Reported Speech

 Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to report what someone said without quoting them directly.

Direct speech: She said, "I am tired."
Reported speech: She said that she was tired.

1. REPORTED STATEMENTS

Rules:

1. Change the pronouns according to context.
2. Backshift the tense (if the reporting verb is in the past).
3. Change time and place words.
   

Direct Speech (Tense)	Reported Speech (Tense)
Present simple	Past simple
Present continuous	Past continuous
Present perfect	Past perfect
Past simple	Past perfect
Will	Would
Can	Could

Time/Place Word Changes:

Direct	Reported
today	that day
tomorrow	the next day
yesterday	the day before
now	then
here	there

Examples:

• Direct: He said, "I work at a bank."
  Reported: He said that he worked at a bank.

Direct: She said, "I will call you tomorrow."
Reported: She said that she would call me the next day.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Simple Present Example: Preethi said, “I cook pasta.”	Simple Past Example: Preethi said that she cooked pasta.
Present Continuous Example: Preethi said, “I am cooking pasta.”	Past Continuous Example: Preethi said that she was cooking pasta.
Present Perfect Example: Preethi said, “I have cooked pasta.”	Past Perfect Example: Preethi said that she had cooked pasta.
Present Perfect Continuous Example: Preethi said, “I have been cooking pasta.”	Past Perfect Continuous Example: Preethi said that she had been cooking pasta.
Simple Past Example: Preethi said, “I cooked pasta.”	Past Perfect Example: Preethi said that she had cooked pasta.
Past Continuous Example: Preethi said, “I was cooking pasta.”	Past Perfect Continuous Example: Preethi said that she had been cooking pasta.
Past Perfect Example: Preethi said, “I had cooked pasta.”	Past Perfect (No change) Example: Preethi said that she had cooked pasta.
Past Perfect Continuous Example: Preethi said, “I had been cooking pasta.”	Past Perfect Continuous (No change) Example: Preethi said that she had been cooking pasta.

 

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Will	Would
May	Might
Can	Could
Shall	Should
Has/Have	Had

 Exercise 1: Change into reported speech

1. She said, "I am happy."

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. He said, "We have finished our homework."

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

3. John said, "I saw her yesterday."

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

4. They said, "We will visit our grandma."

    __________________________________________________________________________________

5. She said, "I can swim very well."

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

2. REPORTED QUESTIONS

Yes/No Questions:

• Use if/whether.
• Change word order to statement form.
• Do not use question marks.

Direct: He asked, "Do you like chocolate?"
Reported: He asked if I liked chocolate.

WH- Questions:

• Keep the WH-word.
• Change the structure into a statement.

Direct: She asked, "Where are you going?"
Reported: She asked where I was going.

Examples:

1. Direct: "Did you enjoy the party?"
   Reported: He asked if I had enjoyed the party.
2. Direct: "What is your name?"
   Reported: She asked what my name was.

Exercise 2: Report the questions

1. She asked, "Do you speak French?"

    ___________________________________________________________________________________
      2.      He asked, "Where do you live?"

________________________________________________________________________________

     3.      They asked, "Is she your sister?"

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

      4.   The teacher asked, "Why were you late?"

    ___________________________________________________________________________________       5.      Mom asked, "Have you eaten lunch?"

  _________________________________________________________________________________

3. REPORTED COMMANDS & REQUESTS

Rules:

• For commands, use told + to + base verb.
• For requests, use asked + to + base verb.
• For negative commands, use not to + base verb.

 Examples:

1. Direct: He said, "Open the window."
   Reported: He told me to open the window.
2. Direct: She said, "Please help me."
   Reported: She asked me to help her.
3. Direct: The teacher said, "Don't talk!"
   Reported: The teacher told us not to talk.

Exercise 3: Rewrite as reported commands/requests

1. The officer said, "Stand in a line."
   ___________________________________________________________________________
2. My mother said, "Please be careful."
   ___________________________________________________________________________
3. He said, "Don't touch that!"
   ___________________________________________________________________________
4. The doctor said, "Take this medicine every day."
   ___________________________________________________________________________

     5. She said to me, "Help your brother."
___________________________________________________________________________

Mixed Practice : Convert the following sentences to reported speech 

1. He said, "I am reading a novel."
2. She said, "We have finished our homework."
3. They said, "We will go to the park tomorrow."
4. The teacher said, "The earth revolves around the sun."
5. I said to him, "You look tired."
6. The teacher said, "Close your books."
7. The guard said, "Do not enter the building."
8. She said to the child, "Clean your room."
9. He said to me, "Wait here till I return."
10. The officer said, "Stand in a queue."
11. She said, "Please help me with my luggage."
12. He said to the waiter, "Please bring some water."
13. I said to my friend, "Please explain this topic again."
14. The old man said to the boy, "Please call the doctor."
15. The student said to the librarian, "Please issue this book."
16. He said, "Where do you live?"
17. She said, "What are you doing now?"
18. They said, "Will you join us for lunch?"
19. He said to me, "Have you seen this movie?"
20. She said to her friend, "Do you like coffee?"

Convert the following sentences to direct speech:

 1.      He said that he was going to the market.

2.      She told me that she had completed her project.

3.      They said that they would join us later.

4.      The teacher said that the sun rises in the east.

5.      I told him that he looked very happy.

6.      The teacher told the students to open their books.

7.      The policeman ordered the man not to cross the road.

8.      She told the child to keep quiet.

9.      He told me to wait outside the room.

10.  The coach told the team to practise every day.

11.  She requested me to lend her my book.

12.  The boy asked the teacher to help him solve the sum.

13.  I requested my friend to wait for me.

14.  The woman requested the conductor to stop the bus.

15.  The tourist asked the man to show him the way.

16.  He asked me where I lived.

17.  She asked what I was doing at that moment.

18.  They asked if I would come to the party.

19.  He asked me whether I had seen his phone.

20.  She asked her friend if she liked the movie.