reported speech explanation

1. REPORTED
SPEECH
Mª MERCEDES SÁNCHEZ VILLAFRANCA
Teachermercedes 2022

2. What is Reported Speech?
There are two ways of relating what a person has said:
direct and indirect. In direct speech we repeat the
original speaker’s exact words.
He said,” I have missed my bus”
These thoughts, believes or remarks are written between
the inverted commas, and a comma or colon is placed
immediately before the remark.
In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a
remark, or a speech, without necessarily using the
speaker’s exact words. We make somebody’s words or
thoughts part of our own sentence.
He said that he had missed his bus.
Teachermercedes 2022

3. When reporting a
statement we may find
many different
changes:
Teachermercedes 2022

4. Verb changes
DIRECT SPEECH
Simple Present
I train every day
Present Continuous
I’m having a shower
Simple Past
I met her at 3 p.m.
Present Perfect
We haven’t seen it yet.
Present Perfect Continuous
I’ve been waiting for ages.
Imperative
Be quiet
REPORTED SPEECH
Simple Past
He said (that) he trained every day.
Past Continuous
He said (that) he was having a shower.
Past Perfect
He said he had met her at 3 p.m.
Past Perfect
They said (that) they hadn’t seen it yet.
Past Perfect Continuous
He said (that) he had been waiting for ages.
Infinitive
He told us to be quiet.
Teachermercedes 2022

5. Modal verbs in Reported
Speech
DIRECT SPEECH
Can
I can’t swim.
Will
I’ll send you a postcard.
Must/ have to
You must study more
May
It may be true.
REPORTED SPEECH
Could
He said (that) he couldn’t swim
Would
He said (that) he would send us a postcard.
Had to
He said (that) we had to study more.
Might
He said (that) it might be true.
The other modal verbs don’t change: would, should, ought to, had better,
might, used to, could …
Teachermercedes 2022

6. Pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change from first or second
person to third person, except when the speaker is reporting his own words
PERSONAL PRONOUNS SUBJECT
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
I He / she
We They
PERSONAL PRONOUNS OBJECT
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
Me Him/ her
Us Them
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
My His/ her
Our Their
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
Mine His/ hers
Ours Theirs
Teachermercedes 2022

7. Adverbs and adverbial
phrases of time
DIRECT SPEECH
Now
Today
Yesterday
Tomorrow
Next week, year …
Last week, year…
INDIRECT SPEECH
Then
That day
The day before
The next day, the following
day
The following week, year
The week / year before or
the previous week, year
Teachermercedes 2022

8. Other changes
Direct Speech
(nearness)
Reported Speech
(remoteness)
This That
These those
Adverb of place
here there
Teachermercedes 2022

9. A. STATEMENTS
The introductory verb is usually “said” (he said to me…), “tell” ( he
told me…).See some examples:
He said, “I saw the boy here in this room today”
R.S.: He said (that) he had seen the boy there in that room that day.
He said, “I’ll go to the office tomorrow”
R.S.: He said (that) he would come to the office the next day. (in this
case the speaker is in the office)