English Reported Speech: Messages, Questions, and Requests

01 / Understand

Report the message from your own viewpoint

Direct speech presents someone’s words as a quotation. Indirect speech gives the content of those words from the reporting speaker’s viewpoint: Noor said that she was tired. The report does not have to keep every original word, but it should keep the intended message.

Begin by identifying the original speaker, listener, and time. If Noor said I am tired, a later report about Noor uses she, not I, unless you are Noor. When you change the viewpoint, think about meaning first and tense second. Do not report your own guess as something Noor said.

A reported statement still belongs to the person who said it. Noor said the room was free does not prove that the room was free. If you checked the room yourself, you can say that in a separate sentence. Keep the difference clear between what another person claims and what you have checked.

02 / Understand

Choose said, told, or asked with its pattern

Noor said that she was ready reports a statement. Noor told me that she was ready names the recipient after told. Say can name a recipient with to: Noor said to me that she was ready. Do not use said me in this pattern.

Asked introduces a question or a request, depending on what follows. She asked where I lived reports a question. She asked me to wait reports a request. Some fixed expressions, such as tell a story, have their own patterns. The rule that told needs a recipient is for reporting information or instructions.

Said and told are irregular past forms, while asked is regular. In a present report, the verb still agrees with its subject: Noor says she is ready and Noor tells me she is ready. Reported speech does not have to begin with a past verb. Choose a present or past reporting verb to fit the situation.

03 / Understand

Understand backshift without making it automatic

After a past reporting verb, present forms often shift to the past: I am busy becomes She said she was busy. Will often becomes would, and a present perfect such as has called may become a past perfect such as had called. This shift is called backshift. It shows the message as seen from the time when the speaker said it.

You do not have to use backshift when the content is still true or relevant. She said she works at the library can report a fact that is still true. That sentence is correct even though said is past. In the exercises, a prompt that tests backshift asks for it and says when the report happens.

In a report, would can show the future as seen from the past. He said he would arrive at six tells what was in the future when he spoke. Whether he really arrived on time is a separate fact. So do not read every would as an imagined condition, and do not treat a reported promise as proof that it was kept.

04 / Understand

Keep the same people when pronouns change

If Jo told you I will help you and Jo uses the pronoun they, your report can be Jo told me that they would help me. The original I refers to Jo, while you refers to the original listener. These two pronouns do not become the same pronoun in the report.

Use names when a pronoun would be unclear. The goal is to show clearly who helps whom, not to replace every I with he or every you with me automatically. If you report to a different listener, you may need different pronouns again, but the people in the message stay the same.

If she or they could refer to two different people, use a name again. Noor told Lina that Noor would call may sound repetitive. But when the listener needs to know who promised the call, it is clearer than a she that could mean either person. Being clear is more important than avoiding a repeated name.

05 / Understand

Report questions with statement order

For a yes or no question, use if or whether: She asked if I was ready. For a question with where, when, why, or another question word, keep that word: She asked where I lived. In both reports, the part after asked has statement order: the subject comes before the verb.

Compare direct Where are you? with reported She asked where I was. Do not keep the direct question order, with the verb before the subject. When a statement reports a question, it ends with a period, not a question mark. It tells what someone asked; it does not ask the reader anything.

Some direct questions already have statement order, because who asks about the subject: Who called? With backshift, the report is She asked who had called. Do not add did. Statement order does not mean adding another subject, because who is already the subject.

06 / Understand

Report instructions with an infinitive

He told me to wait outside reports an instruction. He asked me to wait outside reports a request. Both use a to infinitive: to plus the base form of the verb. The reporting verb shows whether the speaker gave an instruction or made a request, so choose the verb that fits the original situation.

A negative instruction puts not before to: He told me not to enter. Do not write told me do not enter as an indirect report. If you want the exact words, quote them with quotation marks instead. The indirect report keeps the recipient and a to infinitive.

A polite direct question such as Could you close the door? is usually a request. Reporting it as She asked me to close the door keeps it a request. She asked whether I was able to close the door could sound like a real question about ability. So think about what the original speaker wanted.

07 / Understand

Update time and place only when needed

Suppose a message sent on Monday says I will call tomorrow. Reporting it on Wednesday, you can say She said she would call on Tuesday. Naming the day keeps the original date clear. On Wednesday, tomorrow would mean Thursday.

Words such as here, today, and tomorrow depend on the reporting situation. They do not need to change if they still point to the same place or time. Before the mini game, imagine the original conversation and the later report as two scenes. Check the people, the time, the type of message, and the verb pattern, in that order. Then read the explanation for each answer.

Time changes depend on the calendar, not simply on whether the reporting verb is past. If you repeat a morning message later on the same day, today may still refer to the same date. If several days have passed, a named date is often clearer than that day. First make sure the words point to the same day, then choose a natural way to say it.

See it in a sentence

Notice the difference

Common mistakes

From understanding to using

Make your own example.

Try these without answer choices. Say your answer aloud or write it below, then compare your reasoning with the model.