A reported statement tells what someone said without using their exact words.
Example:
- Direct speech: She said, “I am tired.”
- Reported speech: She said (that) she was tired.
👉 Notice:
- No quotation marks
- Pronouns and tenses often change
Tense and Time Changes
1. Tense Changes
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present simple → “I work.” | Past simple → He said he worked |
| Present continuous → “I am working.” | Past continuous → He said he was working |
| Past simple → “I worked.” | Past perfect → He said he had worked |
| Present perfect → “I have worked.” | Past perfect → He said he had worked |
| Will → “I will work.” | Would → He said he would work |
| Can → “I can swim.” | Could → He said he could swim |
| May → “I may come.” | Might → He said he might come |
Important: These changes happen when the reporting verb is in the past (e.g., said, told).
2. Time Expression Changes
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| yesterday | the day before |
| last week | the week before |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| next year | the following year |
| ago | before |
Examples in Context
Example 1:
- Direct: He said, “I am happy today.”
- Reported: He said (that) he was happy that day.
Example 2:
- Direct: She said, “I will call you tomorrow.”
- Reported: She said she would call me the next day.
Important Notes
- You can use “that,” but it’s optional: She said (that) she was tired.
- No tense change if the situation is still true:
- She said, “The sun is hot.”
- → She said the sun is hot.
