Practice
Direct and reported speech: report what someone said
Sign in to saveAt the reception desk, Ravi says, "I will call you tomorrow." The next day, you can pass on the message: Ravi said that he would call me the next day.
Report a short statement, question, or instruction by choosing a suitable reporting verb and changing the grammar only where the new context requires it.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
Mika asked where the spare cables were. /ˈmiːkə ɑːskt weə ðə speə ˈkeɪbəlz wɜː/
The short answer
Use direct speech for the exact words. To report the message, begin with a reporting verb such as said, told, or asked, then adjust pronouns, verb forms, word order, and time words when the new situation changes them.
Lina said, "I have finished the budget." Later, her colleague reported that she had finished the budget.
Why it works: The report uses Lina's name and a past reporting verb, so I becomes she and have finished can move back to had finished.
6 more examples
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The guide said, "Please use the side entrance."
The quotation shows the guide's exact words.
Not this:The guide
told us to usethe side entrance. What changes: The reported version gives the instruction without quotation marks. -
Lina said, "I have finished the budget."
Lina speaks about herself in the present moment of the original conversation.
Not this:Lina said that
she had finishedthe budget. What changes: In a later report with said, I becomes she and have finished can move back one tense. -
Mika asked, "Where are the spare cables?"
This is a direct question, so the auxiliary comes before the subject.
Not this:Mika asked
where the spare cables were. What changes: The reported clause has question-word order followed by normal subject-verb order. -
The coordinator asked, "Did you send the form?"
The direct question needs did because it asks about a past action.
Not this:The coordinator asked
whether I had sentthe form. What changes: Whether introduces the reported yes-or-no question, and the clause does not keep did-question order. -
The doctor said, "Take these tablets after food."
The direct words are an instruction.
Not this:The doctor
told me to takethe tablets after food. What changes: Told plus a person and to plus the verb reports an instruction. -
Ravi said, "I will call you tomorrow."
The words refer to Ravi's future and to the next day from the time he spoke.
Not this:Ravi said that
he would call me the next day. What changes: The report changes the speaker, listener, future form, and time expression for the later context.
Read the full guide
Start with the meaning, not a list of substitutions. Ask what the original speaker meant from the speaker's point of view. Then build a new sentence for the person receiving the report. That is why a pronoun, tense, or time word may change.
Decide whether to quote or report the message
Direct speech repeats the speaker's words and uses quotation marks. Reported speech carries the same message inside your own sentence. Choose direct speech when the exact wording matters. Choose reported speech when you need to explain what someone said.
The guide said, "Please use the side entrance."
The quotation preserves the guide's exact request.
The guide told us to use the side entrance.
This version reports the request as part of a new sentence.
Which form uses quotation marks: direct speech or reported speech?
Direct speech uses quotation marks around the speaker's exact words.
Report statements from the new point of view
A reported statement often begins with said and can include that. Change pronouns so they refer to the right person in the new conversation. With a past reporting verb, a present or present-perfect form often moves back when the report is later.
Lina said that she had finished the budget.
Lina becomes she because the report is about Lina. The past-perfect form places the finished work before the report.
Ravi said that he would call me the next day.
He, me, would, and the next day fit the later speaker and time.
Which reporting verb needs a listener after it: said or told?
Use told with a listener, as in Nia told us that the room was ready.
Keep a tense when the context supports it
Backshift is common after said or asked in the past, but it is not automatic. If the reporting verb is present, the original tense can stay. A fact that remains true can also stay in the present when that is clearer.
The sign says, "The museum closes at six."
Says is present, so a visitor can report: The sign says that the museum closes at six.
Our tutor said that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level.
The present form describes a general fact rather than a temporary event in the past.
Should every verb change after a past reporting verb?
No. Use the form that makes the time and meaning clear in the report.
Use statement order in reported questions
Start a reported yes-or-no question with if or whether. Keep a question word such as where or when for an information question. After that word, use normal clause order: subject first, then verb. Do not keep do, does, or did inside the reported clause.
Mika asked where the spare cables were.
Where remains, but the sentence is not where were the spare cables.
The coordinator asked whether I had sent the form.
Whether reports a yes-or-no question and the clause uses I had sent, not did I send.
Which word can introduce a reported yes-or-no question?
Use if or whether before the reported clause.
Report requests, instructions, and advice
Instructions are often reported with told, asked, or advised plus the listener and to plus the verb. Use not to plus the verb for a negative instruction. Choose the reporting verb that matches the force of the original words.
The doctor told me to take the tablets after food.
Told me identifies the person receiving the instruction, and to take reports the action.
The manager asked the team not to use the old link.
Not to use reports a negative request without copying the command word for word.
How do you report a negative instruction after told the team?
Use not to plus the verb: The manager told the team not to use the old link.
Check time and place words before you finish
Words such as today, tomorrow, here, and this can depend on when and where the original speaker talked. In a later report, change them only if the viewpoint has changed. The listener needs to understand the same time and place that the original speaker meant.
Priya said, "We are meeting here today."
If you report it from another place on the following day, you can say that Priya said they were meeting there that day.
Ravi said that he would call me the next day.
Tomorrow became the next day because the report happened after Ravi spoke.
When might here change to there in reported speech?
Change it when the report is given from a different place and there makes the reference clear.
Before you go
Remember this
First identify the kind of message: a statement, question, or instruction. Then choose the reporting verb and rebuild the clause for the new speaker and time. Reported questions use statement order, and reported instructions commonly use an object plus to plus the verb.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Direct and reported speech: report what someone said"
What is the difference between direct and reported speech?
Direct speech repeats a person's exact words inside quotation marks. Reported speech gives the message in a new sentence, often with said, told, or asked. The guide's side-entrance instruction shows how the same message can be quoted or reported.
The guide said, "Please use the side entrance."
Do I always need to change the tense in reported speech?
No. A past reporting verb often produces a backshift, as when Lina's present-perfect sentence becomes had finished. Keep a present tense when the reporting verb is present or when a general fact is still true and the present form is clearer.
The guide told us to use the side entrance.
When should I use said and told?
Use said before the message: Lina said that she had finished the budget. Use told when you name the listener: The doctor told me to take the tablets after food. Do not use told without saying who received the message.
Lina said, "I have finished the budget."
How do I report a question?
Use if or whether for a yes-or-no question, or keep the original question word for an information question. Then use normal statement order. Mika asked where the spare cables were, not where were the spare cables.
Lina said that she had finished the budget.
How do I report a request or instruction?
Use a reporting verb that fits the message, followed by the listener and to plus the verb. For a negative instruction, use not to plus the verb. The manager asked the team not to use the old link is one clear pattern.
Mika asked, "Where are the spare cables?"