Reported speech (also known as Indirect Speech) is how we represent what someone else said without using their exact words. It’s like being a messenger: you’re relaying the essence of the message, which usually requires shifting the perspective of time and person.
Here is the breakdown of how to master it.
1. The Golden Rule: Backshifting
When the reporting verb (the word that introduces the quote, like said or told) is in the past tense, the verbs in the actual message usually take one step back into the past.
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|
| Present Simple ("I eat") | Past Simple (He said he ate) |
| Present Continuous ("I am eating") | Past Continuous (He said he was eating) |
| Past Simple / Present Perfect | Past Perfect (He said he had eaten) |
| Will | Would |
| Can | Could |
| May | Might |
Note: If the statement is still true right now (e.g., "The sun rises in the east"), you don't have to backshift, though doing so is never grammatically wrong.
2. Pronouns and Time Expressions
Since you are no longer the person speaking, and you aren't in the same moment, you have to adjust the "logic" of the sentence.
Pronouns: "I" usually becomes he or she; "we" becomes they.
Place: "Here" becomes there.
Time:
"Tomorrow" → The next day
"Yesterday" → The day before
"Now" → Then / At that moment
3. Reporting Questions
This is where most people trip up. When reporting a question, it stops being a question and becomes a statement. This means the subject comes before the verb, and we lose the "do/does/did" auxiliary.
Yes/No Questions: Use if or whether.
Direct: "Do you like coffee?"
Reported: She asked if I liked coffee.
Wh- Questions: Keep the question word.
Direct: "Where are you going?"
Reported: He asked where I was going.
4. Say vs. Tell
Say: Used when you don't mention the listener immediately after.
Example: "He said that he was tired."
Tell: Always followed by an object (the person being spoken to).
Example: "He told me that he was tired."
Quick Example Transformation
Direct: "I will call you tomorrow," Sarah said to me.
Reported: Sarah told me that she would call me the next day.