Reported Speech — Interactive Lesson

What Is Reported Speech?

When you tell someone what another person said, you have two choices.

Direct speech — the exact words

"I love this city," he said.
"We are leaving tomorrow," they told us.
"I can't find my keys," she said.

Reported speech — in your own words

He said he loved that city.
They told us they were leaving the next day.
She said she couldn't find her keys.

When you move from direct to reported speech, three things usually change: the verb tense moves back one step, pronouns change to match the new speaker, and time and place words may change. The word "that" is optional: "She said that she was tired" = "She said she was tired."

💡 Think of it like passing on a message. If your friend said "I am coming", you wouldn't text someone else "She am coming" — you'd naturally say "She said she was coming." The language shifts to fit your new perspective.

Exercise 1

Direct or Reported?

Notice what changes when we pass on what someone said.

Question 1 of 4

Which sentence is direct speech?

Question 2 of 4

"I enjoy my job," she said. → She said she __________ her job.

Question 3 of 4

"I am hungry," Tom said. → Tom said __________ was hungry.

Question 4 of 4

She said (that) she was tired. Which word can be left out without changing the meaning?

The Tense Moves Back One Step

Each tense in direct speech becomes the tense one step further into the past when reported. Think of it as sliding one position back.

Direct speech — exact words	→	Reported speech
"I am tired." present simple	→	She said she was tired. past simple
"I was there." past simple	→	He said he had been there. past perfect
"I have finished." present perfect	→	She said she had finished. past perfect
"I will help." will	→	He said he would help. would
"I can do it." can	→	She said she could do it. could
"It may rain." may	→	He said it might rain. might
"I must go." must (obligation)	→	She said she had to go. had to
"would / could / should / might" already past	→	No change — these stay the same. "She said she should try harder."

⚡ When the tense does NOT change

If something is still true now, you can leave the tense as it is:
"The Earth orbits the Sun," the teacher said. → "The teacher said the Earth orbits the Sun." ✓
If you are reporting something said very recently, and it is still the case:
"She says she is waiting outside." (she's still outside right now) ✓

Exercise 2

Report What Was Said

Complete each reported speech sentence with the correct form.

Question 1 of 6

"I am really tired," she said. She said she ___ really tired.

Question 2 of 6

"We will call you tomorrow," they said. They said they ___ call me the next day.

Question 3 of 6

"I have already eaten," he said. He said he ___ already eaten.

Question 4 of 6

"I can't come tonight," she told me. She told me she ___ come that night.

Question 5 of 6

"I saw him yesterday," she said. She said she had seen him ___.

Question 6 of 6

"I love working here," he said. He said he loved working ___.

Words That Change

As well as tense, pronouns and time and place words usually need to change too.

Pronouns

I→he / she

we→they

my→his / her

our→their

me→him / her

you→I / he / she / they

Time and place words

now→then

today→that day

yesterday→the day before

tomorrow→the next day

last week→the week before

next week→the following week

here→there

this→that

these→those

Exercise 3

Click the Word That Changed

Each sentence shows a direct quote and the reported version. Click the word in the reported sentence that changed from the original.

Sentence 1 of 5

Direct

"I am happy here," she said.

Reported — click the word that changed

Sentence 2 of 5

Direct

"I will finish it tomorrow," he said.

Reported — click the word that changed (tense only, not the time word)

Sentence 3 of 5

Direct

"I have just finished," she said.

Reported — click the word that changed

Sentence 4 of 5

Direct

"I can't do it," he said.

Reported — click the word that changed

Sentence 5 of 5

Direct

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

Reported — click the time phrase that changed

Say or Tell?

Both introduce reported speech, but they work differently — this is one of the most common mistakes.

say

No person after say. If you want to mention who was spoken to, add to.

"She said she was tired." ✓
"She said to me she was tired." ✓

❌ "She said me she was tired."

tell

Always has a person directly after it — no to needed.

"She told me she was tired." ✓
"He told us the meeting was cancelled." ✓

❌ "She told to me she was tired."

⚠️ Quick check

"She said me it was late." → "She told me it was late." ✓
"He told to her the news." → "He told her the news." ✓
Memory trick: tell takes a person like a direct object: "tell someone something". Say does not.

Exercise 4

Say or Tell?

Say and tell are used differently. Choose the correct verb or sentence.

Question 1 of 4

She __________ me she was tired.

Question 2 of 4

He __________ he would be late.

Question 3 of 4

Which sentence is correct?

Question 4 of 4

Which sentence is correct?

Reporting Questions

When you report a question, two things happen: the question word order disappears, and the tense moves back.

Yes/No questions → use "if" or "whether"

Questions that can be answered yes or no use if or whether in reported speech. The subject comes before the verb — normal statement order.

"Are you coming to the party?" she asked.
→ She asked if / whether I was coming to the party.

"Have you eaten?" he asked.
→ He asked if I had eaten.

Wh- questions → use the question word

Keep the question word (who, what, where, when, why, how), but switch back to normal statement order. No do / does / did.

"Where do you live?" she asked.
→ She asked where I lived. (not: where did I live)

"What time does the train leave?" he asked.
→ He asked what time the train left.

🔑 The golden rule for reported questions: the word order goes back to normal — subject first, then verb, no question mark. "She asked where I lived" — not "where did I live".

Exercise 5

Reporting Questions

In a reported question the word order goes back to normal and the tense moves back.

Question 1 of 4

"Are you coming?" she asked. → She asked __________ I was coming.

Question 2 of 4

"Where do you live?" he asked. → He asked where __________.

Question 3 of 4

"What time does the train leave?" → He asked what time the train __________.

Question 4 of 4

Which sentence is correct?

Reporting Commands and Requests

Commands and requests become tell / ask + person + to + verb.

Positive command

"Sit down!" he said to her.
→ He told her to sit down.

Negative command

"Don't be late!" the teacher said.
→ The teacher told us not to be late.

Polite request

"Could you open the window?" she said.
→ She asked me to open the window.

Negative request

"Please don't tell anyone," he said.
→ He asked me not to tell anyone.

🔑 Commands become infinitives: tell/ask + person + (not) to + verb. No tense shift needed — the infinitive stays the same.

Exercise 6

Questions and Commands

Report each question or command correctly.

Question 1 of 5

"Are you coming to the party?" she asked me. She asked me ___ I was coming to the party.

Question 2 of 5

"Where do you work?" he asked. He asked where I ___.

Question 3 of 5

"Don't touch anything!" the guide told us. The guide told us ___ anything.

Question 4 of 5

"What time does the film start?" she asked. She asked what time the film ___.

Question 5 of 5

"Please help me with this," she said to him. She asked him ___ her with it.

Exercise 7

Mixed Review

A mix of everything — tense shifts, word changes, say vs tell, and reported questions and commands.

Tense Shifts

Question 1 of 16

"I am hungry," he said. He said he ___ hungry.

Question 2 of 16

"I will call you," she said. She said she ___ call me.

Question 3 of 16

"I have finished my homework," he said. He said he ___ his homework.

Question 4 of 16

"I was there," she said. She said she ___ there.

Word Changes

Question 5 of 16

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said. She said she'd see me ___.

Question 6 of 16

"We are leaving today," they said. They said they were leaving ___.

Question 7 of 16

"I lost my keys yesterday," he said. He said he had lost his keys ___.

Question 8 of 16

"We are tired," they said. They said ___ were tired.

Say or Tell?

Question 9 of 16

She ___ me she was busy. (a person comes directly after)

Question 10 of 16

He ___ that he would be late. (no person mentioned)

Question 11 of 16

Which sentence is correctly formed?

Question 12 of 16

Which sentence is correctly formed?

Reported Questions & Commands

Question 13 of 16

"Are you ready?" she asked. She asked ___ I was ready.

Question 14 of 16

"Where do you live?" he asked. He asked where I ___.

Question 15 of 16

"Sit down!" he said to her. He told her ___ down.

Question 16 of 16

"Don't touch that!" she said to us. She told us ___ touch that.