Reported Speech
Short Notes for O/L Students
1. What is Reported Speech?
• Direct speech: the exact words spoken, given in quotation marks. Example: She said, "I am tired."
• Reported / Indirect speech: reporting what someone said, without quotation marks. Example: She said (that) she was
tired.
2. Backshift of Tenses
When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told, asked), the tense in direct speech usually shifts one step back:
Direct Speech Reported Speech
Simple Present Simple Past
Present Continuous Past Continuous
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Simple Past Past Perfect
Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Will Would
Can Could
May Might
Must Had to / Must
Example: "I play cricket." → He said (that) he played cricket.
⚠ No backshift is needed if the reporting verb is in the present/future tense, or the statement is a general truth or fact.
Example: "The sun rises in the east." → She says the sun rises in the east.
3. Pronoun Changes
Change pronouns according to who is speaking and who is being spoken about:
• I → he / she
• we → they
• my → his / her
• you → I / we / he / she (depending on context)
Example: "I like your dress," she said to me. → She said (that) she liked my dress.
4. Changes in Time & Place Words
Direct Reported
now then
today that day
tonight that night
yesterday the day before / the previous day
tomorrow the next day / the following day
this that
these those
here there
ago before
last week the previous week / the week before
next year the following year
⚠ These change only if the time of reporting is different from the time of speaking. If reporting immediately, no change is
needed.
5. Reporting Verbs
• Statements: say → said, tell → told (tell always takes an object: He told me...)
• Questions: ask, want to know, wonder
• Commands / Requests: tell, order, ask, request
• Suggestions: suggest, propose, advise
6. Reporting Different Sentence Types
a) Statements
Use "that" (optional). Example: "I am busy," he said. → He said (that) he was busy.
b) Yes / No Questions
Use if / whether + normal word order (no question mark, no auxiliary do/does/did). Example: "Are you coming?" she asked.
→ She asked if/whether I was coming.
c) Wh- Questions
Keep the question word, use normal word order. Example: "Where do you live?" he asked. → He asked where I lived.
d) Commands / Requests
Use to + infinitive (positive) or not to + infinitive (negative). No "please."
• "Close the door," he said. → He told me to close the door.
• "Don't be late," she said. → She told me not to be late.
e) Exclamations
Report the feeling using words like exclaimed with joy/sorrow/surprise. Example: "What a beautiful day!" she said. → She
exclaimed (with joy) that it was a beautiful day.
7. Key Points to Remember (Common Mistakes to Avoid)
• Don't forget word order in reported questions — no inversion, no do/does/did. (Incorrect: She asked where did I
live. Correct: She asked where I lived.)
• Don't use question marks in reported questions.
• Remove "please," "well," "oh" and other exclamatory words; convey their meaning through the reporting verb
instead.
• Check subject-verb agreement after changing pronouns.
• Modal verbs change (will→would, can→could) but modals like should, would, could, might, ought to, used to, and
must (obligation) usually stay the same.
• Tell vs Say — "tell" needs a personal object (told him), "say" does not (said that…).
• Always adjust time and place expressions when the context of reporting differs from the context of speaking.
• General truths and facts keep present tense even in past reporting.
• Read the sentence carefully to identify: statement, question, command, or exclamation — each has its own rule.