Direct Speech / Quoted Speech
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Direct speech
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Indirect speech
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"I'm going to
the cinema", he said.
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He said he was
going to the cinema.
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Tense change
As a rule when you
report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left
changes to the tense on the right):
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Direct speech
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Indirect speech
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Present
simple
She said, "It's cold." |
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Past simple
She said it was cold. |
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Present continuous
She said, "I'm teaching English online." |
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Past continuous
She said she was teaching English online. |
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Present perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." |
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Past perfect simple
She said she had been on the web since 1999. |
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Present perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years." |
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Past perfect continuous
She said she had been teaching English for seven years. |
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Past simple
She said, "I taught online yesterday." |
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Past perfect
She said she had taught online yesterday. |
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Past continuous
She said, "I was teaching earlier." |
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Past perfect continuous
She said she had been teaching earlier. |
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Past perfect
She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived." |
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Past perfect
NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived. |
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Past perfect continuous
She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes." |
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Past perfect continuous
NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes. |
Modal verb forms also
sometimes change:
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Direct speech
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Indirect speech
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will
She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." |
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would
She said she would teach English online tomorrow. |
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can
She said, "I can teach English online." |
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could
She said she could teach English online. |
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must
She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online." |
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had to
She said she had to have a computer to teach English online. |
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shall
She said, "What shall we learn today?" |
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should
She asked what we should learn today. |
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may
She said, "May I open a new browser?" |
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might
She asked if she might open a new browser. |
!Note - There is
no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.
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Direct speech
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Indirect speech
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"I might go to
the cinema", he said.
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He said he might go
to the cinema.
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You can use the
present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still
true i.e. my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:-
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Direct speech
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Indirect speech
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"My name is Lynne", she said.
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She said her name
was Lynne.
or
She said her name
is Lynne.
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You can also use the
present tense if you are talking about a future event.
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Direct speech (exact quote)
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Indirect speech (not exact)
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"Next week's lesson is on reported speech", she said.
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She said next
week's lesson will be on reported speech.
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Time change
If the reported
sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the
time of reporting.
For example we need
to change words like here and yesterday if
they have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.
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Now
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+ 24 hours - Indirect speech
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"Today's
lesson is on presentations."
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She said
yesterday's lesson was on presentations.
or
She said
yesterday's lesson would be on presentations.
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Expressions of time if reported on a
different day
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this (evening)
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that (evening)
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today
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yesterday ...
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these (days)
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those (days)
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now
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then
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(a week) ago
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(a week) before
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last weekend
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the weekend before
last / the previous weekend
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here
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there
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next (week)
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the following
(week)
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tomorrow
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the next/following
day
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In addition if you
report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it
you must change the place (here) to the place (there).
