REPORTED SPEECH
Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, allows us to recount what
someone has said without using their exact words. This resource is very useful in
various everyday situations, such as informal conversations, work meetings, phone
calls and emails.
Indirect speech allows us to reproduce another person's words in our own words,
usually by changing the verb tense to the past.
When is it used?
Indirect speech is used in a number of situations, especially when we want to
recount or paraphrase what someone has said without quoting their exact words.
Here are some examples of when it might be used:
1- Relating a conversation: If you want to tell someone about a conversation
you had, you'll likely use indirect speech to summarize what was said rather
than repeating everything verbatim.
2- Paraphrasing: If you're reading or listening to something and want to share
the information with someone else, you can use indirect speech to rephrase
the information in your own words.
3- Reports and summaries: In written reports or summaries, indirect speech
is often used to present information in a more formal and objective manner.
4- Formal situations: In more formal contexts, such as in academia or the
professional setting, indirect speech is often used to present the ideas or
words of others in a respectful and objective manner.
5- Changing the verb tense: When the action being reported happened in the
past, reported speech allows you to change the verb tense to the past to
reflect this.
Changing verb tenses
The verb tenses used in reported speech change from those used in direct speech
as follows:
Direct style or Direct Speech Indirect style or Reported Speech
Simple Present Simple Past
Example: “I am very glad to see you Example: Miguel said that he was glad
again”, Miguel said. to see me again.
Present Continuous Past Continuous
Example: “Sabrina is working in Example: He said Sabrina was working
Buenos Aires” he said. in Buenos Aires.
Past Simple Simple Past Perfect
Example: “Did you finish the test?” she Example: She asked me if I had
asked. finished the test.
Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Example: They said, “We weren't going Example: They said that they hadn't
to cinema today” going to cinema today.
Present Perfect Simple Past Perfect Simple
Example: Mario said, “I’ve already Example: Mario told me that he’d
gone out” already gone out.
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Example: “I’ve been playing piano for Example: She said that she’d been
ten years” she said. playing piano for ten years.
Past Perfect Simple
This tense remains the same for direct
or reported speech.
Example: “I’d been to my home before
the college” she said.
She said that she'd been in her home
before the college.
Past Perfect Continuous
Exactly the same, the verb tense
remains the same for direct or reported
speech.
Example: He said “I’d been working
here for years before quit”.
He said that he’d been working here for
years before quit.
Changing modal verbs
Direct style or Direct Speech Indirect style or Reported Speech
Can Could
She said: “I can swim very fast”. She said that she could swim very fast.
Will Would
He said, «I will help you tomorrow.» He said that he would help me
tomorrow.
Must Had to
«You must finish this by tomorrow,» The manager said that we had to finish
the manager said. this by tomorrow.
Shall Should
«Shall I open the window?» he asked. He asked if he should open the
window.
Note: “shall” and “should” do not
have a direct translation into
Spanish, it is a polite formula used
mainly in questions.
May Might
«We may go to France this summer,» They said that they might go to France
they said. this summer.
Changing temporal adverbs
Direct style or Direct Speech Indirect style or Reported Speech
Now Then
«I’m busy now,» she said. She said that she was busy then.
Today That day
«I will finish it today,» he said. He said that he would finish it that day.
Tomorrow The next day / the following day
«I’ll see you tomorrow,» she She said that she would see me the
said. next day.
Yesterday The day before / the previous day
«I saw him yesterday,» he said. He said that he had seen him the day
before.
Last week/month/year The week/month/year before /the
previous week/month/year
«We went to the beach last They said that they had gone to the
week,» they said. beach the week before.
Next week/month/year The following week/month/year
«I will graduate next year,» she She said that she would graduate the
said. following year.
Use of If or Whether
In reported speech, when we report a question that originally required a yes or no
answer, we use if or whether to introduce the interrogative clause. This transforms
the direct question into a subordinate question within the indirect sentence,
maintaining the interrogative meaning without using the direct question structure.
Consider the following examples:
DS: «Are you coming to the party? » she asked.
RS: She asked if I was coming to the party.
DS: «Can you help me with this? » he asked.
RS: He asked if I could help him with that.
Use of told and said
Although the verb to say is the most commonly used verb in reported speech,
others such as told, asked, and suggested are also used as introductory verbs to
the reported action to indicate how the information was originally communicated.
Each of these verbs has a specific use that depends on the context of the original
conversation and the type of message being conveyed.
Said: This is the most general verb for reporting what someone has said. It
does not specify the nature of the communication beyond that something
was said.
DS: «I am hungry,» he said.
RS: He said he was hungry.
Told: This is a verb that requires an indirect object; that is, you must specify
who something was told to. It is used to indicate that the information was
communicated directly to another person.
DS: «You should rest». RS: The doctor told me that I should rest.
Asked: Used to report questions. If the question is closed (yes/no), it is
introduced with if or whether. For open questions, the structure of the
original question is followed, adapted to indirect speech.
DS: «Do you like chocolate?» she asked him
RS: She asked him if he liked chocolate.
Suggested: Used to indicate that someone has proposed an idea or plan.
Suggested can be followed by that and then a clause that often uses a base
form of the verb (mimicking the subjunctive in Spanish). In English, the use
of should is optional and can make the suggestion sound a bit more formal
or emphatic.
DS: «Let’s go to the beach»
RS: He suggested (that) we (should) go to the beach.
