Examples of Reported Speech in English

Indirect speech in English or reported speech used to recount or “report” what someone said without using the exact words. For example: Peter said he was worried./ Peter said that he was worried.

This style differs from direct speechor "direct style", which is used when you want to repeat the exact words said by a person, which are always in quotation marks. For example: “We will not go to war”, said the President./ “We will not go to war,” said the President.

Attention:Reported speech It is used to express the words (dialogue or monologue) or thought (non-verbalized) expressed by someone. It is not used to express actions.

• It can help you: Passive voice in English

Examples of sentences in reported speech

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Direct style (direct speech)	Indirect style (reported speech)
“I met him in London”, she said. "I met him in London," she said.	She said that she had met him in London. She said that she had met him in London.
“I have never been to Africa”, he said. “I have never been to Africa,” he said.	He said he had never been to Africa. He said that he had never been to Africa.
"Will you do it?", he asked. "Will you?" he asked.	He asked if I would do it. He asked if I would.
“How did you meet Joe?” she asked. “How did you meet Joe?” she asked.	She asked how I had met Joe. She asked how she had met Joe.
“Sit down”, Mom told the children. “Sit down,” Mom told the children.	Mom told the children to sit down. Mom told the children to sit down.
"Please keep it down," Emma said. Please keep your voices low, Emma said.	Emma asked us to keep it down. Emma asked us to speak quietly.

Rules of reported speech

The sentences in reported speechthey always use an introductory verb that expresses that they are “reporting” what someone said and that they are not the original words. For example: she said (that)… (said), I have told I (that)… (he told me / told me), they asked… (they asked).

Like the indirect speech sentences in Spanish, the sentences in reported speechin English suffer modifications in the verb, in the pronouns and in the adverbs used.

The tenses in reported speech

The tenses in reported speech change and "move" a while back, with respect to the original sentence:

direct speech (direct style)	Reported speech (indirect style)
present simple → "YO live in New York,” said John.	past simple John said (that) he lived in New York.
present continuous → "YO am learning English”, she said.	past continuous She said (that) she was learning English.
past simple → "We enjoyed the movie”, they said.	past perfect They said (that) they had enjoyed the movie.
past continuous → "YO she was sleeping”, he said.	past perfect continuous He said (that) he she had been sleeping.
past perfect → "YO had been to London before”, she said.	past perfect She said (that) she had been to London before.
present perfect → “My brother you have passed the test,” Mary said.	past perfect Mary said that her brother had passed the test.
present perfect continuous → "Item has been raining all day”, they said.	past perfect continuous They said (that) it had been raining all day.

Attention: The use of that after said either told meit's optional.

The modal verbs(English modal verbs) also change and "move" a while back in reported speech:

direct speech (direct style)	Reported speech (indirect style)
dog→ "YO dog speak English fluently”, he said.	could He said (that) he could speak English fluently.
will→ "YO will get there on time”.	would He said (that) he would get here on time.
may→ "Item may snow tonight”, they said.	might They said (that) it might snow tonight.
must→ “I must study more”, the boy said.	had to The boy said (that) he had to study more.

Others modal verbs, however, do not change:would, should, might, must(when used to express logical conclusion). For example:"YO might travel”. – He said he might travel.

The pronouns in reported speech

The pronouns in reported speech change from those of the original sentence. It must be taken into account who expressed and who did the action for the correct choice of pronouns. For example:

• “Yo am tired”, she said./ “I'm tired,” she said. (direct speech: direct style)
• She said (that) she she was tired./ She said that she was tired. (reported speech: indirect style)

Determinants change depending on the context. For example: this → that; these → those.

The possessive adjectives and pronouns also adapt to the new sentence of reported speech. For example: my → his (her, etc), our → their.

• It can help you: Possessive pronouns in English

The adverbs in reported speech

Adverbs of time change and “move” a time back in relation to the original sentence. For example: "I'll see you tomorrow," she said. (direct speech) – She said she would see me the following day. (reported speech)

Changes in adverbs of time:

now now	at that moment, then at that time
today today	that day that day
tonight tonight	that night that night
tomorrow tomorrow	the next day the next day
yesterday yesterday	the day before the previous day
the day after tomorrow day after tomorrow	in two days' time in two days
next week next week	the following week next week
two days ago two days ago	two days before two days before
last week (months, year) last week	the week (months, year) before either the previous week (months, year) The last week

There are also some changes in the adverbs of place in reported speech. For example: here change for there, this placechange for that place.

• It can help you: English sentences with “where”

Statements in reported speech in English

In addition to said and told there are other introductory verbs in reported speech, that add another nuance and more information to the discourse. They usually go in past simple. For example: explained(explained), complained (he complained that), admitted(he admitted that).

There are contexts where the verb is the same in direct speech and in reported speech. This occurs when:

• The verb to report is in the present (says, tells, explains). For example: "I'm happy." / "I'm happy".  – I have says he is happy./ He says that he is happy.
• The action to be reported is still in effect. For example: "I live in Mexico," Julia said./ “I live in Mexico,” said Julia.– Julie said that she lives in Mexico.

• See also: Affirmative and negative sentences in English

Questions in reported speech in English

The questions in reported speech are always introduced by verbs asked either wanted to know. For example: dad asked me if I was ok. / Dad asked me if he was okay.

The questions in reported speechthey are different from the rest of the questions in English, since they are not direct, but an indirect report of the original ones. Its main features are:

• They do not make the inversion between the subject and the auxiliary. For example: He asked me if I had been there before.(And not: He asked me if I had been...)
• They do not use auxiliaries in the simple tenses (do, did, did). For example: I asked her where she works.(And not: … where she does work)
• They do not have a question mark. For example:I asked him what he preferred.(And not: I asked him what he preferred?)
• They are introduced by a wh-word (when you want information as an answer). For example: he asked me where I had been. / She asked me where she had been.
• They are introduced by ifwhen you want a “yes” or “no” answer. For example: She asked if we liked the idea./ He asked if we liked the idea.

Attention: To report questions on reported speechverbs cannot be used sayand tell.

• See also: Questions "wh-questions" in English

Commands and orders in reported speech in English

Both the orders (commands / orders) as the orders (requests) inreported speech are reported following the same structure:

• The verb is used told (for orders) and asked (for orders) followed by the structure: verb + object + to infinitive. For example: The teacher told us tobooth up./ The teacher ordered us to stand up. (order) - I have asked me to go with him./ He asked me to go with him. (order)
• Used not before to infinitive to report an order or negative order. For example: The teacher told us not to standup./ The teacher ordered us not to stop. (negative order) – he asked me not to go with him./ He asked me not to go with him. (negative request)

Attention: The verb tellmeans “order” when reporting orders or commands, while when reporting statements, it means “tell”, “count”.

The verb ask means “ask” when requests, favors or offers are reported, while when questions are reported, it means “ask”.

Other verbs that can be used to report orders are: urgent, order, command.

Other verbs that can be used to report requests, favors and offers are:beg, invite, offer.

• It can help you: English imperative sentences

Difference between say and tell

So much say as tell are used in reported speech. Both verbs are translated as "to say" but although they have the same meaning, they have grammatical differences:

say	tell
In general, it is used without purpose. For example: I have said he was sorry./ He said he was sorry. If you want to introduce an object, it must be preceded by the preposition to. For example: I have said to me he was sorry.	It is used followed by object. For example:I have told me he was sorry. / He told me that she was sorry.
It is used in affirmations. For example: She said she was glad./ She Said she was delighted.	It is used in affirmations. Also used in orders and orders, followed by to infinitive. For example: She told us to hush./ He told us to shut up.

reporting verbs

There are other verbs (besides say and tell) that are used in reported speech to report what someone says. These verbs, called reporting verbs, they provide information to the discourse and make possible the transformation from the direct to the indirect style that, in some cases, would not be possible otherwise. Each verb gives a different nuance to what is being played. For example:

• “Okay, okay; I stole the money”./ “Okay, okay; he stole the money”.(direct speech)
• I have admitted stealing the money. / He admitted that he stole the money.(reported speech) (And not: He said “Ok, ok” and he said that he had stolen the money.)

Attention: Words like: please ok thank you, rather they are replaced by verbs containing their meanings.

Others reporting verbs are:

• refuse / decline
• accept / accept
• agree/ agree
• thanks/ thank
• congratulate / to congratulate
• promise / pledge
• advise/ advise
• persuade / persuade
• warn / warn
• complain / complain
• apologize / apologize
• remember/ remember
• add/ add
• announce / announce
• confess / confess

The complement of each of these verbs must be respected. Some are followed by to infinitive, while others are followed by preposition + gerund. For example. Bob congratulated I on passing the exam. / Bob congratulated me on passing the exam.

Follow with:

• «Conditionals" in English
• «future perfect" in English
• Irregular verbs in English
• «Yes/no questions" in English
• “would rather" and "had better" in English

Interactive test to practice