To report what somebody else said to other person.

“You are doing very well.”

The teacher said that I was doing very well.

1) TIME TENSE CHANGES (Backshift)

2) PRONOUN CHANGES
Present Simple Past Simple
Present Continuous Past Continuous Personal pronouns when is needed:
“I will do it.”
Past Simple
She told me that she would do it.
Past Perfect Simple Past Perfect (Had + PP)
Past Continuous Possessive pronouns (my, your, her, his, our, their)
Past Perfect Continuous (Had + BEEN + ing)
Present Perfect Continuous “I forgot my bag in my car.”
She said that she had forgotten her bag in her car.
Will Would
Can / Could Could Object pronouns (me, you, her, him, them, us)
Shall / Should Should “I bought you a present.”
May / Might Might He told me that had bought me a present.
Must / Have to Had to

Exercise: Report these sentences: 11- “I can do it for you if you want.” - She said...
0- “I love my cats.” - She said she loved her cats. 12- “You should tell your mother the truth.” - Maria said...
1- “I will travel to the beach.” - She said... 13- “He visited the museum.” - He said...
2- “I didn’t work in a bank before.” - He told me... 14- “I haven´t done my homework yet.” - Lucy said...
3- “I’ve been ill for some days.” - Tom said... 15- “I am eating a cake.” He said...

TEACHER: CAROLINA BAS

4- “I was watching a video.” She said... 16- “She cooked a delicious dinner.” He said...
5- “She isn’t great.” He said... 17- “Susan will be happy.” Gabi said...
6- “Susan is going to marry Tom.” She told me... 18- “They have to book the tickets.” He said...
7- “We must leave early.” Ana said... 19- “They don´t work from home.” She said...
8- “I can’t do it without your help.” He told me... 20- “I have been studying English for 6 years” Alan said...
9- “She drove 1000 km to get here” He said... 21- “The car is broken.” The mechanic said...
10- “The plane may arrive late.” The man said... 22- “They were working until twelve”. The boss said...
3) Time and place references

Exercise: Report these sentences:

0- “I will call you tomorrow.”
She told me that she would call me the next day.

1- “We went to a party yesterday.”

2- “I’ve found a wallet on the street last week”.
3- “She isn’t listening to music now.”
4- “My keys are here.”
5- “I had a great shower today.”
6- “You shouldn’t call him now.”
7- “That is my car”
8- “We aren’t going to watch a film tonight.”
9- “I must buy food today”.
10- “She arrived to the city two weeks ago.”
11- “I have to see the dentist this week”
12- “This is your t-shirt.”
13- “Sue is going to take a test tomorrow.”
14- “We can’t go there today.”

TEACHER: CAROLINA BAS

15- “Paul will arrive next month.”
 We need to invert the order as an affirmative sentence (subject +
verb) and do all the other changes (tense, pronouns, references)

W QUESTIONS: YES OR NO QUESTIONS: Use IF...

“Where did you go yesterday?” “Can you open the door?”

The teacher asked me where I went the previous day. She asked me if I could open the door.

“What is your surname?” “Have you got a brother?”

He wanted to know what my surname was. He asked me if I had got a brother.

How old is she? “Are you watching TV?”

She asked me how old she was. She wondered if I was watching TV.

When did you go to the cinema? “Is he going to work tonight?”

They wanted to know when I had gone to the cinema. Mom asked me if he was going to work that night.

Who is your teacher? “Do you live here?”

She asked us who our teacher was. She asked me if we lived there.

What do you want? “Did you go to the theatre yesterday?”

I asked you what you wanted. She wanted to know if I went to the theatre the previous day.

Exercise: Report these questions:

TEACHER: CAROLINA BAS

1- Are you going to bed now? 8- Who is Susan? 16- Why did you arrive late?
2- Can you call me tomorrow? 9- Can we take photos here? 17- Is Paul going to travel with you?
3- When were you born? 10- How many times a day do you drink coffee? 18- Were the kids at home yesterday?
4- Have you got a big house? 11- How much do the tickets cost? 19- Shall I help you?
5- When is the test? 12- When will my programme be shown? 20- What did you eat for lunch?
6- What time is the flight? 14- Where are you going on holidays? 21- Are they married?
7- Will it take long to repair my car? 15- Have you ever been to Paris? 22- Would you like to dance?
 We don't change the time tense,
but we change the pronouns, adverbs and determiners.

“Close the door please”

He requested TO CLOSE the door.

“Don´t open this box”

She told me NOT TO open that box. Exercise: Report these orders and requestions:

“Could you open your mouth?” 1. "Lie down on the floor," The policeman ordered...
2. "Park your car behind the hotel, please," The porter asked me...
De doctor asked me TO OPEN my mouth.
3. "Get out of the car!" said the policeman to the thief. - (ordered)
4. "Don't be late again." Jane urged me ...
5. "Could you please be quiet?" She asked me...
VERBS WE CAN USE: 6. "Don't move!" The man with the gun said to us...
ordered, asked, requested, warned, 7. “Stand up." The teacher told the children...

TEACHER: CAROLINA BAS

persuaded, urged, suggested 8. “Don't hesitate." Our teacher persuaded us....
9. Bob, “Can you be quiet, please?” The teacher requested Bob...
10. Please, prepare for the exam." She told us...
11. "Don´t take off your shoes." I said to him...
12. "Please, get in touch with them today." He asked me...
13. “Can you repeat the question, please?” The student asked the teacher...
14. “Stop laughing at me, please." She asked me...
15. "Don't smoke," the doctor warned my father. - The doctor warned my father ...
 STATEMENTS:
We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if
Somebody SAID something:
She said (that) you were beautiful.
what a person said is still true or relevant or has not
happened yet. This often happens when someone talks
Somebody TOLD somebody something: about the future, or when someone uses the present
She told me (that) you were beautiful.
simple, present continuous.

QUESTIONS: He told me his brother works for an Italian company. (It is still true
that his brother works for an Italian company.)
Somebody ASKED somebody something
Somebody WANTED TO KNOW She said she’s getting married next year. (For the speakers, the time
Somebody WONDERED at the moment of speaking is ‘this year’.)
Somebody QUESTIONED
Somebody INQUIRED He said he’s finished painting the door. (He probably said it just a
short time ago.)

ORDERS AND REQUESTS:

TEACHER: CAROLINA BAS

She promised she’ll help us. (The promise applies to the future.)
Somebody ASKED somebody something
Somebody TOLD somebody something
Somebody ORDERED
TEACHER: CAROLINA BAS