Direct and reported speech
Direct speech repeats the exact words in quotation marks: “I’m tired,” she said. Reported speech tells us what was said without quotation marks: She said (that) she was tired. Usually the tense moves one step back (backshift) after a past reporting verb such as said, told, asked.
Direct
- “I am hungry,” Tom said.
- “I will call you,” she said.
Reported
- Tom said he was hungry.
- She said she would call me.
Backshift: one step back
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| Present simple: “I work.” | Past simple: He said he worked. |
| Present continuous: “I am working.” | Past continuous: He said he was working. |
| Present perfect: “I have finished.” | Past perfect: He said he had finished. |
| Past simple: “I finished.” | Past perfect: He said he had finished. |
| will: “I will help.” | would: He said he would help. |
| can: “I can swim.” | could: He said he could swim. |
| must: “You must go.” | had to: He said I had to go. |
Other words change too
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| now | then / at that time |
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| last week | the week before |
| here / this | there / that |
| I / my / we | he, she, they / his, her, their (depending on who speaks) |
Rule
Questions and commands
- Yes/no questions → if / whether: “Are you ready?” → He asked if I was ready.
- Wh- questions → statement word order, no do/does/did: “Where do you live?” → She asked where I lived.
- Commands / requests → told / asked + person + to + verb: “Sit down!” → He told me to sit down.
- Negative commands → not to: “Don’t touch it.” → She told him not to touch it.
Lots of examples
- “I like pizza,” said Anna. → Anna said (that) she liked pizza.Present → past.
- “We are leaving,” they said. → They said they were leaving.Present continuous.
- “I have lost my key,” he said. → He said he had lost his key.Present perfect.
- “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said. → She said she would call me the next day.will + time shift.
- “Where is the station?” he asked. → He asked where the station was.Wh- question.
- “Do you speak French?” she asked. → She asked if I spoke French.Yes/no question.
- “Close the door,” said the teacher. → The teacher told us to close the door.Command.
- “Don’t be late,” my mum said. → My mum told me not to be late.Negative command.
- “I can’t come,” she said. → She said she couldn’t come.can → could.
- “You must wear a helmet,” he said. → He said I had to wear a helmet.must → had to.
- She told me she was tired. / She said she was tired.tell + person; say + no person.
- He suggested going to the cinema. / He admitted breaking the vase.Reporting verbs.
Don’t say / Say
Don’t sayShe said me she was tired.
SayShe told me she was tired. / She said she was tired.Why: Say has no person; tell needs one.
Don’t sayHe asked where did I live.
SayHe asked where I lived.Why: No question word order in reported questions.
Don’t sayHe asked me if was I ready.
SayHe asked me if I was ready.Why: Statement word order.
Don’t sayShe told me to not worry.
SayShe told me not to worry.Why: Put not before to.
Don’t sayHe said me to sit down.
SayHe told me to sit down.Why: Tell + person + to + verb.