Sometimes there is a need to pass on or report something that was said. Reported speech, also known as ‘indirect speech’, is a way of reporting (second hand as it were) what someone has said in ‘direct speech’, but without necessarily quoting their exact words.
Reported speech is commonly used in English when one wishes to share information that one heard or was told.
Examples of reported speech (indirect speech) and direct speech
Direct speech is speech that when written appears in quotation marks. Direct speech is an exact quotation of what the person said as they said it:
- “I am going to be late,” she said.
- “I am going to be late,” I said.
Reported speech conveys the same message second hand, and this can be told by the original speaker or by the person they spoke to or by a third party. No quotation marks are used for reported speech because it is not a word-for-word quotation of what was said. Because reported speech is not a word-for-word quotation, there are often a variety of ways that one quotation can be reported:
- She said that she was going to be late.
- She told me she was going to be late.
- She told me she would be late.
- I said that I was going to be late.
- I said that I would be late.
Changing the element of tense
Notice in the example of reported speech above, the verb to be, “I am”, has been changed to “I was/would” or “she was/would” to reflect the past tense. In the moment of direct speech, the statement was current (present tense). In the moment the statement was reported second hand, the statement became a thing of the past and was therefore reported in the past tense to reflect that this was said at some time in the past.
In the following example, the quoted direct speech retains the present tense in the reported speech:
- She said, “Your cat is quite fat.”
- She said that our cat is quite fat.
This is because the cat is still alive and still fat today, so it is not necessary to change the tense.
On this occasion the reporting is up-to-date, but there may be an instance in which a cat is spoken of that is no longer fat, or no longer alive, in which case the reported speech moves to the past and is described accordingly:
- She said that our cat was quite fat at that time.
Similarly in the following example:
- “The Earth is flat,” said Mrs Brown.
- Mrs Brown told us that the Earth is flat.
Mrs Brown did not say that the Earth used to be flat, but is no longer flat. She said that the Earth is flat and therefore this should not be reported in the past tense although this frequently occurs.
However, in the following example, the reported quotation does move to the past tense because, as with the earlier examples of reported speech, that event has moved into the past and is no longer true of the present moment:
- He said, “I am going without you.”
- He said he was going without me.
- “I’m going to be late,” she said.
- She told me she was going to be late.
For more on the different English tenses please read this post first.
Present tense
If the tense needs to be changed from present to past, it should retain the type of tense that was used:
- She said, “You do that well.” Present simple = She said I did that well. Past simple
- She said, “You are doing that well.” Present continuous = She said I was doing that well. Past continuous
- She said, “You have done that well.” Present perfect simple = She said I had done that well. Past perfect simple
- She said, “You have been doing that well.” Present perfect continuous = She said I had been doing that well. Past perfect continuous
Past tense
If the direct speech quoted is already in the past, the reported speech moves into the perfect tense to reflect the past before the past:
- She said, “You did that well.” Past simple = She said I had done that well. Past perfect simple
- She said, “You were doing that well.” Past continuous = She said I had been doing that well. Past perfect continuous
Future tense
If the direct speech is uttered with regards to the future, the reported speech is expressed in the conditional mood:
- She said, “You will do that well.” Future simple = She said I would do that well. Conditional mood
Similarly, if a potential or possibility is expressed, it must also change to the conditional mood in reported speech:
- She said, “You can do that well.” Future simple = She said I could do that well. Conditional mood
Changing the pronouns
Elements such as pronouns may also need to be adapted. Here are some examples of direct speech:
- She said, “I can’t drive my car.”
- “The Earth is flat,” he said.
- “You will enjoy your dinner,” they told us.
Now look at the changes in pronouns when the above direct quotations become reported speech:
- She said that she couldn’t drive her car.
- He said that the Earth is flat.
- They told us that we would enjoy our dinner.
Notice that the pronoun for the speaker of the direct speech remains the same because they are still the same person! In the middle example a noun is used and this remains unchanged. However, the pronouns for the person/people being addressed in the quoted direct speech change from the first or second person to the third person.
Adapting time expressions
In the following examples, certain expressions of time are included in the quoted speech. It is important when reporting this speech to bear in mind whether that time is still the same. Tomorrow may have become today or yesterday or last week before the speech is reported:
- “I will be travelling to England next week,” he said.
- He told me he would be travelling to England next week. (If it is still going to be next week)
- He told me he would be in England this week. (If it is already that week)
- He told me he was travelling to England last week. (If it has already moved into the past) etc.
Likewise, the following example could be reported in any of a number of ways depending entirely upon when it is reported:
- “You are sure to pass your test tomorrow,” she said.
- Last week, she told me I would pass that test.
- Yesterday, she assured me I would pass my test.
Freedom with descriptive words
Notice in the above example that the reporter of the speech has exercised some freedom with the words.
The ‘she said’ that accompanies the direct speech can become:
- she assured me
- she told me
- she asked me
- she wondered
- she requested
…or any of a number of other ways one might choose to report quoted speech:
- “Could you tell me the time?” she said.
- She asked me what the time was.
- “Let’s go for a walk,” he said.
- He suggested we go for a walk.
Other words that change according to context
This/that:
- “This programme is amazing,” she said.
- She said that programme was amazing.
These/those:
- “These shoes are amazing,” she said.
- She said that those shoes are amazing.
Here/there:
- “I’ll be here on Friday,” he said.
- He said he would be there on Friday.
Come/go:
- “I always come to this shop on a Friday,” she said.
- She told me that she always goes to that shop on a Friday.
Conclusion
Reported speech is useful when summarising conversations, or interviews, or when sharing information in a more indirect way. It is an aspect of English grammar that conveys what has been said usually by another person at another time, and therefore logically, elements of reported speech must be adapted from the original direct speech.
Beware, all words, elements and tenses of direct speech change according to the context of when that speech is reported. If the context of the reported speech requires it, some elements must change. All the examples in this post show contexts in which they change in reported speech. However, words can sometimes also remain unchanged in other appropriate contexts and the reporter of the speech is required to be conscious of this.
If you have any questions or comments, please do enter them below.
Exercises to practise
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/