Reported Speech in Declarative Sentences

Select the sentence that is written in reported speech.

• Aisha said she was tired.

• Aisha said, "I am tired."

• "I am tired," Aisha said.

• Aisha, are you tired?

Answer explanation

Reported speech rephrases what someone said without using their exact words or quotation marks. The other options use direct speech with quotation marks.

Complete the sentence: My friend said, "I like the new superhero movie." In reported speech, this is: My friend said he ________ the new superhero movie.

• likes

• liked

• was liking

• is liking

Answer explanation

When reporting speech, the present tense verb 'like' typically shifts back to the simple past tense 'liked'. The other options use incorrect verb tenses.

True or False: When you use the reporting verb 'tell', you must always state who was being told something.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The verb 'tell' requires an object (e.g., 'He told me...'), while the verb 'say' does not (e.g., 'He said...').

Complete the sentence: Chloe said, "My parents are buying a new car." When we report this, we say: Chloe said that her parents ________ buying a new car.

• is

• are

• was

• were

Answer explanation

The verb must agree with the new subject 'parents' (plural), and the present tense 'are' backshifts to the past tense 'were'.

Complete the sentence: David said, "I can't find my keys." In reported speech, this becomes: David said he ________ find his keys.

• can't

• won't

• couldn't

• shouldn't

Answer explanation

In reported speech, the modal verb 'can' usually changes to 'could'. Since the original statement is negative ('can't'), the reported version is also negative ('couldn't').

Your classmate says, "The test is hard." You report this as: "He said that the test was hard." Which of the following is also a correct way to report this?

• He said the test is hard.

• He said, "The test was hard."

• He said the test was hard.

• He said that the test is hard.

Answer explanation

The word 'that' is often optional in reported speech. Both 'He said that the test was hard' and 'He said the test was hard' are grammatically correct.

True or False: If your science teacher says, "Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit," you must report it as "She said water froze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit."

• True

• False

Answer explanation

For universal truths or facts that are still true, you do not need to backshift the tense. Reporting it as 'She said water freezes...' is also correct.

Noah said, "I don't have any homework tonight." Which sentence correctly reports what Noah said?

• Noah said he doesn't have any homework that night.

• Noah said he didn't have any homework that night.

• Noah said he didn't had any homework tonight.

• Noah said he not have any homework that night.

Answer explanation

Correct reporting requires changing 'don't have' to 'didn't have' and the time word 'tonight' to 'that night'. The other options have tense or time-word errors.

Direct speech: "We are watching a movie now." How would you report this later?

• They said they were watching a movie then.

• They said we were watching a movie now.

• They said they are watching a movie then.

• They said they were watching a movie now.

Answer explanation

To report this correctly, 'we' changes to 'they', 'are watching' backshifts to 'were watching', and the time word 'now' changes to 'then'.

Complete the sentence: My brother promised, "I will help you with the dishes." This means my brother promised he ________ me with the dishes.

• will help

• would help

• is helping

• has helped

Answer explanation

When reporting a future statement, 'will' changes to 'would'. The pronoun 'you' also changes to 'me' from the speaker's perspective.