Reported Speech

We often need to tell others what someone else said. There are two ways to do this. One is to say the same words and use quotation marks. That is "direct speech." The other method is to summarize, or tell about what someone said. This is called "reported speech." Before we get into the rules for reporting speech, here are the terms we are using to explain it.

Subject noun or pronoun	Reporting verb	Conjunction	Reported speech clause
She	said	that	she wanted a cookie.

Rules for reporting speech

To get this kind of sentence right, there are four things you should keep in mind:

The first rule is to choose a reporting verb and tense.

When did the speech happen? With current, repeated or recent events, the reporting verb is in the present tense. "He says he is hungry, so let's go to lunch." A habitual or repeated statement is in the present tense: "Everyone says the water is safe to drink." For reporting less immediate speech, choose the past tense. The reporting verb is often said, but it can also be told, or other verbs like ordered, stated, or reported, depending on the situation. When reporting questions, you can use verbs like asked or requested.

The second rule is to change the perspective, or point of view.

That means I becomes he, she, or they.

"Mary said 'I ate the pie."' becomes
"She said that she ate the pie."

"The boys said, 'We are coming tomorrow'" becomes
"They said they are coming tomorrow."

Next, choose whether to include "that or "if."

You can say, "He says he is at home" or "He says that he is at home." That is a conjunction here, linking the two parts of the sentence. It is optional. Another conjunction, if, is required when reporting on a question: "He asked me if I knew how to play tennis."

The fourth rule is to "backshift" the tense.

This is the trickiest part of reported speech. When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb in the reported clause is in the past tense, too. The verb aspect, showing whether the action is completed, matches. Here are some examples:​

"I am buying my ticket." (present continuous)
-> He said he was buying his ticket. (past continuous)

Ashley: "I have fixed my bicycle." (present perfect)
-> She said she had fixed her bicycle. (past perfect)

Reporting speech in English would be easy if these rules were all learners needed to know. But as usual, there is more to learn. Let's look at what happens with questions and modals.

Reporting on questions

When we report questions, we have to pay attention to the auxiliary verb. These are words like do, be, and have. Yes or no questions begin with an auxiliary, such as

"Do you like pizza?"

To report that question, drop the auxiliary and add if:

He asked me if I liked pizza.

Learners often make the mistake of leaving the auxiliary verb in the reported speech: He asked me do I like pizza.

Information questions start with a question word:

"Where are you going?"

To report on these, simply change the pronoun and word order.

She asked me where I was going.

Here, learners often make the mistake of keeping the same word order: She asked me where was I going.

A similar word order switch appears with the verb "be" in questions.

They asked, "When is the party?"
-> They asked me when the party was.

The question word "when" remains. "Be" moves from a position before the noun to after the noun.

Reporting speech with modals

Finally, pay attention to whether the speech you are reporting uses a modal verb. Will, can, and shall change to would, could, and should when reported. Will is used to make statements about the future in English. When reporting this kind of statement, will becomes would. Compare these sentences:

Kelly said, "I will pick up the sandwiches."
-> Kelly said she would pick up the sandwiches.

Modal verbs may appear in questions, as well:

Caty asked, "Can you answer the phone while I'm out?"
-> Caty asked me if I could answer the phone while she was out.

If the modal verb is already in its past form, it does not change when reported.

George stated, "I would not do that."
-> George said he would not do that.

Test your knowledge

Let's try a few sentences. I'll say the direct speech, and you make a sentence in reported speech.

Our boss said, "You can all go home early today."
-> Our boss said we could all go home early.

Anna asked "When is your birthday?"
-> Anna asked me when my birthday was.

Adam said, "I am leaving on Tuesday."
-> Adam said he was leaving on Tuesday.

Chris said, "I will bring the cake."
-> Chris said he would bring the cake.

Reported speech in song

Reported speech sometimes shows up in popular songs. The singer Lisa Loeb begins the song "Stay" with a reported verb in the present tense to show that the action is a habit.

you say I only hear what I want to
you say I talk so all the time so

Later she reports something in the past, so the reported speech verb is in the past tense.

you said that I was naive,
and I thought that I was strong.
I thought, "hey, I can leave, I can leave."
but now I know that I was wrong, 'cause I missed you.

Follow these simple rules and you will be reporting speech like a pro.

She said that you would be reporting speech like a pro.

I'm Pete Musto.

And I'm Jill Robbins.

Reference

Reporting Verb Tense	Direct Speech	Direct Speech Tense	Indirect Speech	Reported Speech Tense
Present	Adam says, "I have a headache. I can't go."	Present simple	Adam says he has a headache, so he can't go."	Present Simple (it is still true)
Past	Adam said, "I am going to Seattle."	Present continuous	Adam said he was going to Seattle.	Past continuous
Past	Ashley said, "I can clean up."	Present Modal form	Ashley told us she could clean up.	Past Modal form
Past	Ashley said, "I have never been to Seattle."	Present Perfect	Ashley said she had never been to Seattle.	Past perfect

Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story. Adam Brock was the editor.

Text Source: Robbins, Jill. “Everyday Grammar: Mastering Reported Speech.” VOA, VOA - Voice of America English News, 1 Feb. 2018, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/everyday-grammar-reported-speech/2856671.html.

Lessons and Exercises:

• Reported speech
• British Council: Reported speech
• BBC Learning English: Reported Speech: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 25
• Cambridge Dictionary: Reported speech: indirect speech
• Reported Statements
• British Council
• Reported speech
•  Northern Ireland Scene 2 Language Focus
• Reported speech 1 – statements
• Johnny Grammar: Reported statements 
• BBC Learning English
• BBC English Class: Reported speech
• Direct speech and reported speech
•  English Grammar Challenge: Reported speech
• Choosing the right tense in indirect speech
•  Reported / Indirect speech
• BBC English Class: Reported speech
• change of time / change of tense in reported speech
• 'must', 'need' and 'used to' in reported speech
• Learn It: Choosing the right tense in indirect speech
• Oxford University Press
• Reported speech
•  Reported speech (statements)
• ThoughtCo 
• Sequence of Tenses in English Grammar
• Backshift (Sequence-of-Tense Rule in Grammar)
• Reported Speech Quiz for English Learners
• Indirect Speech in the English Language
• VOA Learning English: Everyday Grammar: Reported Speech Historic Present
• Say and Tell
• BBC Learning English
• Stop saying...! Say and tell
• Learn it: reporting verbs
• Cambridge Dictionary: Say or tell?
• Perfect English Grammar
• How to Use 'Say' and 'Tell'
• 'Say' or 'Tell' Exercise 1