Indirect Speech

What is indirect speech?

• Quoting someone's exact words.

• Reporting what someone said in your own words.

• Asking questions in a polite way.

• Changing tenses in a sentence

Which of these is an example of indirect speech?

• She said, "I am happy."

• "She said she is happy," she told me.

• She says, "I was happy."

• She said that she was happy.

Which reporting verb is commonly used in indirect speech?

• to jump

• to eat

• to tell

• to walk

What happens to the tense in indirect speech?

• It changes to the past

• It changes to the future

• It always stays the same

• It turns into a question

Which of these sentences correctly uses backshift of tenses?

He said, "I will call you tomorrow."

• He said that he will call me the next day.

• He said that he calls me the next day.

• He said that he calls me tomorrow.

• He said that he would call me the next day.

In indirect speech, "today" changes to ... ?

• In indirect speech, "will" changes to ... ?

In indirect speech, "yesterday" changes to ... ?

In indirect speech, "can" changes to ... ?

In indirect speech, "I am busy now" becomes "She said that she was busy ... ?"