Now that you know some of the reported speech rules about backshift, let’s learn some exceptions.
There are two situations in which we do NOT need to change the verb tense.
For example, if someone says “I have three children” (direct speech) then we would say “He said he has three children” because the situation continues to be true.
If I tell you “I live in the United States” (direct speech) then you could tell someone else “She said she lives in the United States” (that’s reported speech) because it is still true.
When the situation is still true, then we don’t need to backshift the verb.
He said he HAS three children
But when the situation is NOT still true, then we DO need to backshift the verb.
Imagine your friend says, “I have a headache.”
We also don’t need to backshift to the verb when somebody said something about the future, and the event is still in the future.
Here’s an example:
Let’s look at a different situation:
Quick review:
Those were the rules for reported statements, just regular sentences.
What about reported speech for questions, requests, and orders?
For reported requests, we use “asked (someone) to do something”:
For reported orders, we use “told (someone) to do something:”
The main verb stays in the infinitive with “to”:
For yes/no questions, we use “asked if” and “wanted to know if” in reported speech.
The main verb changes and back shifts according to the rules and exceptions we learned earlier.
Notice that we don’t use do/does/did in the reported question:
For other questions that are not yes/no questions, we use asked/wanted to know (without “if”):
Again, notice that we don’t use do/does/did in reported questions:
Also, in questions with the verb “to be,” the word order changes in the reported question:
Learn more about reported speech:
If you want to take your English grammar to the next level, then my Advanced English Grammar Course is for you! It will help you master the details of the English language, with clear explanations of essential grammar topics, and lots of practice. I hope to see you inside!
I’ve got one last little exercise for you, and that is to write sentences using reported speech. Think about a conversation you’ve had in the past, and write about it – let’s see you put this into practice right away.
About the author.
Shayna Oliveira is the founder of Espresso English, where you can improve your English fast - even if you don’t have much time to study. Millions of students are learning English from her clear, friendly, and practical lessons! Shayna is a CELTA-certified teacher with 10+ years of experience helping English learners become more fluent in her English courses.
Perfect english grammar.
Reported Statements
Here's how it works:
We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:
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'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in 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:
present simple | I like ice cream | She said (that) she liked ice cream. |
present continuous | I am living in London | She said (that) she was living in London. |
past simple | I bought a car | She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that) she bought a car. |
past continuous | I was walking along the street | She said (that) she had been walking along the street. |
present perfect | I haven't seen Julie | She said (that) she hadn't seen Julie. |
past perfect* | I had taken English lessons before | She said (that) she had taken English lessons before. |
will | I'll see you later | She said (that) she would see me later. |
would* | I would help, but... | She said (that) she would help but... |
can | I can speak perfect English | She said (that) she could speak perfect English. |
could* | I could swim when I was four | She said (that) she could swim when she was four. |
shall | I shall come later | She said (that) she would come later. |
should* | I should call my mother | She said (that) she should call her mother |
might* | I might be late | She said (that) she might be late |
must | I must study at the weekend | She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She said she had to study at the weekend |
* doesn't change.
Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.
Reported Questions
So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?
Where is the Post Office, please? | She asked me where the Post Office was. |
What are you doing? | She asked me what I was doing. |
Who was that fantastic man? | She asked me who that fantastic man had been. |
Do you love me? | He asked me if I loved him. |
Have you ever been to Mexico? | She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico. |
Are you living here? | She asked me if I was living here. |
Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests
There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:
Please help me. | She asked me to help her. |
Please don't smoke. | She asked me not to smoke. |
Could you bring my book tonight? | She asked me to bring her book that night. |
Could you pass the milk, please? | She asked me to pass the milk. |
Would you mind coming early tomorrow? | She asked me to come early the next day. |
Reported Orders
Go to bed! | He told the child to go to bed. |
Don't worry! | He told her not to worry. |
Be on time! | He told me to be on time. |
Don't smoke! | He told us not to smoke. |
now | then / at that time |
today | yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June |
yesterday | the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of December |
last night | the night before, Thursday night |
last week | the week before / the previous week |
tomorrow | today / the next day / the following day / Friday |
Hello! I'm Seonaid! I'm here to help you understand grammar and speak correct, fluent English.
Read more about our learning method
Speech can be direct and indirect, or reported.
When you express your thought orally or in writing, it is direct speech. We usually put it in quotes.
When you communicate what someone else said, it is reported speech.
Sue: "I am hungry."
Sue says (that) she is hungry.
To transfer a positive or a negative sentence to reported speech, we need two parts:
Pay attention
In the reported speech, we must replace the pronouns. Otherwise, we won't keep the meaning.
Mary: "I am glad to help you!"
Mary says she is glad to help me . BUT NOT Mary says I am glad to help you.
You should also be careful with time indicators (today, now, next week etc.) not to lose the idea of the original direct statement.
The word that can be used or left out, both options are correct.
When we have a sentence that consists of the main and the dependent part we need to be careful with the verb tenses. The tense in the main part affects the tense in the dependent part. This is called backshifting.
If the main part is in the present simple (e.g., "she says...", "he tells me..."), the dependent part remains unchanged.
John: "I have just got up."
John says he has just got up. "Says" is the present simple → no backshifting
If the main part is in the past simple, we have to do the backshifting. Its basic principle is that the past simple in the main part "pushes" the tense of the dependent part one step back in time. This way we balance both parts of the sentence.
tense | changes to | direct speech | he said... |
---|---|---|---|
present simple → | past simple | I don't have a pen | He he a pen |
present continuous → | past continuous | I am having a shower | He he a shower |
present perfect → | past perfect | I haven't finished yet | He said he yet |
past simple → | past perfect OR doesn't change | I didn't like the film | He said he hadn't liked the film OR He said he didn't like the film |
past continuous → | past perfect continuous | I was reading a book | He said he a book |
will → | would | I will help you | He said he me |
can → | could | I can ride a horse | He said he a horse |
You can view the topic ' reported statements ' with an explanation and exercises.
If the direct question began with a question word (when, what, how, why and so on), then in the reported speech:
"Why did you leave the door open?" → She asked me why I had left the door open.
"Where have you been?" → She asked me where I had been.
If the direct question didn't have a question word (it was a yes/no question), we add the word "if" to transform it into reported speech. The rules of backshifting are the same.
"Will it rain tomorrow?" → They wanted to know if it would rain the next day.
"Can I lend your pen for a second?" → I asked if I could lend his pen for a second.
You can also view the topic ' reported questions ' for a detailed explanation and exercises.
If we want to transform somebody's demand or request into reported speech, we say:
If the imperative was negative (don't go, don't do), we put "not" before "to": tell somebody not to do something.
"Do not cross the red line, please!" → The officer told us not to cross the red line.
"Could you put the flowers in the vase, please?" → She asked me to put the flowers in the vase.
You can also view the topic ' reported requests & demands ' for a detailed explanation and exercises.
Online resources for English teachers and students
Table of Contents
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) gives the meaning of what someone said, not the exact words, while direct speech gives the exact words of the speaker, enclosed in quotation marks (or inverted commas.
With reported speech, we do not use quotation marks.
We use that to connect the introduction with the reported words. Using the connecting word that is optional.
There are certain verbs that we use to introduce reported speech. Here are the most common of them. (More introductory verbs with examples are given below.)
Note: Unlike told and asked , with the verb said , we do not mention the person to whom the words were said.
Because speech is often reported after it was said, verb tenses in the original statements change.
Here is a summary of tense changes with examples
Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
---|---|
"I swim daily," he said. | He said he swam daily. |
"I swam daily," he said. | He said he had swum daily. |
"I am swimming now," he said. | He said he was swimming then. |
| |
"I was swimming," he said. | He said he had been swimming. |
"I have already swum," he said. | He said he had already swum. |
"I had swum," he said. | He said he had already swum. |
"I will swim tomorrow," he said. | He said he would swim the following day. |
"I must swim every day," he said. | He said he had to swim every day. |
"I should swim every day," he said. | He said he should swim every day. |
If the speech is reported immediately , the tense does not change.
If the introductory verb used is in the present simple, future simple or present perfect , we do not change verb tense.
In addition, tense does not change when we talk about general truths, permanent states, and conditions .
We do not change verb tense when we report wishes, preferences, and unreal past.
⇔ Try this quiz on reporting statements.
To report imperative verbs (commands, requests, suggestions), we use an infinitive verb and we use tell / told or ask / asked , but not say / said.
Other verbs that can be used to report imperatives are: a dvise, order, beg, etc.
To report a negative imperative, we use not to infinitive .
With the verb suggest, we use that-clause or verb-ing.
⇔ Take a quiz on how to report imperatives.
When we report questions we change the helping verb-subject order to subject-helping verb/verb .
We follow the same rules of tense changes.
We use if or whether to connect the introduction with reported words.
⇔ Take a quiz on how to report questions.
Because the time of reported speech is later than that of direct speech, time reference will be different. As a result, time expressions in reported speech change according to the context.
This is a table of the most common time expressions and how they change.
Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
---|---|
tonight, today, this week / month / year | that night, that day, that week / month / year |
now | then, at the time, at once, immediately |
yesterday, last night / week / month / year | the day before. the previous night / week / month / year |
tomorrow | the following day, the day after, the next day |
next week/month/year | the following / the next week / month / year |
two days / weeks / months / years ago | two days/ weeks / months / years before |
Sometimes we use verbs other than say , tell , ask to introduce reported speech. We need to choose an appropriate reporting verb because each verb expresses how the reporting person interprets the speech. Here are some of these verbs with examples.
advise somebody to infinitive
accuse somebody of verb-ing
admit verb-ing
apologize for + verb-ing
complain that
demand that
deny verb-ing
encourage somebody to infinitive
inform somebody that
insist that
refuse to infinitive
remind somebody to
threaten to infinitive
suggest verb-ing
warn somebody to infinitive
Reported Speech (Statements) Quiz
Verb Tenses: A Complete Guide
Grammar explanations, quizzes, and tips in your inbox
We respect your privacy.
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.
“Reported speech” might sound fancy, but it isn’t that complicated.
It’s just how you talk about what someone said.
Luckily, it’s pretty simple to learn the basics in English, beginning with the two types of reported speech: direct (reporting the exact words someone said) and indirect (reporting what someone said without using their exact words ).
Read this post to learn how to report speech, with tips and tricks for each, plenty of examples and a resources section that tells you about real world resources you can use to practice reporting speech.
How to report indirect speech, reporting questions in indirect speech, verb tenses in indirect reported speech, simple present, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, simple future, future continuous, future perfect, future perfect continuous, authentic resources for practicing reported speech, novels and short stories, native english videos, celebrity profiles.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Direct speech refers to the exact words that a person says. You can “report” direct speech in a few different ways.
To see how this works, let’s pretend that I (Elisabeth) told some people that I liked green onions.
Here are some different ways that those people could explain what I said:
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” Elisabeth said.
Direct speech: “I like green onions,” she told me. — In this sentence, we replace my name (Elisabeth) with the pronoun she.
In all of these examples, the part that was said is between quotation marks and is followed by a noun (“she” or “Elisabeth”) and a verb. Each of these verbs (“to say,” “to tell [someone],” “to explain”) are ways to describe someone talking. You can use any verb that refers to speech in this way.
You can also put the noun and verb before what was said.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like spaghetti.”
The example above would be much more likely to be said out loud than the first set of examples.
Here’s a conversation that might happen between two people:
1: Did you ask her if she liked coffee?
2: Yeah, I asked her.
1: What did she say?
2. She said, “Yeah, I like coffee.” ( Direct speech )
Usually, reporting of direct speech is something you see in writing. It doesn’t happen as often when people are talking to each other.
Direct reported speech often happens in the past. However, there are all kinds of stories, including journalism pieces, profiles and fiction, where you might see speech reported in the present as well.
This is sometimes done when the author of the piece wants you to feel that you’re experiencing events in the present moment.
For example, a profile of Kristen Stewart in Vanity Fair has a funny moment that describes how the actress isn’t a very good swimmer:
Direct speech: “I don’t want to enter the water, ever,” she says. “If everyone’s going in the ocean, I’m like, no.”
Here, the speech is reported as though it’s in the present tense (“she says”) instead of in the past (“she said”).
In writing of all kinds, direct reported speech is often split into two or more parts, as it is above.
Here’s an example from Lewis Carroll’s “ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ,” where the speech is even more split up:
Direct speech: “I won’t indeed!” said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject of conversation. “Are you—are you fond—of—of dogs?” The Mouse did not answer, so Alice went on eagerly: “There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you!”
Reporting indirect speech is what happens when you explain what someone said without using their exact words.
Let’s start with an example of direct reported speech like those used above.
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like coffee.”
As indirect reported speech, it looks like this:
Indirect speech: Elisabeth said she liked coffee.
You can see that the subject (“I”) has been changed to “she,” to show who is being spoken about. If I’m reporting the direct speech of someone else, and this person says “I,” I’d repeat their sentence exactly as they said it. If I’m reporting this person’s speech indirectly to someone else, however, I’d speak about them in the third person—using “she,” “he” or “they.”
You may also notice that the tense changes here: If “I like coffee” is what she said, this can become “She liked coffee” in indirect speech.
However, you might just as often hear someone say something like, “She said she likes coffee.” Since people’s likes and preferences tend to change over time and not right away, it makes sense to keep them in the present tense.
Indirect speech often uses the word “that” before what was said:
Indirect speech: She said that she liked coffee.
There’s no real difference between “She said she liked coffee” and “She said that she liked coffee.” However, using “that” can help make the different parts of the sentence clearer.
Let’s look at a few other examples:
Indirect speech: I said I was going outside today.
Indirect speech: They told me that they wanted to order pizza.
Indirect speech: He mentioned it was raining.
Indirect speech: She said that her father was coming over for dinner.
You can see an example of reporting indirect speech in the funny video “ Cell Phone Crashing .” In this video, a traveler in an airport sits down next to another traveler talking on his cell phone. The first traveler pretends to be talking to someone on his phone, but he appears to be responding to the second traveler’s conversation, which leads to this exchange:
Woman: “Are you answering what I’m saying?”
Man “No, no… I’m on the phone with somebody, sorry. I don’t mean to be rude.” (Direct speech)
Woman: “What was that?”
Man: “I just said I was on the phone with somebody.” (Indirect speech)
When reporting questions in indirect speech, you can use words like “whether” or “if” with verbs that show questioning, such as “to ask” or “to wonder.”
Direct speech: She asked, “Is that a new restaurant?”
Indirect speech: She asked if that was a new restaurant.
In any case where you’re reporting a question, you can say that someone was “wondering” or “wanted to know” something. Notice that these verbs don’t directly show that someone asked a question. They don’t describe an action that happened at a single point in time. But you can usually assume that someone was wondering or wanted to know what they asked.
Indirect speech: She was wondering if that was a new restaurant.
Indirect speech: She wanted to know whether that was a new restaurant.
It can be tricky to know how to use tenses when reporting indirect speech. Let’s break it down, tense by tense.
Sometimes, indirect speech “ backshifts ,” or moves one tense further back into the past. We already saw this in the example from above:
Direct speech: She said, “I like coffee.”
Indirect speech: She said she liked coffee.
Also as mentioned above, backshifting doesn’t always happen. This might seem confusing, but it isn’t that difficult to understand once you start using reported speech regularly.
What tense you use in indirect reported speech often just depends on when what you’re reporting happened or was true.
Let’s look at some examples of how direct speech in certain tenses commonly changes (or doesn’t) when it’s reported as indirect speech.
To learn about all the English tenses (or for a quick review), check out this post .
Direct speech: I said, “I play video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I played video games (simple past) or I said that I play video games (simple present).
Backshifting into the past or staying in the present here can change the meaning slightly. If you use the first example, it’s unclear whether or not you still play video games; all we know is that you said you played them in the past.
If you use the second example, though, you probably still play video games (unless you were lying for some reason).
However, the difference in meaning is so small, you can use either one and you won’t have a problem.
Direct speech: I said, “I’m playing video games.”
Indirect speech: I said that I was playing video games (past continuous) or I said that I’m playing video games (present continuous).
In this case, you’d likely use the first example if you were telling a story about something that happened in the past.
You could use the second example to repeat or stress what you just said. For example:
Hey, want to go for a walk?
Direct speech: No, I’m playing video games.
But it’s such a nice day!
Indirect speech: I said that I’m playing video games!
Direct speech: Marie said, “I have read that book.”
Indirect speech: Marie said that she had read that book (past perfect) or Marie said that she has read that book (present perfect).
The past perfect is used a lot in writing and other kinds of narration. This is because it helps point out an exact moment in time when something was true.
The past perfect isn’t quite as useful in conversation, where people are usually more interested in what’s true now. So, in a lot of cases, people would use the second example above when speaking.
Direct speech: She said, “I have been watching that show.”
Indirect speech: She said that she had been watching that show (past perfect continuous) or She said that she has been watching that show (present perfect continuous).
These examples are similar to the others above. You could use the first example whether or not this person was still watching the show, but if you used the second example, it’d probably seem like you either knew or guessed that she was still watching it.
Direct speech: You told me, “I charged my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had charged your phone (past perfect) or You told me that you charged your phone (simple past).
Here, most people would probably just use the second example, because it’s simpler, and gets across the same meaning.
Direct speech: You told me, “I was charging my phone.”
Indirect speech: You told me that you had been charging your phone (past perfect continuous) or You told me that you were charging your phone (past continuous).
Here, the difference is between whether you had been charging your phone before or were charging your phone at the time. However, a lot of people would still use the second example in either situation.
Direct speech: They explained, “We had bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Indirect speech: They explained that they had bathed the cat on Wednesday. (past perfect)
Once we start reporting the past perfect tenses, we don’t backshift because there are no tenses to backshift to.
So in this case, it’s simple. The tense stays exactly as is. However, many people might simplify even more and use the simple past, saying, “They explained that they bathed the cat on Wednesday.”
Direct speech: They said, “The cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time!”
Indirect speech: They said that the cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time. (past perfect continuous)
Again, we don’t shift the tense back here; we leave it like it is. And again, a lot of people would report this speech as, “They said the cat was going outside and getting dirty for a long time.” It’s just a simpler way to say almost the same thing.
Direct speech: I told you, “I will be here no matter what.”
Indirect speech: I told you that I would be here no matter what. (present conditional)
At this point, we don’t just have to think about tenses, but grammatical mood, too. However, the idea is still pretty simple. We use the conditional (with “would”) to show that at the time the words were spoken, the future was uncertain.
In this case, you could also say, “I told you that I will be here no matter what,” but only if you “being here” is still something that you expect to happen in the future.
What matters here is what’s intended. Since this example shows a person reporting their own speech, it’s more likely that they’d want to stress the truth of their own intention, and so they might be more likely to use “will” than “would.”
But if you were reporting someone else’s words, you might be more likely to say something like, “She told me that she would be here no matter what.”
Direct speech: I said, “I’ll be waiting for your call.”
Indirect speech: I said that I would be waiting for your call. (conditional continuous)
These are similar to the above examples, but apply to a continuous or ongoing action.
Direct speech: She said, “I will have learned a lot about myself.”
Indirect speech: She said that she would have learned a lot about herself (conditional perfect) or She said that she will have learned a lot about herself (future perfect).
In this case, using the conditional (as in the first example) suggests that maybe a certain event didn’t happen, or something didn’t turn out as expected.
However, that might not always be the case, especially if this was a sentence that was written in an article or a work of fiction. The second example, however, suggests that the future that’s being talked about still hasn’t happened yet.
Direct speech: She said, “By next Tuesday, I will have been staying inside every day for the past month.”
Indirect speech: She said that by next Tuesday, she would have been staying inside every day for the past month (perfect continuous conditional) or She said that by next Tuesday, she will have been staying inside every day for the past month (past perfect continuous).
Again, in this case, the first example might suggest that the event didn’t happen. Maybe the person didn’t stay inside until next Tuesday! However, this could also just be a way of explaining that at the time she said this in the past, it was uncertain whether she really would stay inside for as long as she thought.
The second example, on the other hand, would only be used if next Tuesday hadn’t happened yet.
Let’s take a look at where you can find resources for practicing reporting speech in the real world.
One of the most common uses for reported speech is in fiction. You’ll find plenty of reported speech in novels and short stories . Look for books that have long sections of text with dialogue marked by quotation marks (“…”). Once you understand the different kinds of reported speech, you can look for it in your reading and use it in your own writing.
Writing your own stories is a great way to get even better at understanding reported speech.
One of the best ways to practice any aspect of English is to watch native English videos. By watching English speakers use the language, you can understand how reported speech is used in real world situations.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
Try FluentU for FREE!
Celebrity profiles, which you can find in print magazines and online, can help you find and practice reported speech, too. Celebrity profiles are stories that focus on a famous person. They often include some kind of interview. The writer will usually spend some time describing the person and then mention things that they say; this is when they use reported speech.
Because many of these profiles are written in the present tense, they can help you get used to the basics of reported speech without having to worry too much about different verb tenses.
While the above may seem really complicated, it isn’t that difficult to start using reported speech.
Mastering it may be a little difficult, but the truth is that many, many people who speak English as a first language struggle with it, too!
Reported speech is flexible, and even if you make mistakes, there’s a good chance that no one will notice.
We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe
StoryLearning
Learn A Language Through Stories
There are times when someone tells you something and you’ll have to report what they said to someone else.
How can you do this in English?
You’ll need to know how to use what's called reported speech in English and this is what you’ll learn in this blog post.
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words.
For example, let’s say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon.
Jon, however, is not feeling well. He says to you, “Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today.”
A few days after the party, you meet Sarah. She’s another one of your friends and she was at the party too, but she arrived late – a moment before you left. You only had time to say hello to each other.
She asks you, “I saw you at the party but I didn’t see Jon. Where was he?”
When Sarah asks you, “Where was Jon?” you can say,
“Jon said, ‘Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today’.”
However, it would be more natural to use indirect speech in this case. So you would say, “Jon said he couldn’t come to the party. He had spent all day working outside under the rain and he felt ill that day .”
Did you notice how the sentence changes in reported speech?
Here’s what happened:
Let’s take a closer look at how we form reported speech.
To form reported speech, you might have to make a few changes to the original sentence that was spoken (or written).
You may have to change pronouns, verb tenses, place and time expressions and, in the case of questions, the word order.
There are certain patterns to learn for reporting promises, agreements, orders, offers, requests, advice and suggestions.
Let’s have a look at all these cases one by one.
In general, when we use reported speech, the present tenses become past tenses.
We do this because we are often reporting someone else’s words at a different time (Jon’s words were spoken 3 days before you reported them to Sarah).
Here’s an example:
Jenny (on Saturday evening) says, “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”(present tenses)
Matt (on Sunday morning) talks to James and says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home. (past tenses)
So this is how different verb tenses change:
DIRECT: I need money.
INDIRECT: She said she needed money.
DIRECT: My French is improving.
INDIRECT: He said his French was improving.
DIRECT: This has been an amazing holiday.
INDIRECT: She told me that it had been an amazing holiday.
What if there is a past simple form of the verb in direct speech? Well, in this case, it can stay the same in reported speech or you can change it to past perfect .
DIRECT: I didn’t go to work.
INDIRECT: Mary said that she didn’t go to work / Mary said that she hadn’t gone to work
DIRECT: I arrived late because I had missed the bus.
INDIRECT: He said he arrived (or had arrived) late because he had missed the bus.
Modal verbs like “can,” “may,” and “will” also change in reported speech.
DIRECT: The exam will be difficult.
INDIRECT: They said that the exam would be difficult.
DIRECT: I can’t be there.
INDIRECT: He told me he couldn’t be there.
DIRECT: We may go there another time.
INDIRECT: They said they might go there another time.
However, past modal verbs don’t change (would, must, could, should, etc.) don’t change in reported speech.
DIRECT: It would be nice if we could go to Paris.
INDIRECT: He said it would be nice if we could go to Paris.
Here are some other examples:
“I am going to the store,” said John. | John said that he was going to the store. |
“I love pizza,” said Jane. | Jane said that she loved pizza. |
“I will finish the project today,” said Mary. | Mary said that she would finish the project that day. |
“I can't come to the party,” said Tom. | Tom said that he couldn't come to the party. |
“I have a headache,” said Sarah. | Sarah said that she had a headache. |
“I saw a movie last night,” said Peter. | Peter said that he had seen a movie the previous night. |
“I want to learn Spanish,” said Emily. | Emily said that she wanted to learn Spanish. |
“I have been working on this project for a week,” said Sam. | Sam said that he had been working on the project for a week. |
“I don't like this food,” said Mark. | Mark said that he didn't like that food. |
“I am not feeling well,” said Alice. | Alice said that she was not feeling well. |
So, in summary,
You make these verb tense shifts when you report the original words at a different time from when they were spoken. However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker’s tenses when the situation is still the same.
For example,
1. DIRECT: I am feeling sick.
INDIRECT: She said she is feeling sick.
2. DIRECT: We have to leave now.
INDIRECT: They said they have to leave now.
3. DIRECT: I will call you later.
INDIRECT: He said he will call me later.
4. DIRECT: She is not coming to the party.
INDIRECT: He said she is not coming to the party.
5. DIRECT: They are working on a new project.
INDIRECT: She said they are working on a new project.
What about conditional sentences? How do they change in reported speech?
Sentences with “if” and “would” are usually unchanged.
DIRECT: It would be best if we went there early.
INDIRECT: He said it would be best if they went there early.
But conditional sentences used to describe unreal situations (e.g. second conditional or third conditional sentences) can change like this:
DIRECT: If I had more money I would buy a new car.
INDIRECT: She said if she had had more money, she would have bought a new car OR She said if she had more money, she would buy a new car.
In reported speech, because you’re reporting someone else’s words, there’s a change of speaker so this may mean a change of pronoun.
An example:
Jenny says, “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”
Matt says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home.”
In this example, Jenny says “I” to refer to herself but Matt, talking about what Jenny said, uses “she”.
So the sentence in reported speech becomes:
Some other examples:
1 . DIRECT: I have been studying for hours.
INDIRECT: He said he had been studying for hours.
2. DIRECT: I don’t like that movie.
INDIRECT: She said she didn’t like that movie.
3. DIRECT: He doesn't like coffee.
INDIRECT: She said he doesn't like coffee.
4. DIRECT: We have a new car.
INDIRECT: They told me they had a new car.
5. DIRECT: We are going on vacation next week.
INDIRECT: They said they are going on vacation next week.
When you’re reporting someone’s words, there is often a change of place and time. This may mean that you will need to change or remove words that are used to refer to places and time like “here,” “this,” “now,” “today,” “next,” “last,” “yesterday,” “tomorrow,” and so on.
Check the differences in the following sentences:
DIRECT: I'll be back next month.
INDIRECT: She said she would be back the next month , but I never saw her again.
DIRECT: Emma got her degree last Tuesday.
INDIRECT: He said Emma had got her degree the Tuesday before.
DIRECT: I had an argument with my mother-in-law yesterday .
INDIRECT: He said he’d had an argument with his mother-in-law the day before .
DIRECT: We're going to have an amazing party tomorrow.
INDIRECT: They said they were going to have an amazing party the next day.
DIRECT: Meet me here at 10 am.
INDIRECT: He told me to meet him there at 10 am.
DIRECT: This restaurant is really good.
INDIRECT: She said that the restaurant was really good.
DIRECT: I'm going to the gym now.
INDIRECT: He said he was going to the gym at that time.
DIRECT: Today is my birthday.
INDIRECT: She told me that it was her birthday that day .
DIRECT: I'm leaving for Europe next week.
INDIRECT: She said she was leaving for Europe the following week.
What if you have to report a question? For example, how would you report the following questions?
In reported questions, the subject normally comes before the verb and auxiliary “do” is not used.
So, here is what happens when you're reporting a question:
DIRECT: Where’s Mark?
INDIRECT: I asked where Mark was.
DIRECT: When are you going to visit your grandmother?
INDIRECT: He wanted to know when I was going to visit my grandmother.
DIRECT: What do I need to buy for the celebration?
INDIRECT: She asked what she needed to buy for the celebration.
DIRECT: Where are your best friend and his wife staying?
INDIRECT: I asked where his best friend and his wife were staying.
DIRECT: Do you like coffee?
INDIRECT: I asked if she liked coffee.
DIRECT: Can you sing?
INDIRECT: She asked me if I could sing.
DIRECT: Who’s your best friend?
INDIRECT: They asked me who my best friend was.
DIRECT: What time do you usually wake up?
INDIRECT: She asked me what time I usually wake up.
DIRECT: What would you do if you won the lottery?
INDIRECT: He asked me what I would do if I won the lottery.
DIRECT: Do you ever read nonfiction books?
INDIRECT: She asked me if I ever read nonfiction books.
You might have noticed that question marks are not used in reported questions and you don’t use “say” or “tell” either.
When you’re reporting these, you can use the following verbs + an infinitive:
Here are some examples:
DIRECT SPEECH: I’ll always love you.
PROMISE IN INDIRECT SPEECH: She promised to love me.
DIRECT SPEECH: OK, let’s go to the pub.
INDIRECT SPEECH: He agreed to come to the pub with me.
DIRECT SPEECH: Sit down!
INDIRECT SPEECH: They told me to sit down OR they ordered me to sit down.
DIRECT SPEECH: I can go to the post office for you.
INDIRECT SPEECH: She offered to go to the post office.
DIRECT SPEECH: Could I please have the documentation by tomorrow evening?
INDIRECT SPEECH: She requested to have the documentation by the following evening.
DIRECT SPEECH: You should think twice before giving him your phone number.
INDIRECT SPEECH: She advised me to think twice before giving him my phone number.
All right! I hope you have a much clearer idea about what reported speech is and how it’s used.
And the good news is that both direct and indirect speech structures are commonly used in stories, so why not try the StoryLearning method ?
You'll notice this grammatical pattern repeatedly in the context of short stories in English.
Not only will this help you acquire it naturally, but you will also have a fun learning experience by immersing yourself in an interesting and inspiring narrative.
Have a wonderful time learning through books in English !
Our website uses cookies to provide you the best experience. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our use of cookies. For more information, read our Cookie Policy .
Discover the world famous story-based method that 1,023,037 people have used to learn a language quickly…, not interested.
What can we do better ? If I could make something to help you right now, w hat would it be?
Which language are you learning?
What is your current level in [language]?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] [language] tips…
Where shall I send them?
We will protect your data in accordance with our data policy.
What is your current level in Swedish?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Swedish tips…
Where shall I send the tips and your PDF?
What is your current level in Danish?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Danish tips…
What can we do better? If I could make something to help you right now, w hat would it be?
What is your current level in [language] ?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] [language] tips, PLUS your free StoryLearning Kit…
Great! Where shall I send my best online teaching tips and your PDF?
What is your current level in Arabic?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Arabic tips…
Join my email newsletter and get FREE access to your StoryLearning Kit — discover how to learn languages through the power of story!
Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Japanese and start learning Japanese quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!
What is your current level in Japanese?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Japanese StoryLearning® Pack …
Where shall I send your download link?
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Japanese Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Japanese grammar quickly and naturally through stories.
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Japanese Grammar Pack …
What is your current level in Portuguese?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Portuguese Grammar Pack …
What is your current level in German?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural German Grammar Pack …
The next cohort of my Certificate of Online Language Teaching will open soon. Join the waiting list, and we’ll notify you as soon as enrolment is open!
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Portuguese tips…
What is your current level in Turkish?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Turkish tips…
What is your current level in French?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the French Vocab Power Pack …
What is your current level in Italian?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Italian Vocab Power Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the German Vocab Power Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Japanese Vocab Power Pack …
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Japanese Vocab Power Pack and learn essential Japanese words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)
Enter your email address below to get free access to my German Vocab Power Pack and learn essential German words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Italian Vocab Power Pack and learn essential Italian words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)
Enter your email address below to get free access to my French Vocab Power Pack and learn essential French words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Portuguese StoryLearning® Pack …
What is your current level in Russian?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Russian Grammar Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Russian StoryLearning® Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Italian StoryLearning® Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Italian Grammar Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the French StoryLearning® Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural French Grammar Pack …
What is your current level in Spanish?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Spanish Vocab Power Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Spanish Grammar Pack …
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Spanish StoryLearning® Pack …
Where shall I send them?
What is your current level in Korean?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Korean tips…
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Russian tips…
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Japanese tips…
What is your current level in Chinese?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Chinese tips…
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Spanish tips…
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Italian tips…
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] French tips…
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] German tips…
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Portuguese Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Portuguese grammar quickly and naturally through stories.
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Russian Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Russian grammar quickly and naturally through stories.
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural German Grammar Pack and learn to internalise German grammar quickly and naturally through stories.
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural French Grammar Pack and learn to internalise French grammar quickly and naturally through stories.
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Italian Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Italian grammar quickly and naturally through stories.
Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Brazilian Portuguese and start learning Portuguese quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!
Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Russian and start learning Russian quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!
Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in German and start learning German quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!
Perfect! You’ve now got access to the German StoryLearning® Pack …
Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Italian and start learning Italian quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!
Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in French and start learning French quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!
Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Spanish and start learning Spanish quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!
The rules of language learning.
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Rules of Language Learning and discover 25 “rules” to learn a new language quickly and naturally through stories.
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Spanish Vocab Power Pack and learn essential Spanish words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)
Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Spanish Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Spanish grammar quickly and naturally through stories.
How to generate a full-time income from home with your English… even with ZERO previous teaching experience.
What is your current level in Thai?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Thai tips…
What is your current level in Cantonese?
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Cantonese tips…
I’ve written some simple emails explaining the techniques I’ve used to learn 8 languages…
I want to be skipped!
I’m the lead capture, man!
“After I started to use your ideas, I learn better, for longer, with more passion. Thanks for the life-change!” – Dallas Nesbit
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] [language] tips…
Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] [language] tips…
Looking for world-class training material to help you make a breakthrough in your language learning?
Click ‘start now’ and complete this short survey to find the perfect course for you!
Do you like the idea of learning through story?
Do you want…?
Sometimes we may wish to report the words of others. In fact, this is quite a regular occurrence in any language.
There are two ways to do this: reported (indirect) speech, and direct speech.
Here’s how they work.
As the name would suggest, direct speech is when you directly report the words of another person.
“I’ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,” he said.
Direct speech can always be identified in written speech through the use of speech marks (sometimes known as quotation marks). Please note that single or double marks can be used depending on the habit of the individual user.
Direct speech is the easier of the two options because it does not involve any grammatical or structural changes to the original sentence.
Reported speech involves grammatical, and sometimes structural, changes.
Here is an example of the same sentence as above but this time delivered in reported speech.
“I’ll see you at the meeting on Wednesday,” he said. (direct speech)
He said (that) he would see me at the meeting today. (reported/indirect speech)
Aa can be seen, considerable changes have been made to the original sentence. First of all, the speech marks have been removed. Next, we must consider the verb tense used. Fortunately, the rules covering this are written in stone:
1) Present simple | Past simple |
2) Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
3) Present continuous | Past continuous |
4) Past simple | Past Perfect |
5) Past continuous | Past perfect continuous |
6) Past perfect | Past perfect (no change) |
7) Past perfect continuous | Past perfect continuous (no change) |
8) Future simple (will) | Would |
9) Can | Could |
10)All other Modal Verbs (might/may/could/should/would) | No change |
As can be seen from the above table, the original verb tense must be adapted accordingly. Let us look at the original examples once more:
The verb tense in the original, direct speech sentence (‘will’) has been adapted to ‘would’ as necessary. This reflects the difference in time between when the comment was originally made, and when it was reported.
This fact is made most obviously clear when the present tense is adapted to the past, as follows:
“I want to talk to you,” she said.
She said that she wanted to talk to me.
As is dictated, ‘want’ has become wanted’ because the request is now clearly in the past.
Please note that, on some occasions, adapting the present tense to the past tense may not be necessary. For example:
“I like pizza,” she said.
She said she likes/liked pizza.
Because we can assume the state to still be true, the present tense is also correct in the reported sentence.
Let us look once more at the original pair of sentences:
As well as the verb tense, both the subject and object have been adapted, and so has the time expression.
Of course, these amendments are all relative. Who was talking to who, and what is the time relationship between when the original sentence was communicated, and when it was reported? Always bear in mind these considerations when using reported speech.
Questions are a little bit different, and must be adapted in their own unique way. Generally speaking, there are two types of questions, and each must be considered separately.
The first question is an ‘information’ question, requiring some kind of specific detail in the answer. The second question, meanwhile, is quite simply a ‘yes/no’ question, where detail is optional.
Here are the changes that must be made to each question in reported (indirect) speech
In the ‘information’ question, the original sentence must be restructured so it is now no longer a question, but an affirmative statement. That is because, when reported, it is no longer a question. The verb tense should also be adapted as per the rules with all reported speech transitions.
In the ‘yes/no’ question, the sentence must also be adapted, with the word ‘if’ (or ‘whether’) replacing the auxiliary. Again, the verb tense must be changed accordingly.
In the examples in this article we have included the classic reporting verbs ‘said’ and ‘asked’. ‘Tell’ is another classic.
In truth, these verbs are incredibly uninformative. In reality, they tell us nothing about the emotion or feeling of what was communicated.
Therefore, it is better to run through the many options of reporting verbs we have at our disposal to select an option which best describes the sentiment of the words. Of course, in formal or business English you may want to stay with the neutral words of ‘say’, ‘ask’ and ‘tell’, but to be a little more descriptive, why not check out some of these options:
There are almost countless others. Give your language more color by choosing something more descriptive.
And don’t forget, the Linguix AI-powered writing assistant can provide you not only with the grammatical and structural amendments that you need to be correct in your writing, but can also be used to adapt your style so it is suitable to your audience. Get lists of synonyms to help you identify the perfect word, too.
Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is when we report what somebody has said. Native speakers use reported speech very often.
Talk to our experts
1800-120-456-456
Indirect speech or Reported speech is just a way of expressing your intent in questions, statements or other phrases, without essentially quoting them outrightly as the way it is done in indirect speech.
To understand Reported Speech Grammar and Reported Verbs, you need to first understand reported speech rules and how it works. Here are some types of reported speech:
Reported Statements
Reported speech is used when someone says a sentence, like, "I'm going to the movie tonight". Later, we want to tell a 3rd person what the first person is doing.
It works like this:
We use a reporting verb i.e 'say' or 'tell'. In the present tense, just put in 'he says.
Direct Speech: I like burgers.
Reported Speech: He says (that) he likes burgers.
You don't need to change the tense, but you do need to switch the 'person' from 'I' to 'he’. You also need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.
But, in case the reporting verb is in the past tense, then change the tenses in the reported speech itself.
Reported Questions
Reported questions to go like
Direct Speech: Where do you reside?
We make the change to reported speech by-
It is similar to reported statements. The tense changes are exact, and we keep the question’s word. But we need to change the grammar of that normal sentence into positive. For eg:
Reported Speech: He asked me where I resided.
The direct speech question is in the present simple tense. We make a present simple question with 'do' or 'does'. For that, I need to take that away. Then change the verb to the past simple.
Direct Speech: Where is Jolly?
Reported Speech: He asked me where Jolly was.
The direct question is the present simple of 'be'. We change the question form of the present simple of being by changing the position of the subject and the verb. So, change them back before putting the verb into the past simple.
Reported Requests
The reported speech goes a long way. What if a person asks you to do something politely or make a request? It’s called a reported request. For example
Direct Speech: Close the door, please / Could you close the door please? / Would you mind closing the door, please?
All these requests mean the same, so we don't need to report every word there when we tell a 3rd person about it.
We can simply use 'ask me + to + infinitive':
Reported Speech: They asked me to close the door.
Direct Speech: Please be punctual.
Reported Speech: They asked us to be punctual.
Reported Orders
And lastly, how about when someone doesn't ask that politely? This is known as an 'order' in English, which is when someone tells you to do something pretty much directly. This is called a reported order. For example
Direct Speech: Stand up right now!
We make this into a reported speech in the same way as that for a request. Just use 'tell' rather than 'ask':
Reported Speech: She told me to stand up right now.
Direct Order | Reported Order |
Go to sleep! | He told the child to go to sleep |
Stop worrying! | He told her to stop worrying |
Be punctual! | He told me to be punctual. |
Don't move! | He told us not to move. |
Time Expressions within the Ambit of Reported Speech
Sometimes when we want to change the direct speech into reported speech, we will have to change the time expressions too. We don't necessarily always have to do that. However, It depends on when we heard the speech in indirect form and when we said the speech in reported form.
For Example,
It's Sunday. Kiran Ma’am says "I'm leaving today".
If You tell someone on Sunday, You will say "Kiran Ma’am said she was leaving today".
If you tell someone on Tuesday, You will say "Kiran Ma’am said she was leaving yesterday".
If you tell someone on Friday, you will say "Kiran Ma’am said she was leaving on Sunday ".
If you tell someone a month later, you will say "Kiran Ma’am said she was leaving that day".
So, technically there's no easy way to convert. You need to put in real effort and have to think about it when the direct speech is said.
now can be converted to then / at that time
today can be converted to yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27 th of June
yesterday can be converted to the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of December
last night can be converted to the night before, Thursday night
last week can be converted to the week before / the previous week
tomorrow can be converted to today / the next day / the following day / Friday
Tense | Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
present simple | I like Burger | She said (that) she liked Burger |
present continuous | I am living in Australia | She said (that) she was living in Australia |
past simple | I bought a new house | She said (that) she had bought a new house OR She said (that) she bought a new house |
past continuous | My mom was watching a movie | She said (that) her mom had been watching a movie |
present perfect | I haven't seen Ram | She said (that) she hadn't seen Ram. |
will | I will travel to Delhi | She said (that) she would travel to Delhi. |
would* | I would suggest, but..” | She said (that) she would suggest but... |
can | I can play cricket. | She said (that) she could play cricket |
could* | I could go the wedding | She said (that) she could go to the wedding |
shall | I shall come later | She said (that) she would come later. |
should* | I should talk to her | She said (that) she should talk to her |
might* | I might be coming late | She said (that) she might be coming late |
must | I must attend the party | She said (that) she must attend the party She said she had to attend the party |
This is all about reported speech. English grammar is a tricky thing given both the rules and practice. Reading these rules solely will not help you to get a strong grasp of them. You also have to practice reported speech sentences in practical life to know how and when they can be used.
1. How to convert present tenses to reported speech and give some examples.
There are certain rules to follow while converting sentences to reported speech. We need to manage tenses also.
Usually, the present sentences change to simple past tense.
Ex: I do yoga every morning
She said that she did yoga every morning.
I play cricket a lot
He said that he played cricket a lot
Usually The present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense.
Ex: My friend is watching a movie.
She said that her friend was watching a movie.
We are eating dinner
They said that they were eating dinner.
Usually, the Present Perfect Tense changes into Past Perfect Tense
Ex: I have been to the USA
She told me that she had been to the USA.
She has finished her task.
She said that she had finished her task.
Usually the Present Perfect Progressive Tense changes into Past Perfect Tense
2. How to convert present tenses to reported speech and give some examples.
Usually the Past Simple Tense changes into the Past Perfect Tense.
Ex: He arrived on Friday
He said that he had arrived on Friday.
My mom enjoyed the stay here
He said that his mom had enjoyed the stay there.
Usually, the Past Progressive Tense changes into the Perfect Continuous Tense
Ex: I was playing the cricket
He said that he had been playing cricket.
My husband was cooking
She said that her husband had been cooking.
Usually, the Past Perfect Tense doesn’t change.
Ex: She had worked hard.
She said that she had worked hard.
And also the Past Perfect Progressive Tense doesn’t change.
3. State the rules for conversion of future tenses into reported speech
There are rules to follow while converting the future tenses to reported speech.
In general, the Future Simple Tense changes into would. And also the future Progressive Tense changes into “would be”. The Future Perfect Tense changes into “would have”. The Future Perfect Progressive Tense changes into “would have been”.
Ex: I will be attending the wedding.
She said that she would be attending the wedding.
4. Give examples for conversion of ‘can ‘, ‘can’t’ and ‘will’,’’won’t’
|
|
My grandma can’t remember me | She said that her grandma couldn’t remember her. |
I can play football | He said that he could play football |
We can dance well | They said that they could dance well |
|
|
I will go to the market | He said that he would go to the market |
Things will get better, she said. | She told me that things would get better |
I won’t be in the team this year | He told me that he wouldn’t be in the team that year |
5. Give some examples for reported requests and reported orders.
|
|
Please don't be late. | He asked us not to be late. |
Sit down! | He told me to sit down. |
Please don't drink. | He asked me not to drink. |
Could you bring my dress tomorrow? | She asked me to bring her dress the next day |
Don’t be late | He asked me not to be late |
Can you pass me the book, please? | She asked me to pass the book |
Please come early | He asked me to come early |
Definition of reported speech noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!
Nearby words.
Indirect speech is a report on what someone else said or wrote without using that person's exact words (which is called direct speech). It's also called indirect discourse or reported speech .
In direct speech , a person's exact words are placed in quotation marks and set off with a comma and a reporting clause or signal phrase , such as "said" or "asked." In fiction writing, using direct speech can display the emotion of an important scene in vivid detail through the words themselves as well as the description of how something was said. In nonfiction writing or journalism, direct speech can emphasize a particular point, by using a source's exact words.
Indirect speech is paraphrasing what someone said or wrote. In writing, it functions to move a piece along by boiling down points that an interview source made. Unlike direct speech, indirect speech is not usually placed inside quote marks. However, both are attributed to the speaker because they come directly from a source.
In the first example below, the verb in the present tense in the line of direct speech ( is) may change to the past tense ( was ) in indirect speech, though it doesn't necessarily have to with a present-tense verb. If it makes sense in context to keep it present tense, that's fine.
Keeping the present tense in reported speech can give the impression of immediacy, that it's being reported soon after the direct quote,such as:
An action in the future (present continuous tense or future) doesn't have to change verb tense, either, as these examples demonstrate.
Indirectly reporting an action in the future can change verb tenses when needed. In this next example, changing the am going to was going implies that she has already left for the mall. However, keeping the tense progressive or continuous implies that the action continues, that she's still at the mall and not back yet.
With a past-tense verb in the direct quote, the verb changes to past perfect.
Note the change in first person (I) and second person (your) pronouns and word order in the indirect versions. The person has to change because the one reporting the action is not the one actually doing it. Third person (he or she) in direct speech remains in the third person.
In free indirect speech, which is commonly used in fiction, the reporting clause (or signal phrase) is omitted. Using the technique is a way to follow a character's point of view—in third-person limited omniscient—and show her thoughts intermingled with narration.
Typically in fiction italics show a character's exact thoughts, and quote marks show dialogue. Free indirect speech makes do without the italics and simply combines the internal thoughts of the character with the narration of the story. Writers who have used this technique include James Joyce, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Zora Neale Hurston, and D.H. Lawrence.
One moment in particular from a june 2024 los angeles fundraiser for u.s. president joe biden's reelection campaign caught the eye of politicos., jordan liles, published june 19, 2024.
In June 2024, online users and some news publishers shared videos claiming to show U.S. President Joe Biden "freeze up" for seven seconds at the conclusion of a campaign fundraiser with former President Barack Obama. With the 2024 election on the horizon and the first presidential debate set for June 27, the videos became a hot topic of discussion in the world of American politics.
That fundraiser rumor followed two other recent videos of Biden: one that users said showed him standing still at a Juneteenth concert at the White House, and another where users claimed he wandered to the edge of a camera's shot while viewing skydivers in a demonstration at the G7 summit in Italy.
The apparent implication of the claims presented alongside these videos was simply the latest chapter in the unproven rumor the president, who is 81, experiences symptoms of an undisclosed medical diagnosis or other type of mental issue related to his age. For the record, Biden has not been diagnosed with any cognitive issues related to his age. Further, in a situation like this one where users imply Biden experienced a symptoms of a larger mental issue causing him to "freeze up," the people who started the rumor own the responsibility of providing worthy evidence to lend credibility to their implied claim. They have presented no such evidence.
The White House has addressed these rumors by labeling them as "cheap fakes." The Poynter Institute's initiative known as MediaWise defines cheap fakes as "photos or videos that have been manipulated using cheaper, more accessible video editing software." MediaWise continued: "Cheap fakes can also edit out important context or maybe reorder clips to alter the narrative to deceive you and shape your opinion."
In this story, we'll dial through all the facts specific to the viral fundraiser moment. We'll also look at the statements the White House has publicly issued in response to the claim. In our own email outreach to the White House, we asked whether someone asked Biden what he remembers from the seven seconds he stood still on stage with Obama. We did not receive a response within 24 hours.
The campaign fundraiser featuring Biden and Obama occurred the evening of June 15 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times reported the fundraiser brought in more than $30 million for Biden's reelection efforts. Tickets ranged from $250 all the way up to $500,000. Actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts also headlined the evening, and comedian Jimmy Kimmel served as moderator.
Readers seeking further context of the fundraiser might be interested to learn the White House published a full transcript of the discussion between Kimmel, Biden and Obama.
A video originally published by Chris Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter showed the conclusion of the fundraiser, including Biden's purported "freeze up" moment. Gardner shared the post hours after the event ended, simply writing, "Former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden offer final waves to Peacock Theater crowd as Obama then grabs Biden's hand to lead him offstage following 40-minute conversation with Jimmy Kimmel."
Other users and publishers shared Gardner's video on X and other websites. For example, the British tabloid The Sun posted the clip on YouTube, giving it the title, "Embarrassing moment Joe Biden appears to FREEZE again before Barack Obama pulls him off-stage."
Gardner's video showed that, at the end of the fundraiser, the audience applauded while Biden, Obama and Kimmel stood on stage. A live band played while Biden applauded and waved at the audience. Obama waved as well. Audience members held their phones high in the air to capture photos and videos. Around 10 seconds into Gardner's video, Biden turned left, smiled and began standing still for about seven seconds. Biden began moving again only after Obama reached out his hand, held Biden by the wrist and then patted Biden on the back. The two men then walked off the stage together with Obama's hand on Biden's back. (Obama did not "pull" Biden off of the stage, as The Sun claimed.)
On June 16 — the day after the fundraiser — the New York Post reported, "Biden appears to freeze up, has to be led off stage by Obama at mega-bucks LA fundraiser." The top of the Post's story featured Gardner's video but omitted the first 10 seconds of Biden waving and applauding. However, the Post also embedded Gardner's original X post with the unedited video three paragraphs into the article.
Similarly, The Gateway Pundit published a post titled, "YIKES! Biden Freezes as Obama Grabs His Arm and Leads Him Off Stage During California Fundraiser (VIDEO)." Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk also posted on X, "Whoa! Biden completely freezes on stage at Los Angeles fundraiser as Barack Obama has to grab his arm and escort him back stage." The Gateway Pundit and Kirk both featured Gardner's full and unedited video.
Meanwhile, The Daily Beast published an article with a headline from a viewpoint opposite that of the aforementioned conservative sources. That headline appearing in Google search results read, "No, President Biden Didn't 'Freeze' at Star-Studded Hollywood Fundraiser." The Associated Press also reported of the matter, "FACT FOCUS: Biden's pause as he left a star-studded LA fundraiser becomes a target for opponents."
The AP published a video it obtained from Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer that showed a second angle providing a longer look at the moment in question. That angle appeared to show Biden possibly looking slightly down in the direction of audience members. The existence of the second angle did not appear to change any of the known facts.
The Daily Beast published a quote from Andrew Bates, White House senior deputy press secretary, who rebutted the Post's article, saying, "Fresh off being fact checked by at least 6 mainstream outlets for lying about President Biden with cheap fakes, Rupert Murdoch's sad little super pac, the New York Post, is back to disrespecting its readers & itself once again. Their ethical standards could do with a little unfreezing."
Bates continued, "By pretending the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds is somehow wrong, all they're really admitting—once again—is they can't take on the leadership that's fueling the strongest economic growth in the world, bringing violent crime to a 50-year low, restoring manufacturing jobs from overseas and strengthening our alliances." (Posts on Bates' X account reiterated the same sentiment.)
On June 17, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the fundraiser "freeze up" rumor during a daily briefing. Jean-Pierre answered a reporter's question by referencing a statement purportedly released by Obama after the fundraiser. We reached out to Obama's team to obtain a copy of the statement but did not yet receive a response.
Jean-Pierre referred to the three videos from the Juneteenth concert, skydiving demonstration in Italy and fundraiser moment as "cheap fakes." She also falsely referred to them as "deepfakes." A deepfake involves a video displaying a manipulation of lip movement and possibly a full face replacement. The aforementioned three videos of Biden were not deepfakes.
For further official statements from Jean-Pierre's briefing, the White House published a full transcript . An official White House YouTube video also displays the moments Jean-Pierre addressed the videos, beginning at the 53:28 mark.
We will update this story if we find or receive any further facts or official statements to add to the article.
Bachman, Brett. "White House Fumes at Trumpworld's Latest 'Cheap Fake' Video." The Daily Beast , 16 June 2024, https://www.thedailybeast.com/no-president-biden-didnt-freeze-at-star-studded-hollywood-fundraiser.
"Cheap Fakes vs. Deepfakes." Poynter , https://www.poynter.org/mediawise/is-this-legit-digital-media-literacy-101/cheap-fakes-vs-deepfakes/.
Crowley, Kinsey, and Gabe Hauari. "When Is the First 2024 Presidential Debate between Trump and Biden? Date, Time, Moderators, How to Watch." USA TODAY , 19 June 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/18/trump-biden-presidential-debate-2024/74135958007/.
Frame.io . https://app.frame.io/presentations/f80f9fa4-1519-4b3e-abf2-dd771232332b.
Gardner, Chris. X , 16 June 2024, https://x.com/chrissgardner/status/1802239454314410096.
Goldin, Melissa. "FACT FOCUS: Biden's Pause as He Left a Star-Studded LA Fundraiser Becomes a Target for Opponents." The Associated Press , 17 June 2024, https://apnews.com/article/biden-fundraiser-freeze-misinformation-election-efe67fe51ab189cbcbc850332969fd46.
Mehta, Seema, and Liam Dillon. "Biden, Obama Raise More than $30 Million at Glitzy L.A. Event." Los Angeles Times , 16 June 2024, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2024-06-15/biden-obama-celebrities-raise-millions-in-l-a-for-presidents-reelection-bid.
Nesi, Chris. "Biden Appears to Freeze up, Has to Be Led off Stage by Obama at Mega-Bucks LA Fundraiser." New York Post , 16 June 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/06/16/us-news/biden-appears-to-freeze-up-has-to-be-led-off-stage-by-obama-at-mega-bucks-la-fundraiser/.
"President Biden in Los Angeles This Weekend for High-Priced Fundraiser." ABC7 Los Angeles , 14 June 2024, https://abc7.com/post/president-biden-los-angeles-weekend-high-priced-fundraiser/14952573/.
"Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby." The White House , 17 June 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/06/17/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-national-security-communications-advisor-john-kirby-6/.
"Remarks by President Biden and President Obama in a Moderated Conversation with Jimmy Kimmel at a Campaign Reception | Los Angeles, CA." The White House , 16 June 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/06/15/remarks-by-president-biden-and-president-obama-in-a-moderated-conversation-with-jimmy-kimmel-at-a-campaign-reception-los-angeles-ca/.
Weedston, Lindsey. "Joe Biden Freezes During White House Juneteenth Event, Becomes A Solid Meme." The Daily Dot , 12 June 2024, https://www.dailydot.com/memes/joe-biden-freezes/.
Williams, Michael, and Samantha Waldenberg. "Right-Wing Media Outlets Use Deceptively Cropped Video to Misleadingly Claim Biden Wandered off at G7 Summit | CNN Politics." CNN , 14 June 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/14/politics/media-outlets-use-deceptively-edited-video-to-claim-biden-wandered-off-at-g7-summit/index.html.
Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.
In a closely watched primary, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, has emerged victorious, securing her position as the Democratic candidate for New York’s 14th Congressional District.
The 34-year-old progressive, known as AOC, overcame a challenge from 66-year-old investment banker Marty Dolan , who positioned himself as a moderate alternative.
More: Taking on the squad: Meet the Democratic investment banker challenging Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Dolan criticized Ocasio-Cortez during the campaign for being too extreme and out of touch with her constituents. He focused on issues like the migrant crisis, bail reform, and New York City’s economic challenges. Despite his efforts, Dolan’s message did not gain enough traction. His campaign, funded largely by personal loans, couldn’t match Ocasio-Cortez’s $8 million war chest.
Ocasio-Cortez, who first shocked the political establishment in 2018 by defeating a 10-term incumbent, built a national profile through her advocacy and membership in “The Squad.” She focused on her legislative achievements and ongoing efforts to address income inequality, climate change, and social justice issues. Her refusal to debate Dolan drew some criticism but ultimately did not hurt her standing with voters.
More: Lauren Boebert runs in GOP race, Democrats clash over Israel: What to know about Tuesday's pivotal primaries
Turnout for the primary was robust, reflecting strong feelings on both sides. In many parts of the district, particularly underrepresented areas, voters supported Ocasio-Cortez’s continued advocacy.
With the primary victory secured, Ocasio-Cortez is poised to compete in the November general election, where she is heavily favored in the deeply Democratic district.
Jeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter @JeremyYurow
Morning Rundown: What to watch for in tonight's debate, highlights from the NBA Draft, and why there aren't perfect 10s in gymnastics anymore
WASHINGTON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a British prison and on his way to a remote Pacific island on Tuesday where he will plead guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, according to court documents .
The agreement will free Assange and end the yearslong legal battle over the publication of a trove of classified documents.
Assange was charged by criminal information — which typically signifies a plea deal — with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, the court documents said.
Wikileaks posted footage to X of Assange boarding a plane at Stanstead Airport near London at 5 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) on Monday.
A letter from Justice Department official Matthew McKenzie said Assange would appear in court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S.-controlled territory north of Guam, at 9 a.m. local time Wednesday (7 p.m. ET Tuesday) to plead guilty.
A plane believed to be carrying Assange landed early Tuesday in the Thai capital Bangkok to refuel. He will later arrive for what could be a final court hearing after spending five years in a British jail.
The islands are 3,400 miles north of Australia, Assange's country of citizenship, where the Justice Department expects he will return following the proceedings.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that "the case has dragged on for too long, there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia."
Assange's mother, Christine Assange, said in a statement widely reported by Australian media: "I am grateful that my son’s ordeal is finally coming to an end. This shows the importance and power of quiet diplomacy."
His wife, Stella Assange, is currently in Australia with the couple's two children, aged 5 and 7, waiting for his arrival, she told BBC Radio 4. "He will be a free man once it is signed off by a judge," she said, adding that she wasn't sure the deal would happen until the last 24 hours.
She said she was "elated."
Stella Assange, a lawyer, also told the Reuters news agency that she would seek a pardon on her husband's behalf. She said that accepting a guilty plea on an espionage charge created a "very serious concern" for journalists across the world.
U.S. charges against Assange stem from one of the largest publications of classified information in American history, which took place during President Barack Obama's first term.
Starting in late 2009, according to the government, Assange conspired with Chelsea Manning , a military intelligence analyst, to use his WikiLeaks website to disclose tens of thousands of activity reports about the war in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of reports about the war in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of State Department cables and assessment briefs of detainees at the U.S. detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Court documents revealing Assange's plea deal were filed Monday evening in U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. Assange was expected to appear in that court and to be sentenced to 62 months, with credit for time served in British prison, meaning he would be free to return to Australia, where he was born.
“This was an independent decision made by the Department of Justice and there was no White House involvement in the plea deal decision,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Monday evening.
Assange has been held in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in east London for five years, and he previously spent seven years in self-exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London — where he reportedly fathered two children — until his asylum was withdrawn and he was forcibly carried out of the embassy and arrested in April 2019.
A superseding indictment was returned more than five years ago, in May 2019, and a second superseding indictment was returned in June 2020 .
Assange has been fighting extradition for more than a decade: first in connection with a sex crimes case in Sweden that was eventually dropped, then in connection with the case against him in the United States.
In March, the High Court in London gave him permission for a full hearing on his appeal as he sought assurances that he could rely upon the First Amendment at a trial in the U.S. In May, two judges on the High Court said he could have a full hearing on whether he would be discriminated against in the U.S. because he is a foreign national. A hearing on the issue of Assange's free speech rights had been scheduled for July 9-10 .
WikiLeaks also published hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee that upended the 2016 presidential race. Russian intelligence officers were subsequently indicted in connection with the hacking in 2018 in a case brought by then-special counsel Robert Mueller.
At a joint news conference with then-President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin days later, Trump contradicted the indictment and the intelligence community, saying Putin was " extremely strong and powerful in his denial " that Russians interfered in the 2016 election to help him win.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison, but Obama commuted her sentence in the final days of his presidency in 2017. Manning was subsequently held in contempt of court for nearly a year after she refused to answer questions for a grand jury; she was then released after an attempted suicide .
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org . You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Michael Kosnar and Ryan J. Reilly reported from Washington, and Patrick Smith from London.
Michael Kosnar is a Justice Department producer for the NBC News Washington Bureau.
Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.
Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Examples of reported speech, translations of reported speech.
Get a quick, free translation!
Word of the Day
microbusiness
a very small company, especially a family-owned company employing only a few people
Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)
To add reported speech to a word list please sign up or log in.
Add reported speech to one of your lists below, or create a new one.
{{message}}
Something went wrong.
There was a problem sending your report.
This collaboration with Wimbledon teams extends beyond the fan-facing digital platform, into enterprise-wide transformation.
5 min read - Identity misconfigurations and blind spots stand out as critical concerns that undermine an organization’s identity security posture.
6 min read - Explore how European bank Intesa Sanpaolo and IBM partnered to deliver secure digital transactions using fully homomorphic encryption.
8 min read - AI risk management is the process of identifying, mitigating and addressing the potential risks associated with AI technologies.
4 min read - This partnership between IBM and Amazon SageMaker is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping responsible AI practices across industries
June 27, 2024
IBM announces new AI assistant and feature innovations at Think 2024
June 26, 2024
A major upgrade to Db2® Warehouse on IBM Cloud®
June 25, 2024
Increase efficiency in asset lifecycle management with Maximo Application Suite’s new AI-power...
Achieving operational efficiency through Instana’s Intelligent Remediation
June 24, 2024
Manage the routing of your observability log and event data
2 min read - Enabling participation in the AI-driven economy to be underpinned by fairness, transparency, explainability, robustness and privacy.
6 min read - Microcontroller units (MCUs) and microprocessor units (MPUs) are two kinds of integrated circuits that, while similar in certain ways, are very different in many others.
2 min read - As organizations harness the power of AI while controlling costs, leveraging anything as a service (XaaS) models emerges as strategic.
Use IBM Watsonx’s AI or build your own machine learning models
Automate IT infrastructure management
Cloud-native software to secure resources and simplify compliance
Run code on real quantum systems using a full-stack SDK
Aggregate and analyze large datasets
Store, query and analyze structured data
Manage infrastructure, environments and deployments
Run workloads on hybrid cloud infrastructure
Generative AI can revolutionize tax administration and drive toward a more personalized and ethical future.
4 min read - Machine Learning for IBM® z/OS® is an AI platform made for IBM z/OS environments, combining data and transaction gravity with AI infusion.
4 min read - While the AI is the key component of the RAG framework, other “ingredients” such as PaaS solutions are integral to the mix
3 min read - It's critical for organizations to consider frameworks like FinOps and TBM for visibility and accountability of all tech expenditure.
5 min read - A call to action for CEOs to confront the realities of generative AI and to seize its potential for your organization.
4 min read - IBM Cloud Object Storage is a versatile and scalable solution that is crucial for storing and protecting data backups.
4 min read - Discover how the T-Mobile team creates a more seamless work management system for its content supply chain with Adobe and IBM Consulting.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then. In this example, the pronoun "I" is changed to "she" and the adverb "now" is changed to "then.". 2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here's an example:
Reported speech is the form in which one can convey a message said by oneself or someone else, mostly in the past. It can also be said to be the third person view of what someone has said. In this form of speech, you need not use quotation marks as you are not quoting the exact words spoken by the speaker, but just conveying the message. Q2.
What Does Reported Speech Mean? Reported speech is a term we use when telling someone what another person said. You can do this while speaking or writing. There are two kinds of reported speech you can use: direct speech and indirect speech. I'll break each down for you. A direct speech sentence mentions the exact words the other person said.
When we use reported speech, we often change the verb tense backwards in time. This can be called "backshift.". Here are some examples in different verb tenses: "I want to go home.". She said she wanted to go home. "I 'm reading a good book.". She said she was reading a good book. "I ate pasta for dinner last night.".
Watch my reported speech video: Here's how it works: We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and '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.
Reported speech: He asked if he would see me later. In the direct speech example you can see the modal verb 'will' being used to ask a question. Notice how in reported speech the modal verb 'will' and the reporting verb 'ask' are both written in the past tense. So, 'will' becomes 'would' and 'ask' becomes 'asked'.
Examples. "Do not cross the red line, please!" → The officer told us not to cross the red line. "Could you put the flowers in the vase, please?" → She asked me to put the flowers in the vase. You can also view the topic ' reported requests & demands ' for a detailed explanation and exercises.
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) gives the meaning of what someone said, not the exact words, while direct speech gives the exact words of the speaker, enclosed in quotation marks (or inverted commas. With reported speech, we do not use quotation marks. We use that to connect the introduction with the reported words.
Reported speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
For example, a profile of Kristen Stewart in Vanity Fair has a funny moment that describes how the actress isn't a very good swimmer: Direct speech: "I don't want to enter the water, ever," she says. "If everyone's going in the ocean, I'm like, no." Here, the speech is reported as though it's in the present tense ("she says") instead of in the past ("she said").
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words. For example, let's say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon. Jon, however, is not feeling well.
Reported Speech. Reported speech is the report of one speaker or writer on the words spoken, written, or thought by someone else. Also called reported discourse . Traditionally, two broad categories of reported speech have been recognized: direct speech (in which the original speaker's words are quoted word for word) and indirect speech (in ...
Direct speech is the easier of the two options because it does not involve any grammatical or structural changes to the original sentence. Reported (indirect) speech. Reported speech involves grammatical, and sometimes structural, changes. Here is an example of the same sentence as above but this time delivered in reported speech.
Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is when we report what somebody has said. Native speakers use reported speech very often. Structures of reported speech. He told me he would be late. Structures of reported questions. She asked if it was better to wait. Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is when we report what ...
Reported speech is used when someone says a sentence, like, "I'm going to the movie tonight". Later, we want to tell a 3rd person what the first person is doing. It works like this: We use a reporting verb i.e 'say' or 'tell'. In the present tense, just put in 'he says. Direct Speech: I like burgers.
Reported speech is used to summarize what someone said without giving a direct quotation. Learn reported speech usage and find out reported speech types, examples and common mistakes. Try private lessons. 44,000+. Experienced tutors. 300,000+. 5-star tutor reviews.
a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words. In reported speech, '"I'll come later," he said.' becomes 'He said he'd come later.' Certain grammatical rules must be followed when describing a conversation in reported speech. Topics Language b1
In nonfiction writing or journalism, direct speech can emphasize a particular point, by using a source's exact words. Indirect speech is paraphrasing what someone said or wrote. In writing, it functions to move a piece along by boiling down points that an interview source made. Unlike direct speech, indirect speech is not usually placed inside ...
Gardner's video showed that, at the end of the fundraiser, the audience applauded while Biden, Obama and Kimmel stood on stage. A live band played while Biden applauded and waved at the audience.
LIVE: State Department briefing with Matthew Miller, Cindy Dyer U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller holds a briefing as Wikileaks...
Reported speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
In a closely watched primary, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, has emerged victorious, securing her position as the Democratic candidate for New York's 14th Congressional District.
REPORTED SPEECH meaning: 1. → indirect speech specialized 2. → indirect speech specialized 3. a description of what someone…. Learn more.
The WikiLeaks founder has been held in a British prison for the last five years and fought extradition to the U.S. He is expected to return to Australia.
Reported speech: indirect speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
Louisiana public schools are now required to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the requirement into law Wednesday.
REPORTED SPEECH definition: 1. → indirect speech specialized 2. → indirect speech specialized 3. a description of what someone…. Learn more.
News and thought leadership from IBM on business topics including AI, cloud, sustainability and digital transformation.
Mr. Trump said his suggestion to Dana White, who runs the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was not well received. But, he added, "It's not the worst idea I've ever had."