Reported speech

Reported speech

Reported speech is something many of us know very well...

We use it to telll someone what somebody else told us, so we are reporting words and thoughts that are not ours.

For example: You hear Simon say: "I don't like this kind of music".

If you want to tell this to Peter, you can't just copy Simon's words and use them as your own. You need to make some changes, which show: these are not MY words + they were said BEFORE and I am now only reporting them

so the sentence "I don't like this kind of music." will change into:

Simon said he didn't like that kind of music.

you have to make 4 changes:

1: use reporting word (said, thought, yelled, asked, told)

2: change personal pronouns (I - he)

3: verb in present is now in past tense, to show this happened before and may not be true any more

4: change any other words connected to time and space so that they show the original happened at other time and location

Be especially careful with verbs

All present becomes past tense

Past tense becomes past perfect

will becomes would

Multiple Choice

Which is correctwhen reporting the following sentence?

"I am watching TV"

• He said he is watching TV.

• He said he was watching TV.

In this sentence, we changed the present tense in the original sentence into past tense reporting.

Try some more similar cases.

Multiple Choice

"I have a new bag. "

• She said she have a new bag.

• She said she has a new bag.

• She said she had a new bag.

Multiple Choice

I am cooking.

• She said she is cooking.

• She said she was cooking.

• She said she cooked

Multiple Choice

Which is correctwhen reporting the following sentence? "He saw the car."

• She said he saw the car.

• She said he had seen the car.

This time we changed the past verb in the original into past perfect.

Try some more:

Multiple Choice

"I met her in school."

• He said he met her in school.

• He said he had met her in school.

• He said he has met her in school.

Multiple Choice

"She gave me the car."

• She said she had given me the car.

• She said she gave me the car.

• She said she has given me the car.

Multiple Choice

"He was looking for you."

• She said he was looking for you.

• She said he has been looking for you.

• She said he had been looking for you.

• She said he is looking for you.

Similarly, you change everything that connects to time, depending on the context:

yesterday --------------- the day before

now ------- then

this week ---------- that week

and all places and pronouns change too:

here ------- there

I -------- he/she

my ------------ his/hers

Multiple Choice

"I met her here last month." will change into:

(the tense is already correct, just make sure you get the rest right )

• He said I had met her here last month.

• He said he had met her here last month.

• He said he had met her there last month.

• He said he had met her there the month before.

Just to make sure, here is a quiz with some more exercises :)

Multiple Choice

" I bring a cake" He said

• He said that I bring a cake.

• He said that he brought a cake.

• He said that he bring a cake.

Multiple Choice

" I want a cup of tea" Marie told me

• Marie told me that she wanted a cup of tea.

• Marie told me that she wants a cup of tea.

• Marie told me that wanted a cup of tea.

Multiple Choice

" Mario has watched a movie" She told him.

• She told him that he had watched movie.

• She told him he has watched a movie.

• She told him if he has watch a movie.

Multiple Choice

" Why have you been reading these books?" She asked him

• She asked him that he had been reading those books.

• She asked him if he had been reading those books.

• She asked him why he had been reading those books.

Multiple Choice

" We are not visiting China this summer" He told me.

• He told me that they were not visiting China that summer.

• He told me that they were not visiting China this summer.

• He told me that they are not visiting China that summer.

Multiple Choice

" Mariano is talking on the phone" They told her.

• They told him that he is talking on the phone.

• They told him that he was talking on the phone.

• They told her that he was talking on the phone.

Multiple Choice

"She is living in Paris now" She said.

• She said she was live in Paris now.

• She said she was living in Paris then.

• She said that was living in Paris then.

Multiple Choice

" He went out last night" She told me.

• She told me that he had gone out the other night.

• She told me that he went out last night.

• She told me that she had went out the other night.

Multiple Choice

" I never get up early on Sundays" She said

• She said that she never got up early on Sundays.

• She said she never gets up early on Sundays.

• She said she never went up.

Multiple Choice

" Do your homework" She told me.

• She told me to do my homework.

• She told me not to do your homework.

• She told me to do homework

Multiple Choice

" Who have been working today" Maria asked me

• Maria asked me who had been working then.

• She asked me who have working today.

• Maria asked me who have been worked then.

Multiple Choice

" Did you study hard" She asked me.

• She asked me if I did studied hard.

• She asked me if I studied hard.

• She asked me if I had studied hard.

Multiple Choice

" He was working here" she said

• He said that had been working here.

• She said he had been working there.

• She said he was working there.

Multiple Choice

"I am writing an email to my girlfriend."

He told me that he ________ an email to his girlfriend.

• is writing

• was writing

• writes

Multiple Choice

"I have been to that bar.".

He told me that he ________ to that bar.

• had been

• will have been

• is being

Multiple Choice

"Yeah, I've been to Greece.". My friend told me that he ________ to Greece.

• been

• had been

• was

Multiple Choice

"I loved him very much".

My sister told me that she ________ him very much.

• was loving

• had loved

• would love

Multiple Choice

"I will call you". I told her that I ________ her.

• will call

• Would call

• would have called

Multiple Choice

"My mother is taking the bus to work tomorrow". He told me that his mother ________ the bus to work tomorrow.

• is taking

• was taking

• will take

Multiple Choice

"I am happy". She told me that she ________ happy.

• has been

• is

• was

Multiple Choice

"He will come tomorrow".

She told me that he ________ tomorrow.

• is coming

• will come

• would come

Multiple Choice

"I see the clouds.". He told me that she ________ the clouds.

• sees

• is seeing

• saw

I hope this was enough :) There are more exercises in you schoolbooks.