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lso known as reported speech or indirect discourse, is used to convey what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. Instead of using quotation marks, indirect speech involves reporting or paraphrasing the original speaker's words.
In indirect speech, the reported statement is introduced by a reporting verb such as "say," "tell," "ask," etc. The reported statement is then transformed to fit into the structure of the reporting clause.
For example:
Direct speech: "I am going to the store," she said.
Indirect speech: She said (that) she was going to the store.
In indirect speech, pronouns, time expressions, and verb tenses may need to be changed to reflect the perspective of the reporting clause.
Change pronouns to match the subject of the reporting clause.
For example:
"I" becomes "she/he," "we" becomes "they," etc.
Change present tense to past tense, and past tense to past perfect tense (if the reported speech refers to an action that occurred before the reporting verb).
For example: "am" becomes "was," "said" becomes "had said," etc.
Adjust time expressions to fit the context of the reporting clause.
For example: "today" becomes "that day," "tomorrow" becomes "the next day," etc.
Indirect speech can also be used to report questions. In this case, the reporting verb may change to a verb that indicates questioning, such as "ask," "wonder," "inquire," etc.
For example:
Direct question: "Where are you going?" she asked.
Indirect question: She asked where I was going.
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech (Backshifted) | Direct Speech Example | Reported Speech Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | Past Simple | She said, "I like chocolate." | She said that she liked chocolate. |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous | She said, "I am reading a book." | She said that she was reading a book. |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect | She said, "I have finished my homework." | She said that she had finished her homework. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | She said, "I have been studying." | She said that she had been studying. |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect | She said, "I went to the store." | She said that she had gone to the store. |
| Past Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | She said, "I was cooking dinner." | She said that she had been cooking dinner. |
| Past Perfect | No change | She said, "I had already eaten." | She said that she had already eaten. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | No change | She said, "I had been waiting for hours." | She said that she had been waiting for hours. |
| Future Simple | Conditional I | She said, "I will go tomorrow." | She said that she would go the next day. |
| Future Continuous | Conditional II | She said, "I will be working." | She said that she would be working. |
| Future Perfect | Conditional II | She said, "I will have finished by then." | She said that she would have finished by then. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | Conditional II | She said, "I will have been studying for hours." | She said that she would have been studying for hours. |
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| now | then / at that time |
| today | yesterday / that day / Wednesday / the 5th of January |
| yesterday | the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 9th of January |
| last night | the night before, Saturday night |
| last week | the week before / the previous week |
| tomorrow | today / the next day / the following day / Monday |
