Reported Speech

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is used to relay what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. It allows for flexibility in recounting statements, questions, commands, or requests and is especially useful for conveying information from third parties.

---

1. Direct Speech vs. Reported Speech

• Direct Speech: Reports the speaker's exact words and is usually placed in quotation marks.

  • Example: She said, "I am happy."

• Reported Speech: Paraphrases the speaker’s words and often changes the verb tense, pronouns, and other words to match the new context.

  • Example: She said that she was happy.

---

2. Rules for Changing from Direct to Reported Speech

When converting direct speech to reported speech, a few rules help maintain grammatical consistency.

a. Changes in Pronouns

• Pronouns are typically adjusted to reflect the perspective of the reporter.
• Example:
  • Direct: "I will call you tomorrow," he said.
  • Reported: He said that he would call me the next day.

b. Tense Changes

• Generally, the tense shifts to the past when reporting someone else’s words in the past.

Direct Speech (Present Tense)	Reported Speech (Past Tense)
Simple Present: "I go"	Simple Past: He said he went.
Present Continuous: "I am going"	Past Continuous: He said he was going.
Present Perfect: "I have gone"	Past Perfect: He said he had gone.
Present Perfect Continuous: "I have been going"	Past Perfect Continuous: He said he had been going.

Direct Speech (Past Tense)	Reported Speech (Past Tense)
Simple Past: "I went"	Past Perfect: He said he had gone.
Past Continuous: "I was going"	Past Perfect Continuous: He said he had been going.

• Exceptions: When the reporting verb is in the present tense, or if the reported statement is universally or habitually true, tenses may remain the same.
  • Example: "The earth orbits the sun," she said.
    • Reported: She said that the earth orbits the sun.

c. Changes in Time and Place Expressions

• Words indicating time and place often change to suit the context of reporting.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Now	Then
Today	That day
Tomorrow	The next day or the following day
Yesterday	The day before
Here	There
This	That
Tonight	That night

Example:

• Direct: "I will see you tomorrow," he said.
• Reported: He said he would see me the next day.

---

3. Reporting Statements

To report a statement, use the structure: Subject + reporting verb (e.g., said, told) + that + reported clause.

Example:

• Direct: "I enjoy reading," she said.
• Reported: She said that she enjoyed reading.

---

4. Reporting Questions

For questions, the reporting verb is typically asked or inquired. When reporting questions, you often need to make changes to the sentence structure, but not the word order of the question.

a. Yes/No Questions

• Use if or whether to introduce the reported clause.

Example:

• Direct: "Are you coming?" she asked.
• Reported: She asked if I was coming.

b. Wh- Questions

• Retain the Wh- word (who, what, when, where, why, or how) and adjust tense and pronouns.

Example:

• Direct: "What are you doing?" he asked.
• Reported: He asked what I was doing.

---

5. Reporting Commands and Requests

To report commands or requests, use asked or told followed by an infinitive (to + verb). The word please is usually omitted.

Example:

• Direct: "Please sit down," she said.

• Reported: She asked me to sit down.

• Direct: "Close the door," he said.

• Reported: He told me to close the door.

• Direct (Negative Command): "Don’t touch that!" she said.

• Reported: She told me not to touch that.

---

6. Reporting Suggestions

For suggestions, common reporting verbs include suggested, recommended, or proposed.

Example:

• Direct: "Let’s go for a walk," he said.

• Reported: He suggested that we go for a walk.

• Direct: "You should try the new café," she said.

• Reported: She recommended that I try the new café.

---

Summary of Reporting Changes

Aspect	Direct Speech Example	Reported Speech Example
Present Tense to Past Tense	"I go"	"He said he went."
Future Tense to Conditional	"I will go"	"He said he would go."
Pronouns	"I saw you"	"She said she saw me."
Time/Place Words	"Today" / "Here"	"That day" / "There"
Questions	"Are you coming?"	"She asked if I was coming."
Commands	"Please sit down"	"She asked me to sit down."
Suggestions	"Let’s go out"	"He suggested that we go out."

---

Practice Examples

1. Direct: "I am studying for the test," he said.

   • Reported: He said that he was studying for the test.

2. Direct: "Do you know the answer?" she asked.

   • Reported: She asked if I knew the answer.

3. Direct: "Please help me with this assignment," he said.

   • Reported: He asked me to help him with the assignment.

4. Direct: "The meeting starts at 10 a.m. today," they said.

   • Reported: They said that the meeting started at 10 a.m. that day.

---

Understanding reported speech improves the ability to convey information accurately and can make storytelling or sharing information smoother and more professional.