SPI English · Grammar
Reported Speech: Statements
Reported (indirect) speech gives what someone said in your own words: after a past reporting verb the tense moves one step back, and the pronouns and time words change to fit the new speaker.
Why this matters
Eleven questions in the bank, 6 MODERATE and 5 EASY, and five of them run the other way, from reported speech back to the speaker's own words. Three changes decide every one: the tense, the pronouns and the words for time and place.
Concept 1 of 3: The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past
By the time you report the words, they were said in the past. So when the reporting verb is past (said, told), every verb inside moves one step further back.
Definition
- With a past reporting verb (said, told, shouted), the reported verb moves one step back (see the table).
- With a present reporting verb (says, tells), nothing changes: 'She says she is tired.'
- No change for a universal truth ('the earth is round'), for an unreal condition ('if I had the money I would buy it') and for used to.
- Join the reported words with that after said or told.
- Said to + a person usually becomes told + the person: 'He said to me' becomes 'He told me'.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| am, is | was |
| are | were |
| do, does (simple present) | did (simple past) |
| is going, are going | was going, were going |
| has, have + past participle | had + past participle |
| did (simple past) | had + past participle |
| will, shall | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
Each row moves one step back. A verb already as far back as 'had done' stays as it is.
Practice this conceptself-check · 5 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 1 · Grammar · Reported Statements
Find suitable direct/indirect speech. He said, "I have read this novel."
Forgetting to move the tense back
After a past reporting verb, 'is' must become 'was' and 'has done' must become 'had done'. 'He said that he is going home' keeps the wrong tense.
Moving back an unreal condition
'If I had a car, I could drive you' is already an unreal past form, so it stays the same in reported speech. Only the pronouns change.
Concept 2 of 3: Pronouns, time words and place words
Ask who is speaking now and to whom. 'I' in the quotation means the original speaker, 'you' means the listener. Words like here, now and tomorrow belonged to the original moment, so they change to words that point back to it.
Definition
- I, me, my, we become the person who spoke: he, him, his, they.
- You, your become the person spoken to: he, she, they, or me if it was you.
- This, these, here, now become that, those, there, then.
- Today becomes that day, tomorrow becomes the next day, yesterday becomes the day before, ago becomes before.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day |
| yesterday | the day before |
| next week | the following week |
| two days ago | two days before |
| this, these | that, those |
| here | there |
Change a pronoun by who it means, not by the word: 'you' can become he, she, they or me.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 2 · Grammar · Reported Statements
Find suitable direct/indirect speech. "You are all doing very well," said Mr. Jones.
Keeping 'you' from the quotation
In reported speech, 'you' must become the person who was spoken to: 'He told the girls that they were late', not 'that you are late'.
Changing words that were never spoken
Only the words in the quotation change form. Adding or dropping a word such as very or really changes what was said, so that option is wrong.
Concept 3 of 3: Turning reported speech back into direct speech
This is the backshift run in reverse. Move every tense one step forward, turn the pronouns back into I and you, and put the words inside quotation marks.
Definition
- Move each tense one step forward: was to is (or am, are), had done to has done or did, would to will or shall, could to can.
- Used to stays used to.
- The speaker becomes I; the person spoken to becomes you.
- There, that, then, the next day, the day before go back to here, this, now, tomorrow, yesterday.
- 'No one would be allowed' (passive) can come from 'We will not allow anyone'. Keep the meaning, not every word.
Worked example
Change to direct speech: Arun told me that he would meet me there the next day.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionModerate
Example 3 · Grammar · Reported Statements
Find suitable direct/indirect speech. He said that I needn't wait there.
Leaving a past tense inside the quotation
The quotation holds the speaker's own words at the time, so 'she was going' goes back to 'I am going', not 'I was going'.
Changing 'used to' in the direct form
'Used to' does not shift in either direction. 'She said that she used to live in Pune' comes from "I used to live in Pune".
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past9 rows
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| am, is | was |
| are | were |
| do, does (simple present) | did (simple past) |
| is going, are going | was going, were going |
| has, have + past participle | had + past participle |
| did (simple past) | had + past participle |
| will, shall | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
Each row moves one step back. A verb already as far back as 'had done' stays as it is.
Pronouns, time words and place words8 rows
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day |
| yesterday | the day before |
| next week | the following week |
| two days ago | two days before |
| this, these | that, those |
| here | there |
Change a pronoun by who it means, not by the word: 'you' can become he, she, they or me.
Watch out for (6)
- Forgetting to move the tense back→ The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past
- Moving back an unreal condition→ The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past
- Keeping 'you' from the quotation→ Pronouns, time words and place words
- Changing words that were never spoken→ Pronouns, time words and place words
- Leaving a past tense inside the quotation→ Turning reported speech back into direct speech
- Changing 'used to' in the direct form→ Turning reported speech back into direct speech
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