Intermediate Level – Reported Speech

Reported Speech, also known as Indirect Speech, is used to express what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. It often involves changes in verb tenses, pronouns, and time expressions to reflect the shift from direct to indirect reporting.

Verb Tense Changes:

• Present tense verbs typically change to past tense.
• Past tense verbs often shift to past perfect.
• Future tense verbs (will) change to conditional (would).

Pronoun Changes:

• Pronouns are adjusted to match the perspective of the reporter.

Time and Place Changes:

• Time expressions are modified to fit the context of the reporting time (e.g., “today” might change to “that day”).
• Place expressions are adjusted similarly.

Modals:

• Modal verbs like “can” and “may” change to “could” and “might.”

Statements:

• Use “that” (optional) after reporting verbs like “say” and “tell.”

Questions:

• Yes/no questions are introduced with “if” or “whether.”
• Wh- questions retain the question word but follow statement word order.

Commands and Requests:

• Use “to” + base form of the verb after reporting verbs like “tell” or “ask.”