- Reported or indirect speech is used to retell what someone said without using their exact words. - When reporting speech, tenses are typically backshifted and pronouns, places, and time expressions are changed. - Common reporting verbs include say, tell, ask, but there are also verbs like offer, promise, admit that take different structures. - Questions lose their original word order and are reported as statements when using reported speech.

1. R E P O R T E
D S P E E C H

2. Look at these sentences.
• Roger, ‘I am going to Bahamas for Easter’s holidays.’
• Roger said he was going to Bahamas for Easter’s holidays.
• Roger, ‘Do you go to the club every Friday?’
• Mary asked me if I went to the club every Friday.
• Peter, ‘my parents went on a trip to Argentina, Michael’
• Peter told Michael that his parents had gone on a trip to
Argentina.

3. Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
• If we report what another person has said, we usually do not
use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported
(indirect) speech.
• Retelling.
We’ll go to
the movies
tomorrow.
Sound
s
great!
He said they
would go to
the movies the
next day.

4. Backshift
• It is common that we backshift the tenses when we are
reporting.
• Pronouns, place and time expressions also change.
My cousin told
me that Roberto
ate 100 hot
dogs in a
carnival last
year!
Gross!

5. Backshift
Tenses

6. Place and
Time
expressions

7. Reporting Verbs
• Say – “She said (that)…”
• Mom said (that) we could go to the mall a bit later that day.
• Tell – “He told + object pronoun [that]…”
• Charles told me that I needed to scan and send the files before 7pm.
• Questions: Ask- “They asked + (object pronoun) +
If/Whether…”
• They asked (me) if I was home yesterday night.

8. Reporting Questions
• It is important to keep in mind that questions lose their common
word order.
• We place the information as in a regular sentence.
• Forget about the auxiliary verb.
Direct
speech Peter, “Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?”
Indirect
Or
Reported
speech
Peter asked me if I had seen the Northern Lights.
Auxiliary verb tells me the tense. Present Perfect.
Past Perfect. Regular sentence or statement.

9. More Reporting Verbs

10. Use
• We often use other reporting verbs, which summarise what
someone said rather than reporting their exact words.
“I’m sorry I was late”, he
said.
He said he was sorry he’d been
late.
He apologised for being
late.
common
Using different verbs

11. Verb + to -infinitive
agree, demand, offer, promise, refuse, threaten
“Can I carry your suitcase?”, asked John.
He offered to carry my suitcase.
Verb + object (object pronoun)+ to -
infinitive
Advise, beg, invite, order, persuade, remind,
warn
“Don’t forget to bring your camera”, I said
I reminded her to bring her camera.
verb
object pronoun
to infinitive

12. Verb + -ing
Admit, deny, recommend, suggest
“I’m sorry I lied to you, Paul”, said Pat.
She admitted lying to him.
Verb + preposition + -ing
Apologise for, insist on
“Sorry for being late, all my fault!”, said Jess and Charles.
They apologized for arriving late.
verb
preposition
Verb –ing form

13. Verb + object + preposition + -ing
Accuse sb of, blame sb of for, congratulate sb on, criticise sb for
“How irresponsible from you to finish the task after the deadline.”, said dad.
He criticised me for finishing my work late.
verb
Object
pronoun
preposition
Verb –ing form
Verb (+ object) + that clause
Admit, agree, complain, deny, explain, inform, promise, remind, suggest, threaten,
warn
“I don’t think you can get a ticket today. Guess tickets sold out.”, said my
cousins
They warned us that it might not be easy to get a ticket. verb
object pronoun
That clause