We use reported speech to tell people what somebody said or though in the past, or what

happened. But be careful! Tenses change only when the time and speaker are different.

TENSE CHART DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

PRESENT SIMPLE-PAST SIMPLE I work in Paris He said he worked in Paris
PRESENT CONTINUOUS-PAST CONT. I am working He said he was working
PAST SIMPLE-PAST PERFECT I worked He said he had worked.
PAST CONTINUOUS-PAST PERFECT CONT I was working He said he had been working
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE-PAST PERFECT I have worked He said he had worked
PRESENT [Link]-PAST PERFECT CONT I have been working He said he had been working
PAST PERFECT-NO CHANGE I had worked He said he had worked
PAST PERFECT CONT-NO CHANGE I had been working He said he had been working

OTHER VERB FORMS TIME REFERENCES

WILL-WOULD DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
I will work -He said he would work.
CAN-COULD Now Then
I can sing -He said he could sing. Today That day
MUST-HAD TO Here There
I must work -He said he had to work. This That
MAY-MIGHT This week That week
May I help you? -He asked if he might help me. Tomorrow The following/next day
SHALL-SHOULD Next week The following/next week
What shall I do? -He asked what he should do. Yesterday The previous day
The day before
PRONOUNS SOMETIMES CHANGE Ago Previously/before
Two days ago Two days previously/before
BE CAREFUL! Tonight That night
Remember, pronouns sometimes change. Last Saturday The previous Saturday
Study these examples: The Saturday before
-Don’t tell him –he said. Next Saturday The following Saturday
He asked me not to tell him. (no change)
The next Saturday
-‘I like you’ –Mary told me.
The Saturday after
Mary told me that she liked me. (change)
That Saturday

TELL SAY ASK

TELL + PERSONAL OBJECT SAY + TO + OBJECT OBJECT + INFINITIVE
We tell somebody -He never said that to me. TO REQUEST
-Tina told me to phone her. TO REPORT -He asked me to translate it.
-My sister told us not to -He said he was exhausted TO QUESTION
wake her up in the morning. -Tom said he had done it. Ask her if she likes tea.
EXERCISE 1 Rewrite the sentences in reported speech
1-He was studying yesterday. She said __________________________________________
2-I will go to the party. He told me ___________________________________________________
3-Mary can’t stand mean people. He said ________________________________________________
4-I must call my sister tomorrow. He said ________________________________________________
5-I don’t like coffee. She told me _______________________________________________________
6-Please, do me a favour. She asked ___________________________________________________
7-What shall I do about it? He asked ____________________________________________________
8-I have forgotten his number. She said _________________________________________________
9-May I sit here? She asked if _________________________________________________________
10-I have been waiting for ages. She said _______________________________________________
11-Tim works in an office. He told me __________________________________________________
12-I have been to Paris twice. She said _________________________________________________
13-My husband is in Poland. She told me ________________________________________________
14-I won’t do the shopping tomorrow. He said ____________________________________________
15-Neil has already seen this film. She said ______________________________________________
16-Gloria is sitting in her room now. He said ______________________________________________
17-I don’t go to parties. She told _______________________________________________________
18-I have been working in the garden. She said ___________________________________________

EXERCISE 2 Choose the correct option. EXERCISE 3 Change the time reference.
Sometimes more than one answer is correct.
When I saw/seen Mary at the office this/that
morning, she wasn’t looking very well. In fact she 1-Sally is leaving today.
had looked/looked a bit tired. I tell/asked her He said Sally was leaving__________________
what the matter is/was with her but she 2-He visited London last week.
wouldn’t tell/say me. I wanted/had been He said he had visited London______________
wanting to know what was going on so I 3-We had an argument last night.
ask/asked Phil but he didn’t/wasn’t know, He said they’d had an argument____________
either. Two hours later, at about ten o’clock, we 4-I’m not eating now.
met/were meeting at the canteen to have a He said he wasn’t eating _________________
cup of coffee. But Mary didn’t/wasn’t order 5-Jimmy is coming next week.
anything to drink. I knew she loved coffee so that He said Jimmy was coming _______________
was quite strange. When I asked her why she 6-I forgot my key yesterday.
wasn’t/didn’t want anything to drink she said He said he’d forgotten his key_____________
she didn’t have/wasn’t having her wallet. Her 7-I’ll call you tomorrow.
husband had been taking/had taken it. I He said he would call me ________________
said/asked her how she was coming/ 8-I don’t live here anymore.
had come to work and she said that as she He said he didn’t live ___________anymore.
didn’t have any money at all she come/came on 9-I’m meeting Phil tonight.
foot. So that’s why she is/was so tired! She She said she was meeting Phil _____________
lived in a nearby town which was ten kilometers
away! No wonder why she is/was exhausted!