Reported Speech - Rules, Examples & Common Mistakes

• Reported speech (also called indirect speech) tells someone what another person said - without quoting them word for word (e.g.: She said she was tired.)
• The verb tense usually moves one step back into the past - a rule called backshift.
• Time, place and pronoun references also shift to match the new perspective.

We use reported speech every time we say she said or he told me - small changes in tense and time that report someone else's words.

Reported speech is the way we tell someone what another person said without repeating their exact words. It is the opposite of direct speech, where the original words are quoted.

Examples:

Direct: She said, "I am tired."

Reported: She said she was tired.

Direct: He told me, "I will call you tomorrow."

Reported: He told me he would call me the next day.

Reported speech appears in every news report, story or summary.

Direct and Indirect Speech

To understand reported speech, you need to know the difference between direct and indirect speech.

Direct speech repeats the speaker's exact words inside quotation marks. Indirect speech (also called reported speech) paraphrases the words - without quotation marks, and usually with changes in tense, time and pronouns.

Incorrect: She said that "I am tired."

Correct: She said, "I am tired." (direct) or She said she was tired. (indirect)

Examples:

Direct: Tom said, "I live in London."

Indirect: Tom said he lived in London.

Direct: Anna asked, "Are you coming?"

Indirect: Anna asked if I was coming.

Note: don't confuse indirect speech with indirect objects (the noun receiving the direct object, as in He gave her a book). Both use the word "indirect," but they describe different concepts.

Tense Changes (Backshift)

When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told, asked), the tense of the original sentence shifts one step back into the past. This is called backshift.

Examples:

Direct: She said, "I work in Berlin." → Reported: She said she worked in Berlin.

Direct: He said, "I have finished." → Reported: He said he had finished.

Direct: They said, "We will help you." → Reported: They said they would help me.

Time and Place References

Time and place words also shift in reported speech, because the moment of speaking is no longer the present.

Examples:

Direct: She said, "I'll see you tomorrow." → Reported: She said she would see me the next day.

Direct: He said, "I live here." → Reported: He said he lived there.

Reporting Verbs

Reporting verbs introduce what someone said. The most common are say, tell, ask, advise, suggest, promise and warn - each with slightly different grammar.

• Say - doesn't take a personal object directly (She said that she was tired)
• Tell - always takes a personal object (She told me that she was tired)
• Ask - used for questions and requests (She asked where I lived)
• Suggest, advise, recommend - followed by -ing or that (He suggested going home)

Examples:

She said that she would arrive late.

She told us the meeting was cancelled.

He advised me to take the train.

Question Forms in Reported Speech

When you report a question, the word order changes from question form back to statement form, and the auxiliary verb may disappear.

• Yes/no questions - introduced by if or whether
• Wh-questions - keep the question word (what, where, when, why, how)

Examples:

Direct: She asked, "Are you coming?" → Reported: She asked if I was coming.

Direct: He asked, "Where do you live?" → Reported: He asked where I lived.

Direct: They asked, "Why are you late?" → Reported: They asked why I was late.

No question mark and no inversion in reported questions.

Orders, Requests and Suggestions

For orders, requests and suggestions, English uses a different structure: reporting verb + object + to-infinitive (for orders and requests) or -ing form (for suggestions).

• Orders - tell / order + someone + to + infinitive
• Requests - ask + someone + to + infinitive
• Suggestions - suggest + -ing or suggest + that

Examples:

Direct: "Sit down!" → He told me to sit down.

Direct: "Please help me." → She asked me to help her.

Direct: "Let's go to the cinema." → He suggested going to the cinema.

Hopes, Intentions and Promises

When reporting hopes, intentions and promises, you can use verbs like hope, promise, intend and plan. Unlike most reporting verbs, these don't always trigger full backshift - especially if the hope is still valid.

Examples:

Direct: "I hope to pass the exam." → She hoped to pass the exam.

Direct: "I promise I'll call you." → He promised he would call me.

Direct: "I'm going to study English in Malta." → She said she was going to study English at SPRACHCAFFE in Malta.