Reported speech tells someone what another person said, without quotation marks. Direct speech repeats the exact words: "I am tired," Anna said. Reported speech moves the words into your sentence: Anna said that she was tired.
Three things change when you report a sentence: the verb tense moves one step back, the pronouns follow the new speaker, and the time and place words move with the story. English also has rules for reporting questions, commands and requests, and clear rules for say and tell.
The good news: the tense often does not change when the fact is still true, or when you report the words straight away. This page explains when to shift and when to leave the verb alone.
The rule
Direct and reported speech
- Direct: "The train is late," she said. The words sit inside quotation marks.
- Reported: She said that the train was late. No quotation marks, and the verb usually moves back.
- "That" is optional after say and tell, but it makes a long sentence easier to read.
- Report with say and tell: "He said he was busy", "He told me he was busy".
The tense backshift
- Present simple becomes past simple: "I work here" becomes she said she worked there.
- Present continuous becomes past continuous: "I am reading" becomes he said he was reading.
- Past simple becomes past perfect: "I saw the film" becomes she said she had seen the film.
- Will becomes would; can becomes could; may becomes might; must becomes had to.
- Present perfect becomes past perfect: "I have finished" becomes he said he had finished.
Pronouns and possessives move
- Pronouns follow the speaker, not the original words: "I am busy" said Tom becomes Tom said he was busy.
- "My phone is broken" becomes she said her phone was broken.
- "We are late" becomes they said they were late.
- When you report your own words, the pronoun stays: I said I was busy.
Time and place words move
- now becomes then; today becomes that day; tonight becomes that night.
- yesterday becomes the day before; tomorrow becomes the next day or the following day.
- last week becomes the week before; next week becomes the following week.
- here becomes there; this becomes that; these becomes those.
- In a story told on the same day, the words often stay: "She said she will come today."
No backshift, questions and commands
- Keep the tense when the fact is still true: "She said she lives in Rome" (and she still lives there).
- Keep the tense for a recent statement, a habit or a general truth: "He said the earth is round."
- Yes or no questions take if or whether: "Are you ready?" becomes he asked if I was ready.
- Wh-questions keep the question word but use statement order: "Where do you live?" becomes she asked where I lived.
- Commands take tell plus to: "Close the door" becomes he told me to close the door.
Examples
- "I am tired," said Lucy. Lucy said she was tired.Present simple becomes past simple, and I becomes she.
- "We are moving to Toronto," they said. They said they were moving to Toronto.Present continuous becomes past continuous.
- "I have finished the report," he said. He said he had finished the report.Present perfect becomes past perfect.
- "I saw the film last week," she said. She said she had seen the film the week before.Both the tense and the time word move back.
- "You can wait here," the guard said. The guard said we could wait there.Can becomes could, and here becomes there.
- "I will call you tomorrow," Ben said. Ben said he would call me the next day.Will becomes would, tomorrow becomes the next day.
- "Do you speak Spanish?" she asked. She asked if I spoke Spanish.A yes or no question takes if plus statement order.
- "Where is the station?" he asked. He asked where the station was.The question word stays, but the verb moves after the subject.
- "Send me the file," my manager said. My manager told me to send her the file.Commands use tell plus the person plus to.
- "The earth goes around the sun," the teacher said. The teacher said the earth goes around the sun.A general truth keeps the present simple.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: He said me that he was tired. Right: He told me that he was tired.
- Tell takes a person directly: tell somebody. Say does not: say something, or say something to somebody.
- Wrong: She said she will come to the party. Right: She said she would come to the party.
- When the reporting verb is in the past, will moves back to would.
- Wrong: He asked me where was the station. Right: He asked me where the station was.
- Reported questions use statement word order: subject before the verb.
- Wrong: She told to me the news. Right: She told me the news.
- Tell takes the person without "to": tell me, tell him, tell us.
- Wrong: He said he is tired yesterday. Right: He said he was tired the day before.
- Both the tense and the time word move back when the reporting happens later.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
"I am busy," Anna said. Anna said she ___ busy.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. was Present simple moves back to past simple when the reporting verb is in the past: she was busy.
"I have seen this film," Tom said. Tom said he ___ that film.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. had seen Present perfect moves back to past perfect: he had seen.
"We will help you," they said. They said they ___ me.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. would help Will moves back to would in reported speech.
"Where do you work?" she asked. She asked me where I ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. worked Reported questions use statement order and move the tense back: where I worked.
He ___ me that the meeting was cancelled.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. told Tell takes the listener directly: told me. Say cannot take "me" without "to".
"Can you swim?" he asked. He asked if I ___ swim.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. could Can moves back to could.
"I bought a new car yesterday," she said. She said she had bought a new car ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. the day before Yesterday becomes the day before when the reporting happens later.
"Close the window, please," she said. She ___ me to close the window.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. told Commands use tell plus the person plus to: told me to close.
"I am living in Berlin now," he said. He said he ___ in Berlin ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. was living ... then Present continuous becomes past continuous, and now becomes then.
"Do you know the answer?" the teacher asked. The teacher asked ___ I knew the answer.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. if A yes or no question takes if or whether in reported speech.
"I may be late," she said. She said she ___ be late.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. might May moves back to might.
"You must finish today," the coach said. The coach said we ___ finish that day.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. had to Must usually moves back to had to when the obligation was in the past.
My father said that he ___ tired after work.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. was When the reporting verb is in the past, present simple becomes past simple.
"This is my sister," he said. He said that ___ was his sister.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. that This changes to that in reported speech, and my changes to his.
She asked me ___ the door was open.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. if The original question was "Is the door open?" A yes or no question becomes if or whether.
"I cannot come tonight," Maria said. Maria said she ___ come ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. could not ... that night Cannot moves back to could not, and tonight becomes that night.
"The sun rises in the east," the teacher said. The teacher said the sun ___ in the east.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. rises A general truth keeps its original tense: the sun rises.
"Why are you crying?" he asked. He asked why I ___ .
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. was crying Present continuous becomes past continuous, and the word order is statement order: why I was crying.
She told me ___ worry about the test.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. not to Negative commands in reported speech use tell plus not to plus the verb.
"I will see you here tomorrow," he said. He said he would see me ___ ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. there ... the next day Here becomes there, and tomorrow becomes the next day or the following day.
Questions learners ask
Do I always have to move the tense back?
No. Keep the original tense when the statement is still true (she said she lives in Rome), when it is a general truth (he said water boils at 100 degrees), when you report the words immediately, or after verbs such as claim and insist. In exams, backshift is the expected default unless the fact is clearly still true.
What is the difference between "say" and "tell"?
Tell needs a listener: tell me, tell your mother, tell the class. Say does not need one: he said hello; she said the train was late. To add a listener to say, use to: she said to me that she was leaving.
How do I report a question?
Use statement order and drop do, does and did. For a yes or no question, add if or whether: "Do you like tea?" becomes she asked if I liked tea. For a wh-question, keep the question word: "Why are you late?" becomes he asked why I was late. The question mark disappears.
More grammar topics
Articles: a, an and the
New or known, sound not letter, and the zero article for general statements.
Prepositions of time and place: at, on and in
At, on and in for clock times, days and periods, and for points, surfaces and spaces.
The passive voice
Be plus past participle, when the doer matters and when the result matters more.
Take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.