Chapter 12: Reported Speech — Telling What Others Said

Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to relay what someone said without quoting their exact words. It requires systematic changes to tenses, pronouns, and time expressions.

Tense Backshift Table

When the reporting verb (said, told, asked) is in the past, the verb in the reported clause shifts one tense back:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Simple present →	Simple past
Present progressive →	Past progressive
Present perfect →	Past perfect
Simple past →	Past perfect
will →	would
can →	could
may →	might
must →	had to / must (for deductions)

Examples:

• “I am tired,” she said. → She said she was tired.
• “We have finished,” they said. → They said they had finished.
• “I will call you,” he said. → He said he would call me.

Pronoun and Possessive Changes

Pronouns shift based on who is speaking and who is being addressed:

• “I love my job,” Tom said. → Tom said he loved his job.
• “We will help you,” they said. → They said they would help me/us.

Time Expression Changes

Direct	Reported
now	then
today	that day
yesterday	the day before / the previous day
tomorrow	the next day / the following day
last week	the week before / the previous week
next year	the following year
here	there
this	that
these	those

Reporting Questions

For yes/no questions, use if or whether:

• “Are you ready?” → He asked if I was ready.

For Wh-questions, keep the Wh-word and use statement word order (no inversion):

• “Where do you live?” → She asked me where I lived.

Reporting Commands and Requests

Use tell/ask + object + to-infinitive:

• “Close the door!” → He told me to close the door.
• “Please help me.” → She asked me to help her.
• “Don’t be late!” → He told me not to be late.

Reporting Verbs Beyond Said

Verb	Pattern	Example
suggest	suggest + -ing	She suggested going by train.
advise	advise + object + to	He advised me to rest.
warn	warn + object + not to	She warned him not to touch it.
admit	admit + -ing	He admitted making a mistake.
deny	deny + -ing	She denied stealing the money.
refuse	refuse + to	He refused to apologize.

Key Checklist

• I can apply tense backshift correctly when converting direct to reported speech.
• I can change pronouns and time expressions accurately in reported speech.
• I can report questions, commands, and use a variety of reporting verbs.