GRAMMAR RESOURCE · CHAPTER 20

Direct and Indirect Speech

Report statements, questions, commands and requests; practise pronoun, tense, time-expression and reporting-verb changes.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to explain the rules, recognise the target forms in context, avoid common errors and apply the patterns to new sentences.

1. Direct and reported speech

Direct speech quotes the speaker’s exact words, usually inside quotation marks. Reported (indirect) speech conveys the meaning without quoting the exact wording. Punctuation and pronouns may change according to context.

Direct: Mina said, “I am tired.” / Reported: Mina said that she was tired.

2. Tense backshift and when it is unnecessary

When the reporting verb is in the past, the tense often moves back: present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous; present perfect → past perfect; will → would; can → could. Backshift may be unnecessary for a still-true fact or when the reporting context supports retaining the tense.

He said, “I live here.” → He said he lived there. / The teacher said that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

3. Pronouns, place and time expressions

Change pronouns and words such as here, now, today, tomorrow and yesterday according to who reports the message and when/where it is reported. These changes are contextual, not automatic in every situation.

She said, “I will come tomorrow.” → She said she would come the next day.

4. Reported questions

Use asked/wanted to know and statement word order. Yes/no questions commonly use if or whether; wh-questions retain the question word. Do not use do/does/did or a question mark in the embedded reported question.

“Are you ready?” → He asked if I was ready. / “Where do you live?” → She asked where I lived.

5. Commands, requests and reporting verbs

Report commands and requests with tell/ask + object + to-infinitive; use not to for negative commands. Say generally has no personal object unless followed by to; tell normally needs an object. Reporting verbs such as advise, warn, promise and suggest have their own patterns.

“Please wait.” → He asked me to wait. / “Don’t touch it.” → She warned us not to touch it.

Guided practice

Try each item first. Then open the answer key and read the explanation for any answer you missed.

  1. Direct: He said, “I am busy.”
  2. Direct: She said, “I have finished.”
  3. Direct: Ali said, “I will help you.”
  4. Direct: He asked, “Are you ready?”
  5. Direct: She asked, “Where do you live?”
  6. Direct: Mother said, “Close the door.”
  7. Direct: He said, “Please help me.”
  8. Direct: She said, “Do not touch it.”
  9. Correct: “He told that he was ill.”
  10. Direct: He said, “I saw her yesterday.”
  11. Direct: The teacher said, “The Earth moves around the Sun.”
  12. Direct: She asked me, “Can you swim?”
  13. Direct: He said to me, “I am waiting here now.”
  14. Direct: Rina said, “I may come.”
  15. Direct: He said, “Let’s start.”
Show answer key and explanations
  1. He said that he was busy. — Past reporting verb commonly triggers present-to-past backshift.
  2. She said that she had finished. — Present perfect commonly backshifts to past perfect.
  3. Ali said that he would help me. — Will commonly changes to would; pronouns depend on context.
  4. He asked if I was ready. — Yes/no reported questions use if/whether and statement word order.
  5. She asked where I lived. — Reported wh-questions use statement word order.
  6. Mother told me to close the door. — Commands use told + object + to-infinitive.
  7. He asked me to help him. — Requests use asked + object + to-infinitive.
  8. She told me not to touch it. — Negative commands use not to + base verb.
  9. He said that he was ill. / He told me that he was ill. — Tell normally needs an object; say does not.
  10. He said that he had seen her the day before. — Past simple often backshifts to past perfect; yesterday changes contextually.
  11. The teacher said that the Earth moves around the Sun. — A general truth can remain in the present tense.
  12. She asked me if I could swim. — Can commonly changes to could in reported speech.
  13. He told me that he was waiting there then. — Tense, place and time expressions change with context.
  14. Rina said that she might come. — May commonly changes to might.
  15. He suggested that we should start. / He suggested starting. — Suggest can be followed by a that-clause or gerund.

Revision checklist

If an answer was wrong, identify the rule behind the mistake and try writing two original examples.

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Editorial note: Some grammar conventions vary by dialect or examination syllabus. Follow the terminology and conventions specified by your course or exam board where relevant.