Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
What is reported speech?
Reported speech is when you tell somebody else what you or a person said before.
Different types of sentences
When you use reported speech, you either report:
- statements
- questions
- requests / commands
| Tense | Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| present simple | I like ice cream | She said (that) she liked ice cream. |
| present continuous | I am living in London | She said (that) she was living in London. |
| past simple | I bought a car | She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that) she bought a car. |
| past continuous | I was walking along the street | She said (that) she had been walking along the street. |
| present perfect | I haven’t seen Julie | She said (that) she hadn’t seen Julie. |
| past perfect* | I had taken English lessons before | She said (that) she had taken English lessons before. |
| will | I’ll see you later | She said (that) she would see me later. |
| would* | I would help, but..” | She said (that) she would help but… |
| can | I can speak perfect English | She said (that) she could speak perfect English. |
| could* | I could swim when I was four | She said (that) she could swim when she was four. |
| shall | I shall come later | She said (that) she would come later. |
| should* | I should call my mother | She said (that) she should call her mother |
| might* | I might be late | She said (that) she might be late |
| must | I must study at the weekend | She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She said she had to study at the weekend |
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| this evening | that evening |
| today/this day | that day |
| these days | those days |
| now | then |
| a week ago | a week before |
| last weekend | the weekend before / the previous weekend |
| next week | the following week |
| tomorrow | the next/following day |
| here | there |