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Reported Speech- Rules with Examples

@Thelma Elliott

Ann- “Today I met Karen in the market. She was wearing a red dress. She said she bought it from Italy.”

Susan- “Are you sure? I saw her buying a red dress from Luke's shop in our local market.”

Ann- “I think she is lying. I am sure she has never travelled abroad.”

Have you ever found it difficult to tell someone what someone else has said, without using the person's actual words?

Well, reported speech is the answer!

To begin with it let me swap the above conversation between Ann and Susan in the reported speech.

Ann said that earlier that day she had met Karen in the market, she was wearing a red dress and was boasting that she had bought the dress from Italy.

Susan asked Ann if she was sure, as she had seen Karen buying a red dress from Luke's shop in their local market the other day.

Ann said she thought Karen was lying and believed she had never travelled abroad.

Is it difficult?

I know it is challenging but do not worry, I will make it easy, and you will be able to change the quotations into reported speech in no time.

Let us figure out how!

General rules for reported speech-

1. Change in the Tenses – First, keep in mind to make changes in the verb tense. Let us look at the following table to see how it goes.

Direct Speech	Reported speech
Present Simple	Past Simple
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
Present Perfect	Past Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Past Simple	Past Perfect
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect	remains the same.
Past Perfect Continuous	remains the same.

2. Change the Pronouns- Next, change the first person (I/My/We) and second person(You) into the third person (He/she/it/they).

Examples > Daniel: “I don’t work in a bank.”

Daniel said that he did not work in a bank.

> Jessie said, “I am selling my car.”

Jessie said that she was selling her car.

> “Leave at once!” they ordered.

They ordered us to leave at once.

3. Change the Adverbs of Time and Place – Are you confused about the changes in the adverbs of time (today, tomorrow, yesterday, next, now) and adverbs of place (here)? Learn from the given examples.

Examples > Irene said, "I live here".

Irene said that she lived there.

> "I'll see you tomorrow", he said.

He said that he would see me the next day.

> "I saw him yesterday", Christine said.

Christine said that she had seen him the day before.

> “The children are playing outside now.”

He said that the children were playing outside then.

4. Omit "that" - I have put that in brackets to indicate that the use of “that” is optional. It does not really make a difference if you add or omit it.

Examples> “I shall be busy this week. "Lucia said.

Lucia said (that) she would be busy that week.

Lucia said she would be busy that week.

5. Report the Verbs – Whenever you report a speech, add a suitable reporting verb like "ordered," "ask," “exclaimed with wonder/joy/sorrow” and "explain" to introduce reported speech.

Notice the reporting verb in these examples-

> “Get out of the car!" said the police officer.

The police officer ordered him to get out of the car.

> "Could you please be quiet?" Peter said.

Peter asked me to be quiet.

>Jose said, “The moon gets light from the sun.”

Jose explained the moon gets light from the sun.

>John said, “Wow! What a nice shirt it is.”

John exclaimed with wonder that it was a nice shirt.

6. Modal Verbs- There is a transition in the present model (can, may, will) into the past modal (could, might, would).

Examples >She said, “I can sing a song”.

She said that she could sing a song.

> Bill said, "I may bring a friend to the party."

Bill said he might bring a friend to the party.

7. Reporting Questions- Do you know how to report a question that somebody asked? While reporting a question, do observe if it is a yes/no question or a wh-question.

In what, where, why, who, when or how questions, we use the question word to report the question. Do not forget to change the tense and remove the question mark.

Examples >When is your fight?

He asked me when my flight was.

>Where is he?

She asked where he was.

In yes/no questions, we use if or whether to report the question. If is more common. Let’s see how to do it.

Examples>Are you angry?

She asked me if I was angry.

>Do you like football?

He asked me whether I liked football.

8. Offers, requests, suggestions, and advice- If the question is making an offer, request, or suggestion, we can use a specific verb pattern instead.

Offer + infinitive/object + noun, Ask + infinitive, Suggest + ing, Advised +object + infinitive.

Examples >Would you like a cup of coffee?

He offered to have a cup of coffee/ He offered me a cup of coffee.

>Can you open the door, please?

She asked me to open the door.

>Let's go to the park.

She suggested going to the park.

>You should study harder.

The teacher advised me to study harder.

Do the exercises given to test your grammar!

Relax and remember you can always refer to the examples if you need guidance.

Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks with the correct reported speech

1."Is she happy?", James said.

James asked if she __________ happy.

2."They will have a meeting tomorrow," the manager said.

The manager told me (that) they __________ the next day.

3."Let’s visit the zoo," the child said.

The child __________ the zoo.

4."Where have they gone?" said Fay.

Fay wondered where they _____ gone.

5."He can play the guitar," said his mother.

His mother said (that) he __________ play the guitar.

Exercise 2

Complete the sentences with the correct reported speech forms.

1.They said, “The weather was amazing!”

2.“They visited Paris last summer,” he said.

3."Did you turn off the oven?" my wife said.

4.“We played table tennis for our school,” said Ali.

5.“We are going for a picnic,” said Jack.

Outstanding work on finishing the exercises!

How did it go?

If you got them right, Bravo! If not, stay positive and view the lessons as valuable experiences.

Keep in mind, reported speech can be tricky, but as you practice, you will find it easier.

As we wrap up your language learning journey, we want you to know that OXINITY stands beside you every step of the way.

Keep practicing, and you will soon master reported speech!

Until we meet again, Happy Reporting.

Here are the correct answers:

Exercise 1

1.was

2.would have a meeting

3.suggested visiting

4.had

5.could

Exercise 2

1.They exclaimed with joy that the weather was amazing.

2.He told me they had visited Paris the previous summer.

3.My wife asked me if I had turned off the oven.

4.Ali told me they played table tennis for their school.

5.Jack said they were going for a picnic.