reported speech grammar lesson

The Reported Speech

Table of Contents

What is reported speech, direct speech vs reported speech.

Different types of reported speech

When you use reported speech, you either report:

A. Reporting statements

1- pronouns.

Do not change the tense if the introductory clause (i.e., the reporting verb) is in the present tense (e. g. He says ). Note, however, that you might have to change the form of the present tense verb (3rd person singular).

3. Modal verbs

4- Place, demonstratives, and time expressions

B. Reporting Questions

C. Reporting requests/commands

D. Other transformations

Main clauses connected with and/but, punctuation rules of the reported speech, can we omit that in the reported speech, list of reporting verbs.

Reported Speech

Perfect english grammar.

Reported Statements

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

• Direct speech: I like ice cream.
• Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)

But , if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

• Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

* doesn't change.

• Direct speech: The sky is blue.
• Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

Reported Questions

So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?

• Direct speech: Where do you live?
• Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
• Direct speech: Where is Julie?
• Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.

• Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?
• Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

• Direct speech: Close the window, please
• Or: Could you close the window please?
• Or: Would you mind closing the window please?
• Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.

• Direct speech: Please don't be late.
• Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders

• Direct speech: Sit down!
• Reported speech: She told me to sit down.

• Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.

• Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.
• Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

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Reported Speech: Important Grammar Rules and Examples

Reported speech is a very common aspect of the English language. You use it nearly every day, both in conversations and in writing. This reference covers key sections about reported speech, including what it is, examples, rules, and verb tense changes. You’ll also learn about modal verbs, changes in time and place, and different reporting verbs.

Reported Speech

What Is Reported Speech?

Reported speech is simply when you tell somebody what someone else said. You can do this in your writing, or in speech. Reported speech is very different from  direct speech , which is when you show what somebody said  in the exact way that they said it . In reported speech though, you do not need to quote somebody directly.

Instead, you use a reporting verb, such as ‘say’ or ‘ask’. These reporting verbs are used to report the speech to someone else. There are many different reporting verbs that can be used.

In short, reported speech is the linguistic technique that you use to tell somebody what someone else’s  direct speech  was. In reported speech though, you may need to make certain changes to the grammar to make the sentence make sense. Some examples below highlight what needs to be changed.

Reported Speech Examples

When using reported speech, you are usually talking about the past. The verbs, therefore, usually have to be in the past too.

For example :

• Direct speech:  I’ve lost my umbrella .
• Reported speech:  He said (that) he had lost his umbrella.

Another example :

• Direct speech:  She is doing her homework .
• Reported speech:  He said (that) she was doing her homework.

Table of Changes :

Reported Speech Rules

Verb tense changes in reported speech.

When the reporting verb is in the present tense, only small changes are needed.

• Direct speech:  I like dogs.
• Reported speech:  She  says  she likes dogs.

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, you need to change the tense of both the reporting verb and the main verb.

• Reported speech:  She  said  she  liked  dogs.

The tenses generally move backward as follows:

For sentences about the future, you also need to change the future verbs.

• Direct speech:  I shall leave in a moment.
• Reported speech:  She said that she would leave in a moment.

Here are the changes for future tenses:

Modal Verbs and Reported Speech

Modal verbs also change when used in reported speech.

• Direct speech:  Will I see you later?
• Reported speech:  He asked if he  would  see me later.

Some modal verbs do not need to change tense because they fit naturally.

• Direct speech:  I should go to the park.
• Reported speech:  He told me he  should  go to the park.

Here are both correct and incorrect examples of reported speech for clarity:

• Reported speech:  He told  me  he should go to the park.
• Reported speech:  He said he should go to the park.
• Incorrect reported speech:  He told he should go to the park.
• Incorrect reported speech:  He said me he should go to the park.

To correct these:

• Add ‘me’: He told  me  he should go to the park.
• Remove ‘me’ or add ‘to’: He said he should go to the park or He said  to  me he should go to the park.

Direct and Indirect Speech

Changes in time and place in reported speech.

References to  time  and  place often need to change when you use indirect speech. Here is a useful guide to these changes:

No Change in Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

In some cases,  verb tenses  do not change when you report speech indirectly. Here are the key instances:

• When the introductory verb is in the present , present perfect , or future .
• When the reported sentence deals with a  fact  or  general truth .
• When the reported sentence contains a  time clause .
• If the verb of the sentence is in the  unreal past  (the  second  or the  third conditional ).
• The  subjunctive  stays unchanged in the  subordinate clause .
• Had better ,  could ,  would ,  used to ,  should ,  might ,  ought to , and  mustn’t  remain unchanged.
• If the speaker reports  something immediately  or  soon after it was said .

Reporting Verbs in Indirect Speech

Reporting verbs are crucial in indirect speech. Here is a list categorized by their usage:

• Basic Verbs : Tell, say, ask
• Verb + that + clause : Complain, deny, explain, exclaim, remark, promise, boast, inform somebody, claim, agree, suggest
• Verb + to + infinitive : Agree, offer, refuse, demand, threaten, promise, claim
• Verb + indirect object + to + infinitive : Advise, allow, beg, command, encourage, forbid, invite, want, instruct, permit, urge, order, remind, warn
• Verb + “ing” form : Admit (to), accuse somebody of, apologize for, boast about/of, complain to somebody of, deny, insist on, suggest
• Verb + how : Explain to somebody

Reported Questions

When converting questions from direct to indirect speech, you follow rules similar to those for statements.  Verbs  used include inquire, wonder, want to know, ask.

Reported Commands and Requests

Commands and requests  in Indirect Speech are formed using the  to-infinitive  and  not to-infinitive . Common reporting verbs include order, shout, demand, warn, beg, command, tell, insist, beseech , threaten, implore, ask, propose, forbid.

Pronoun and tense changes  are needed when shifting from direct to indirect speech.

Reported Speech Video

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Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions

👉 Quiz 1 / Quiz 2

Advanced Grammar Course

What is reported speech?

“Reported speech” is when we talk about what somebody else said – for example:

• Direct Speech: “I’ve been to London three times.”
• Reported Speech: She said she’d been to London three times.

There are a lot of tricky little details to remember, but don’t worry, I’ll explain them and we’ll see lots of examples. The lesson will have three parts – we’ll start by looking at statements in reported speech, and then we’ll learn about some exceptions to the rules, and finally we’ll cover reported questions, requests, and commands.

So much of English grammar – like this topic, reported speech – can be confusing, hard to understand, and even harder to use correctly. I can help you learn grammar easily and use it confidently inside my Advanced English Grammar Course.

In this course, I will make even the most difficult parts of English grammar clear to you – and there are lots of opportunities for you to practice!

Backshift of Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

When we use reported speech, we often change the verb tense backwards in time. This can be called “backshift.”

Here are some examples in different verb tenses:

Reported Speech (Part 1) Quiz

Exceptions to Backshift in Reported Speech

Now that you know some of the reported speech rules about backshift, let’s learn some exceptions.

There are two situations in which we do NOT need to change the verb tense.

No backshift needed when the situation is still true

For example, if someone says “I have three children” (direct speech) then we would say “He said he has three children” because the situation continues to be true.

If I tell you “I live in the United States” (direct speech) then you could tell someone else “She said she lives in the United States” (that’s reported speech) because it is still true.

When the situation is still true, then we don’t need to backshift the verb.

But when the situation is NOT still true, then we DO need to backshift the verb.

Imagine your friend says, “I have a headache.”

• If you immediately go and talk to another friend, you could say, “She said she has a headache,” because the situation is still true
• If you’re talking about that conversation a month after it happened, then you would say, “She said she had a headache,” because it’s no longer true.

No backshift needed when the situation is still in the future

We also don’t need to backshift to the verb when somebody said something about the future, and the event is still in the future.

Here’s an example:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Friday .”
• “She said she ‘ll call me on Friday”, because Friday is still in the future from now.
• It is also possible to say, “She said she ‘d (she would) call me on Friday.”
• Both of them are correct, so the backshift in this case is optional.

Let’s look at a different situation:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Tuesday .”
• “She said she ‘d  call me on Tuesday.” I must backshift because the event is NOT still in the future.

Review: Reported Speech, Backshift, & Exceptions

Quick review:

• Normally in reported speech we backshift the verb, we put it in a verb tense that’s a little bit further in the past.
• when the situation is still true
• when the situation is still in the future

Reported Requests, Orders, and Questions

Those were the rules for reported statements, just regular sentences.

What about reported speech for questions, requests, and orders?

For reported requests, we use “asked (someone) to do something”:

• “Please make a copy of this report.” (direct speech)
• She asked me to make a copy of the report. (reported speech)

For reported orders, we use “told (someone) to do something:”

• “Go to the bank.” (direct speech)
• “He told me to go to the bank.” (reported speech)

The main verb stays in the infinitive with “to”:

• She asked me to make a copy of the report. She asked me  make  a copy of the report.
• He told me to go to the bank. He told me  go  to the bank.

For yes/no questions, we use “asked if” and “wanted to know if” in reported speech.

• “Are you coming to the party?” (direct)
• He asked if I was coming to the party. (reported)
• “Did you turn off the TV?” (direct)
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.” (reported)

The main verb changes and back shifts according to the rules and exceptions we learned earlier.

Notice that we don’t use do/does/did in the reported question:

• She wanted to know did I turn off the TV.
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.

For other questions that are not yes/no questions, we use asked/wanted to know (without “if”):

• “When was the company founded?” (direct)
• She asked when the company was founded.” (reported)
• “What kind of car do you drive?” (direct)
• He wanted to know what kind of car I drive. (reported)

Again, notice that we don’t use do/does/did in reported questions:

• “Where does he work?”
• She wanted to know  where does he work.
• She wanted to know where he works.

Also, in questions with the verb “to be,” the word order changes in the reported question:

• “Where were you born?” ([to be] + subject)
• He asked where I was born. (subject + [to be])
• He asked where was I born.

Reported Speech (Part 2) Quiz

Learn more about reported speech:

• Reported speech: Perfect English Grammar
• Reported speech: BJYU’s

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I’ve got one last little exercise for you, and that is to write sentences using reported speech. Think about a conversation you’ve had in the past, and write about it – let’s see you put this into practice right away.

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Forming reported speech

• Direct speech: “I’m not playing football.” Reported later: “He said that he wasn’t playing football.”
• Direct speech: Jane: “I don’t like living here.” (Jane is referring to herself) Reported speech: Jane said (that) she didn’t like living here. (The pronoun she refers to Jane )
• Direct speech: “I like this car.” Reported speech: He said (that) he liked that car.
• Direct speech: “I went to Tokyo last week .” Reported speech: She said (that) she’d been to Tokyo the week before .

We use reported speech to tell someone what another person said:

Jim says to you:

“I don’t feel well.” “I can’t drive.” “My parents have gone on holiday.” “I’m going out now so you will have to wait until I get back.” “I’ll help you.”

Later, you tell your friend what Jim said:

Jim said (that) he didn’t feel well. He said (that) he couldn’t drive. He said (that) his parents had gone on holiday. He said (that) he was going out now so I would have to wait until he got back. He said that he would help me .

Additional points

• Direct speech: “My car is bigger than yours.”
• Reported speech: He said his car is/was bigger than mine.
• Direct speech: “The earthquake happened at half past seven.”
• Reported speech: The radio said that the earthquake  happened at half past seven.
• Direct speech: “I should go to the dentist.”
• Reported speech: He said that he should go to the dentist.

Pronunciation

See the phonemic chart for IPA symbols used below.

If we use that  in reported speech, we pronounce the weak form.

• I said that he’d do it: /ðət/

Related grammar points

Reported Questions Reporting Verbs Say and Tell

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16 comments

I give the students comic strips from the funny pages, and they have to summarize the direct speech. There are always lots of questions, and that makes especially good practice.

I ask students to tell their partner three secrets. Then, this student tells other students in the class (a good way to explain the word: gossip!). This activity helps students practice reporting but in a fun way!

I ask students to think of a fun sentence. I put them all in a line and the student at the end whispers their sentence to the one beside them, this student then reports the sentence to the following student, and so on. The last student says the sentence aloud and we see if they did it correctly… it is like the “telefono descompuesto” in Spanish.

I put students in groups of three. Two in the group are a couple quarrelling, but who will not speak to each other. The middle man/woman receives information from one and uses reported speech to relay the message(s).

I showed some slides about a fire at a petrol station and the group had to make up a conversation between two witnesses to the fire. We then wrote it as a newspaper report.

I show them some debate shows on the Internet after advising them to make notes of the main points. Then I ask them to report what different participants opined. SBS insight has nice discussions to be used for this purpose.

If you have the resources, you can play a short listening/video about an important event, news, etc. Students then have to report to the teacher what they heard.

I have students make 10 questions they would ask their favourite actor or actress. Then, they use these questions to interview another partner who pretends to be that famous person. He or she will answer those questions the same way the famous person would. Students end up reporting their answers to the teacher. In that way, they can practice reported speech in an interesting form.

I did a “Find someone who…” mingling activity with my students and then divided the group into two teams. I asked a member from the first team to report one of the replies to a question they had asked. If their reply was correctly put into reported speech, they got a point for their team. I repeated the process until I had covered all the responses from the activity. The team with the most points won the game and was rewarded with cream eggs!

Cut a dialogue into four parts. Paste it on four walls. Students work in pairs. One of them is the messenger and the other one is a receiver. The messenger runs to the walls and remembers the sentences, comes back and narrates the same to the receiver.

I prepare cards with several questions in different tenses, such as:

“What were you doing yesterday at 6?” “How long have you been studying English?” “Will you do your homework for tomorrow?”

I put my students in pairs and ask them to interview each other using the questions on the cards. Once they’ve got their answers, they change partners and share everything they’ve learnt about the previous student.

I tell students to think about what happened to them before they came to class. For example, “what did your mom, dad, husband, wife say to them? They write down the direct speech and then the reported speech.

I ask one of my students to introduce him/herself (name, age, hobbies)… and ask other students to take notes. When they are finished, I ask “What did he say?”

Hello, I’m not a teacher, I’m an ESL class student. So, I’m here to ask you guys a question about wich is still making me to be confused. I asked my teacher, ”if you say, ”I am a teacher”, should I make it a reported speech as ” she said she was a teacher?”. she answered that I needed to say ,” she said she is a teacher”. One more thing: I found a sentence in worksheet written , ”He told his birthday is next week”. Is it correct? I thought it had to be ” he told his birhday would be next week” So, is this modern English rule? Is that a difference? Can you pleeease, explain and help me to make sure to correct this hesitation.

Thanks for your questions.

1. “She said she was a teacher” and “She said she is a teacher” are both correct. Often we don’t change the tense if the fact that we are reporting is still true. So, if it is still true that she is a teacher, then she can report it with “She said she is a teacher” (see Additional point number 1 above).

2. “He told his birthday is next week”. First of all, if you use “told” then you must add a direct object, like this: “He told me his birthday is next week”.

Now, let’s look at the different ways we can use reported speech for this. If the person says “My birthday is next week” then we can report it like this: – He told me his birthday was next week – He told me his birthday is next week (it’s still true so we don’t need to change the tense)

If the person says “My birthday will be next week” then we can report it like this: – He told me his birthday would be next week.

I hope that helps!

This is what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot!

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Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Exercises on reported speech.

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

• present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
• place and time expressions
• tenses (backshift)

→ more on statements in reported speech

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

Also note that you have to:

• transform the question into an indirect question
• use the interrogative or if / whether

→ more on questions in reported speech

→ more on requests in reported speech

Additional Information and Exeptions

Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:

• main clauses connected with and / but
• tense of the introductory clause
• reported speech for difficult tenses
• exeptions for backshift
• requests with must , should , ought to and let’s

→ more on additional information and exeptions in reported speech

Statements in Reported Speech

• no backshift – change of pronouns
• no backshift – change of pronouns and places
• with backshift
• with backshift and change of place and time expressions

Questions in Reported Speech

Requests in reported speech.

• Exercise 1 – requests (positive)
• Exercise 2 – requests (negative)
• Exercise 3 – requests (mixed)

Mixed Exercises on Reported Speech

• Exercise on reported speech with and without backshift

Grammar in Texts

• „ The Canterville Ghost “ (highlight direct speech and reported speech)

Reported Speech

If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options:

• We can use the person's exact words - in quotation marks "..." if we are writing ( direct speech ).
• We can change the person's words into our own words ( reported speech ).

In this lesson we learn about reported speech , the structure that we use when we report what another person has said, and reported speech rules.

Now we will look at:

• Reported Statements
• Time and Place
• Reported Questions
• Reported Requests
• Reported Orders And then you can check your understanding of reported speech with...
• Reported Speech Quiz

Reported speech is called "indirect speech" by some people. Other people regard reported speech simply as one form of indirect speech. Other forms are, for example:

• questions-within-questions: Can you tell me if they are expensive?
• mental processes: He believes that politics is a dirty game.

Reported Speech

Learn how to use  reported speech in English. Reported speech is also known as  indirect speech  and is used to tell somebody else what another person said. Using  reported speech in English can sometimes be difficult for non-native speakers as we (usually) change the verbs, pronouns and specific times.

Keep reading to understand how to use reported speech and download this free English lesson!

Let’s study reported speech !

Reported speech vs. direct speech.

When we want to tell somebody else what another person said, we can use either direct speech  or  reported speech .

When we use d irect speech, we use the same words but use quotation marks, “_”. For example:

Scott said, “I am coming to work.  I will be late because there is a lot of traffic now.”

When we use r eported speech, we usually change the verbs, specific times, and pronouns. For example:

Scott said that he was coming to work.  He said that he would be late because there was a lot of traffic at that time.

How do we use reported speech ?

Since reported speech is usually talking about the past, we usually change the verbs into the past. It is always necessary to change the verbs when the action has finished or is untrue.

We do not always change the verbs.  When you are reporting an action that is still current or true, it is not necessary to change the verb tense. For example:    

How old are you?  “ I am twenty-seven years old .” She said she is twenty-seven years old.

We usually follow the rules below.  When we are reporting speech, we are usually talking about the past; therefore, we change the verbs into the past.

Reporting Questions

We use a special form when we report questions:  

WH-Questions:    

Where is + Tom’s house ?   He asked where Tom’s house + was.

Where does Tom live?  He asked where Tom lived.

Yes/No Questions:  

Does Tom live in Miami?  She asked if Tom  lived in Miami.

Is Tom happy?  She asked if Tom was happy.

Say vs. Tell

Say Something

June:  “I love English .”

June said (that) she loved English.

Tell Someone Something

June:  “I love English.”

June told me (that) she loved English.

Modal Verbs and Reported Speech

Must, might, could, would, should , and ought to stay the same in re ported   s peech .  We usually change may to might .

Infinitives and Reported Speech

Infinitives  stay the same in reported speech:

“ I am going to the store to buy milk.”  He said he was going to the store to buy milk.

We also use infinitives when reporting orders and commands, especially when using tell .

“ Do  your homework.   Don’t use a dictionary!!”  He told me to do to my homework and not to use a dictionary.

Reporting Suggestions

When we are reporting another speakers suggestions, we can use a special form with suggest, recommend, or propose .

SUGGEST/ RECOMMEND/PROPOSE   +   (*THAT)   +    SUBJECT PRONOUN   +   **V1

SUGGEST/ RECOMMEND/PROPOSE   +   V1 + ING

“I think you should visit Viscaya.”     →  He suggested we visit Viscaya.  He suggested visiting Viscaya.

“Try to get there early to get good seats.”    →   He recommended we get there early to get good seats.

*That is often omitted in speech.

**The verb is always in the base form. We do not use third person.

Reporting Statements

A reported statement  begins with an introductory clause and is followed by the ‘information’ clause.  The speaker may choose different words, but the meaning remains unchanged.  Some formal words to introduce a reported statement or response are: declared, stated, informed, responded, replied, etc.

“I don’t agree with these new rules. I am not going to accept this change!” →  He declared that he was in disagreement with the new rules and stated that he would not accept the changes.

Free English Lesson PDF Download

Reported Speech ~ Exercises and Practice

A. Change each direct speech example into the reported speech . The first one has been done for you.

• Michelle said, “I love my Chihuahua, Daisy.”

Michelle said that she loved her Chihuahua, Daisy.

2. Republicans said, “We don’t support Obama’s plan to raise taxes.”

__________________________________________________________.

3.With her mouth full, Sarah said, “I am eating mashed potatoes.”

4. John Lee said, “This year, I will not pay my taxes.”

5. Lebron said, “I am going to win the championship next year.”

6. Patty said, “I can’t stomach another hamburger. I ate one yesterday.”

B. Rewrite the sentences/questions below using reported / indirect speech . Always change the tense, even though it is not always necessary. You can use ‘said’, ‘told me’ , or ‘asked’ .

1. Sarah:   “I am in the shower right now.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

2. John:   “I dropped my son off at school this morning.”

3. Samuel: “I am going to the beach with my sister this afternoon.”

4. John: “Jessica will call you later.”

5. The girls: “Who does John live with?”

6. Our classmate: “Did we have any homework last night?”

7. Sarah: “I am moving to Tokyo because I want to learn Japanese.”

8. John: “Why do you have an umbrella?”

9. The students: “Our teacher can’t find her books anywhere.”

10. Sarah and Jillian: “Is John British?”

11. Steve: “I’m going to the beach so that I can play volleyball.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

12. Ann: “Where is the bathroom?”

13. My parents: “What are you going to do with your life?”

14. Sarah: “I ate breakfast before I came to school.”

C. Your friend Megan is very nosy (she always wants to know what’s going on) so she constantly asks questions about your life and the lives of your friends. Rewrite her questions using the reported questions form. The first one has been done for you .

1. Why do you date Ryan?

She asked me why I dated Ryan.

2. How much money do you make at your new job?

________________________________________________________________________________

3. Does Ryan think I’m pretty?

4. Where is your favorite restaurant?

5. Do I look good in these jeans?

6. Can I borrow some twenty bucks?

D. Your American grandfather is telling you about how things used to be. Using the reported speech , tell your friends what he said.

“In the 1930s, people were very poor. They ate watery soup and hard bread. Many people lost their jobs. To make matters worse, a horrible drought ruined most of the farmland in the American midwest. People went to California to look for a better life. They picked strawberries in the hot California sun.”

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If you have any questions about English grammar, please contact us via email us or just comment below. I hope this lesson helped you understand how to use reported speech in English.

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Verbs and tenses

• 1 Verbs and tenses
• 2 Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article
• 3 Past perfect aspect – article
• 4 Past perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 5 Present perfect aspect – article
• 6 Present perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 7 Reported speech – tips and activities
• 8 Reported speech 2 – article
• 9 The passive in English – article
• 10 The passive in English – tips and activities
• 11 Modal verbs 1 – article
• 12 Modal verbs 1 – tips and activities
• 13 Modal verbs 2 – article
• 14 Modal verbs 2 – tips and activities

Reported speech – tips and activities

By Kerry G. Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield

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Tips and ideas from Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on teaching reported speech.

Introduction

Reported speech is a very rich grammar area to teach because:

• It can involve considerable manipulation of form.
• It’s a very easy piece of grammar to locate and exploit with texts.

The activities here are divided into different kinds of drill, ways of exploiting texts and analysis.

Activity: Basic substitution

At it’s most basic, you can simply read out a sentence and ask the students to rephrase it beginning with He said …/She said…  For example:

• T: I don’t like it.
• Ss: He said he didn’t like it.
• T: I hate it.
• Ss: He said he hated it.

This can be made a little more interesting in the following ways:

Activity: Chain reports

Version 1 The following activity is a variation of the well-known 'broken telephone'. Whisper a sentence in English to a student. That student then whispers it to another and so on until the last student has to say aloud what was said originally.

Version 2 If the above seems too easy, ask students to alternate reported speech/direct speech. If they hear it in reported speech they put it back to direct speech and vice versa. For example:

• T: I like it.
• S1: He said he liked it.
• S2: I like it.

Activity: I didn't get that. What did she say?

This is a quick question drill. Ask a student a question. After they answer, ask another student what was said. For example:

• T: Tomas, how did you get to class today?
• S1: I came by car.
• T: Sorry, I didn’t get that. Yvonne, what did Tomas say?
• S2: He said he had come by car.

Activity: Mingle

Prepare a series of cards/slips of paper, each with a different sentence. Here are some examples:

Remember me? We met at last year’s party.

Create enough cards so that each student has one. You can repeat the same sentences on other cards.

Explain that you want the students to role-play the following situation. They are all at a very formal cocktail party. Everybody must circulate and talk to each other. The trick is they must say what is on their card and as little else as possible. If you have a CD player or cassette player in the classroom, you could play some quiet music in the background during the mingle.

After five minutes (or however long it takes for most students to have spoken to each other) tell everyone to sit down again. Ask people to report back on what other people told them, using reported speech.

Activity: Text clarifications

This is another teacher-led activity that also focuses on listening skills. It uses an oral text generated by the teacher. For this activity you need to prepare the following:

• a short anecdote (2 minutes long) related to the topic that you are already doing in class (e.g. if you are doing holidays, make it about holidays);
• four or five sentences that contradict things in your anecdote.

Write the sentences on the board. Read them out to the students. Now explain that you are going to tell a story, but that some of the facts in the story are different. The students must listen carefully. When they hear a fact that is different from those on the board, someone must interrupt you and seek clarification, using the following structure:

Excuse me, but didn’t you say that …? (include what you had said earlier, the facts that are on the board).

Here is an example: T writes on the board:

• I live in a big house.
• I’m married.
• I don’t have any children.

The teacher reads out the sentences and then she gives the instructions for the activity. She begins the story:

• T: Well, the other day I was in my flat. It’s a small flat in the city centre …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you lived in a big house?
• T: Ah yes, I did say that. So, it was in my big house. My boyfriend was at work …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you were married?
• T: Of course. I’m married, I meant to say my husband was at work and the baby was crying …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you didn’t have any children?
• T: That’s right. It isn’t my baby, it’s my sister’s baby.

Activity: Reported interviews

For this activity, search around the internet for an interview. This kind of activity works best if the interviewee is someone that your class is interested in, or at least someone they have heard about.

• Select some of the interview from the webpage and paste into a word document. Make copies for every two students in the class. In class, divide the students into pairs.
• Distribute the interview and ask them to work together and make a reported version it.
• Give them a word limit (150 words). When they have finished their draft report, have them swap reports with another pair. Ask them to reduce the report now to 100 words. Circulate and help.

Activity: Reporting back – famous interviews

In this activity, students create the interview themselves. Divide students into groups. Tell the groups that they must do the following:

• Decide on a famous person (living or dead) who they would like to interview.
• Nominate ONE person in that group to be the famous person.
• Once groups have nominated their famous people ask those people to come up to the front and form a new group.
• Explain that the famous people are all on a panel to be interviewed by the class, who are journalists.
• Give the journalists some time to think of questions. During this time the famous people can talk about what they are going to say.
• When the journalists are ready, begin moderating the interview by asking for questions.
• Once all the famous people have answered the questions send them back to their original seats.
• Now ask everybody to write a report with at least two things they remember from the interview. They should include examples of reported speech in their report. Ask students to compare their reports in pairs.
• Circulate and help. At the end, ask different pairs to read out their reports.

Activity: The news

Prepare for this activity by going to a news website and looking around for short news stories with examples of reported speech. Don’t worry about not finding any, there are usually lots.

• Select examples of these texts and create a small worksheet. First, ask students to read the excerpts and tick the stories they already know about.
• Then ask them to speculate as what the direct speech was. Tell them to write in direct speech the reported speech. They can add more detail if they like.
• At the end, have different students read their quotes and ask the others if they can see what story it came from.

Activity: Shades of meaning 1

The choice of whether or not to 'backshift' the tenses in reported speech often has to do with the reporter’s interpretation. You can ask students to compare the meanings between two examples of reported speech (minimal pair sentences).

For example:

See the section on tense choices in reported and reporting clauses for further examples that you could use and explanation of the differences in meaning.

Activity: Shades of meaning 2

You can also do the above exercise with examples from the news stories. Give the example and ask students to speculate why the tense was chosen. For example:

Why not … that Madonna owed them …?

Activity: What I think and don't think

This activity is a dictation activity. Prepare some sentences that are opinions on a certain topic that you’ve covered recently in class. There should be a mixture of affirmative and negative sentences. Here are some examples on the topic of ART for an intermediate class (some of these are stronger opinions – you may want to change them to reflect your own opinion).

• A lot of modern art isn’t very good.
• Art galleries are great places for conversation.
• There aren’t many famous painters from my country.
• Graffiti isn’t art.
• Art shouldn’t be only for rich people.
• Some art is worth far too much money.

Explain that you are going to dictate these sentences, but that the students must write down a report of each one beginning with The teacher thinks  … or The teacher doesn’t think … (see grammar explanation on negatives in reporting for when to use which stem). The above sentences would give the following:

The teacher thinks art galleries are great places for conversation.

Ask students to compare their answers in pairs, and then decide if they agree or disagree with you. Ask different groups to report back and have a short open class discussion.

Activity: Reacting to the news

Prepare a series of slips of paper each with a sentence beginning You’ve been asked to… or You’ve been told to… Prepare a mixture of good and bad things. For example:

• You’ve been asked to work next Saturday morning.
• You’ve been told to not drink any more wine.
• You’ve been asked to present an award at a film festival.
• You’ve been told to go the principal’s office.
• You’ve been asked to participate in a television show.
• You’ve been told to stay in bed for three weeks.

Pre-teach common social expressions for reacting to good or bad news, for example:

• That’s great!
• Congratulations!
• That’s good news
• That’s too bad.
• Oh dear. Oh no.
• That’s terrible!

Distribute the slips of paper to the students and ask them to read them silently. Then tell them to move around the class and 1) tell other students what they’ve been asked or told to do. 2) react to what other students tell them.

As a follow-up, you could ask them to work in groups and transcribe what they think was probably originally said.

Activity: Conspiracy theories

Prepare a small handout with the following 'claims' on it.

Elvis lives? It’s claimed that the singer Elvis is still alive today.

Think of four or five other conspiracy claims that you could add (you can add local ones too). Include one or two which are more 'believable' than the others (maybe even true ones). Write them in a similar style (i.e. headline, then the sentence stem It is claimed/said/believed that … ). Make one copy of this handout for every three or four students in the class.

Divide students into groups and give each group a card. They must read the card and then assign a score (0 to 5) to each theory 0 = we don’t believe this at all to 5 = we believe this is true . Do some feedback at the end, then collect the handouts. Ask students to try and rewrite from memory what the theories were, paying attention to the reporting structure.

Activity: Drill sergeant

This is another simple drill for reporting orders. Explain that you are going to be a drill sergeant: you are going to give four different students orders and then ask someone to report back what was said. Give short simple orders to different students in a brisk, sergeant-like voice. For example:

• Put down your pen!
• Listen to me!
• Pick up your bag!
• Answer your mobile phone!

The students must carry out the orders. Once you’ve given orders to four students, ask a fifth: What did I just say? The fifth student must report the orders (e.g. You told Maria to put down her pen, you told Giovanni to listen to you. ). If they can do it correctly, they become the drill sergeant.

This is a drill but with a role play element (that of being the sergeant) – to make the role even more effective you could use a prop, like a ruler or some kind of stick to wave around. You then give the prop to the next drill sergeant. Make sure nobody gets hit with the prop though!

Activity: things I was asked/told to do

To provide more practice in reporting structures with ask/tell, ask students to make a list of things they were asked or told to do in different situations. For example:

• when they were a child
• when they first started learning English
• in their first job
• on their first day at school/university

Tell students to compare with each other once they have written their lists. Then ask different students to report back.

Activity: Survivors mingle

This is a group role play, where students imagine that they have survived a plane accident and are stranded on a desert island. Prepare a series of cards/slips of paper, each with a different suggestion for the situation. Here are some examples:

• We should just wait for someone to come and find us.
• Why don’t we explore the island?
• Let’s get wood for a fire.
• We should all stay together. There are dangerous animals around here.
• I think you and I should try to escape together.
• Let’s build a boat.
• We should try and fix the plane.

(you can make your own. Begin with Why don’t we… Let’s …. We should…) Create enough cards so that each student has one. You can repeat the same sentences on other cards.

Explain that you want the students to role play the situation described above (to make it more 'real' you could elaborate on the story of how they got there). Everybody must circulate and talk to each other. They must say what is on their card and as little else as possible.

After five minutes (or however long it takes for most students to have spoken to each other) tell everyone to sit down again. Ask people to report back on what other people told them, using one of the following reporting verbs: suggest, advise or recommend .

Here is a variation which lets the students choose more of the language. Set up the scene, then give the students the sentence stems: Why don’t we … Let’s …. We should … and ask them to write a suggestion. Give them one of the above as an example. Then continue the activity.

Activity: Election pledges

To practise the structures following verbs like promise and offer , you can ask students to imagine they are speechwriters for a candidate for President or Prime Minister of their country. They must prepare a very short speech. You could give them the following outline to help:

• I know that …
• So I promise to … and to …
• If we are elected, my government pledges* to …
• My opponent has promised to …
• But we all know that …
• Together we can …

* pre-teach pledge – it has the same reporting structure as promise, or offer

Students can write this in groups. Then have different students read out their election speeches. Who is the most convincing?

• British English
• Reference Material
• Reported speech

Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article

Past perfect aspect – article

Past perfect aspect – tips and activities

Present perfect aspect – article, present perfect aspect – tips and activities.

Reported speech 2 – article

The passive in english – article, the passive in english – tips and activities, modal verbs 1 – article, modal verbs 1 – tips and activities, modal verbs 2 – article, modal verbs 2 – tips and activities, related articles.

Articles, tips and activities on teaching adjectives, from our panel of expert authors.

An article by Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on approaches to teaching reported speech.

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Reported speech activities

• Games and Role Plays

Grammar - reported speech

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson with reported speech activities are to:

• practise reported speech in various situations;
• explore reported speech with audio recordings and film clips;
• encourage creative thinking in conversations.

With this lesson plan, students watch film clips to practise reported statements and questions . They listen to a recording and discuss professions based on what the people said. Students also work on reported speech and reporting verbs by playing a quest game . In addition, they read situations and use reporting verbs to explain what caused them and continue conversations using different reporting verbs.

WHAT DID THEY SAY?

In this activity, students practise reported statements and questions . They watch film clips and complete sentences to report what the actors said (e.g. They aren’t my friends. — He said they weren’t his friends. ). You can also ask them to guess details about the situations by answering some questions (e.g. Why did the people say the things? ).  

GUESS THE PROFESSION

As part of the lesson on reported speech activities, students listen to a recording in which people talk about their professions. They discuss what profession each person has and use reported statements to give reasons for their answers based on what the people said.

WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?

In this task, students get cards with questions . Student A asks the question from the card but instead of reading the word in brackets, they say “beep” (e.g. I’m taking the car. Have you seen my (keys)? ). Student B guesses the word in brackets by reporting the question which includes the answer (e.g. I think you asked me if I’d seen your car. ). Then, they swap roles . 

In this exercise, students practise reporting verbs (e.g. inform, convince, promise , etc.) by playing a quest game . It consists of making choices based on a situation presented on a card. First, students complete gaps using the words in brackets. Then, they read a situation and decide what to do next. Students can play the game a few times choosing different scenarios. 

TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED

Students work on reporting verbs as part of reported speech activities. They read different situations and use verbs (e.g. accuse, remind, deny , etc.) to report what someone might have said to cause them (e.g. The police officer was furious after talking to the main suspect. – The suspect denied being involved and said he had an alibi. ). 

CONVERSATIONS

Students work with a partner in this activity. They choose one statement and continue the conversation for as long as they can using reporting verbs (e.g. promise, refuse, suggest , etc.). Students don’t have to be too serious . When they are out of ideas, they pick another statement to start a new conversation .

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Grammar lesson plan: Reported speech, for levels C1+

Though a fastidious grammar point, accurate use of reported speech is essential to daily life. C1 students will have a strong grasp of this form. However, they may not know all the conventions.

Write this sentence on the whiteboard:

“In a village at the base of a mountain, there is a barber who cuts the hair of everyone who does not cut their own hair. Does the barber cut his own hair?”

Set a two minute time limit and have the students discuss in pairs. Walk around the room and ask them questions like:

TEACHER (to A) : What did B say in response to this question?

A : B said that the barber gets his hair cut by another barber in the neighboring village.

TEACHER (to B) : What did A say?

B : A thinks that if the barber were bald then he wouldn’t need to cut his hair.

Just remember: whenever Direct Speech is changed into Reported Speech, move the tense back one position.

Present Simple

“He is here.” →

He said he was here.

is + -ing → was + -ing

“He is running late.” →

He said he was running late.

Past Simple

Was – had been

was/were + -ing →

had been + -ing

modal of certainty

Will → would

Can → could

“I can’t do it.” →

He said he couldn’t do it.

3. Practice activity

Students work in pairs and are assigned  A (job interview) / B (first date). They ask each other questions and record each other’s responses. Ask students to ensure their responses are brief but creative. After each has recorded their partner’s responses, pairs work together to convert their responses from Direct Speech to Reported Speech.

Use these questions, and accelerated learners to create their own questions if they prefer.

Job interview questions

First date questions

What was the last job you had?

Have you ever been in a long term relationship?

What positions have you had?

Do you smoke?

Possible responses:

Job interview responses

First date responses

“I worked in online marketing.”

“In my twenties, I was in a long-term relationship for five years.”

“I was an administrative assistant. Now I’m a marketing consultant.”

“I used to smoke, but I gave it up.”

Possible Reported Speech responses:

B said she had worked in online marketing.

A had been in a long-term relationship in her twenties.

B had been an administrative assistant. Now she said she was a marketing consultant.

A confessed to having been a smoker.

Here’s a breakdown of how pair interaction should go:

A asks B first date questions .

B asks A interview questions .

B responds in Direct Speech . A records the answer.

A responds in Direct Speech . B records the answer.

A rewrites B’s answer in Reported Speech .

B rewrites A’s answer in Reported Speech .

Teacher monitors and corrects answers.

4. Production activity: “While You Were Away”

Students write a script beginning with “While you were away…”

In new pairs, students create a list of messages that they recorded for their partner while he/she was away.

Example: (can be given to students as a model and read aloud)

FRED : “Hi Elizabeth. It’s Fred from the office. Is Jackie there?”

ELIZABETH : “No, I’m afraid she’s popped out for a moment. Can I take a message?”

F : “Yes. Do you mind telling her that the meeting tomorrow has been pushed from ten to one. She doesn’t need to bring lunch as the company will provide it.”

E : “Meeting is now at one and lunch will be provided.”

F : “Perfect. Oh, and one more thing.”

E : “Sure.”

F: “Remind Jackie not to forget her trainers. A few of us are going on a run after work.”

E : “Remember trainers. Got it.”

F : “Thanks a million, Lizzie. Bye-bye!”

E : “Bye, Fred.”

Part 1: Their main task is to compose what the caller is saying. The person taking the message doesn’t have a complex speaking part. “Can I take a message?” is all that they need to say.

Part 2: After that, pairs in the classroom exchange their scripts. They must take the script and write a new one. This script is between the person who recorded the messages and the person for whom the messages are.

ELIZABETH : “Hi Jackie! I’ve got a few messages for you from Fred.”

JACKIE : “What are they?”

E : “Well, Fred said that the meeting tomorrow had been pushed from ten to one. He also said that they would provide lunch.”

J : “Excellent. Free lunch! Anything else?”

E : “Yes. Fred asked me to remind you to bring your trainers because a few of the office staff would be going on a run after work.”

J : “You’re an angel, Lizzie. Thanks!”

E : “No problem.”

5. Wrap-up:

Assign some homework where they must use the following sentences in conversations:

“So what you’re saying is…”

“I heard you say you like ice-skating…” Etc.

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•   Exercise - The present continuous for habits in the present
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•   Exercise - Future continuous for things in progress at a point
•   Lesson 3: Present perfect continuous forms (4:00)
•   Exercise - Present perfect continuous forms 1 (positive and negative)
•   Exercise - Present perfect continuous forms 2 (questions)
•   Exercise - Present perfect continuous 3 (mixed)
•   Lesson 4: Present perfect continuous for time up to now with for and since (2:10)
•   Exercise - Present perfect continuous for time up to now
•   Lesson 5: Past perfect forms (4:48)
•   Exercise - Past perfect forms 1 (positive and negative)
•   Exercise - Past perfect forms 2 (questions)
•   Exercise - Past perfect 3 (mixed)
•   Lesson 6: Past perfect for time up to then (2:47)
•   Exercise - Past perfect for time up to then
•   Section 4 review quiz
•   Download the section 5 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: Subject and object questions (3:13)
•   Exercise - Subject and object questions
•   Lesson 2: Question tags (5:20)
•   Exercise - Question tags with the present simple 1
•   Exercise - Question tags with the present simple 2
•   Exercise - Question tags with the present continuous
•   Exercise - Question tags with the past simple 1
•   Exercise - Question tags with the past simple 2
•   Exercise - Question tags with 'will'
•   Exercise - Question tags with 'be going to'
•   Exercise - Question tags with the present perfect
•   Exercise - Question tags with the past perfect
•   Exercise - Question tags with the future continuous
•   Exercise - Question tags with the past continuous
•   Lesson 3: Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' (5:23)
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' in the present simple
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' in the present continuous
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' in the past simple
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' and 'will'
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' and 'be going to'
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' in the present perfect
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' in the past perfect
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' in the future continuous
•   Exercise - Short answers with 'so' and 'neither' in the past continuous
•   Section 5 review quiz
•   Download the section 6 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: Verbs + infinitive without 'to' (make and let) (3:42)
•   Exercise - Make and let + infinitive
•   Lesson 2: Verbs with a direct object and 'to + infinitive' (3:32)
•   Exercise - Verbs with a direct object and 'to + infinitive'
•   Lesson 3: Verbs with two objects (1:25)
•   Exercise - Verbs with two objects
•   Section 6 review quiz
•   Download the section 7 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: Nouns that are always plural (2:37)
•   Exercise - Nouns that are always plural
•   Lesson 2: Collective nouns with singular or plural verbs (2:07)
•   Exercise - Collective nouns with singular or plural verbs
•   Lesson 3: Other / the other / another (3:13)
•   Exercise - The other or other?
•   Exercise - Another or the other?
•   Lesson 4: The and no article with geographical names (1:24)
•   Exercise - The and no article with geographical names
•   Lesson 5: The with abstract nouns (3:28)
•   Exercise - The with abstract nouns
•   Section 7 review quiz
•   Download the Section 8 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: 'Such' and 'such a' (0:54)
•   Exercise - 'Such' and 'such a'
•   Lesson 2: Either (0:43)
•   Exercise - Either
•   Lesson 3: Both ... and ... (0:34)
•   Exercise - Both ... and...
•   Section 8 quiz review
•   Download the section 9 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: How to make the passive (7:06)
•   Exercise - The present simple passive
•   Exercise - The past simple passive
•   Exercise - The present continuous passive
•   Exercise - Mixed passive forms (present simple, present continuous, past simple)
•   Exercise - The past continuous passive
•   Exercise - The present perfect passive
•   Exercise - The past perfect passive
•   Exercise - The future with 'will' passive
•   Exercise - Mixed passive forms (will, past continuous, present perfect, past perfect)
•   Lesson 2: Passive infinitive introduction (with going to / have to / need to) (3:01)
•   Exercise - Passive infinitive introduction (with going to / have to / need to)
•   Section 9 quiz review
•   Download the Section 10 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: How to make reported speech (9:13)
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the present simple
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the present continuous
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the past simple
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the present perfect
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the past continuous
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the future simple with 'will'
•   Exercise - Reported speech with 'be going to'
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the future continuous
•   Exercise - Reported speech with the past perfect
•   Lesson 2: Reported speech with modal verbs (1:35)
•   Exercise - Reported speech with modal verbs
•   Lesson 3: Reported questions with 'ask' (4:19)
•   Exercise - reported 'wh' questions with 'ask'
•   Exercise - reported 'yes / no' questions with 'ask'
•   Lesson 4: Reported requests with 'ask' (2:11)
•   Exercise - Reported requests with 'ask'
•   Lesson 5: Reported orders with 'tell' (0:58)
•   Exercise - Reported orders with 'tell'
•   Lesson 6: Time expressions in reported speech (2:01)
•   Exercise - Time expressions in reported speech
•   Section 10 review quiz
•   Download the Section 11 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: 'Must' and 'can't' for logical necessity (making guesses) about the present (3:39)
•   Exercise - 'Must' and 'can't' for logical necessity
•   Lesson 2: Could / might / etc for logical necessity (making guesses) about the present (1:22)
•   Exercise - Could / might etc for logical necessity (making guesses) about the present
•   Exercise - Mixed logical necessity for the present
•   Lesson 3: 'Must' for recommendations and offers (1:12)
•   Exercise - Must for recommendations and offers
•   Lesson 4: 'Ought to' for advice (1:03)
•   Exercise - 'Ought to' for advice
•   Lesson 5: Be supposed to (2:52)
•   Exercise - Be supposed to
•   Lesson 6: Used to + infinitive (1:12)
•   Exercise - Used to + infinitive
•   Lesson 7: Be / get used to (2:58)
•   Exercise - be / get used to
•   Lesson 8: Modals for politeness (2:20)
•   Exercise - Modals for politeness
•   Section 11 review quiz
•   Download the section 12 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: Relative clauses introduction (1:52)
•   Exercise - Where is the relative clause?
•   Lesson 2: Defining and non-defining relative clauses (3:15)
•   Exercise - Defining or non-defining?
•   Lesson 3: Defining relative clauses with the pronoun as subject or object (2:53)
•   Exercise - Is the relative pronoun the subject or the object?
•   Exercise - Make defining relative clauses with 'who / that' as subject
•   Exercise - Make defining relative clauses with 'that' as the object
•   Lesson 4: Dropping the relative pronoun (1:21)
•   Exercise - Dropping the relative pronoun
•   Lesson 5: 'Who' or 'whom' in a relative clause? (1:45)
•   Exercise - Who or whom?
•   Lesson 6: 'Whose' in relative clauses (1:31)
•   Exercise - Whose in relative clauses
•   Lesson 7: 'When' in relative clauses (0:43)
•   Exercise - 'When' in relative clauses
•   Lesson 8: 'Where' in relative clauses (2:25)
•   Exercise - 'Where' in relative clauses
•   Section 12 review quiz
•   Download the section 13 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: Reflexive pronouns (4:05)
•   Exercise - Reflexive pronouns 1 (reflexive pronoun or object pronoun?)
•   Exercise - Reflexive pronouns 2 (reflexive pronouns with verbs like 'dress', 'wash' and 'concentrate')
•   Lesson 2: Each other (2:08)
•   Exercise - Each other
•   Lesson 3: By myself = alone (0:44)
•   Exercise - By myself
•   Section 13 review quiz
•   Download the section 14 PDFs
•   Lesson 1: Zero conditionals (present real conditionals) (1:23)
•   Exercise - Make zero conditionals
•   Lesson 2: First conditionals (future real conditionals) (0:59)
•   Exercise - Make first conditionals
•   Lesson 3: Unless (0:59)
•   Exercise - Unless
•   Exercise - If and unless
•   Lesson 4: Future real conditionals with modal verbs (might, can, must) (2:22)
•   Exercise - Make future real conditionals with modals
•   Lesson 5: Second conditionals (future unreal conditionals) (1:47)
•   Exercise - Make second conditionals
•   Lesson 6: 'Was' or 'were' with the second conditional? (1:55)
•   Exercise - 'Was' or 'were' with the second conditional
•   Lesson 7: If not and if so (1:21)
•   Exercise - If so and if not
•   Exercise - Make zero / first / second conditionals 1
•   Exercise - Make zero / first / second conditionals 2
•   Section 14 review quiz
•   Download the section 15 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: Order of adjectives (2:48)
•   Exercise - Order of adjectives
•   Lesson 2: Comparatives: get better and better (1:12)
•   Exercise - Comparatives: get better and better
•   Lesson 3: Comparatives: using a clause after 'than' (2:47)
•   Exercise - Comparatives: using a clause after 'than'
•   Lesson 4: Comparatives: verb+ing after 'than' (0:56)
•   Exercise - Comparatives: verb+ing after 'than'
•   Lesson 5: Superlatives with the present perfect tense (1:01)
•   Exercise - Superlatives with the present perfect tense
•   Lesson 6: Adjectives that are only used predicatively (asleep / alone / alive / alright / afraid) (2:14)
•   Exercise - Adjectives that are only used predicatively
•   Lesson 7: Compound adjectives (2:20)
•   Exercise - Compound adjectives
•   Section 15 review quiz
•   Download the section 16 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: Adverbs of focus: even (2:27)
•   Exercise - Even
•   Lesson 2: Adverbs of focus: particularly / especially (1:16)
•   Exercise - Particularly / especially
•   Lesson 3: Adverbs of time: still (1:23)
•   Exercise - Still
•   Lesson 4: Adverbs of time: any more / any longer (1:26)
•   Exercise - Any more / any longer
•   Lesson 5: Adverbs for linking: although / though / however (1:32)
•   Exercise - Although / though / however
•   Lesson 6: Adverbs for linking: so / therefore (1:22)
•   Exercise - So / therefore
•   Lesson 7: Adverbs for linking: Because / as / since / because of / as a result of / on account of (2:21)
•   Exercise - Because / as / since / because of / as a result of / on account of
•   Lesson 8: Rather than / would rather (1:31)
•   Exercise - Rather than / would rather
•   Section 16 review quiz
•   Download the section 17 PDFs here
•   Lesson 1: 'As' and 'like' (1:48)
•   Exercise - 'As' and 'like'
•   Lesson 2: 'By' and 'with' to explain how we do something (1:20)
•   Exercise - 'By' and 'with'
•   Lesson 3: 'For' to show purpose (0:41)
•   Exercise - 'For' to show purpose
•   Lesson 4: 'At' or 'in' with buildings (1:29)
•   Exercise - 'At' or 'in' with buildings
•   Lesson 5: 'On time' or 'in time' (2:28)
•   Exercise - 'On time' or 'in time'?
•   Lesson 6: 'At the end' or 'in the end' (1:34)
•   Exercise - 'At the end' or 'in the end'?
•   Lesson 7: Prepositions after adjectives (2:55)
•   Exercise - Prepositions after adjectives
•   Lesson 8: Prepositions after verbs (2:35)
•   Exercise - Prepositions after verbs
•   Lesson 9: Prepositions after nouns (2:14)
•   Exercise - Prepositions after nouns
•   Section 17 review quiz
•   Take the final quiz here. :)
•   Please do the survey- click here!

  Lesson 1: How to make reported speech

Here's how it works:

We use a reporting verb like 'say' or 'tell'. If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

• Direct speech: "I love coffee."
• Reported speech: She says that she loves coffee.

We don't need to change the tense of the verb 'loves', though probably we do need to change the pronoun from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.

But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech.

• Reported speech: She said that she loved coffee.

The verb 'love' changes from the present simple to the past simple ('loved'). This change is called 'backshifting'. It's just a grammatical change – we use it even if the thing is still true in real life.

Here are some more examples.

Present simple positive with 'be' ('am / is' change to 'was' and 'are' changes to 'were').

• Direct speech: "The children are hungry."
• Reported speech: She said that the children were hungry.

Present simple negative with 'be' ('am not / isn't' change to 'wasn't' and 'aren't' changes to 'weren't').

• Direct speech: "Lucy isn't from Brazil."
• Reported speech: She said that Lucy wasn't from Brazil.

Present simple positive with verbs that are not 'be' (present simple changes to past simple)

• Direct speech: "I work in a bank."
• Reported speech: He said that he worked in a bank.

Present simple negative with verbs that are not 'be' ('doesn't / don't' change to 'didn't').

• Direct speech: "The class doesn't start at ten."
• Reported speech: You said that the class didn't start at ten.

Now let's look at the present continuous. It changes to the past continuous.

• Direct speech: "I am going to work."
• Reported speech: She said that she was going to work.
• Direct speech: "I'm not sleeping."
• Reported speech: She said that she wasn't sleeping.
• Direct speech: "Lucy is working."
• Reported speech: She said that Lucy was working.

• Direct speech: "James isn't coming."
• Reported speech: She said that James wasn't coming.

The past simple is a little different. You have a choice! You can keep the past simple as the past simple, with no change. Or you can change it to the past perfect.

• Direct speech: "I went home."
• Reported speech: She said that she went home / had gone home.
• Direct speech: "They didn't meet Lucy."
• Reported speech: She said that they didn't meet / hadn't met Lucy.
• Direct speech: "The laptop broke."
• Reported speech: She said that the laptop broke / had broken.
• Direct speech: "We called Julie."
• Reported speech: She said that they had called Julie.

With the past continuous, we use 'had been + verb-ing'.

• Direct speech: "I was watching TV."
• Reported speech: She said that she had been watching TV.
• Direct speech: "The children weren't sleeping."
• Reported speech: She said that the children hadn't been sleeping.
• Direct speech: "We were chatting."
• Reported speech: She said that they had been chatting.
• Direct speech: "James was studying."
• Reported speech: She said that James had been studying.

With the present perfect, we use 'had + past participle' (the past perfect).

• Direct speech: "I have been to Mexico."
• Reported speech: She said that she had been to Mexico.
• Direct speech: "The students haven't finished the exam."
• Reported speech: She said that the students hadn't finished the exam.
• Direct speech: "Maria has gone out."
• Reported speech: She said that Maria had gone out.
• Direct speech: "He has lost his keys."
• Reported speech: She said that he had lost his keys.

With the past perfect, we don't need to change anything.

• Direct speech: "I had been late."
• Reported speech: She said that she had been late.
• Direct speech: "They hadn't had lunch."
• Reported speech: She said that they hadn't had lunch.
• Direct speech: "The boys had done their homework."
• Reported speech: She said that the boys had done their homework.
• Direct speech: "We had paid for everything."
• Reported speech: She said that they had paid for everything.

With 'will', we change it to 'would'.

• Direct speech: "I will come to the party."
• Reported speech: She said that she would come to the party.
• Direct speech: "They won't help."
• Reported speech: She said that they wouldn't help.
• Direct speech: "It will rain later."
• Reported speech: She said that it would rain later.
• Direct speech: "The children will be tired."
• Reported speech: She said that the children would be tired.

This is the same for the future continuous. We just change 'will' to 'would'.

• Direct speech: "I will be waiting."
• Reported speech: She said that she would be waiting.
• Direct speech: "They won't be coming."
• Reported speech: She said that they wouldn't be coming.
• Direct speech: "It will be snowing."
• Reported speech: She said that it would be snowing.
• Direct speech: "We will be sleeping."
• Reported speech: She said that they would be sleeping.

With 'be going to', we use 'was / were going to'.

• Direct speech: "I'm going to meet David."
• Reported speech: She said that she was going to meet David.
• Direct speech: "They aren't going to travel."
• Reported speech: She said that they weren't going to travel.
• Direct speech: "The students are going to pass the test."
• Reported speech: She said that the students were going to pass the test.
• Direct speech: "We are going to go to bed early."
• Reported speech: She said that they were going to go to bed early.

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Reported Speech – Advanced Grammar Lesson – 1 Hour

Reported speech is a rule heavy grammar topic, so one of the best ways to introduce the topic is through guided discovery and speaking practice !

Guided discovery is when you allow students to discover rules on their own rather than telling them the rules. Use the following worksheet to allow students to discover the rules for reported speech on their own before putting it into action.

1. Allow students to answer the first three pages of the worksheet on their own or in small groups.

Do not do the practice page until you have checked their answers for the guided discovery .

2. Check their answers together as a class using the PDF or PPTX presentation.

When students have answered all the guided discovery questions, you can show them the rules/answers using the following presentation.

3. Give students a chance to practice reported speech using the fourth page of the worksheet.

When you have finished learning all of the rules, try answering the practice questions. (You can find this practice on the last page of the PDF worksheet.)

Directions: Change the sentences from direct speech to reported speech.

• He asked her, “Do you like pizza?”
• “I am going,” she said.
• “Where is he?” they asked.
• “I ate at the shopping mall,” Tim said.
• “We can read a book,” he said.
• “I will visit you next week,” Anita told George.
• “That dinosaur is so cute,” said the child.
• “What are we waiting for?” she asked.
• “Did they finish their homework?” asked the teacher.
• She asked her, “Have you ever tried sushi?”

4. Let students use the discussion question to practice reported speech.

After students have had some practice, try answering these discussion questions , which are also in the reported speech PPTX/PDF.

And it’s as simple as that!

By allowing the students to discover the rules slowly on their own, it’ll make it easier to remember and head off a lot of the confusion that comes with harder topics like reported speech.

I hope this lesson helped you and your students!

If you want more advanced lessons, try this one hour lesson that encourages students to discuss radical work ideas.

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ESL LESSON PLAN:

Reported speech, download lessons.

(SV) Reporting Speec

(tv) reporting speec.

Lesson Overview

This ESL reporting speech grammar worksheet is perfect for your intermediate students. It includes a theory explanation and multiple, fun exercises.

This ESL reporting speech grammar worksheet begins with an explanation of the grammar point, detailing how to form the grammar point and when to use it. That is followed by a fun exercise which allows students to put the theory into practice. 

Next, is another exercise where students have to correctly report a quote, using reported speech. They are given a quote and a selection of verbs to choose from. Through this exercise, participants will be encouraged to use reported speech in a clear way, increasing their understanding of the grammar point. 

Afterwards, you will find an activity that will challenge students to report questions. They will do this by reading a variety of quoted questions, then they will have to use their new acquired knowledge to structure their answers correctly. Finally, this ESL reporting speech grammar worksheet ends with multiple discussion questions which encourage students to use the words in a natural way. 

Activities :

• Theory. 
• Reporting Speech: 1
• Reporting Speech: 2
• Reporting Speech: 3
• Questions. 

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Can you use REPORTED SPEECH? Grammar Lesson + Examples

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Lesson overview, lesson summary .

This lesson is about reported speech in English – you will learn how to explain and say what someone else said.

Reported speech is a really useful tool when you are using English. It helps you to tell stories (about things that happened in the past) and it is often used to confirm or check information. Using reported speech will help you sound more professional and communicate more effectively at work too!

Are you ready to practise with me?

Video Transcript Section 1 Well hey there I’m Emma from mmmEnglish!

Today’s lesson is one that you have been requesting for quite a while so I’m thrilled to be here with a brand new English lesson for you all about reported speech.

I promise you that once you get your head around reported speech you are going to love it. It helps us to tell stories, to talk about the past and even to help you confirm information.

It’s incredibly important and it’s incredibly useful and that is why you are here today to understand it, to learn how to use it in your fluent accurate English.

Make sure you head down to the description, click on the link to download the free workbook, the epic workbook that I’ve created to go along with this lesson. You’re going to find it so helpful. It has all the explanations, my bonus tips to help you use reported speech accurately, plus some questions that will help you to practise everything that you learn during this lesson which is very important.

Are you ready to dive in? Let’s go!

What is reported speech?

So what exactly is reported speech and when do we use it?

In English, we use reported speech to say what someone else says or even what we ourselves have said and it’s sometimes referred to as indirect speech. Reported speech, indirect speech, they’re the same thing. Direct speech is the exact words that come out of someone’s mouth.

She said  “I woke up late this morning.”

That’s direct speech. If we wrote down these words, we’d have to use quotation marks. That’s these things, quotation marks.

And we’d use quotation marks to show that these are the exact words that they used when they spoke.

But in indirect speech or reported speech, we have to change some things like verb tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed since the words were originally spoken between that time and now when we’re retelling this story.

• She said that she had woken up late that morning.

There are four steps that we need to follow when we’re reporting what someone else said.

The first thing is we need to add a reporting verb. We need to change the pronouns, we need to change the time and the place words and finally, we need to backshift the tense.

All right let’s take a closer look at this together.

• My holiday starts next week! Lucky you! We’re not going on holiday this year.

If I want to retell what these people were talking about to someone else at another time, I would need to use reported speech to do it. This is direct speech.

• My holiday starts next week.

But in reported speech, it needs to change to:

• He said or the man said that his holiday started the following week. Lucky you! We’re not going on holiday this year.

So in reported speech this changes to she said or the woman said that they weren’t going on holiday that year.

Throughout this whole video, the speech bubbles are going to show you direct speech. Reported speech is going to be written below the speech bubble okay? There’s a visual link to follow here. Let’s break it down.

1. Reporting verbs/clauses

For reported speech, first of all, we need to start with a reporting verb or a reporting clause.

He said or the man said that …

• She said the woman said that.

What is the reporting verb in these examples though? Say.

The most common reporting verbs in English are say and tell. Tell is a transitive verb so it always needs an object when it’s used whereas say doesn’t need to have an object.

I’ve got a really useful lesson that might help you to jog your memory about these verbs about say and tell. It’s linked up here but I’m going to put it at the end as well if you want to review.

Let’s look at another example.

• I saw Judy last week.

This is direct speech, isn’t it? And we can use indirect speech to report.

• She said that she had seen Judy last week.
• Or she told me that she had seen Judy last week.

She told me or she said that but not she told that or she said me. No, no, no.

2. Change the pronouns

Okay let’s go back to the examples from before. We need to take a close look at the pronouns we’re using when we change from direct speech to reported speech and in these examples: my becomes his and we becomes they.

We need to do this to make sure the meaning of the sentence stays the same.

I know that it’s a little bit confusing but why don’t we compare two sentences together so that I can explain it a little more for you.

• He said that my holiday started the following week.

Hang on, whose holiday? Mine or the man’s?

The man is talking about his own holiday, not mine, so to make sure that the meaning stays the same, we have to change the pronouns in reported speech to reflect that.

• He said that his holiday started the following week.

3. Change the time and place words

The third step is to change any time and place words.

So here next week becomes the following week . And this year becomes that year . The first and most important thing that you need to remember here is that the time references need to change in reported speech.

So do words like here and there, this and that, they all need to change and we do this to create a sense of distance or time passed but it can be a little tricky to guess exactly how these words change.

That’s why I’ve put together a list of typical changes to time and to place words and I’ve put them into the worksheet that I’ve created for you. Plus, there are some practice questions to help test what you know and to make sure it sticks in your brain.

4. Backshift the tense

The last thing you need to do is to backshift the tense. If you’ve studied with an English grammar textbook before, you might have heard this word and thought backshift? What is that, what’s backshift?

Well kind of self-explanatory. It means we need to shift the tense back by one degree.

So in our examples here, the present simple changes to the past simple and in this sentence, the present continuous changes to the past continuous.

Remembering which tense to use and when is probably the trickiest thing about reported speech but don’t fear, never fear. I have put all of them into a list for you again included in your workbook .

I know this might look a little bit intimidating but I’ll show you a couple of hacks that will make it easy for you to learn the rules.

First of all, the future tenses are simple. All of these future tenses in English are formed with the auxiliary verb will and in reported speech, all we need to do is shift will to would.

• I’ll meet you at the corner in half an hour.
• He said that he would meet me at the corner half an hour later.

Will  is simple but we can also form future sentences in English with be going to. So in this case we need to shift am, is or are back to was or were.

• We’re going to the movies tonight.
• They said that they were going to the movies that night.

Look at that! We’ve already crossed five tenses off that list.

Now we’re left with the present tense and the past tenses and I promise it’s not as complicated as it looks. We just need to look at the tenses in a slightly different way.

There are three overarching English tenses, aren’t there? The past, the present, the future.

And within each of these tenses there are four modes. Say them with me.

• Perfect continuous

We can get rid of the future tenses because we’ve already learned about will and be going to.

Looking at this chart, it’s easy to see how the tenses will shift. The present tenses all shift back one degree to the equivalent tense in the past. The present simple becomes the past simple. These two tenses mirror each other.

• We live on Elm street.
• She said that they lived on Elm street.

For the past tenses, it’s not quite as simple because we don’t have another column of tenses that can mirror these ones but we can still shift back one degree.

The past simple becomes the past perfect and the past continuous becomes the past perfect continuous.

• I was washing the dishes at the time.
• He said that he had been washing the dishes at that time.

And last but not least, the past perfect and the past perfect continuous, they just stay the same. We can’t shift them back by one degree because there are no more tenses back there to go to right? So they stay the same. There’s no change there.

• I’ve been listening to music.
• She said she had been listening to music.

Now it can be tricky to remember all of this information but don’t worry, you’re going to find all of it plus exercises and examples to help you practise in that workbook that I created for you.

I keep talking about how epic this workbook is, just go and download it . It is so full of great tips and little hacks to help you remember and also practise everything that we’re learning in this lesson.

Reported speech exceptions

Now this wouldn’t be an English lesson if there wasn’t an exception right? There are some instances where we don’t backshift the tense in reported speech.

So this happens when the information that you’re reporting is current so for example:

• The company told their staff that they’re moving offshore.

You’ll see this form of reported speech used a lot in the news. It’s current information, it’s happening now.

So the reporting is probably happening really close to the time that the information was said and this is where you might often see some other reporting verbs used, verbs that might be a little more formal like announced or reported.

And actually, you’ll find a list of some of the other reporting verbs in the workbook.

Now we don’t backshift the tense when the information is ongoing.

• I love my family.
• She said that she loves her family.

To love something or someone is an ongoing state so we wouldn’t usually change the tense here and if you do, it makes it sound like she loved her family in the past but now she doesn’t so you really do need to be careful about this.

If it’s an ongoing state or a condition, we don’t move that tense backwards.

And we don’t backshift when we’re reporting something that happened very recently, then we don’t need to change the tense either. For example, if I just got off the phone and I’m telling you what I heard in a conversation.

• I’ll be about 15 minutes, okay? Shah said that he’s running late. He’ll be here in 15 minutes.

Reported questions

We don’t only use reported speech for statements. We can also use them to report questions as well and this is super useful in a professional context where you’re sharing information with customers or with clients or with colleagues.

There are two types of questions in English, you probably know them, I’ve mentioned them in several videos before.

We have closed questions, yes, no questions, and open questions or sometimes referred to as WH questions. Closed questions, these are questions where the answer can only be yes or no like this one.

• Are you going on holiday?

These questions are reported like this.

• He asked if or whether we were going on holiday.

So just like in our statements, we need to start with a reporting clause but this time we need a question reporting verb like ask or inquire or wonder. And instead of that, we’re completing the reporting clause with whether or  if.

Then we need to add the content of the question but we need to use the word order of a statement so that’s subject, verb, object. Right?

Now let’s think about this for a minute because in normal speech when we ask a question, we invert the auxiliary verb and the subject, don’t we?

A normal statement would be subject, verb, object and that becomes verb, subject, object, right?

So we’re running late becomes: Are we running late?

But in a reported question, we use if or we use whether and then the statement word order following.

• He asked if we were running late.

Subject, verb, object.

Let’s do another one.

• Have you been to Rome before?

He inquired whether I had been to Rome previously.

All the other steps remain exactly the same. We add a reporting clause. we change the pronouns, we change the time and the place words and we backshift the tense.

In an open question and remember this is a question that starts with a question word like who, what, where, why, when, which or how.

We keep that question word but we switch the verb and the subject around just as we did with the closed question. So like this.

• Where are you going on holiday?

Becomes: He asked where we were going on holiday.

So we have a reporting clause with a question word and our question in a statement word order following. All the same rules about changing the pronouns, the time and place words and the tense, they all still apply. You just follow a slightly different structure.

Now you have almost made it to the end of this lesson but I do want to offer you a couple of bits of bonus advice. I really want you to take your reported speech skills up to the next level so I want to talk about some other really functional statements in English that frequently occur in reported speech like giving advice, explaining instructions, making requests or making promises and offers.

All of these important functions in English, they often occur in reported speech.

Let’s look at some examples.

• You shouldn’t make a promise you can’t keep.

So this is a classic piece of advice. And of course, we can use the same steps that we learned earlier to turn this sentence into reported speech.

• He told me that I shouldn’t make a promise I couldn’t keep.

That is perfectly acceptable and it’s correct English grammar.

However, there is another way.

• He advised me not to make a promise I couldn’t keep.

Let’s take a closer look at this structure now.

We can see the verb advise and the object then a to-infinitive and in this case the infinitive is preceded by not because the sentence is negative.

Not to make a promise.

• He advised me not to make a promise.
• He advised me to study hard for the exam.

We use the verbs ask, advise, instruct and tell with this pattern when we’re giving advice.

• Lock the door when you leave.

That’s an instruction.

• They instructed me to lock the door when I left.
• They told me to lock the door when I left.
• Or they asked me to lock the door.

All of these verbs have similar meanings but they are slightly different.

Let’s look at another one. The teacher said:

• Please stack the chairs in the corner.

That’s a request or an instruction.

• The teacher asked us to stack the chairs in the corner.
• The teacher instructed us to stack the chairs.
• The teacher told us to stack the chairs.

We can use a very similar structure for offers and for promises with the verbs offer and promise with the to-infinitive. The only difference is that there’s no object.

• Do you need help?

That’s an offer, right? So of course, we could say:

• She asked whether I needed help but we could also say:
• She offered to help me.

Let’s look at a promise now.

• I’ll make it up to you.
• He said that he would make it up to me.
• He promised to make it up to me.

Now the meaning of these two sentences are similar but the second one is just a little bit more precise in the way that it retells the information.

Learning to use both of these structures will help to make your English more interesting and it’s going to help you to express yourself more clearly, especially when it comes to storytelling and writing.

So that’s it!

I’m wondering if you can use reported speech to report on something that I said during this lesson. If you can, share that sentence down in the comments below. Even though this grammar is a little tricky to get your head around, it really does just take practice. You will be able to do it. The more that you practise, the easier it will get and that is exactly why I created the workbook for you to help you put everything you learned into practice and make sure it sticks.

So what are you waiting for? Go and grab it!

Thank you so much for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed the lesson. Check out these ones next . I’ll see you in there!

Links mentioned in the video

Free pdf workbook.

Review reported speech with examples, practice questions and grammar notes in this PDF guide!

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• English ESL Video Lessons
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