Reported Speech

Do you know how to report what somebody else said?

Look at these examples to see how we can tell someone what another person said.

direct speech: 'I love the Toy Story films,' she said.

Indirect speech: She said she loved the Toy Story films.

Direct speech: He said he'd worked as a waiter before becoming a chef.

Direct Speech: 'I'll phone you tomorrow,' he said.

Indirect speech: He said he'd phone me the next day.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Time Expressions with Reported Speech

Sometimes when we change direct speech into reported speech we have to change time expressions too. We don't always have to do this, however. It depends on when we heard the direct speech and when we say the reported speech.

For example:

It's Monday. Julie says "I'm leaving today".

If I tell someone on Monday, I say "Julie said she was leaving today".

If I tell someone on Tuesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving yesterday".

If I tell someone on Wednesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving on Monday".

If I tell someone a month later, I say "Julie said she was leaving that day".

• Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.

• Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.