Reported Speech

1. What is Reported Speech ? 

Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is used when we want to report or tell someone what another person has said without quoting their exact words. Instead of repeating the speaker's exact words, we change the sentence slightly.

Examples:

• Direct Speech: She said, "I am tired."
• Reported Speech: She said that she was tired.

2. Changes in Tenses 

When changing direct speech into reported speech, the tense usually shifts one step back into the past. This is called "backshifting."

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple: "I eat."	Past Simple: He said he ate.
Present Continuous: "I am eating."	Past Continuous: He said he was eating.
Past Simple: "I ate."	Past Perfect: He said he had eaten.
Present Perfect: "I have eaten."	Past Perfect: He said he had eaten.
Will: "I will eat."	Would: He said he would eat.

3. Pronouns and Time Expressions 

Pronouns and time expressions often need to be changed to fit the new context in reported speech.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
I → He/She	"I am happy" → He said he was happy.
We → They	"We are late" → They said they were late.
Today → That day	"I will go today" → She said she would go that day.
Yesterday → The day before	"I saw him yesterday" → He said he had seen him the day before.
Tomorrow → The next day	"I will go tomorrow" → She said she would go the next day.

4. Common Reporting Verbs

• Say: She said that...
• Tell: He told me that...
• Ask: She asked if...

Examples:

• Direct Speech: "Are you coming?"
• Reported Speech: She asked if I was coming.

5. Reporting Questions 

When reporting questions, you usually need to change the word order. For "yes/no" questions, "if" or "whether" is added.

Examples:

• Direct Speech (Yes/No question): "Do you like ice cream?"
• Reported Speech: She asked if I liked ice cream.
• Direct Speech (Wh- question): "Where do you live?"
• Reported Speech: She asked where I lived.