Have you ever wanted to share a juicy piece of gossip, retell a hilarious story a friend told you, or pass along important information from a colleague? To do that accurately in English, you need to know how to report what somebody else said.
In this comprehensive guide, we will break down the rules of Reported Speech (also known as direct and indirect speech), show you how tenses change through “backshifting,” and provide clear, real-world examples to help you master this essential grammar skill.
What is Reported Speech?
When we tell someone what another person said, we can do it in two different ways: Direct Speech and Indirect Speech.
- Direct Speech: This repeats the exact words the speaker used. We put these words inside quotation marks (‘…’ or “…”).
- Indirect Speech: This reports the meaning of what the speaker said without using their exact words. We do not use quotation marks, and we often change the tenses and pronouns to reflect the shift in time and perspective.
Quick Comparison Examples:
- Direct speech: “I love the Toy Story films,” she said.
- Indirect speech: She said she loved the Toy Story films.
- Direct speech: “I worked as a waiter before becoming a chef,” he said.
- Indirect speech: He said he had worked as a waiter before becoming a chef.
- Direct speech: “I’ll phone you tomorrow,” he said.
- Indirect speech: He said he would phone me the next day.
The Rule of “Backshift” (Tense Changes)
In indirect speech, we usually use a tense that is “further back” in the past than the tense originally used by the speaker. This grammatical step-back in time is called backshift.
Let us look at how specific tenses change when we move from direct to indirect speech.
1. Present Tenses Become Past Tenses
When we backshift, Present Simple changes to Past Simple, Present Continuous changes to Past Continuous, and Present Perfect changes to Past Perfect.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech (Reported) |
|---|---|
| Present Simple: “I travel a lot in my job.” | Jamila said that she travelled a lot in her job. |
| Present Continuous: “The baby’s sleeping!” | He told me the baby was sleeping. |
| Present Perfect: “I’ve hurt my leg.” | She said she had hurt her leg. |
Bonus Examples:
- Direct: “We live in London,” they said. → Indirect: They said they lived in London.
- Direct: “I am studying for my exams,” Alex said. → Indirect: Alex said he was studying for his exams.
2. Past Tenses Move Further Back
When we backshift, Past Simple usually changes to Past Perfect Simple, and Past Continuous usually changes to Past Perfect Continuous.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech (Reported) |
|---|---|
| Past Simple: “We lived in China for five years.” | She told me they had lived in China for five years. |
| Past Continuous: “It was raining all day.” | He told me it had been raining all day. |
Bonus Examples:
- Direct: “I lost my keys yesterday,” Sarah said. → Indirect: Sarah said she had lost her keys the day before.
- Direct: “We were watching a movie when you called,” they explained. → Indirect: They explained that they had been watching a movie when I called.
3. Past Perfect Remains Unchanged
The Past Perfect tense is already as far back in the past as English grammar goes, so it does not change.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech (Reported) |
|---|---|
| Past Perfect: “I’d tried everything without success, but this new medicine is great.” | He said he had tried everything without success, but the new medicine was great. |
Exception: When We Do NOT Backshift
If what the speaker said is still true, relevant, or happening right now, it is not always necessary to change the tense. This frequently happens when the original speaker used a present tense.
- Direct: “I go to the gym next to your house,” Jenny told me.
- Indirect (Still True): Jenny told me that she goes to the gym next to my house. (I am thinking about going with her because she still goes there.)
- Direct: “I’m working in Italy for the next six months,” he said.
- Indirect (Still Relevant): He told me he is working in Italy for the next six months. (The six months are not over yet; maybe I should visit him!)
- Direct: “I’ve broken my arm!” she said.
- Indirect (Still True): She said she has broken her arm. (Her arm is still in a cast, so she won’t be at work this week.)
Changing Pronouns, Time, and Place Words
When shifting from direct to indirect speech, you must change pronouns, demonstratives, and expressions of time or place so that the statement matches the current perspective of the reporter.
1. Pronoun Changes
Pronouns usually change to reflect who is speaking about whom.
- Direct: “I enjoy working in my garden,” said Bob.
- Indirect: Bob said that he enjoyed working in his garden.
- Direct: “We played tennis for our school,” said Alina.
- Indirect: Alina told me they‘d played tennis for their school.
The Exception: If you are the person who spoke, the pronouns do not change!
- Direct: “I’m working on my thesis,” I said. → Indirect: I told her that I was working on my thesis.
- Direct: “We want our jobs back!” we said. → Indirect: We said that we wanted our jobs back.
2. Demonstratives and Adverbs (Context Matters)
Words like this, here, today, and tomorrow change depending on whether you are still in the same place or time as the original conversation.
| Word Type | If Still in the Same Context | If the Context Has Changed |
|---|---|---|
| This / That | He said this was his house. (Standing in front of the house) | He said that was his house. (Far away from the house) |
| Here / There | She told me they like it here. (You are in the place they like) | She told me they like it there. (You are no longer in that place) |
| Today | She told me she’s planning to do it today. (It is still the same day) | She told me she was planning to do it that day. (It is a future date now) |
Quick Word Shift Reference Guide
When the time and location change completely, use this handy guide to swap out your words:
- this → that
- these → those
- now → then
- yesterday → the day before or the previous day
- tomorrow → the next day or the following day
- ago → before
Practice What You Have Learned!
Ready to test your knowledge? Try converting these sentences from direct to indirect speech in your head or write them in the comments section below!
- “I am reading a brilliant book,” Marcus said.
- “We bought a new car last week,” Lucy told her mom.
- “I will help you move your furniture tomorrow,” David promised.
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