Reported Speech

to report (verb): to tell somebody what you have heard or seen

If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options:

1. We can use the person's exact words - in quotation marks "..." if we are writing
(direct speech).
2. We can change the person's words into our own words (reported speech).

direct speech reported speech

(exact words) (my words)

He said: "I love you." He said that he loved me.

In this lesson we learn about reported speech, the structure that we use when
we report what another person has said, and reported speech rules.

Now we will look at:

 Reported Statements
 Backshift
 Time and Place
 Reported Questions
 Reported Requests
 Reported Orders
Reported Statements
Reported statements are one form of reported speech.

direct statement reported statement

He said, "I am sick." He said that he was sick.

We usually introduce reported statements with "reporting verbs" such as "say" or "tell":

 He said (that)...
 He told me (that)...

When we use our own words to report speech, there are one or two things that we
sometimes change:

 pronouns may need to change to reflect a different perspective

 tense sometimes has to go back one tense (eg, present becomes past) - this is
called backshift

pronoun change tense change

direct statement He said, "I am sick."

reported statement He said (that) he was sick.

There are sometimes other things too that we may need to change, such as time or place.
Look at these examples:

pronoun tense time change

change change

direct statement Jane said, "I was sick yesterday."

reported Jane said she had been sick the day

statement (that) before.

tense change place change

direct statement She said, "It is hot in here."

reported statement She said (that) it was hot in there.

We also sometimes need to think about the third person singular "s":

pronoun person change

direct statement Mary said, "I work in London."

reported statement Mary said (that) she works in London.

Notice that in the above example, we do not change the tense. Usually, with the present
simple, if something is still true now - she still works in London - we don't need to change
it.

Backshift in Reported Speech

direct speech reported speech

He said: "I feel sad." He said that he felt sad.

In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is:

reporting clause [+ conjunction] + reported clause

reporting clause conjunction reported clause

John said (that) he was hungry.

John's original words: "I am hungry."

We sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving it back one tense. For
example, present simple goes back one tense to past simple. We call this change
"backshift".
When do we use backshift?
We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. So, for example, if two minutes
ago John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I might NOT use backshift
(because John is still hungry):

 John just said that he is hungry.

But if yesterday John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I would likely use
backshift:

 Yesterday, John said that he was hungry.

[We hope that John has eaten since yesterday ;-) ]

So we use backshift SOMETIMES but not always. And WHEN we use backshift, here's how
it works with these common tenses and modals:
Remember:

 If a situation is still true, backshift is optional.

 For a general truth there is no need for backshift.

Look at the following examples. See if you can understand when and why they use
backshift:

tenses and direct speech reported speech

modals

present simple* He said, "I like coffee." He said (that) he likes coffee.

He said (that) he liked coffee.

present She said, "Moo is living here with us." She said Moo is living there with them.
continuous*

She said Moo was living there with

them.

past simple John said, "We bought a house last John said they had bought a house the
week." week before.

present perfect Ram said, "I haven't seen Avatar." Ram said he hadn't seen Avatar.

past continuous Wayne said, "Were you watching TV Wayne asked if I had been watching TV
when I called." when he called.

past perfect** Ati said, "I had never lived in Thailand Ati told us that he had never lived in
tenses and direct speech reported speech
modals

before." Thailand before.

can She said, "Tara can't swim." She said Tara couldn't swim.

She said Tara can't swim.

could** He said, "Could you swim when you He asked me if I could swim when I was
were three?" three.

may She said: "I may be late." She said she might be late. (and she
was late)

She said she may be late. (the time to

be late has not yet arrived)

might** She said, "I might come early." She said she might come early.

will She said, "I'll call you tomorrow." She said she would call me the next
day.

She said she will call me tomorrow.

(tomorrow has not come)

would** She said, "I wouldn't like to go." She said she would not like to go.
tenses and direct speech reported speech
modals

shall He said: "Shall I open the door?" He asked if he should open the door.

should** John said, "You should come here." John said I should go there.

must The kidnapper phoned me and said: The kidnapper phoned me and said I
"You must come here now." had to go there then.

Ati said, "I must find a job next year." Ati said he must find a job next year.
(next year hasn't come yet)

have to Tara said: "I have to do my homework." Tara said she had to do her homework.

Tara says she has to do her homework.

Time and Place in Reported Speech
When we report something, we may need to make changes to:

 time (now, tomorrow)

 place (here, this room)

direct speech reported speech

She said, "I saw Mary yesterday." She said she had seen Mary the day before.

He said: "My mother is here." He said that his mother was there.

Time words
If we report something around the same time, then we probably do not need to make any
changes to time words. But if we report something at a different time, we need to change
time words. Look at these example sentences:

 He said: "It was hot yesterday." → He said that it had been hot the day before.
 He said: "We are going to swim tomorrow." → He said they were going to swim the
next day.
Here is a list of common time words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech reported speech

now then, at that time

today that day, on Sunday, yesterday

tonight that night, last night, on Sunday night

tomorrow the next day/ the following day, on Sunday, today

yesterday the day before/ the previous day, on Sunday

last night the night before/ the previous night, on Sunday night

this week that week, last week

last month the month before/ the previous month, in May

next year the following year, in 2014

two minutes ago two minutes before

in one hour one hour later

Place words
If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any
changes to place words. But if we are in a different place when we report something, then
we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences:

 He said: "It is cold in here." → He said that it was cold in there.

 He said: "How much is this book?" → He asked how much the book was.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

direct speech indirect speech

here there, in Starbucks

this that

this book the book, that book, War and Peace

in this room in the room, in that room, in the kitchen

Reported Questions

Reported questions are one form of reported speech.

direct question reported question

She said: "Are you cold?" She asked me if I was cold.

He said: "Where's my pen?" He asked where his pen was.

We usually introduce reported questions with the verb "ask":

 He asked (me) if/whether... (YES/NO questions)

 He asked (me) why/when/where/what/how... (question-word questions)

As with reported statements, we may need to change pronouns and tense (backshift) as
well as time and place in reported questions.

But we also need to change the word order. After we report a question, it is no longer a
question (and in writing there is no question mark). The word order is like that of a normal
statement (subject-verb-object).
Reported YES/NO questions
We introduce reported YES/NO questions with ask + if:

direct question She said, "Do you like coffee?"

reported question She asked if I liked coffee.

Note that in the above example the reported question has no auxiliary "do". But there is
pronoun change and backshift.

Note that we sometimes use "whether" instead of "if". The meaning is the same.
"Whether" is a little more formal and more usual in writing:

 They asked us if we wanted lunch.

 They asked us whether we wanted lunch.

Reported question-word questions

We introduce reported question-word questions with ask + question word:

direct question He said, "Where do you live?"

reported question He asked me where I lived.

Note that in the above example the reported question has no auxiliary "do". But there is
pronoun change and backshift.
Look at these example sentences:

direct question reported question

YES/NO questions I said: "Can I help you?" I asked if I could help her.

She said to us: "Did you feel She asked if we had felt cold.
cold?"

He said: "Are your hands He asked whether my hands were

cold?" cold.

question-word He said: "Where are you He asked me where I was going.

questions going?"

He said: "Why didn't you say He asked me why I hadn't said

something?" anything.
 direct question reported question

He said: "When will they He asked when they would come.

come?"

He said: "Who has seen He asked me who had seen Avatar.

Avatar?"

He said: "How much might it He asked me how much it might

cost?" cost.

She said to me: "Where is the She asked me where the station
station?" was.

choice questions He asked, "Do you want tea He asked whether I wanted tea or
or coffee?" coffee.

He said, "Is the car new or He asked whether the car was new
second-hand?" or second-hand.
Reported Requests
A request is when somebody asks you to do something – usually politely. Reported
requests are one form of reported speech.

direct request reported request

She said: "Could you open the window, please?" She asked me to open the window.

He said: "Please don't smoke." He asked them not to smoke.

We usually introduce reported requests with the verb "ask". The structure is very simple:

ask + noun + to infinitive

pronoun

 We asked the man to help us.

 They asked us to wait.

Because we use the infinitive there is no need to worry about tense. But as with reported
statements and reported questions, we may need to change pronouns as well
as time and place in reported requests.
Here are some examples:

direct request reported request

I said politely, "Please make less noise." I asked them politely to make less
noise.

She has often said to me, "Could you stay the She has often asked me to stay the
night?" night.

They said to the architect: "We'd like you to They asked the architect to meet them
meet us here tomorrow." there the next day.

She will certainly say to John, "Please stay for She will certainly ask John to stay for
lunch." lunch.

She always says, "Please don't forget me." She always asks me not to forget her.
Reported Orders
An order is when somebody tells you to do something and you have no choice. It is not
usually polite. It is a "command". Reported orders are one form of reported speech.

direct order reported order

She said: "Stop!" She told him to stop.

We usually introduce reported orders with the verb "tell". The structure is very simple:

tell + noun + to infinitive

pronoun

 We told the man not to smoke.

 The policeman told us to follow him.

Because we use the infinitive there is no need to worry about tense. But as with reported
statements and reported requests, we may need to change pronouns as well
as time and place in reported orders.
Here are some examples:

direct order reported order

She said, "Eat your food now!" She told the boy to eat his food right then.

The policeman said: "Get out of your car!" The policeman instructed us to get out of our
car.

She said, "You must make the bed before She told her husband to make the bed
you go to work!" before he went to work.

The doctor said: "Don't smoke in here!" The doctor told them not to smoke in there.

Notice above that we report a negative order by using not.

Homework
Reported Speech I

A. Underline the correct words in the Reported Speech sentences below.

1. “Have you done your homework?” Dad asked me if I have done / had done my homework.

2. “I spoke to Jim last week.” He told me that he speak / had spoken to Jim the week before.

3. “It’s my husband’s birthday.” She told me that it was my / her husband’s birthday.

4. “Anna is doing the shopping.” He said that Anna was doing / did the shopping.

5. “I will be late for class.” He told / said me that he would be late for class.

B. Complete the sentences using Reported Speech.

1. “Where do you live?” He asked me ……………………………………………………………………………

2. “Are you going to Tom’s party?” She asked me ……………………………………………………………………………

3. “We’re going to Rome in May.” Tom told me ……………………………………………………………………………

4. “I’ve seen the film twice.” Nicky said ……………………………………………………………………………

5. “You should study harder.” Mum told me ……………………………………………………………………………

6. “What time is it?” Al asked me ……………………………………………………………………………

7. “Where are you from?” He asked us ……………………………………………………………………………

8. “The teacher is sick.” He told us ……………………………………………………………………………

9. “We’re staying in a nice hotel.” They said ……………………………………………………………………………

10. “I’ve never been abroad.” Leo told me ……………………………………………………………………………

C. Complete the questions and statements on the left using words from the box. After
that, complete the Reported Speech sentences next to them.

where anything do talking tired

1. “What do you ………………………?” She asked me ……………………………………………………………………………

2. “……………………………… are you?’’ Dad asked me ……………………………………………………………………………

3. “Stop ………………………………!” Mum told us to ……………………………………………………………………………

4. “I’m …………………………………!” Phil said ……………………………………………………………………………

5. “Do you need ………………………?” Bob asked us ……………………………………………………………………………