Practice
Indirect speech: rules and examples
Ravi said, "I will call you tomorrow." The next day, his sister reported the message: Ravi said that he would call her that day. The meaning stays close to Ravi's words, but the sentence now comes from another speaker.
Report statements and questions by choosing a suitable reporting verb and adjusting words that depend on the speaker's point of view.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
She said that she would arrive later. /ʃi sɛd ðæt ʃi wʊd əˈraɪv ˈleɪtər/
The short answer
Use a reporting verb followed by a clause or question. Keep the original meaning, then change words such as I, tomorrow, and now when they no longer match the person or time of the report.
Leah said that she needed a quiet place to study.
Why it works: Leah's original word I becomes she because another person is reporting her message.
5 more examples
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Nora said that she was meeting the client after lunch.
The report changes I to she and moves am meeting to was meeting because Nora's words are reported later.
Not this:Nora said, "
I am meetingthe client after lunch." What changes: This is direct speech, so it keeps Nora's exact words in quotation marks. -
The guide told us that the museum closed at six.
Tell normally needs the listener: told us, told me, or told the group.
Not this:The guide
saidthat the museum closed at six. What changes: Said can report the same statement without naming the listener. -
Omar asked whether the office was open on Saturday.
Whether introduces a reported yes-or-no question, followed by statement word order.
Not this:Omar asked, "
Is the officeopen on Saturday?" What changes: The direct question has question word order and quotation marks. -
Ava asked where I had put the receipt.
Keep where because it carries the question's meaning, but place the subject before the verb in the reported clause.
Not this:Ava asked, "
Where did you putthe receipt?" What changes: The direct question uses did before the subject. -
Marta explained that the library was closed that day.
That day can replace today when the report happens on a different day.
Not this:Marta said, "The library is closed
today." What changes: Today belongs to the time when Marta spoke.
Read the full guide
First, ask whose voice the report uses. In direct speech, a speaker's exact words appear in quotation marks. In indirect speech, the reporter gives the message in a new sentence. You may need to adjust the grammar because the listener, the time, and the place may be different. Do not change the central message just to make the sentence look different.
Report the message, not every exact word
Indirect speech gives another person's message in your own sentence. Begin with a reporting verb, then make the clause fit your point of view.
Kai said that he needed help with the form.
Kai's original words might have been "I need help with the form." In the report, I becomes he because Kai is no longer speaking.
Who is speaking in the report: Kai or the person who heard him?
The person who heard Kai is speaking, so the pronoun changes to he.
Choose said, told, asked, or explained
Choose the reporting verb by the kind of message. Said is common for a statement. Tell usually needs the person who received the information. Asked introduces a question, and explained adds useful detail about a reason or process.
The technician told me that the printer needed paper.
Told me names the listener. Do not write the technician told that the printer needed paper.
The technician said that the printer needed paper.
Said works here because the listener is not named.
Adjust time and point of view when needed
A report may happen later than the original words. Check words that depend on the moment of speaking, including today, tomorrow, here, and I. Also check whether the verb needs to move back in time.
On Monday, Jules said that he would send the file the next day.
Will becomes would and tomorrow becomes the next day because the report is made after Jules spoke.
Ana said that she lives near the station.
The present form can stay when Ana still lives there and the fact remains current.
Use statement order in reported questions
A reported question does not keep the word order of a direct question. Use if or whether for a yes-or-no question. Keep a question word such as where or why when it carries the information you need.
Lena asked if I had seen her notebook.
The reported clause is I had seen, not had I seen. It uses the order of a statement.
Lena asked why the meeting had ended early.
Why stays in the sentence because the answer needs a reason.
Check the meaning before you change the grammar
Do not change every verb or time word by habit. Ask whether the report describes a past conversation, a current fact, or a future plan. The answer tells you what must change.
The instructor said that the course starts in October.
Starts can remain in the present when the October schedule is still current.
Is the course schedule still true when you report it?
If it is still true, the present form can be natural. If you report an earlier plan that may have changed, a past form may fit better.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose a reporting verb that matches the message. Then report the meaning from the new speaker's point of view. Change pronouns, time words, and verb forms only when the new situation needs them. For reported questions, use if or whether for a yes-or-no question, or keep the question word and use statement word order.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Indirect speech: rules and examples"
What is indirect speech in English?
Indirect speech reports the content of somebody's words without copying the exact sentence in quotation marks. Begin with a reporting verb, then make the rest of the sentence fit the reporter's point of view. You may need to change pronouns, time expressions, or a verb form.
Nora said that she was meeting the client after lunch.
When should I use said or told?
Use said to report a statement when you do not need to name the listener. Use told when you name the person or group who received the information, as in told me or told the class. Both verbs can report a statement, but told normally needs that listener after it.
Nora said, "I am meeting the client after lunch."
Do all verbs change in reported speech?
No. A past report often moves a verb back in time, but the situation matters. You can keep a present form when the fact is still true, such as a current schedule or a general fact. Check when the original words were spoken and whether the information still applies.
The guide told us that the museum closed at six.
How do I report a yes-or-no question?
Use asked followed by if or whether, then use statement word order. For example, write that someone asked whether the office was open, not whether was the office open. The words if and whether show that the original question could be answered with yes or no.
The guide said that the museum closed at six.
What happens to where and why in reported questions?
Keep where, why, when, or another question word when it carries the information being asked for. After that word, use the word order of a statement. For example, write where she had gone, not where had she gone. The question word stays, but the question order changes.
Omar asked whether the office was open on Saturday.