Reported speech for B1 level.

1. Reported Speech
• “I love Chris.” 1 week ago
• “I love Dave.” 1 week later
• But last week, you SAID that you
LOVED Chris!!
• We use reported speech to give
information about past conversations.
Therefore, we must change the tense of
the verb from the present to the past.

2. Typical changes for reported speech
• I’m from London. > He said he was from London.
• Present > Past
• I’ve been to New York. > He said he had been to NY.
• Present perfect > Past Perfect
• I went to Rome last summer. > He said he had gone to Rome the
previous summer.
• Past > Past Perfect
• I will visit Paris. > He said he would visit Paris.
• Will > would
• I can’t speak French. > He said he couldn’t speak French.
• Can > could
• I must learn some French > He said he had to learn some French.
• Must > Had to

3. Reporting verbs
• You can use other verbs and
• not just say (said)
• TELL -“Sit down.” She told me to sit down.
• ADVISE -“You should go to the doctor.” She
advised me to go to the doctor.
• Tell/advise someone to do something
• OFFER -“I’ll help you.” She offered to help
me.
• PROMISE – “I will love you forever!!”
• He promised to love her forever.
• Offer/promise to do something

4. Reporting verbs
• There are lots of reporting verbs:
• SUGGEST – “Why don’t we go to the cinema? “
• He suggested going to the cinema.
• ADMIT – “I made a mistake.”
• He admitted making a mistake.
• Suggest/admit doing something
• ARGUE – “I think we have to invest more money.”
• He argued that they had to invest more money.
• ASK – “Where is the station? “
• She asked me where the station was.
• * the verb comes at the end.