Direct speech quotes a speaker’s words: Mina said, “I am tired.” Reported speech gives the message within another sentence: “Mina said that she was tired.”
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The wording changes to fit the reporting situation. Pronouns, tenses, and time expressions depend on who is speaking now, when the report is made, and whether the information still applies.
Reporting a statement
Use said (that) + clause or told + person + clause. “She said that she was ready” and “She told me that she was ready” both report the same message.
Do not write “She said me” or “She told that she was ready.” Say can take a listener with to, as in “She said to me…”, while tell normally takes the listener directly in this pattern.
Backshift: common tense changes
After a past reporting verb, a tense often moves one step back. This backshift locates the information relative to the earlier conversation, but it is not an instruction to change every verb mechanically.
| Direct form | Common reported form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | Past simple | “I am happy.” → He said he was happy. |
| Present continuous | Past continuous | “I am working.” → She said she was working. |
| Present perfect | Past perfect | “I have finished.” → He said he had finished. |
| Present perfect continuous | Past perfect continuous | “I have been waiting.” → She said she had been waiting. |
| Past simple | Past perfect | “I went home.” → He said he had gone home. |
| Past continuous | Past perfect continuous | “I was reading.” → She said she had been reading. |
| Past perfect | Past perfect | “I had eaten.” → He said he had eaten. |
| Will | Would | “I will call.” → She said she would call. |
| Am/is/are going to | Was/were going to | “I am going to start.” → He said he was going to start. |
| Will be doing | Would be doing | “I will be working.” → She said she would be working. |
| Will have done | Would have done | “I will have finished.” → He said he would have finished. |
| Can / may | Could / might | “I can help.” → She said she could help. |
For obligation, must often becomes had to: “We must leave” becomes “They said they had to leave.” Must expressing a conclusion may remain must: “It must be difficult” can become “She said it must be difficult.”
When backshift is optional or unnecessary
If information remains true or relevant, the reporter can keep a present tense. “The tutor said the library is open on Saturdays” presents the opening hours as still current; “The tutor said the library was open on Saturdays” reports the earlier statement without necessarily claiming that it is now false.
With a present reporting verb, there is usually no reason to backshift: “She says she is busy.” The relationship between the report and the situation determines the tense.
Pronouns, time, and place
A pronoun must identify the right person from the reporter’s perspective. If Sam says to you, “I will help you,” you can report “Sam said he would help me.” If you tell a different listener about Sam helping someone else, the pronouns will change accordingly.
Time words change only when the reference changes. If Mia says on Monday, “I’ll send it tomorrow,” a report later on Monday can still use tomorrow. A report on Tuesday can use “She said she would send it today” or “She said she would send it the next day,” depending on the perspective.
Likewise, here can remain here if the report is made in the same place. The goal is accurate reference, not automatic word substitution.
Reporting questions
For a yes/no question, use if or whether: “Do you like tea?” becomes “She asked if I liked tea.” For a wh-question, keep the question word: “Where are you going?” becomes “He asked where I was going.”
The reported clause uses statement word order. Write “She asked what time the train left,” not “She asked what time did the train leave.” The whole sentence is a statement about a question, so it normally ends with a full stop.
Commands and requests
Use told/asked + person + to-infinitive: “Please close the door” becomes “She asked me to close the door.” Told often reports an instruction, while asked suits a request.
For a negative instruction, put not before to: “Don’t touch the screen” becomes “The technician told us not to touch the screen.” Do not use “told us to not” as the default model when learning this pattern.
Practice with a clear reporting situation
For these exercises, you are reporting a conversation later, after the original situation. Use backshift where appropriate; the people originally addressed you unless another listener is named.
- “I am going to the market,” John said.
- “Do you like ice cream?” she asked you.
- “Please help me,” he said to you.
- “We will meet you there,” they said to you.
- “Why are you late?” the manager asked you.
- “Don’t open the file,” the technician told you.
- Correct: “She said me that she was busy.”
- On Monday morning, Noor says, “I’ll call tomorrow.” You report this on Monday afternoon. Must tomorrow change?
Answers and explanations
- John said that he was going to the market. I changes to he, and am becomes was.
- She asked if/whether I liked ice cream. Use if or whether and statement word order.
- He asked me to help him. The request uses an infinitive, and me in the original refers to him.
- They said that they would meet me there. Will becomes would; you refers to the reporter.
- The manager asked why I was late. Keep why without question word order.
- The technician told me not to open the file. Place not before to.
- She told me that she was busy or She said that she was busy. Use the correct reporting-verb pattern.
- No. Both conversations take place on Monday, so tomorrow still refers to Tuesday. A later reporting day would require a different expression or an explicit date.
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