Reported Speech

Reported statements

Direct (quoted) speech vs. reported speech

When we want to report what somebody says, we can use either direct or reported speech.
▪ In direct speech we repeat the speaker’s exact words and put quotation marks around them:
Debbie: I drink my coffee black. → Debbie said, “I drink my coffee black.”

▪ In reported speech no quotation marks are used, and personal and possessive pronouns that refer
to the speaker change (in our example, I → she; my → her).
Debbie: I drink my coffee black. → Debbie says (that) she drinks her coffee black.

Tense changes in reported speech

No tense change: present tense verb of reporting

▪ When the verb introducing reported speech is in the present tense, the tense of the verb in the
reported sentence does not change.
Bill: I’m tired. → Bill says he’s tired.
Bill: I’ll arrive at eight. → Bill says he’ll arrive at eight.

No tense change: immediate reporting

▪ When a statement is reported immediately after it has been made, the tense of the verb in the reported
sentence usually does not change.
Professor: We will have a test tomorrow.
Student 1: What did the professor just say?
Student 2: He said we will have a test tomorrow.

Tense change: past tense verb of reporting

▪ When the verb introducing reported speech is in the past tense and the reporting is not immediate,
the tense of the verb in the reported sentence changes.
Direct Speech Reported Speech
Tom said, “I take the train.” Tom said / told me (that) he took the train.
“I am taking the train.” he was taking the train.
“I took the train.” he had taken the train.
“I have taken the train.” he had taken the train.
“I will take the train.” he would take the train.
“I can take the train.” he could take the train.
“I may take the train.” he might take the train.
“I have to take the train.” he had to take the train.
“I must take the train.” he had to take the train.

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Exercise 94: Tense change or no tense change?

Complete the sentences by changing the sentence in quotation marks into reported speech. Make any
necessary changes.
Examples: “I’ve sold my car.”
Robert said he had sold his car .
“I’ve already bought tickets.”
Jane says she’s already bought tickets .

1. “I need more money.” Paul said __________________________________________________.

2. “I’m going to the store.” Jane said __________________________________________________.
3. “The road is closed.” The policeman told me _______________________________________.
4. “You’re making progress.” My piano teacher always tells me _______________________________.
5. “I have to make a phone call.” Mark said __________________________________________________.
6. “There aren’t any seats left.” The manager says ___________________________________________.
7. “Mike changed his plans.” Someone told me ____________________________________________.
8. “I’m free on Saturdays.” Mr. Barnes says _____________________________________________.
9. “You’ll feel better soon.” The doctor told Jim __________________________________________.
10. “I haven’t had lunch yet.” Barbara said ________________________________________________.

Exercise 95: Reported speech with tense changes

Rewrite the direct speech sentences in reported speech.

Example: The director said, “I’ve canceled the meeting.”
The director said (that) he had canceled the meeting.

1. Yesterday you told me, “I’ll give you a call as soon as I get to the office.”
2. The secretary said, “We’re having trouble with the photocopier.”
3. The reviewer said, “Shake A Leg is one of the best new plays.”
4. The maitre d’ told Janet, “You must make a reservation.”
5. The company told us, “We received your invoice on May 15.”
6. The advertisement claimed, “All products come with a full money-back guarantee.”
7. Brenda said to me, “You and Jeff can leave early.”
8. I told the sales manager, “I haven’t received your expense report.”

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 Reported questions

▪ As with reported statements, the tense of the verb in reported questions may also change.
Bill asked, “What time is it?” → Bill asked what time it was.

▪ In reported questions, the auxiliary verbs do, does, and did are not used.
Bill asked me, “How much money do you have?” → Bill asked me how much money I had.
Bill asked, “Where does your son go to school?” → Bill asked where my son went to school.
Bill asked, “Did your son go there last year?” → Bill asked if my son went there last year.
Information questions
Information questions are those that begin with an interrogative pronoun (who, what, where, etc.).
Direct Speech Reported Speech
Susan asked me, … Susan asked me …
“What is Bill doing?” what Bill was doing.
“Who is Bill talking to?” who Bill was talking to.
“Where does Bill live?” where Bill lived.
“Why did Bill leave?” why Bill had left.
“Where has Bill gone?” where Bill had gone.
“How long was Bill working for you?” how long Bill had worked for me.
“When will you see Bill?” when I would see Bill.

Notice that the word order in reported questions changes to sentence word order after the question word.
Bill was doing (something). Susan asked me what Bill was doing.
Bill was talking to (someone). Susan asked me who Bill was talking to.
Bill had gone (somewhere). Susan asked me where Bill had gone.

Yes / No questions

▪ When questions that require a yes or no answer are reported, they are introduced by if or whether.
Note that while they are both correct, if is used more frequently.
Direct Speech Reported Speech
Susan asked me, “Is Bill busy?” Susan asked me if Bill was busy.
“Does Bill live nearby?” whether Bill lived nearby.
“Did Bill leave?” if Bill had left.
“Has Bill called?” whether Bill had called.

▪ There is normally little difference between if and whether. But — if the question concerns a choice
between two possible options, then whether (not if) is used.
Susan asked me, “Do you want to go to the movies?”
→ Susan asked me if / whether I wanted go to the movies.
Susan asked me, “Do you want to see Summer Romance or Wild Winter?”
→ Susan asked me whether I wanted to see Summer Romance or Wild Winter.

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Exercise 96: Reported Yes / No questions

Rewrite the following sentences using reported speech.

Example: I asked Ed, “Are you busy?”
I asked Ed if he was busy. Or: I asked Ed whether he was busy.

1. Mrs. Daniels asked, “Do you want regular coffee or decaf?”

2. Joanne asked me, “Will you have lunch with me?”
3. Terry asked Beth, “Do you usually go out or stay home on the weekends?”
4. Sue asked me, “Can you help me?”
5. I asked the travel agent, “Can we get a reservation for the first week in June?”
6. David asked Jill, “Have you ever eaten at O’Brien’s restaurant?”

Exercise 97: Reported information questions

Complete the sentences using reported speech.

Example: “When did the CEO resign?” I asked a co-worker when the CEO had resigned .

1. “Who is the manager?” Mary called to ask _ ________________________________.

2. “Why did the meeting last so long?” Mr. Bell asked us _________________________________.
3. “Where have you worked before?” The interviewer asked me ___________________________.
4. “Which flight are you arriving on?” Jenny asked Ralph ________________________________.
5. “Dan, how long will the trip take?” I asked Dan ______________________________________.
6. “When are you getting married?” Everyone asked Frank and Janice _ ____________________.

Exercise 98: Reported speech to direct speech

Rewrite these reported speech questions as direct speech.

Example: I called Janice to ask if Jim had gotten to the airport on time.
I called to ask Janice, “Did Jim get to the airport on time?”

1. Karen asked whether her performance would be evaluated once or twice a year.
2. Linda asked the ticket agent if the train from Miami would arrive on time.
3. Mrs. Gordon asked Brian what time he thought he would be home.
4. The HR director asked why the company was planning to expand its recruitment program.
5. The manager asked his assistant whether the new equipment had been running well.
6. The taxi driver asked us how we liked New York.

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 Reported commands, requests, advice

When reporting commands, requests or advice, we often use the verbs tell, ask, and advise. When
used this way, these verbs are followed by an infinitive. Notice that in the negative forms, not comes
immediately before the infinitive.

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Commands Ann said, Ann told me
“Turn off the light!” to turn off the light.
“Don’t open the box!” not to open the box.

Requests Ann said, Ann asked me

“Please call me.” to call her.
“Could you check the mail?” to check the mail.
“Please don’t bother Jack.” not to bother Jack.

Advice Ann said, Ann advised me

“You ought to see a doctor.” to see a doctor.
“You shouldn’t buy that computer.” not to buy that computer.

Reporting polite requests and questions with would like, could, may

▪ would like
 emember, would like is the polite form of want. Because would like has no past tense form, when
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reporting, we use either would like or wanted. Alternatively, we can use the request form with ask.
I would like to speak to Mr. Jones. I said I would like to speak to Mr. Jones.
I said I wanted to speak to Mr. Jones.
I asked to speak to Mr. Jones.
Would you like to speak to Mr. Jones? She asked me if I would like to speak to Mr. Jones.
She asked me if I wanted to speak to Mr. Jones.
▪ could
Although could is the polite form of can, the past tense of can is could. Therefore, when reporting,
there is no change in the tense. However, we can also report the request by using ask to.
Could I speak to Mr. Jones, please? I asked if I could speak to Mr. Jones.
I asked to speak to Mr. Jones.
▪ may
May is also a polite form of can. When reporting, could is used more often than might (which sounds
old-fashioned). As with would like and could, we can use ask to instead.
May I borrow your pen? I asked if I could borrow your pen.
I asked if I might borrow your pen. (old-fashioned)
I asked to borrow your pen.

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Exercise 99: Using tell, ask, and advise

Underline the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.

Example: “Take a break, Jim.”
Jim’s boss told him to / asked to him / advised Jim take a break.

1. “You should accept the offer.”

The real estate agent advised / asked / told us to accept the offer.
2. “Don’t play with matches!”
The mother told the kids to not / didn’t tell the kids to / told the kids not to play with matches.
3. “Would you mind taking the trash out?”
Peter’s wife asked / asked him / asked him to take the trash out.
4. “You shouldn’t sell your shares.”
My broker advised to me not to / advised me not to / didn’t advise me to sell my shares.
5. “Would you mind not smoking?”
The receptionist asked the visitor to not smoke / not to smoke / to not mind smoking.

Exercise 100: Reported commands, requests, advice

Write the statements using reported speech. Use tell, ask, or advise as appropriate.
Example: Mr. Jacob: “Don’t be late, John!”
Mr. Jacob told John not to be late.

1. Mr. Gordon: “Kathy, will you please get me the Johnson report?”
2. Mary: “You shouldn’t ask for a raise so soon, Bill.”
3. Ted: “Could you help me carry the boxes, David?”
4. Mrs. Baker: “You ought to ask your father for advice, Tanya.”
5. Dr. Brown: “Take this medication three times a day, Brian.”
6. Tom: “Don’t call me after 10:00, Jeff.”

Exercise 101: Reporting polite requests and questions

Report each of these requests in at least two ways.

Example: “Tom, could you pick me up at noon? ”
I asked Tom to pick me up at noon.
I asked Tom if he could pick me up at noon.

1. “Jane, would you like to leave early?”

2. “May I use Bill’s office?”
3. “Could we continue our discussion later?”
4. “I would like to take a short break.”

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