia student magazine editor says

From CNN's Kathleen Magramo

Jonas Du, editor-in-chief of a Columbia student magazine, told CNN that the protests on campus are student-fueled regardless of any outsider involvement.

It’s “hard to say” whether those arrested from Columbia's Hamilton Hall were students or from outside the institution, the Columbia Sundial editor said.

“Even though campus has been locked down to Columbia ID holders, now there has been ways of getting in, getting non-affiliated into campus. But for the most part you need Columbia IDs, you need students to provide you with IDs that can get you into campus," said Du, who is a junior student at the university.

Du said he believes there is “evidence” of outside organizations behind the occupation's planning, but he also says numerous Columbia students were inside Hamilton Hall. 

He said he recognized “many, many Columbia students in the crowd” that formed human chains around the entrances to Hamilton Hall while reporting on the protests. 

“At the end of the day, it's still a student-fueled movement. It wouldn’t have gotten to (this) extent without the of the student organizations here.” 

Du said students received a text message and email alert from the school stating that a shelter-in-place order had been issued, asking them to remain in their dorms and not to go on campus.

"But all of us knew that that was sort of a signal that the NYPD was going to raid campus," he added.

Video shows Arizona State University police officer removing protester’s hijab during arrest

From CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow

Video taken over the weekend at Arizona State University shows a campus police officer removing a hijab from a protester’s head during her arrest.

The blurred video, obtained by Mass Liberation AZ and provided to CNN by attorney Zayed Al-Sayyed, who represents the women, shows several ASU Police Department officers surrounding a woman whose hands are held behind her back as one of the officers removes her hijab.

People nearby can be heard yelling, “You’re violating her privacy,” and “Give it back.”

The officers then pull the woman’s sweatshirt hood over her head and a bystander yells, “So she can wear a hood but not her hijab?” At one point one of the officers blocks the woman from the view of those taking the video, as a person yells, “let her go!”

A lawyer representing her and three other women who said it also happened to them is demanding accountability.

Al-Sayyed, who said the arrests took place early Saturday, did not identify the women but indicated that three of them are students at the university and all four are Phoenix-area residents. They are facing criminal trespass charges.

Upon being taken into custody, Al-Sayyed said, the women explained the significance of a hijab and “begged” to keep their hijabs, but he said they were told that their hijabs had to be removed for safety reasons.

“They never expected that an officer … who’s sworn to protect and serve is going to violate their most basic protected right under the United States Constitution, which is the right to practice their religion. So they're hurt,” Al-Sayyed said.

After being detained and bused to jail, the women were not given their hijabs back, Al-Sayyed said.

Around 15 hours later, when he was finally given access to his clients, Al-Sayyed said he was able to bring them new hijabs.

The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ),  condemned  the university police for the recorded incident and others like it and called for a full investigation.

“This act represents a blatant infringement upon the religious liberties of peaceful protesters. It is profoundly distressing for the affected women, and ASU Police must conduct a thorough investigation into this matter,” Azza Abuseif, executive director of CAIR-AZ, said in an email to CNN.

In a statement to CNN, the university said, “This matter is under review.” CNN has reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for comment.

Protests will continue despite police presence at Columbia, student negotiator says

A lead student negotiator for protesters at Columbia University has told CNN that protests will continue on the campus despite the school's request for a police presence.

The university has asked NYPD to maintain its presence on campus until May 17.

"I’m very confident that students will continue this movement even after all this brutality against them," negotiator Mahmoud Khalil said, adding that students still have the right to protest despite increased security.

Since negotiations between student protesters and the Columbia University administration began two weeks ago, the university has not viewed them as an anti-war movement, he said. 

"Instead, they dealt with it as an internal student discipline matter. They negotiated with us about bringing food and blankets to the encampment. They refused to acknowledge that this actually is more than that, this is a nationwide movement.

"This is a movement that asks Columbia to divest its investments from the companies that are fuelling the war in Gaza right now,” said Khalil, who is a second-year graduate student at Columbia.

Tensions escalated on campus when officers entered Columbia's Hamilton Hall , which had been occupied by protesters since the early hours of Tuesday, and dozens were seen being arrested.

Khalil said that "the autonomous group decided to take that building when they felt the university is not answering their demands" and was "alienating" them.

Police presence at Columbia may dampen graduation celebrations, CNN journalist and student says

From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe

Julia Vargas Jones, a CNN journalist and Columbia Journalism School graduate student, said the university's request for an on-campus police presence through May 17 will only "dampen the mood even more" as students and their families prepare for graduation.

NYPD swarmed the university Tuesday night after the university authorized them to go into the campus to clear out a building being occupied by protesters. CNN has witnessed dozens of arrests.

"Graduation is May 15. That is my graduation as well. I have family coming from Brazil to come watch me walk across the stage and get my diploma. I hope of course, as everyone does, that this (graduation) can happen," Jones said.

"But at the same time, is there a climate for celebration, for graduation?" Jones said.

Jones said she's unsure the climate on campus will be celebratory as graduation nears.

"I spoke to a lot of students on campus today and students were just feeling caught in between. I don't really see celebration being something we flock to in the coming weeks," she said. "I'm interested to see who will actually attend graduation."

Jones said she has not witnessed any violent altercations as she reported from inside Columbia’s campus Tuesday night. After the campus was cleared by NYPD, Jones described the atmosphere as quiet enough to “hear a pin drop.”

NYPD used flash bangs to breach Columbia building where doors were barricaded

From CNN’s Matthew Friedman and Miguel Marquez

NYPD officers used flash-bang grenades to breach Columbia's Hamilton Hall, which protesters had barricaded themselves inside Tuesday, the police department told CNN.

The building's doors had been barricaded with chairs, tables and vending machines, and windows had been covered with newspaper, the NYPD said.

When a flash-bang grenade is deployed , it emits a bright flash and a very loud bang, often used to shock and disorient. 

Video posted by NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry shows officers searching a bookshelf-lined office after busting the door's lock with a hammer.

Another video shows officers packing a stairwell and passing chairs to one another.

At least 50 officers had earlier used an elevated ramp to climb into the building through a window. 

Columbia University property has been cleared, NYPD says

From CNN’s Matthew Friedman and Miguel Marquez at Columbia

Columbia University’s property has been cleared, the New York Police Department told CNN, less than two hours after officers entered the school’s campus in Morningside Heights.

Hamilton Hall has also been cleared, the NYPD says, and nobody was wounded during the operation. 

The NYPD is still monitoring different locations for protesters across the city, they said.

Photos show NYPD action at Columbia University

From CNN Digital’s Photo Team

The New York Police Department entered the Columbia University campus late Tuesday evening after receiving a letter from the university authorizing them to go into the campus, a law enforcement source familiar with the situation told CNN. 

Officers entered Hamilton Hall , which had been occupied by protesters since the early morning hours Tuesday.

Dozens of people have been arrested.

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