REPORTED (INDIRECT) SPEECH.

IMPORTANT: WHEN WE REPORT “WHAT” IS BEING SAID RATHER THAN

“TO WHOM” IT IS BEING SAID, THE REPORTING VERB IS “SAY” (“He said that
it had been drizzling all day”). BUT IF WE MENTION THE PERSON TO WHOM
SOMETHING IS SAID (Either in the form of a pronoun –me, him, them, us etc- or a
noun –Mr. Smith, my mother, the parliament-) we normally use TELL (HE TOLD HIS
FAMILY THAT HE HAD LEFT HIS JOB), and only occasionally “say to” (“But she
said to me that they had cancelled the trip”). The use of “that” is optional.

Direct Speech  Indirect Speech

simple present  simple past
He said, “I go to school every He said (that) he went to school every day.
day.” He told me (that) he went to school every day.
simple past  past perfect
He said, “I went to school every He said (that) he had gone to school every day.
day.” He told Peter (that) he had gone to school every
day.
present perfect  past perfect
He said, “I have gone to school He said (that) he had gone to school every day.
every day.” She told everyone (that) he had gone to school
every day.
present progressive  past progressive
He said, “I am going to school He said (that) he was going to school every day.
every day.” He told Mary and Peter (that) he was going to
school every day.
past progressive  perfect progressive
He said, “I was going to school He said (that) he had been going to school every
every day.” day,
He told them (that) he had been going to school
every day.
future (will)  would + verb name
He said, “I will go to school every He said (that) he would go to school every day.
day.” He told me (that) he would go to school every
day.
future (going to)  present progressive
He said, “I am going to school He said (that) he is going to school every day.
every day.” He told Helen (that) he is going to school every
day.
past progressive
He said (that) he was going to school every day.
He told Mark (that) he was going to school
every day.
Direct Speech QUESTIONS  Indirect Speech QUESTIONS
auxiliary + verb name  simple past
He said, “Do you go to school He asked me if I went to school every day.*
every day?” He asked me where I went to school.
He said, “Where do you go to
school?”
imperative  infinitive
He said, “Go to school every He told me to go to school every day.
day.”

*Note than when a Yes/No question is being asked in direct speech, then a construction with if or whether
If a WH question is being asked, then use the WH to introduce the clause. Also note that with indirect spee
these are examples of embedded questions.

The situation changes if instead of the common said another part of the very to say is used. In that case the
tenses usually remain the same. Some examples of this situation are given below.

Direct Speech  Indirect Speech

simple present + simple present
He says, “I go to school every day.”
present perfect + simple present
He has said, “I go to school every
day.”
past progressive + simple past
He was saying, “I went to school
every day.”
future + simple present
He will say, “I go to school every
day.”
 simple present + simple present
He says (that) he goes to school every day.
 present perfect + simple present
He has said (that) he goes to school every
day.
 past progressive + simple past
He was saying (that) he went to school every
day.
past progressive + past perfect
He was saying (that) he had gone to school
every day.
 future + simple present
He will say (that) he goes to school every
day.

Another situation is the one in which modal constructions are used. If the verb said is used, then the form o
modal, or another modal that has a past meaning is used.
Direct Speech  Indirect Speech
can  could
He said, “I can go to school every He said (that) he could go to school every
day.” day.
may  might
He said, “I may go to school every He said (that) he might go to school every
day.” day.
might
He said, “I might go to school every
day.”
must  had to
He said, “I must go to school every He said (that) he had to go to school every
day.” day.
have to
He said, “I have to go to school every
day.”
should  should
He said, “I should go to school every He said (that) he should go to school every
day.” day.
ought to  ought to
He said, “I ought to go to school every He said (that) he ought to go to school
day.” every day.

Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives.The pronoun is changed in person from first

and second to third.

I becomes he or she.We becomes they. You becomes

he, him, her or them

Adjectives and Adverbs we change:

to that
this
these to those
now to then
today to that day
last night to on the previous night or the night before
tomorrow to the next day or the day after
here to there
yesterday to the previous day or the day before
thus to so; (in) that way

IMPORTANT: OTHER REPORTING VERBS APART FROM “SAY” AND “TELL”

EXERCISE 1

EXERCISE 2.
EXERCISE 3.

EXERCISE 4.

EXERCISE 5.
EXERCISE 6.

EXERCISE 7.
SOLUTIONS.

EXERCISE 1.

EXERCISE 2.

EXERCISE 3.

EXERCISE 4.
EXERCISE 5.

EXERCISE 6.

EXERCISE 7 (NEXT PAGE. SCROLL DOWN)