Advanced Reported Speech: How to Relay Messages in English

Have you ever found yourself acting as a messenger between two people? In English, passing a message from one person to another is known as relayed speech.

When you relay a message, simply repeating the words can cause confusion. For example, if Sam says, “Tell Sarah to call me,” and you walk up to Sarah and say, “Call Sam,” she might think you are the one giving her an order. To avoid this, advanced English uses specific embedded structures: “He told me to tell you…” and “He asked me to ask you…”.

1. Relaying Direct Commands: “He told me to tell you…”

When the original speaker gives a direct order or statement without phrasing it as a polite question, use the formula: [Speaker] told me to tell you + [Action].

• Original Message: “Tell Sarah to sign the contract.”
• Relayed Speech: “Sam told me to tell you to sign the contract.”

Managing Tense Shifts and Pronouns

When relaying statements, remember to shift pronouns and change the verb to the past tense to reflect that the original statement happened in the past.

• Original Message: “Tell Sarah I love her.”
• Relayed Speech: “Sam told me to tell you he loved you.”
• Original Message: “Tell Sarah that I need the car keys.”
• Relayed Speech: “Sam told me to tell you he needed the car keys.”

2. Relaying Polite Requests: “He asked me to tell you…”

If the original speaker phrases their message as a polite request (using phrases like “Could you…” or “Can you…”), switching from “told” to “asked” accurately relays that polite tone.

Formula: [Speaker] asked me to tell you + [Action]

• Original Message: “Could you tell Sarah to text me?”
• Relayed Speech: “Sam asked me to tell you to text him.”
• Original Message: “Could you tell Sarah I want my money back.”
• Relayed Speech: “Sam asked me to tell you he wanted his money back.”

3. Relaying Questions: “He asked me to ask you…”

This is the trickiest part of relayed speech because it involves handling two separate inquiries: the request to pass the message, and the message question itself. When someone wants you to ask a question on their behalf, use “asked me to ask you”.

• Original Message: “Could you ask Sarah where she lives?”
• Relayed Speech: “Sam asked me to ask you where you lived.”
• Original Message: “Could you ask Sarah if she has a cat?”
• Relayed Speech: “Sam asked me to ask you if you had a cat.”

4. Handling Negative Messages

When you are asked to relay a negative command or prohibition, place “not to” right before the final action verb.

• Original Message: “Could you tell Sarah not to drink too much.”
• Relayed Speech: “He asked me to tell you not to drink too much.”
• Original Message: “Tell Sarah not to be late.”
• Relayed Speech: “He told me to tell you not to be late.”

Quick Reference Summary

Original Sentence Type	Prompt / Example	Correct Relayed Structure
Direct Command	“Tell her to buy tickets.”	“He told me to tell you to buy tickets.”
Polite Request	“Could you tell her to wait?”	“He asked me to tell you to wait.”
Information Question	“Can you ask her how old she is?”	“He asked me to ask you how old you were.”
Negative Command	“Tell her not to panic.”	“He told me to tell you not to panic.”

Mastering these conversational structures ensures that you always sound accurate, polite, and completely clear whenever you act as the middleman in English conversations!