Reported speech

• What it is
• Tense changes
• Say vs. tell
• Reporting questions
  • Yes/no questions
  • Questions with question words
• Reporting commands and requests
• Other time and place changes

What it is

When we tell someone what another person said, we use reported speech (also called indirect speech).

Direct: She said, "I am tired."

Reported: She said (that) she was tired.

Tense changes

When we report what someone said, the tenses usually shift one step back:

present simple => past simple
"I work in a bank." => She said she worked in a bank.

present progressive => past progressive
"I am eating." => He said he was eating.

past simple => past perfect
"I went to Paris." => She said she had gone to Paris.

present perfect => past perfect
"I have finished." => He said he had finished.

will => would
"I will call you." => She said she would call me.

can => could
"I can swim." => He said he could swim.

That after said is optional: She said (that) she was tired.

Say vs. tell

Tell always needs an explicit indirect object (a person). Say does not, but if we want to mention the person, we use to.

✔ She said she was tired.

✗ She told she was tired. (needs an explicit indirect object)

✔ She told me she was tired.

✔ She said to me that she was tired.

Reporting questions

Yes/no questions

We use if or whether ['wɛðər]. They are interchangeable, but whether is slightly more formal.

"Are you coming?" => She asked if I was coming.

"Do you like pizza?" => He asked whether I liked pizza.

Questions with question words

We keep the question word, but use normal word order (not question order):

"Where do you live?" => She asked where I lived.

"What time is it?" => He asked what time it was.

"When did you arrive?" => She asked when I had arrived.

In reported questions, we don't use the auxiliary do/did and we don't use a question mark.

Reporting commands and requests

We use told (for commands) or asked (for requests) + person + to + infinitive:

"Sit down." => She told me to sit down.

"Don't open the door." => He told me not to open the door.

"Please help me." => She asked me to help her.

For negative commands, we place not before to: told me not to open.

Other time and place changes

When reporting, references to time and place often change:

today => that day
"I saw her today." => He said he had seen her that day.

yesterday => the day before / the previous day
"I arrived yesterday." => She said she had arrived the day before.

tomorrow => the next day / the following day
"I will call you tomorrow." => He said he would call me the next day.

here => there
"I love it here." => She said she loved it there.

this => that
"I like this song." => He said he liked that song.

now => then
"I'm busy now." => She said she was busy then.

ago => before / earlier
"I moved here two years ago." => He said he had moved there two years before.