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Grammar Level B1

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

How to report what someone said in English: the tense backshift, pronoun and time changes, reported questions, and say vs tell — with examples and an exercise.

direct words  ·  step the tense back  ·  reported

Reported (or indirect) speech is how we tell someone what another person said, without quoting their exact words. The main pattern is simple: when the reporting verb is in the past, the verb in the reported sentence usually steps one tense back. Pronouns and time words may shift too, and the punctuation drops. But the backshift is not automatic: if the reporting verb is present, or the information is still generally true, the tense can stay the same. Learn the pattern once and it applies everywhere.

The tense backshift

With a past reporting verb, tenses usually move one step into the past.

present simple → past simple: "I work here" → She said she worked there.
present continuous → past continuous: "I'm leaving" → He said he was leaving.
past simple → past perfect: "I saw it" → She said she had seen it.
will → would, can → could, must → had to for past obligation: "I will call" → He said he would call. · "I must leave" → He said he had to leave.

Must can sometimes stay must, especially for rules or strong necessity, but had to is the safest default for reported past obligation.

You can keep that or drop it — both are fine: She said (that) she was busy.

When the tense does not change

If the reporting verb is present, there is usually no backshift: She says she is tired. You can also keep the original tense when the information is still true or still relevant: She said she lives in Rome.

"I live in Rome." → She says she lives in Rome.
"I live in Rome." → She said she lives in Rome. / She said she lived in Rome.

Both can be correct; the past form is the safer default for reported speech exercises, while the present form emphasizes that it is still true.

Pronouns and time words shift too

Pronouns change to match the new speaker, and "now words" move into the past.

now → then · today → that day · tomorrow → the next day · yesterday → the day before · here → there · this → that
"I'll see you tomorrow" → He said he'd see me the next day.

Reported questions

Two changes: use normal word order (not question order). In a normal reported statement, don't use a question mark. For yes/no questions, use if or whether.

"Where do you live?" → She asked where I lived.
"Are you ready?" → He asked if I was ready.

If the whole sentence is a question, the question mark belongs to the whole sentence: Did she ask where I lived?

Reported commands and requests

For commands and requests, use tell / ask + person + to + verb. For negatives, use not to + verb.

"Close the door." → She told me to close the door.
"Please help me." → He asked me to help him.
"Don't be late." → She told me not to be late.

Common mistakes

"Said me" — say does not take a person as a direct object. Use tell + person, or say + to + person, or say without the person.

✕He said me he was busy.
✓He told me he was busy.
✓He said to me that he was busy.
✓He said he was busy.

Keeping question word order in a reported question.

✕She asked where did I live.
✓She asked where I lived.

Forgetting the backshift. "He said he is tired" → He said he was tired. (You can keep the present for things still generally true: "She said she lives in Rome.")

Quick exercise

Put these into reported speech.

  1. "I'm hungry." → She said …
  2. "We will help Anna." → They said …
  3. "Do you speak French?" → He asked …
  4. "I finished the report yesterday." → She said …
  5. "Where is the station?" → He asked …
Answer key
  1. She said (that) she was hungry.
  2. They said (that) they would help Anna.
  3. He asked if/whether I spoke French. (assuming he asked me)
  4. She said (that) she had finished the report the day before.
  5. He asked where the station was.

Related topics

Say, Tell, Speak, Talk: Which One? Present Perfect vs Past Simple Conditionals: Zero, First, Second, Third

Practice this in Recursio

Reported speech has a lot of small moving parts — tenses often shift back, pronouns and time words change, and questions lose question word order. Recursio's AI Coach drills the transformations in real sentences and the Daily Mixed Review keeps them coming back until "He said he was tired" feels automatic.

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