REPORTED SPEECH

REPORTED SPEECH (Direct → Indirect)

When we report someone’s words without quoting exactly, we use Indirect / Reported Speech.

 1. Basic Changes in Reported Speech

A. No quotation marks

Direct: She said, “I am tired.”
Indirect: She said that she was tired.

B. Pronoun Changes

Pronouns change according to meaning:

Direct	Indirect
I	he / she
we	they
you	I / we / they
my	his / her
our	their

Example:
Direct: He said, “I lost my phone.”
Indirect: He said that he had lost his phone.

C. Tense Changes (Backshift)

If reporting verb is in past tense (said, asked, told) → we move the tense one step back.

Direct	Indirect
am/is → was	are → were
was/were → had been	have/has → had
had → had (no change)	will → would
can → could	may → might

Example:
Direct: “I am happy.”
Indirect: He said that he was happy.

❗ No tense change if reporting verb is in present or future.

2. REPORTED SPEECH FOR DIFFERENT TYPES

A. Statements

Use that (optional)
Use said (no object) / told (with object)

Example:

Direct: She said, “I like coffee.”
Indirect: She said (that) she liked coffee.

Direct: She told me, “You are late.”
Indirect: She told me that I was late.

B. Questions

Remove ?
No question word order
Use asked / enquired
No do/does/did

1. WH- Questions (what, where, when, why, how, who)

Keep the WH-word.

Example:
Direct: He said, “Where are you going?”
Indirect: He asked where I was going.

2. Yes/No Questions

Use if / whether

Example:
Direct: She said, “Do you like tea?”
Indirect: She asked if I liked tea.

C. Commands / Requests

Use told / ordered / requested / advised / urged
Use to + verb

1. Requests

Direct: She said, “Please help me.”
Indirect: She requested me to help her.

2. Commands / Orders

Direct: He said, “Close the door.”
Indirect: He told me to close the door.

3. Negative Commands

Use not + to + verb

Direct: She said, “Don’t touch it.”
Indirect: She told me not to touch it.

 3. Special Cases

A. Time & Place changes

Direct	Indirect
now → then	today → that day
tomorrow → the next day	yesterday → the previous day
last week → the previous week	next week → the following week
here → there	this → that

Example:
Direct: “I will see you tomorrow.”
Indirect: He said that he would see me the next day.

B. Universal Truths (No tense change)

Direct: Teacher said, “The Earth revolves around the Sun.”
Indirect: Teacher said that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

C. ‘Let’ Sentences

1. Suggestion (Let’s...) → suggested that we should...
   Direct: “Let’s go home.”
   Indirect: He suggested that we should go home.

2. Permission (Let him/her...) → allowed/ permitted
   Direct: “Let him enter.”
   Indirect: He permitted him to enter.

 4. Quick Transformation Chart

Type	Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Statement	“I am tired.”	He said that he was tired.
Question (WH)	“Where is she?”	He asked where she was.
Question (Yes/No)	“Do you know her?”	He asked if I knew her.
Request	“Please sit down.”	She requested me to sit down.
Command	“Write your name.”	He told me to write my name.
Negative Command	“Don’t run.”	She told me not to run.

 5. Practice Questions

Convert into Reported Speech:

1. She said, “I will come later.”

2. Rohan said, “I am doing my work.”

3. They said to me, “Do you need help?”

4. He asked, “Why are you crying?”

5. The teacher said, “Don’t talk in class.”

6. She said, “I bought this dress yesterday.”

7. He said, “The sun rises in the east.”