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Introduction to Reported Speech

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone else what someone said previously. To report a statement, we use a reporting verb like "say" or "tell" followed by the original statement with some grammatical changes. If the reporting verb is in the past tense, we typically change the tenses of the original statement to the appropriate past tense. We also may need to change pronouns like "I" to the speaker and possessive adjectives like "my". Reported speech can be used for statements, questions, and commands.

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16 views6 pages

Introduction to Reported Speech

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone else what someone said previously. To report a statement, we use a reporting verb like "say" or "tell" followed by the original statement with some grammatical changes. If the reporting verb is in the past tense, we typically change the tenses of the original statement to the appropriate past tense. We also may need to change pronouns like "I" to the speaker and possessive adjectives like "my". Reported speech can be used for statements, questions, and commands.

Uploaded by

Frank Rojas
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Reported

Speech
Reported Statements

Sometimes someone says a sentence, for


example "I'm going to the cinema tonight". At
that time the person is using direct speech.

Later, maybe he/she wants to tell someone


else what the first person said. At that time
the person is using reported speech.
When do we use reported speech?

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.

We use reported speech for statements,


questions and commands.
We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. If this verb is in
the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then
the sentence:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.

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

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do


need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example.
We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.
Often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in
English. Here you can find words between brackets () to
show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that'
or if you don't use 'that'.

But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually


we change the tenses in the reported speech:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.

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


DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

Present simple Past simple


She always wears a coat. He said (that) she always wore a coat
Present continuous Past continuous
I’m looking for my keys. She said she was looking for her keys.
Present perfect Past perfect
She has written six letters for her friend. He said she had written six letters for her friend.
Present simple Past perfect
My friend gave me a chocolate bar. He said his friend had given him a chocolate bar.
Will Would
I will finish the project tomorrow. He said that he would finish the project tomorrow.
Can Could
You can speak french. He said that he could speak french.
May Might
I may invite her to dinner. He said that he might invite her to the dinner.
Must Had to
I must go to the bank and get some money. She said that she had to go to the bank and get some money.
Have to Had to
I have to submit this assignment by 3 pm. She said she had to submit the assignment by 3 pm.

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