Reported Speech

Reported speech, also known as "indirect speech," is what we use when we say what other people have said, thought, or believed. Direct speech is the original words of the speaker, but as we do not use their exact words to report what they have said, we use indirect speech. For example, if Simon says "Richard is ill," then the phrase would become "Simon says that Richard is ill" through reported speech.

Reported speech is almost always used in spoken English, and therefore you need to learn how to correctly transform direct speech into reported speech. The rules required to do this are a little different depending on whether you are transforming a statement, a question, or a request.

Statements in Reported Speech

When you are changing statements from direct speech to reported speech, it is often necessary to change pronouns, place and time expressions, and tenses.

Pronouns

In reported speech, you must change the pronoun so that it continues to match the subject of the sentence. First person pronouns (I, my, me) are changed according to who the speaker is:

• Thomas said, "I scored a goal." becomes...

• Thomas said that he scored a goal.

Second person pronouns (you, your) are changed according to the listener or the person who is being addressed:

• Albert said to him, "Your brother is waiting for you." becomes...

• Albert told him that his brother was waiting for him.

Third person pronouns (he, she, it, they) remain unchanged.

Place and Time Expressions

When using reported speech, it is also important to check that you are using the words that refer to time and place (signifiers) correctly.

For example, you are at the beach on a Saturday, and you meet your friend Bob who says "I saw Claire here today." When your other friend, Fred, arrives, you report to him what Bob has said. Because the place (here) and the time (today) are the same, you can say:

• "Bob said he saw Claire here today."

The next day, you visit the beach again and meet Elizabeth. This time, while the place is still the same, the time is different. So you would say:

• "Bob said he saw Claire here yesterday."

A few days later, you are in the supermarket and run into Louise. However, now both the place and time are different, so you would have to say:

• "Bob said he had seen Claire at the beach on Saturday."

In the table below, common place and time expressions have been transformed into reported speech:

Tenses

Tenses are also an important part of correct reported speech. You should not change the tense if the introductory clause is in the simple present (e.g., she says), though you might have to change the form of the present tense verb.

• He says, "I speak Spanish." → "He says that he speaks Spanish."

However, if the introductory clause is in the simple past (e.g., she said), then it becomes necessary to change the tense. This is known as backshift.

• She said, "I play the trombone." → "She said that she played the trombone."

Questions in Reported Speech

When it is necessary to transform questions into reported speech, you should still bear in mind all the rules that apply to normal statements. However, the rules are different depending on whether the direct question contains an interrogative. In addition, you have to transform the question accurately into an indirect question.

If the question is asked using an interrogative (why, where, when, etc.), then that should be included in the transformed version.

• For example, "Where does she live?" → "They asked where she lived."

However, when a question is asked that does not use an interrogative, you should use whether or if in the place of the interrogative word in the sentence.

• For example, "Does she live in Paris?" → "They asked me if/whether she lived in Paris."

The auxiliary verb do should never be used in indirect questions.

Summary

When reporting speech, the most important things to keep your eye on are the following:

• Pronouns

• Place and time expressions

• Verb tenses

• Questions

All these elements change when reporting speech. Edit reported speech for the appropriate changes.

Last Updated: 09/29/2022