Reported speech

Word order
Direct speech
"I play football"
"I am playing football"
"I have played football"
"I played football"
"I was playing football"
"I had played football"
"I had been playing football"
"I will play football"
"I can play football"
Reported speech
He said (that) he played football
He said (that) he was playing football
He said (that) he had played football
He said (that) he had played football
He said (that) he had been playing football
He said (that) he had played football
He said (that) he had been playing football
He said (that) he would play football
He said (that) he could play football
1. In reported speech, we usually report what was said at a
different time, and so we change the tense to reflect the time
which we are reporting:
DIRECT SPEECH: "I'm not playing football."
REPORTED LATER: He said that he wasn't playing football.
2. Sometimes we need to change the pronoun.
DIRECT SPEECH: Jim: "I don't like living here." (Jim is referring to
himself)
REPORTED SPEECH: Jim said (that) he didn't like living here. (the
pronoun he refers to Jim)
3. We may also need to change other words about place and
time.
DIRECT SPEECH: "I like this car."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said (that) he liked the car.
DIRECT SPEECH: "I went to Tokyo last week."
REPORTED SPEECH: She said (that) she'd been to Tokyo the week
before.

Functions and examples

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."
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.

Important points
1. If we report something which is still true, it is not necessary
to change the verb.
DIRECT SPEECH: "My car is bigger than yours."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said his car is / was bigger than mine.
2. When we are reporting past tenses, and we see the events
from the same viewpoint as the original speaker, it is not
necessary to change the tense.
DIRECT SPEECH: "The earthquake happened at half past seven."
REPORTED SPEECH: The radio said that the earthquake happened at
half past seven.
3. Modal verbs 'could, might, would, should, must, have to,
needn't, ought to, had better' usually do not change in
reported speech.
DIRECT SPEECH: "I should go to the dentist."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said that he should go to the dentist.
Kod have to mozemo i ne moramo menjati vreme, ali bi smisao mogao
biti malo drugaciji.
DIRECT SPEECH: "You have to take this medication twice a day."
REPORTED SPEECH: He said that I have to take this medication twice a
day. (moram i dalje da uzimam lek)
REPORTED SPEECH: He said that I had to take this medication twice a
day. (nije odredjeno da li sam morao ili jos uvek moram)

"You need an operation," the doctor told me --> The doctor told me
that I needed an operation. --> The doctor told me I had to have an
operation. (Could also be "have to have".)
"I need to go to a toilet," he told me --> He told me that he had to go
to a toilet. --> He told me he needed to go to the toilet.
"I need you," she said. --> She said that she needed me.
"I have to have you," she said. --> She said that she had to have me.
Imperative > Infinitive:
DIRECT SPEECH: "Sit down!"
REPORTED SPEECH: She told me to sit down.
Go to bed! > He told the child to go to bed.
Don't worry! > He told her not to worry.
Be on time! > He told me to be on time.
Don't smoke! > He told us not to smoke.
REPORTED SPEECH
I - CHANGE OF TIME AND PLACE REFERENCE:
Time/place references are also changed in reported speech
Examples:
"I will see you here tomorrow", she said.
would see me there the next day.

She said that she

The most common of these changes are shown below:

Today

that day

"I saw him today", she

said.

She said that she had seen

him that day.

Yesterday

the day before

"I saw him yesterday",

she said.

She said that she had seen

him the day before.

The day before

yesterday

two days before

"I met her the day before

yesterday", he said.

He said that he had met her

two days before.

Tomorrow

the next/following day

"I'll see you tomorrow",

he said

He said that he would see

me the next day.

The day after tomorrow

in two days time/ two

days later

"We'll come the day after

tomorrow", they said.

They said that they would

come in two days time/
two days later.

Next week/month/year

the following
week/month/year

"I have an appointment

next week", she said.

She said that she had an

appointment the following
week.

Last week/month/year

the
previous/week/month/yea
r

"I was on holiday last

week", he told us.

He told us that he had been

on holiday the previous
week.

ago

before

"I saw her a week ago,"

he said.

He said he had seen her a

week before.

this (for time)

that

"I'm getting a new car this

week", she said.

She said she was getting a

new car that week.

this/that (adjectives)

the

"Do you like this shirt?" he

asked

He asked if I liked the shirt.

here

there

He said, "I live here".

He told me he lived there.

Other changes:
In general, personal pronouns change to the third person
singular or plural, except when the speaker reports his own
words:
I/me/my/mine, you/your/yours
we/us/our/ours, you/your/yours
He said: "I like your new car."

him/his/her/hers
they/their/theirs:

He told her that he liked her new car.

I said: "I'm going to my friend's house."

friend's house.

I said that I was going to my