Reported Speech

Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to report what someone said to another person, but without using the exact words. Look at the example:

A friend, Bopha, says to you:
 • I went to the stadium last night.

You say to someone else:
 → Bopha said (that) she had been to the stadium the night before.

The verb 'said' is called a reporting verb. Other reporting verbs are: accuse, admit, advise, allege, agree, apologize, beg, boast, complain, deny, explain, imply, invite, offer, order, promise, reply, suggest and think. Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative.

To report direct speech, a few changes are necessary; often a pronoun, tense, and adverb.


CHANGES WHEN REPORTING


[1] Change in Tenses


Move one tense backwards, see the list below:
 • Simple Present → Simple Past
 • Present Progressive → Past Progressive
 • Simple Past → Past Perfect Simple
 • Present Perfect Simple → Past Perfect Simple
 • Past Progressive → Past Perfect Progressive
 • Present Perfect Progressive → Past Perfect Progressive
 • Future: Be going to → was / were going to
 • Future: Will → Would
 • Conditional I (will) → Would

Note: could, should, would, might, needn’t, ought to, and used to do not change.

[2] Change in Adverbs


Time and place references often have to change. For examples,
 • today → that day
 • now → then
 • yesterday → the day before/ the previous day
 • … days ago → … days before
 • last week → the week before/ the previous week
 • next year → the following year/ the year after
 • tomorrow → the next day / the following day
 • here/there → there
 • this/that → that
 • these/those → those

[3] Change in pronouns


Pronouns have to be changed depending on who says what and in which situation. For examples,
 • She said, "I teach English online."
 → She said that she taught English online.



OPTIONAL CHANGES IN TENSE


In some cases, it is not necessary to change the tense. But if you are not sure, YOU ARE ADVISED TO CHANGE ALL THE TIME. Let see each case and examples below.


[1] The reporting verb (or introductory clause) is in Simple Present (e. g. He says that...), Present Continuous (e.g. She is saying that…), Present Perfect (She has said that...), and Future (She will says...). For examples,

Quoted: My friend says, "I'll meet you in Siem Reap.”
Reported: My friend says that he will meet me in Paris.
Quoted: Maly will say, “She will quit her present job.”
Reported: Maly will say that she will quit her present job.


[2] Reporting something immediate after speaking, or which has just said. For example,

Quoted: “I never forget anything.”
Reported: You have just said you never forget anything.

[3] Reporting facts or general truth. For examples,
Quoted: My friend said, "The sky is blue?"
Reported: My friend said the sky is/was blue.

[4] Reporting something that is still true. For examples,

Quoted: "The National Museum is painted Red."
Reported: He said that the National Museum is painted red.
Quoted: “Ban Ki-moon is the UN Secretary General.”
Reported: He told me that Ban Ki-moon is the UN Secretary General.


HOW TO CHANGE FROM QUOTED TO REPORTED SPEECH

The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, a question, or an imperative. Please see the details in the following units.