International University – HCMC IE1 Listening & Speaking

Department of English

a. Study this example situation:
Comparing these sentences:
direct
GRAMMAR 18
REPORTED SPEECH
You want to tell someone else what Tom said.
There are two ways of doing this:
You can repeat Tom's words (direct speech):
Tom said, “I'm feeling sick."
Or you can use reported speech:
Tom said (that) he was feeling sick
You use these to show
Tom said, “I am feeling sick”. it is direct speech

indirect Tom said (that) he was feeling sick.

b. Uses
1. When we use reported speech, we are usually talking about the past. So verbs usually
change to the past in reported speech. For example:

am/is  was have/has  had can  could

are  were will  would do/ want/ know 
did/wanted/knew, etc.

Study these examples. You met Tom. Here are something he said to you:

Now you tell someone else what Tom said (in reported speech):
 Tom said (that) his parents were very well.
 Tom said (that) he was going to quit his job.
 Tom said (that) Ann had bought a new car.
 Tom said (that) he couldn’t come to the party on Friday.
 Tom said (that) he wanted to go on vacation, but he didn’t know where to go.
 Tom said (that) he was going away for a few days and would call me when he got
back.

2. The simple past (I did) can usually stay the same in reported speech, or you can
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 International University – HCMC IE1 Listening & Speaking
Department of English
change it to the past perfect (I had done): did  did or had done
direct Tom said “I woke up feeling sick and so I stayed in bed”
reported Tom said (that) he woke (or had woken) up feeling sick and
so he stayed (or had stayed) in bed.

3. It is not always necessary to change the verb when you use reported speech. If you
are reporting something and you feel that it is still true, you do not need to change
the tense of the verb:
direct Tom said, “New York is bigger than London.”
reported Tom said (that) New York is (or was) bigger than London.

4. Notice that it is also correct to change the verb into the past.
But you must use a past tense when there is a difference between what was said and
what is really true. Study the example situation:
You met Ann. She said, “Jim is sick." (direct speech)
Later that day you see Jim playing tennis and looking fine. You say:
“I'm surprised to see you playing tennis, Jim. Ann said that you were sick."
(NOT that you are sick, because he isn't sick)

Must, might, could, would, should, and ought stay the same in reported speech.
May in direct speech normally changes to might in reported speech.

5. Say and tell

If you say who you are talking to, use tell:
 Tom told me (that) he didn't like Brian. (not Tom said me …)
Otherwise use say:
 Tom said (that) he didn't like Brian. (not Tom told (that) he. ..)
Also: you can't say “Tom told about his trip to Mexico." You have to say:
 Tom told us (or me/them/Ann, etc.) about his trip to Mexico.
If you don't say who he told, you have to say:
 Tom talked (or spoke) about his trip to Mexico. (but not said about)

6. We also use the infinitive (to do/ to stay, etc.) in reported speech, especially with tell
and ask (for orders and requests):
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 International University – HCMC IE1 Listening & Speaking
Department of English
direct “Stay in bed for a few days,” the doctor said to me.
reported The doctor told me to stay in bed for a few days.
direct “Don’t shout,” I said to Jim
reported I told Jim not to shout
direct “Please don’t tell anyone what happened,” Ann said to
me.
reported Ann asked me not to tell anyone what (had)
happened.
direct “Can you open the door for me, Tom?” Ann asked
reported Ann asked Tom to open the door for her.
Said is also possible with the infinitive:
 The doctor said to stay in bed for a few days. (but not said me)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTS

Practice 1: Yesterday you ran into a friend of yours, Helen. Helen told you a lot of
things. Here are some of the things she said to you:

Later that day you tell anther friend what Helen said. Use reported speech.
1. Helen said that she was thinking of going to live in France.
2. Helen said that _______________________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. _________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 International University – HCMC IE1 Listening & Speaking
Department of English
12. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Practice 2: In this exercise someone says something to you that is the opposite of what
they said before. You have to answer I thought you said...
1. “Ann is coming to the party.” “I thought you said she _____________________________________”
2. “Bill passed his exam.” “I thought you said _________________________________________________”
3. “Ann likes Bill.” “I thought ___________________________________________________________________”
4. “I’ve got many friends.” “I thought you said you ___________________________________________”
5. “Jack and Karen are going to get married.” “________________________________________________”
6. “Tom works very hard.” “____________________________________________________________________”
7. “I want to be rich and famous.” “_____________________________________________________________”
8. “I’ll be here next week.” “_____________________________________________________________________”
9. “I can afford a vacation this year.”
“___________________________________________________________”
Practice 3: Write what you would say in these situations.
Example: Ann says, “I'm tired." Five minutes later she says, “Let's play tennis." What do
you say?
 You said you were tired.
1. Your friend says, “I'm hungry," so you go to a restaurant. When you get there he says,
“I don't want to eat." What do you say? “You said _______________________________________”
2. Tom tells you, “Ann has gone away." Later that day you meet her. What do you say?
“Tom told _______________________________________.
3. George said, "I don't smoke." A few days later you see him smoking a cigarette. What
do you say to him? “You said _______________________________________.”
4. You arranged to meet Jack. He said, “I won't be late." At last he arrives -20 minutes
late. What do you say? “You _______________________________________.”
5. Sue said, “I can't come to the party tonight." That night you see her at the party. What
do you say to her? “_______________________________________.”
6. Ann says, “I'm working tomorrow evening." Later that day she says, “Let's go out
tomorrow evening." What do you say? “_______________________________________.”

Practice 4: Complete these sentences with said, told, or talked.

Example: Tom said that he didn't like Brian.
1. Jack _______________ me that he was enjoying his new job.
2. Amy _______________ it was a nice restaurant, but I didn't like it very much.
3. The doctor _______________ that I would have to rest for at least a week.

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 International University – HCMC IE1 Listening & Speaking
Department of English
4. Mrs. Taylor _______________ us she wouldn't be able to come to the next meeting.
5. Ann _______________ Tom that she was going away.
6. George couldn't help me. He _______________ me to ask Jack.
7. At the meeting the director _______________ about the problems facing the company.
8. Jill _______________ us all about her trip to Japan.

Practice 5: Read each sentence and write a new sentence with the same meaning
Examples: “Listen carefully," he said to us. He told us to listen carefully.
“Don't wait for me if I'm late," Ann said. Ann said not to wait for her if she
was late.
1. “Eat more fruit and vegetables," the doctor said.
The doctor said ____________________________________________________________________
2. “Read the instructions before you use the machine, "he said to me.
He told ____________________________________________________________________
3. “Shut the door but don't lock it," she said to us.
She told ____________________________________________________________________
4. “Can you speak more slowly? I can't understand," he said to me.
He asked _______________________________________because ______________________________________
5. “Don't come before 6:00, "I said to her.
I told ____________________________________________________________________.

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 International University – HCMC IE1 Listening & Speaking
Department of English
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
WHO SAID WHAT? – A pairwork of memory test
Instructions:
SS practise reported speech by remembering what people said in a picture of a classroom. Copy one
sheet per student/pair and fold on the dotted line so only the
picture with speech bubbles is visible.
 Put SS into pairs and give out the sheets folded on the dotted line.
 Focus on the instructions. Give SS time to match the sentences to the speech bubbles and to write
in the sentences. Check answers.
A2 B5 C4 D6 E1 F3
 Tell SS to turn over the sheets so that only the second picture is visible (the one without speech
bubbles). Tell them not to look back at the first picture.
 Focus on instructions. Elicit the answer to the first sentence. Tell SS that they must use reported
speech because they are remembering and saying what somebody said. When somebody gets the
right answer, tell SS to complete sentence A.
 Give SS time to complete sentences B-F. Check answers.
A. Ana said (that) she had missed the bus.
B. Susana asked what page it was.
C. David said (that) he had left his book at home.
D. The teacher asked if they had done the homework.
E. Halma said (that) she couldn't see the board.
F. Miriam asked if she could open the window.

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International University – HCMC IE1 Listening & Speaking
Department of English