Reported Speech
Formula
Examples
Usage
- •Conveying what someone said without using their exact words
- •Tense changes in reported speech
- •Changes in reporting verbs (say, tell, ask, etc.)
More Examples
"I will call you," he said → He said he would call me.
will → would in backshift
"Are you coming?" she asked → She asked if I was coming.
Yes/no question becomes "if/whether" clause
"I have finished," he said → He said he had finished.
Present Perfect → Past Perfect backshift
"Don't touch that!" she told me → She told me not to touch that.
Reported imperative / command
Common Mistakes
- ✗❌ "She told that she was tired" → ✓ "She said that..." or "She told me that..." (tell needs an object)
- ✗❌ "He said me he was hungry" → ✓ "He told me he was hungry" (say does NOT take an indirect object)
- ✗❌ No backshift: "She said she is tired" — in formal reported speech backshift to: "she was tired"
Tips
- ✓Tense backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could.
- ✓Say (no object: "she said that") vs tell (needs object: "she told me that").
Tense Backshift Table
How direct speech tenses shift in reported speech
| Direct speech tense | Reported speech tense |
|---|---|
| present simple | past simple |
| present continuous | past continuous |
| present perfect | past perfect |
| past simple | past perfect |
| past continuous | past perfect continuous |
| past perfect | past perfect (no change) |
| will | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
| must / have to | had to |
| shall | would |
| should / would / could / might | no change |
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| now | then / at that moment |
| today | that day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| this week | that week |
| last week | the week before / the previous week |
| next week | the following week |
| here | there |
| this | that |
| these | those |
| ago | before / previously |
Advanced Notes
Tense backshift is not always obligatory — if the reported fact is still true now, many native speakers keep the original tense: "She said she lives in Paris" (still true today). Backshift is most important when reporting past events or when accuracy matters. Reporting verbs carry meaning beyond "said": "claim", "admit", "deny", "warn", "insist", "refuse" all embed the speaker's attitude and change the following grammar (that-clause, infinitive, gerund). Learner blind spot: question word order flips in reported questions — "She asked where I was going" not "She asked where was I going".
Compare With
Other B2 Topics
Past Perfect
Used for the earlier of two past events to show sequence
Future Perfect
Used for actions completed before a specific future point
Conditionals (0, 1, 2, 3)
Forms real, hypothetical, and impossible conditions across all time frames
Gerund vs Infinitive
Used for choosing between -ing and to+verb after verbs, adjectives, or prepositions
Causative Have
Used for arranging for someone else to do something for you
Past Perfect Continuous
Used for an ongoing action that continued up to a past event
Future Perfect Continuous
Used for duration of an ongoing action up to a future point
Modal Perfects: Deduction About the Past
Expresses deductions about past events using must/can't/might + have
Participle Clauses
Used for reducing clauses using -ing or past participle for concise formal style