in indirect speech tomorrow

Time and Place in Reported Speech

When we report something, we may need to make changes to:

time (now, tomorrow)
place (here, this room)

If we report something around the same time, then we probably do not need to make any changes to time words . But if we report something at a different time, we need to change time words. Look at these example sentences:

He said: "It was hot yesterday ." → He said that it had been hot the day before .
He said: "We are going to swim tomorrow ." → He said they were going to swim the next day .

Here is a list of common time words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

Place words

If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any changes to place words . But if we are in a different place when we report something, then we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences:

He said: "It is cold in here ." → He said that it was cold in there .
He said: "How much is this book ?" → He asked how much the book was.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

Contributor: Josef Essberger

Reported speech

Changing time and place in reported speech

Time and place must often change when going from direct to reported speech (indirect speech).

In general, personal pronouns change to the third person singular or plural, except when the speaker reports his own words: I/me/my/mine, you/your/yours = him/his/her/hers we/us/our/ours, you/your/yours = they/their/theirs

He said: "I like your new car." = He told her that he liked her new car. I said: "I'm going to my friend's house." = I said that I was going to my friend's house.

He said: "It is cold in here ." → He said that it was cold in there .
He said: "How much is this book ?" → He asked how much the book was.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

Course Curriculum

Direct and indirect speech 15 mins
Tense changes in reported speech 20 mins
Changing time and place in reported speech 20 mins
Reported questions 20 mins
Reporting verbs 20 mins
Reporting orders and requests 15 mins
Reporting hopes, intentions and promises 20 mins

Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Reported speech: indirect speech

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech , the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command.

Indirect speech: reporting statements

Indirect reports of statements consist of a reporting clause and a that -clause. We often omit that , especially in informal situations:

The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane came in to land. (The pilot’s words were: ‘The weather was extremely bad as the plane came in to land.’ )

I told my wife I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday. ( that -clause without that ) (or I told my wife that I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday .)

Indirect speech: reporting questions

Reporting yes-no questions and alternative questions.

Indirect reports of yes-no questions and questions with or consist of a reporting clause and a reported clause introduced by if or whether . If is more common than whether . The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She asked if [S] [V] I was Scottish. (original yes-no question: ‘Are you Scottish?’ )

The waiter asked whether [S] we [V] wanted a table near the window. (original yes-no question: ‘Do you want a table near the window? )

He asked me if [S] [V] I had come by train or by bus. (original alternative question: ‘Did you come by train or by bus?’ )

Questions: yes-no questions ( Are you feeling cold? )

Reporting wh -questions

Indirect reports of wh -questions consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a wh -word ( who, what, when, where, why, how ). We don’t use a question mark:

He asked me what I wanted.

Not: He asked me what I wanted?

The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She wanted to know who [S] we [V] had invited to the party.

Not: … who had we invited …

Who , whom and what

In indirect questions with who, whom and what , the wh- word may be the subject or the object of the reported clause:

I asked them who came to meet them at the airport. ( who is the subject of came ; original question: ‘Who came to meet you at the airport?’ )

He wondered what the repairs would cost. ( what is the object of cost ; original question: ‘What will the repairs cost?’ )

She asked us what [S] we [V] were doing . (original question: ‘What are you doing?’ )

Not: She asked us what were we doing?

When , where , why and how

We also use statement word order (subject + verb) with when , where, why and how :

I asked her when [S] it [V] had happened (original question: ‘When did it happen?’ ).

Not: I asked her when had it happened?

I asked her where [S] the bus station [V] was . (original question: ‘Where is the bus station?’ )

Not: I asked her where was the bus station?

The teacher asked them how [S] they [V] wanted to do the activity . (original question: ‘How do you want to do the activity?’ )

Not: The teacher asked them how did they want to do the activity?

Questions: wh- questions

Indirect speech: reporting commands

Indirect reports of commands consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a to -infinitive:

The General ordered the troops to advance . (original command: ‘Advance!’ )

The chairperson told him to sit down and to stop interrupting . (original command: ‘Sit down and stop interrupting!’ )

We also use a to -infinitive clause in indirect reports with other verbs that mean wanting or getting people to do something, for example, advise, encourage, warn :

They advised me to wait till the following day. (original statement: ‘You should wait till the following day.’ )

The guard warned us not to enter the area. (original statement: ‘You must not enter the area.’ )

Verbs followed by a to -infinitive

Indirect speech: present simple reporting verb

We can use the reporting verb in the present simple in indirect speech if the original words are still true or relevant at the time of reporting, or if the report is of something someone often says or repeats:

Sheila says they’re closing the motorway tomorrow for repairs.

Henry tells me he’s thinking of getting married next year.

Rupert says dogs shouldn’t be allowed on the beach. (Rupert probably often repeats this statement.)

Newspaper headlines

We often use the present simple in newspaper headlines. It makes the reported speech more dramatic:

JUDGE TELLS REPORTER TO LEAVE COURTROOM

PRIME MINISTER SAYS FAMILIES ARE TOP PRIORITY IN TAX REFORM

Present simple ( I work )

Reported speech

Reported speech: direct speech

Indirect speech: past continuous reporting verb

In indirect speech, we can use the past continuous form of the reporting verb (usually say or tell ). This happens mostly in conversation, when the speaker wants to focus on the content of the report, usually because it is interesting news or important information, or because it is a new topic in the conversation:

Rory was telling me the big cinema in James Street is going to close down. Is that true?

Alex was saying that book sales have gone up a lot this year thanks to the Internet.

‘Backshift’ refers to the changes we make to the original verbs in indirect speech because time has passed between the moment of speaking and the time of the report.

In these examples, the present ( am ) has become the past ( was ), the future ( will ) has become the future-in-the-past ( would ) and the past ( happened ) has become the past perfect ( had happened ). The tenses have ‘shifted’ or ‘moved back’ in time.

The past perfect does not shift back; it stays the same:

Modal verbs

Some, but not all, modal verbs ‘shift back’ in time and change in indirect speech.

We can use a perfect form with have + - ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past:

He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ )

He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’ )

Used to and ought to do not change in indirect speech:

She said she used to live in Oxford. (original statement: ‘I used to live in Oxford.’ )

The guard warned us that we ought to leave immediately. (original statement: ‘You ought to leave immediately.’ )

No backshift

We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if what a person said is still true or relevant or has not happened yet. This often happens when someone talks about the future, or when someone uses the present simple, present continuous or present perfect in their original words:

He told me his brother works for an Italian company. (It is still true that his brother works for an Italian company.)

She said she ’s getting married next year. (For the speakers, the time at the moment of speaking is ‘this year’.)

He said he ’s finished painting the door. (He probably said it just a short time ago.)

She promised she ’ll help us. (The promise applies to the future.)

Indirect speech: changes to pronouns

Changes to personal pronouns in indirect reports depend on whether the person reporting the speech and the person(s) who said the original words are the same or different.

Indirect speech: changes to adverbs and demonstratives

We often change demonstratives ( this, that ) and adverbs of time and place ( now, here, today , etc.) because indirect speech happens at a later time than the original speech, and perhaps in a different place.

Typical changes to demonstratives, adverbs and adverbial expressions

Indirect speech: typical errors.

The word order in indirect reports of wh- questions is the same as statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order:

She always asks me where [S] [V] I am going .

Not: She always asks me where am I going .

We don’t use a question mark when reporting wh- questions:

I asked him what he was doing.

Not: I asked him what he was doing?

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Direct and Indirect Speech: Useful Rules and Examples

Are you having trouble understanding the difference between direct and indirect speech? Direct speech is when you quote someone’s exact words, while indirect speech is when you report what someone said without using their exact words. This can be a tricky concept to grasp, but with a little practice, you’ll be able to use both forms of speech with ease.

Direct and Indirect Speech

When someone speaks, we can report what they said in two ways: direct speech and indirect speech. Direct speech is when we quote the exact words that were spoken, while indirect speech is when we report what was said without using the speaker’s exact words. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I love pizza,” said John. Indirect speech: John said that he loved pizza.

Using direct speech can make your writing more engaging and can help to convey the speaker’s tone and emotion. However, indirect speech can be useful when you want to summarize what someone said or when you don’t have the exact words that were spoken.

To change direct speech to indirect speech, you need to follow some rules. Firstly, you need to change the tense of the verb in the reported speech to match the tense of the reporting verb. Secondly, you need to change the pronouns and adverbs in the reported speech to match the new speaker. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I will go to the park,” said Sarah. Indirect speech: Sarah said that she would go to the park.

It’s important to note that when you use indirect speech, you need to use reporting verbs such as “said,” “told,” or “asked” to indicate who is speaking. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “What time is it?” asked Tom. Indirect speech: Tom asked what time it was.

In summary, understanding direct and indirect speech is crucial for effective communication and writing. Direct speech can be used to convey the speaker’s tone and emotion, while indirect speech can be useful when summarizing what someone said. By following the rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech, you can accurately report what was said while maintaining clarity and readability in your writing.

Differences between Direct and Indirect Speech

When it comes to reporting speech, there are two ways to go about it: direct and indirect speech. Direct speech is when you report someone’s exact words, while indirect speech is when you report what someone said without using their exact words. Here are some of the key differences between direct and indirect speech:

Change of Pronouns

In direct speech, the pronouns used are those of the original speaker. However, in indirect speech, the pronouns have to be changed to reflect the perspective of the reporter. For example:

Direct speech: “I am going to the store,” said John.
Indirect speech: John said he was going to the store.

In the above example, the pronoun “I” changes to “he” in indirect speech.

Change of Tenses

Another major difference between direct and indirect speech is the change of tenses. In direct speech, the verb tense used is the same as that used by the original speaker. However, in indirect speech, the verb tense may change depending on the context. For example:

Direct speech: “I am studying for my exams,” said Sarah.
Indirect speech: Sarah said she was studying for her exams.

In the above example, the present continuous tense “am studying” changes to the past continuous tense “was studying” in indirect speech.

Change of Time and Place References

When reporting indirect speech, the time and place references may also change. For example:

Direct speech: “I will meet you at the park tomorrow,” said Tom.
Indirect speech: Tom said he would meet you at the park the next day.

In the above example, “tomorrow” changes to “the next day” in indirect speech.

Overall, it is important to understand the differences between direct and indirect speech to report speech accurately and effectively. By following the rules of direct and indirect speech, you can convey the intended message of the original speaker.

Converting Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech

When you need to report what someone said in your own words, you can use indirect speech. To convert direct speech into indirect speech, you need to follow a few rules.

Step 1: Remove the Quotation Marks

The first step is to remove the quotation marks that enclose the relayed text. This is because indirect speech does not use the exact words of the speaker.

Step 2: Use a Reporting Verb and a Linker

To indicate that you are reporting what someone said, you need to use a reporting verb such as “said,” “asked,” “told,” or “exclaimed.” You also need to use a linker such as “that” or “whether” to connect the reporting verb to the reported speech.

For example:

Direct speech: “I love ice cream,” said Mary.
Indirect speech: Mary said that she loved ice cream.

Step 3: Change the Tense of the Verb

When you use indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the verb in the reported speech to match the tense of the reporting verb.

Indirect speech: John said that he was going to the store.

Step 4: Change the Pronouns

You also need to change the pronouns in the reported speech to match the subject of the reporting verb.

Direct speech: “Are you busy now?” Tina asked me.
Indirect speech: Tina asked whether I was busy then.

By following these rules, you can convert direct speech into indirect speech and report what someone said in your own words.

Converting Indirect Speech Into Direct Speech

Converting indirect speech into direct speech involves changing the reported speech to its original form as spoken by the speaker. Here are the steps to follow when converting indirect speech into direct speech:

Identify the reporting verb: The first step is to identify the reporting verb used in the indirect speech. This will help you determine the tense of the direct speech.
Change the pronouns: The next step is to change the pronouns in the indirect speech to match the person speaking in the direct speech. For example, if the indirect speech is “She said that she was going to the store,” the direct speech would be “I am going to the store,” if you are the person speaking.
Change the tense: Change the tense of the verbs in the indirect speech to match the tense of the direct speech. For example, if the indirect speech is “He said that he would visit tomorrow,” the direct speech would be “He says he will visit tomorrow.”
Remove the reporting verb and conjunction: In direct speech, there is no need for a reporting verb or conjunction. Simply remove them from the indirect speech to get the direct speech.

Here is an example to illustrate the process:

Indirect Speech: John said that he was tired and wanted to go home.

Direct Speech: “I am tired and want to go home,” John said.

By following these steps, you can easily convert indirect speech into direct speech.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and indirect speech are two ways to report what someone has said. Direct speech reports the exact words spoken by a person, while indirect speech reports the meaning of what was said. Here are some examples of both types of speech:

Direct Speech Examples

Direct speech is used when you want to report the exact words spoken by someone. It is usually enclosed in quotation marks and is often used in dialogue.

“I am going to the store,” said Sarah.
“It’s a beautiful day,” exclaimed John.
“Please turn off the lights,” Mom told me.
“I will meet you at the library,” said Tom.
“We are going to the beach tomorrow,” announced Mary.

Indirect Speech Examples

Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is used to report what someone said without using their exact words. It is often used in news reports, academic writing, and in situations where you want to paraphrase what someone said.

Here are some examples of indirect speech:

Sarah said that she was going to the store.
John exclaimed that it was a beautiful day.
Mom told me to turn off the lights.
Tom said that he would meet me at the library.
Mary announced that they were going to the beach tomorrow.

In indirect speech, the verb tense may change to reflect the time of the reported speech. For example, “I am going to the store” becomes “Sarah said that she was going to the store.” Additionally, the pronouns and possessive adjectives may also change to reflect the speaker and the person being spoken about.

Overall, both direct and indirect speech are important tools for reporting what someone has said. By using these techniques, you can accurately convey the meaning of what was said while also adding your own interpretation and analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is direct and indirect speech?

Direct and indirect speech refer to the ways in which we communicate what someone has said. Direct speech involves repeating the exact words spoken, using quotation marks to indicate that you are quoting someone. Indirect speech, on the other hand, involves reporting what someone has said without using their exact words.

How do you convert direct speech to indirect speech?

To convert direct speech to indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the verbs, pronouns, and time expressions. You also need to introduce a reporting verb, such as “said,” “told,” or “asked.” For example, “I love ice cream,” said Mary (direct speech) can be converted to “Mary said that she loved ice cream” (indirect speech).

What is the difference between direct speech and indirect speech?

The main difference between direct speech and indirect speech is that direct speech uses the exact words spoken, while indirect speech reports what someone has said without using their exact words. Direct speech is usually enclosed in quotation marks, while indirect speech is not.

What are some examples of direct and indirect speech?

Some examples of direct speech include “I am going to the store,” said John and “I love pizza,” exclaimed Sarah. Some examples of indirect speech include John said that he was going to the store and Sarah exclaimed that she loved pizza .

What are the rules for converting direct speech to indirect speech?

The rules for converting direct speech to indirect speech include changing the tense of the verbs, pronouns, and time expressions. You also need to introduce a reporting verb and use appropriate reporting verbs such as “said,” “told,” or “asked.”

What is a summary of direct and indirect speech?

Direct and indirect speech are two ways of reporting what someone has said. Direct speech involves repeating the exact words spoken, while indirect speech reports what someone has said without using their exact words. To convert direct speech to indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the verbs, pronouns, and time expressions and introduce a reporting verb.

Indirect Speech

Introduction.

Communicating effectively requires us to master a variety of grammatical rules. One such critical element is the appropriate use of 'Indirect Speech', also known as reported speech. Indirect speech allows us to convey what another person has said without quoting them directly.

Table of Contents

What is Indirect Speech?

Indirect Speech is a way of expressing the words or utterances of a speaker in a reported manner. In contrast to direct speech, where the original speaker's words are quoted verbatim, indirect speech is more about reporting the essence or meaning of what the speaker said rather than quoting them exactly.

For example:

Direct Speech: Lisa said, "I am going shopping."

Indirect Speech: Lisa said that she was going shopping.

Changes in Verb Tenses

Tense shifts.

When you transform sentences from direct to indirect speech, the verb tenses typically shift back a step in time. This phenomenon is often referred to as 'sequence of tenses' or 'backshift'. However, the backshift is not applied if the spoken words still apply at the time of reporting or the words express a universal truth.

Here are the typical conversions:

Present Simple changes to Past Simple. E.g., “I like pizza” becomes “She said she liked pizza.”
Present Continuous changes to Past Continuous. E.g., “I am eating pizza” becomes “She said she was eating pizza.”
Will changes to would. E.g., "I will go" becomes "He said he would go."
Past Simple changes to Past Perfect. E.g., "I ate lunch" becomes "She said she had eaten lunch."

Exceptions to Tense Shifts

There are exceptions to these rules, such as when the direct speech element is a universal truth or a fact. Consider the below examples:

John said, "The sun rises in the east" becomes "John said that the sun rises in the east."
She said, "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius" becomes "She said that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius."

Changes in Pronouns and Time Expressions

Pronoun changes.

When changing from direct to indirect speech, it's often necessary to modify the pronouns to match the speaker and listener's point of view. For example:

Time Expression Changes

Time expressions often undergo necessary modifications when moving from direct to indirect speech. Here are some examples:

"Today" becomes "That day."
"Now" becomes "Then."
"Tomorrow" becomes "The next day" or “the following day.”
"Next week" becomes "The following week."

Indirect Commands and Requests

We can also convey commands and requests indirectly. For indirect commands, we use "to" + base verb and for indirect requests we use "if" or "whether" + subject + could/would, followed by the base verb.

Direct: "Close the window!" – Indirect: He told me to close the window.
Direct: "Can you lend me the book?" – Indirect: She asked if I could lend her the book.

Indirect Questions

When posing indirect questions, we need to ensure that the word order follows the structure of a standard statement, rather than a direct question.

Direct: "Where are you going?" – Indirect: He asked me where I was going.

Mastering indirect speech is essential but can be challenging because of the need to adjust verb tenses, pronouns, and time expressions. However, with practice, it becomes easier, and steadily, you find yourself communicating more effectively and efficiently, especially in formal and written contexts. Keep practicing, and soon converting direct speech to indirect speech will become second nature.

Some nouns have same singular and plural forms or have plural ending (-s) - List

Reported Speech - Definition, Rules and Usage with Examples

Reported speech or indirect speech is the form of speech used to convey what was said by someone at some point of time. This article will help you with all that you need to know about reported speech, its meaning, definition, how and when to use them along with examples. Furthermore, try out the practice questions given to check how far you have understood the topic.

Definition of reported speech, rules to be followed when using reported speech, table 1 – change of pronouns, table 2 – change of adverbs of place and adverbs of time, table 3 – change of tense, table 4 – change of modal verbs, tips to practise reported speech, examples of reported speech, check your understanding of reported speech, frequently asked questions on reported speech in english, what is reported speech.

Reported speech is the form in which one can convey a message said by oneself or someone else, mostly in the past. It can also be said to be the third person view of what someone has said. In this form of speech, you need not use quotation marks as you are not quoting the exact words spoken by the speaker, but just conveying the message.

Now, take a look at the following dictionary definitions for a clearer idea of what it is.

Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words.” The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as “speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, reported speech is defined as “the act of reporting something that was said, but not using exactly the same words.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines reported speech as “the words that you use to report what someone else has said.”

Reported speech is a little different from direct speech . As it has been discussed already, reported speech is used to tell what someone said and does not use the exact words of the speaker. Take a look at the following rules so that you can make use of reported speech effectively.

The first thing you have to keep in mind is that you need not use any quotation marks as you are not using the exact words of the speaker.
You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech.
You can use verbs like said, asked, requested, ordered, complained, exclaimed, screamed, told, etc. If you are just reporting a declarative sentence , you can use verbs like told, said, etc. followed by ‘that’ and end the sentence with a full stop . When you are reporting interrogative sentences, you can use the verbs – enquired, inquired, asked, etc. and remove the question mark . In case you are reporting imperative sentences , you can use verbs like requested, commanded, pleaded, ordered, etc. If you are reporting exclamatory sentences , you can use the verb exclaimed and remove the exclamation mark . Remember that the structure of the sentences also changes accordingly.
Furthermore, keep in mind that the sentence structure , tense , pronouns , modal verbs , some specific adverbs of place and adverbs of time change when a sentence is transformed into indirect/reported speech.

Transforming Direct Speech into Reported Speech

As discussed earlier, when transforming a sentence from direct speech into reported speech, you will have to change the pronouns, tense and adverbs of time and place used by the speaker. Let us look at the following tables to see how they work.

Here are some tips you can follow to become a pro in using reported speech.

Select a play, a drama or a short story with dialogues and try transforming the sentences in direct speech into reported speech.
Write about an incident or speak about a day in your life using reported speech.
Develop a story by following prompts or on your own using reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written. Check them out.

Santana said that she would be auditioning for the lead role in Funny Girl.
Blaine requested us to help him with the algebraic equations.
Karishma asked me if I knew where her car keys were.
The judges announced that the Warblers were the winners of the annual acapella competition.
Binsha assured that she would reach Bangalore by 8 p.m.
Kumar said that he had gone to the doctor the previous day.
Lakshmi asked Teena if she would accompany her to the railway station.
Jibin told me that he would help me out after lunch.
The police ordered everyone to leave from the bus stop immediately.
Rahul said that he was drawing a caricature.

Transform the following sentences into reported speech by making the necessary changes.

1. Rachel said, “I have an interview tomorrow.”

2. Mahesh said, “What is he doing?”

3. Sherly said, “My daughter is playing the lead role in the skit.”

4. Dinesh said, “It is a wonderful movie!”

5. Suresh said, “My son is getting married next month.”

6. Preetha said, “Can you please help me with the invitations?”

7. Anna said, “I look forward to meeting you.”

8. The teacher said, “Make sure you complete the homework before tomorrow.”

9. Sylvester said, “I am not going to cry anymore.”

10. Jade said, “My sister is moving to Los Angeles.”

Now, find out if you have answered all of them correctly.

1. Rachel said that she had an interview the next day.

2. Mahesh asked what he was doing.

3. Sherly said that her daughter was playing the lead role in the skit.

4. Dinesh exclaimed that it was a wonderful movie.

5. Suresh said that his son was getting married the following month.

6. Preetha asked if I could help her with the invitations.

7. Anna said that she looked forward to meeting me.

8. The teacher told us to make sure we completed the homework before the next day.

9. Sylvester said that he was not going to cry anymore.

10. Jade said that his sister was moving to Los Angeles.

What is reported speech?

What is the definition of reported speech.

What is the formula of reported speech?

You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech. Subject said that (report whatever the speaker said)

Give some examples of reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written.

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A Comprehensive Guide To Reported Speech In English

There are times when someone tells you something and you’ll have to report what they said to someone else.

How can you do this in English?

You’ll need to know how to use what's called reported speech in English and this is what you’ll learn in this blog post.

What Is Reported Speech In English?

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words.

For example, let’s say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon.

Jon, however, is not feeling well. He says to you, “Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today.”

A few days after the party, you meet Sarah. She’s another one of your friends and she was at the party too, but she arrived late – a moment before you left. You only had time to say hello to each other.

She asks you, “I saw you at the party but I didn’t see Jon. Where was he?”

When Sarah asks you, “Where was Jon?” you can say,

“Jon said, ‘Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today’.”

However, it would be more natural to use indirect speech in this case. So you would say, “Jon said he couldn’t come to the party. He had spent all day working outside under the rain and he felt ill that day .”

Did you notice how the sentence changes in reported speech?

Here’s what happened:

“I” became “he”
“Cannot” became “couldn’t”
“Spent” became “had spent”
“I feel ill today” became “he felt ill on that day”

Let’s take a closer look at how we form reported speech.

How To Form Reported Speech In English

To form reported speech, you might have to make a few changes to the original sentence that was spoken (or written).

You may have to change pronouns, verb tenses, place and time expressions and, in the case of questions, the word order.

There are certain patterns to learn for reporting promises, agreements, orders, offers, requests, advice and suggestions.

Let’s have a look at all these cases one by one.

Reported Speech In English: Changing Verb Tenses

In general, when we use reported speech, the present tenses become past tenses.

We do this because we are often reporting someone else’s words at a different time (Jon’s words were spoken 3 days before you reported them to Sarah).

Here’s an example:

Jenny (on Saturday evening) says, “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”(present tenses)

Matt (on Sunday morning) talks to James and says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home. (past tenses)

So this is how different verb tenses change:

Simple Present → Simple Past

DIRECT: I need money.

INDIRECT: She said she needed money.

Present Progressive → Past Progressive

DIRECT: My French is improving.

INDIRECT: He said his French was improving.

Present Perfect → Past Perfect

DIRECT: This has been an amazing holiday.

INDIRECT: She told me that it had been an amazing holiday.

What if there is a past simple form of the verb in direct speech? Well, in this case, it can stay the same in reported speech or you can change it to past perfect .

Past Simple → Past Simple Or Past Perfect

DIRECT: I didn’t go to work.

INDIRECT: Mary said that she didn’t go to work / Mary said that she hadn’t gone to work

Past Perfect Tenses Do Not Change

DIRECT: I arrived late because I had missed the bus.

INDIRECT: He said he arrived (or had arrived) late because he had missed the bus.

Modal verbs like “can,” “may,” and “will” also change in reported speech.

Will → Would

DIRECT: The exam will be difficult.

INDIRECT: They said that the exam would be difficult.

Can → Could

DIRECT: I can’t be there.

INDIRECT: He told me he couldn’t be there.

May → Might

DIRECT: We may go there another time.

INDIRECT: They said they might go there another time.

However, past modal verbs don’t change (would, must, could, should, etc.) don’t change in reported speech.

DIRECT: It would be nice if we could go to Paris.

INDIRECT: He said it would be nice if we could go to Paris.

Here are some other examples:

So, in summary,

am/is → were
do/does → did
have/has → had
had done → had done
will → would
can → could
may → might
could → could
would → would
like/love/buy/see → liked/loved/bought/saw or had liked/ had loved/had bought/had seen.

You make these verb tense shifts when you report the original words at a different time from when they were spoken. However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker’s tenses when the situation is still the same.

For example,

1. DIRECT: I am feeling sick.

INDIRECT: She said she is feeling sick.

2. DIRECT: We have to leave now.

INDIRECT: They said they have to leave now.

3. DIRECT: I will call you later.

INDIRECT: He said he will call me later.

4. DIRECT: She is not coming to the party.

INDIRECT: He said she is not coming to the party.

5. DIRECT: They are working on a new project.

INDIRECT: She said they are working on a new project.

What about conditional sentences? How do they change in reported speech?

Sentences with “if” and “would” are usually unchanged.

DIRECT: It would be best if we went there early.

INDIRECT: He said it would be best if they went there early.

But conditional sentences used to describe unreal situations (e.g. second conditional or third conditional sentences) can change like this:

DIRECT: If I had more money I would buy a new car.

INDIRECT: She said if she had had more money, she would have bought a new car OR She said if she had more money, she would buy a new car.

Reported Speech In English: Changing Pronouns

In reported speech, because you’re reporting someone else’s words, there’s a change of speaker so this may mean a change of pronoun.

An example:

Jenny says, “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”

Matt says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home.”

In this example, Jenny says “I” to refer to herself but Matt, talking about what Jenny said, uses “she”.

So the sentence in reported speech becomes:

Jenny said that she didn’t like . . . ( not Jenny said that I didn’t like . . .)

Some other examples:

1 . DIRECT: I have been studying for hours.

INDIRECT: He said he had been studying for hours.

2. DIRECT: I don’t like that movie.

INDIRECT: She said she didn’t like that movie.

3. DIRECT: He doesn't like coffee.

INDIRECT: She said he doesn't like coffee.

4. DIRECT: We have a new car.

INDIRECT: They told me they had a new car.

5. DIRECT: We are going on vacation next week.

INDIRECT: They said they are going on vacation next week.

Reported Speech In English: Place And Time Expressions

When you’re reporting someone’s words, there is often a change of place and time. This may mean that you will need to change or remove words that are used to refer to places and time like “here,” “this,” “now,” “today,” “next,” “last,” “yesterday,” “tomorrow,” and so on.

Check the differences in the following sentences:

DIRECT: I'll be back next month.

INDIRECT: She said she would be back the next month , but I never saw her again.

DIRECT: Emma got her degree last Tuesday.

INDIRECT: He said Emma had got her degree the Tuesday before.

DIRECT: I had an argument with my mother-in-law yesterday .

INDIRECT: He said he’d had an argument with his mother-in-law the day before .

DIRECT: We're going to have an amazing party tomorrow.

INDIRECT: They said they were going to have an amazing party the next day.

DIRECT: Meet me here at 10 am.

INDIRECT: He told me to meet him there at 10 am.

DIRECT: This restaurant is really good.

INDIRECT: She said that the restaurant was really good.

DIRECT: I'm going to the gym now.

INDIRECT: He said he was going to the gym at that time.

DIRECT: Today is my birthday.

INDIRECT: She told me that it was her birthday that day .

DIRECT: I'm leaving for Europe next week.

INDIRECT: She said she was leaving for Europe the following week.

Reported Speech In English: Word Order In Questions

What if you have to report a question? For example, how would you report the following questions?

Where’s Mark?
When are you going to visit your grandmother?
What do I need to buy for the celebration?
Where are your best friend and his wife staying?
Do you like coffee?
Can you sing?
Who’s your best friend?
What time do you usually wake up?
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Do you ever read nonfiction books?

In reported questions, the subject normally comes before the verb and auxiliary “do” is not used.

So, here is what happens when you're reporting a question:

DIRECT: Where’s Mark?

INDIRECT: I asked where Mark was.

DIRECT: When are you going to visit your grandmother?

INDIRECT: He wanted to know when I was going to visit my grandmother.

DIRECT: What do I need to buy for the celebration?

INDIRECT: She asked what she needed to buy for the celebration.

DIRECT: Where are your best friend and his wife staying?

INDIRECT: I asked where his best friend and his wife were staying.

DIRECT: Do you like coffee?

INDIRECT: I asked if she liked coffee.

DIRECT: Can you sing?

INDIRECT: She asked me if I could sing.

DIRECT: Who’s your best friend?

INDIRECT: They asked me who my best friend was.

DIRECT: What time do you usually wake up?

INDIRECT: She asked me what time I usually wake up.

DIRECT: What would you do if you won the lottery?

INDIRECT: He asked me what I would do if I won the lottery.

DIRECT: Do you ever read nonfiction books?

INDIRECT: She asked me if I ever read nonfiction books.

You might have noticed that question marks are not used in reported questions and you don’t use “say” or “tell” either.

Promises, Agreements, Orders, Offers, Requests & Advice

When you’re reporting these, you can use the following verbs + an infinitive:

Here are some examples:

DIRECT SPEECH: I’ll always love you.

PROMISE IN INDIRECT SPEECH: She promised to love me.

DIRECT SPEECH: OK, let’s go to the pub.

INDIRECT SPEECH: He agreed to come to the pub with me.

DIRECT SPEECH: Sit down!

INDIRECT SPEECH: They told me to sit down OR they ordered me to sit down.

DIRECT SPEECH: I can go to the post office for you.

INDIRECT SPEECH: She offered to go to the post office.

DIRECT SPEECH: Could I please have the documentation by tomorrow evening?

INDIRECT SPEECH: She requested to have the documentation by the following evening.

DIRECT SPEECH: You should think twice before giving him your phone number.

INDIRECT SPEECH: She advised me to think twice before giving him my phone number.

Reported Speech In English

All right! I hope you have a much clearer idea about what reported speech is and how it’s used.

And the good news is that both direct and indirect speech structures are commonly used in stories, so why not try the StoryLearning method ?

You'll notice this grammatical pattern repeatedly in the context of short stories in English.

Not only will this help you acquire it naturally, but you will also have a fun learning experience by immersing yourself in an interesting and inspiring narrative.

Have a wonderful time learning through books in English !

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Reported Speech in English Grammar

Direct speech, changing the tense (backshift), no change of tenses, question sentences, demands/requests, expressions with who/what/how + infinitive, typical changes of time and place.

Lingolia Plus English

Introduction

In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. We can use their exact words with quotation marks , this is known as direct speech , or we can use indirect speech . In indirect speech , we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed. Indirect speech is often introduced by a reporting verb or phrase such as ones below.

Learn the rules for writing indirect speech in English with Lingolia’s simple explanation. In the exercises, you can test your grammar skills.

When turning direct speech into indirect speech, we need to pay attention to the following points:

changing the pronouns Example: He said, “ I saw a famous TV presenter.” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter.
changing the information about time and place (see the table at the end of this page) Example: He said, “I saw a famous TV presenter here yesterday .” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter there the day before .
changing the tense (backshift) Example: He said, “She was eating an ice-cream at the table where you are sitting .” He said (that) she had been eating an ice-cream at the table where I was sitting .

If the introductory clause is in the simple past (e.g. He said ), the tense has to be set back by one degree (see the table). The term for this in English is backshift .

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to normally do not change.

If the introductory clause is in the simple present , however (e.g. He says ), then the tense remains unchanged, because the introductory clause already indicates that the statement is being immediately repeated (and not at a later point in time).

In some cases, however, we have to change the verb form.

When turning questions into indirect speech, we have to pay attention to the following points:

As in a declarative sentence, we have to change the pronouns, the time and place information, and set the tense back ( backshift ).
Instead of that , we use a question word. If there is no question word, we use whether / if instead. Example: She asked him, “ How often do you work?” → She asked him how often he worked. He asked me, “Do you know any famous people?” → He asked me if/whether I knew any famous people.
We put the subject before the verb in question sentences. (The subject goes after the auxiliary verb in normal questions.) Example: I asked him, “ Have you met any famous people before?” → I asked him if/whether he had met any famous people before.
We don’t use the auxiliary verb do for questions in indirect speech. Therefore, we sometimes have to conjugate the main verb (for third person singular or in the simple past ). Example: I asked him, “What do you want to tell me?” → I asked him what he wanted to tell me.
We put the verb directly after who or what in subject questions. Example: I asked him, “ Who is sitting here?” → I asked him who was sitting there.

We don’t just use indirect questions to report what another person has asked. We also use them to ask questions in a very polite manner.

When turning demands and requests into indirect speech, we only need to change the pronouns and the time and place information. We don’t have to pay attention to the tenses – we simply use an infinitive .

If it is a negative demand, then in indirect speech we use not + infinitive .

To express what someone should or can do in reported speech, we leave out the subject and the modal verb and instead we use the construction who/what/where/how + infinitive.

Say or Tell?

The words say and tell are not interchangeable. say = say something tell = say something to someone

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Transcription

Reported or indirect speech: the essentials

You need to know the names and forms of the tenses in English to understand this guide properly. If you would like to review the names and forms of the tenses, click here now . The guide will open in an new tab so when you are done, simply close it to come back here.

There are many times in using a language when we do not want to say what we think or what we intend but we want to say what someone else said, intended or suggested. To do that we report someone else's words to our listener(s). We do not, however, usually do this by repeating the exact words that someone else has said or written. We do it, instead, by reporting, indirectly the meaning of what they said or wrote. Reported speech is often called indirect speech because the message is not given directly to the person who is hearing or reading the words. For example, consider: John asked me to remind you to tell Peter about the meeting on Thursday. In this we have four people:

John: the message giver
Me: the message hearer
You: another message hearer
Peter: the intended recipient of the message

John and Peter are not directly connected (and may never meet or have met) so this is indirect communication.

We cannot reconstruct the exact words that John used at the outset but we can guess it was something like: "Please remind Mary to tell Peter about the meeting on Thursday " It could, however, have been different and been: "Mary needs to make sure Peter doesn't forget about the meeting on Thursday. Can you mention that to her?" "If Mary doesn't tell Peter about the meeting on Thursday, there will be hell to pay and we'll all get the sack" For the purposes of this guide, however, we'll try to stay with the most likely and simple scenario that the reporter is passing on what has been said without changing it too much.

Because reporting what someone says usually comes at a different time and often in a different place from the original words, we make changes to the grammar of the language to make it clear that we are not repeating verbatim what someone said, simply passing on the message as accurately as we can.

Consider these pairs:

On the left we have the direct speech – the words uttered. On the right we have reported or indirect speech – how the message is passed on.

On the face of it, there's nothing terribly difficult about this idea. The tense shifts back one (from, e.g., was to had been, from can to could, from am coming to was coming. At the same time, I changes to he or she and tomorrow to the next day and so on. Here's a list of the important changes in English.

It is not the case that we always use the grammar of the language like this because we can report something in a very different way. For example, we can report: "That's an idiotic idea!" as: She said that it was an idiotic idea or as: She wasn't very impressed by my idea in which the reporter has deliberately toned down what was said for his or her own purposes. For teaching purposes, this raises interesting questions, but the grammatical and other rules we use in reported speech are something worth learning because most people do not routinely do this.

Of course, not all changes are always appropriate (but using the changes will usually be correct). If we are reporting something virtually simultaneously, then we often don't change the tense or time expressions. If we are reporting something in the same place, then we don't change the place expressions.

So we might get: A: I'm going there now. B: What did he say? C: He said he's going there now.

If an utterance remains true, we often don't change the tense so we get, e.g., I'm from South Africa = He said he's from South Africa I love the countryside = She said she loves the countryside and no changes are necessary because the fact remains true whenever and wherever it is reported.

Try this matching exercise .

Did you notice the changes, particularly with time and place expressions but also with the verb come (which changed to go )?

There is nothing very difficult about the form of reported speech changes (providing a learner is already familiar with the tense forms of English). However:

Because of the common sense issues touched on above, you need to make sure that the language is very clearly set in a time-and-place context.
It is almost impossible to practise the form changes in class by getting students to report each others' utterances because time and place remain static. You need to spread the practice over time and place to be authentic.
You need to make sure that learners are aware of the common sense issues and don't slavishly transform every utterance.
Languages deal with the issues differently. Some, for example, reserve a subjunctive tense for reported speech and some hardly make any changes at all.

B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech: statements

Do you know how to report what somebody else said? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how we can tell someone what another person said.

direct speech: 'I love the Toy Story films,' she said. indirect speech: She said she loved the Toy Story films. direct speech: 'I worked as a waiter before becoming a chef,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd worked as a waiter before becoming a chef. direct speech: 'I'll phone you tomorrow,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd phone me the next day.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 1: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.

direct speech: 'I work in a bank,' said Daniel. indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank.

In indirect speech, we often use a tense which is 'further back' in the past (e.g. worked ) than the tense originally used (e.g. work ). This is called 'backshift'. We also may need to change other words that were used, for example pronouns.

Present simple, present continuous and present perfect

When we backshift, present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous and present perfect changes to past perfect.

'I travel a lot in my job.' Jamila said that she travelled a lot in her job. 'The baby's sleeping!' He told me the baby was sleeping. 'I've hurt my leg.' She said she'd hurt her leg.

Past simple and past continuous

When we backshift, past simple usually changes to past perfect simple, and past continuous usually changes to past perfect continuous.

'We lived in China for five years.' She told me they'd lived in China for five years. 'It was raining all day.' He told me it had been raining all day.

Past perfect

The past perfect doesn't change.

'I'd tried everything without success, but this new medicine is great.' He said he'd tried everything without success, but the new medicine was great.

No backshift

If what the speaker has said is still true or relevant, it's not always necessary to change the tense. This might happen when the speaker has used a present tense.

'I go to the gym next to your house.' Jenny told me that she goes to the gym next to my house. I'm thinking about going with her. 'I'm working in Italy for the next six months.' He told me he's working in Italy for the next six months. Maybe I should visit him! 'I've broken my arm!' She said she's broken her arm, so she won't be at work this week.

Pronouns, demonstratives and adverbs of time and place

Pronouns also usually change in indirect speech.

'I enjoy working in my garden,' said Bob. Bob said that he enjoyed working in his garden. 'We played tennis for our school,' said Alina. Alina told me they'd played tennis for their school.

However, if you are the person or one of the people who spoke, then the pronouns don't change.

'I'm working on my thesis,' I said. I told her that I was working on my thesis. 'We want our jobs back!' we said. We said that we wanted our jobs back.

We also change demonstratives and adverbs of time and place if they are no longer accurate.

'This is my house.' He said this was his house. [You are currently in front of the house.] He said that was his house. [You are not currently in front of the house.] 'We like it here.' She told me they like it here. [You are currently in the place they like.] She told me they like it there. [You are not in the place they like.] 'I'm planning to do it today.' She told me she's planning to do it today. [It is currently still the same day.] She told me she was planning to do it that day. [It is not the same day any more.]

In the same way, these changes to those , now changes to then , yesterday changes to the day before , tomorrow changes to the next/following day and ago changes to before .

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 1: 2

Language level

Thank you for the information. It states that If what the speaker has said is still true or relevant, it's not always necessary to change the tense. I wonder if it is still correct to change the tense in this example: 'London is in the UK', he said. to He said London was in the UK. Or it has to be the present tense.

Hello Wen1996,

Yes, your version of the sentence is also correct. In this case, the past tense refers to the time the speaker made this statement. But this doesn't mean the statement isn't also true now.

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Good evening from Turkey.

Is the following example correct: Question: When did she watch the movie?

She asked me when she had watched the movie. or is it had she watched the movie.

Do Subjects come before the verbs? Thank you.

Hello muratt,

This is a reported question, not an actual question, as you can see from the fact that it has no question mark at the end. Therefore no inversion is needed and the normal subject-verb word order is maintained: ...she had watched... is correct.

You can read more about this here:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/reported-speech-questions

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you for your response.

Hello Sir, kindly help with the following sentence-

She said, "When I was a child I wasn't afraid of ghosts."

Please tell me how to write this sentence in reported/ indirect speech.

Hello! I was studying reported speech and I didn't really understand the difference between 'need' and 'need to' when we shift them. Could you please explain a little bit about the semi-modal need? I came across to this while I was studying: Backshift Changes need (no change) ‘You needn’t come till six o’clock,’ he said. He said we needn’t come till six o’clock. AND need to (becomes needed to) She said, 'I need to have a party.' She said she needed to have a party. Why do we change 'need to' but not 'need'? Could you also please give a positive indirect reported speech with the word 'need' and a negative indirect speech with the word 'need to'? Thanks in advance!

Hello Meldo,

'need' can be used -- and is most often used -- as an ordinary verb. In the text you copied above, this is the second entry ('need to'). Since it is an ordinary verb, in indirect speech, it backshifts in the way other ordinary verbs do. An example of a negative form here is 'They told me I didn't need to bring my passport'.

Particularly in British English (only very rarely in American English), 'need' can also be used as a modal verb. In this case, it behaves as a modal verb, i.e. no 's' is added to a third person singular form, infinitives after it are used without 'to' and 'do/does/did' is not used to form questions, negatives or past simple forms. This is also why '-ed' is not added for a backshift.

When 'need' is a modal, it's most commonly used in the negative. It is possible to use it in questions (e.g. 'Need I bring my passport?' or 'I asked if I need bring my passport'), but it's generally not used in the affirmative.

You might find this BBC page and this Cambridge Dictionary explanation helpful if you'd like to read more.

Hope this helps.

Do we change 'had better' in indirect reported speech? I think no, but I just wanted to make sure. Can you also give an example with 'had better' in an indirect speech? Thanks a lot! The best English grammar site ever!

Hello Melis_06,

'had better' is not generally changed in reported speech. Here's an example for you:

direct: 'You had better be on time!'
indirect: They told us we had better be on time.

Glad you find our site useful!

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Home ➞ Grammar ➞ Grammar worksheets and test ➞ intermediate ➞ Indirect speech

Indirect speech, introduction.

Complete the indirect speech by changing the tense of the direct speech verb:

Complete the indirect speech with the correct pronouns:

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100 Reported Speech Examples: How To Change Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of communicating what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. For example, if your friend said, “ I am going to the store ,” in reported speech, you might convey this as, “ My friend said he was going to the store. ” Reported speech is common in both spoken and written language, especially in storytelling, news reporting, and everyday conversations.

Reported speech can be quite challenging for English language learners because in order to change direct speech into reported speech, one must change the perspective and tense of what was said by the original speaker or writer. In this guide, we will explain in detail how to change direct speech into indirect speech and provide lots of examples of reported speech to help you understand. Here are the key aspects of converting direct speech into reported speech.

Reported Speech: Changing Pronouns

Pronouns are usually changed to match the perspective of the person reporting the speech. For example, “I” in direct speech may become “he” or “she” in reported speech, depending on the context. Here are some example sentences:

Direct : “I am going to the park.” Reported : He said he was going to the park .
Direct : “You should try the new restaurant.” Reported : She said that I should try the new restaurant.
Direct : “We will win the game.” Reported : They said that they would win the game.
Direct : “She loves her new job.” Reported : He said that she loves her new job.
Direct : “He can’t come to the party.” Reported : She said that he couldn’t come to the party.
Direct : “It belongs to me.” Reported : He said that it belonged to him .
Direct : “They are moving to a new city.” Reported : She said that they were moving to a new city.
Direct : “You are doing a great job.” Reported : He told me that I was doing a great job.
Direct : “I don’t like this movie.” Reported : She said that she didn’t like that movie.
Direct : “We have finished our work.” Reported : They said that they had finished their work.
Direct : “You will need to sign here.” Reported : He said that I would need to sign there.
Direct : “She can solve the problem.” Reported : He said that she could solve the problem.
Direct : “He was not at home yesterday.” Reported : She said that he had not been at home the day before.
Direct : “It is my responsibility.” Reported : He said that it was his responsibility.
Direct : “We are planning a surprise.” Reported : They said that they were planning a surprise.

Reported Speech: Reporting Verbs

In reported speech, various reporting verbs are used depending on the nature of the statement or the intention behind the communication. These verbs are essential for conveying the original tone, intent, or action of the speaker. Here are some examples demonstrating the use of different reporting verbs in reported speech:

Direct: “I will help you,” she promised . Reported: She promised that she would help me.
Direct: “You should study harder,” he advised . Reported: He advised that I should study harder.
Direct: “I didn’t take your book,” he denied . Reported: He denied taking my book .
Direct: “Let’s go to the cinema,” she suggested . Reported: She suggested going to the cinema .
Direct: “I love this song,” he confessed . Reported: He confessed that he loved that song.
Direct: “I haven’t seen her today,” she claimed . Reported: She claimed that she hadn’t seen her that day.
Direct: “I will finish the project,” he assured . Reported: He assured me that he would finish the project.
Direct: “I’m not feeling well,” she complained . Reported: She complained of not feeling well.
Direct: “This is how you do it,” he explained . Reported: He explained how to do it.
Direct: “I saw him yesterday,” she stated . Reported: She stated that she had seen him the day before.
Direct: “Please open the window,” he requested . Reported: He requested that I open the window.
Direct: “I can win this race,” he boasted . Reported: He boasted that he could win the race.
Direct: “I’m moving to London,” she announced . Reported: She announced that she was moving to London.
Direct: “I didn’t understand the instructions,” he admitted . Reported: He admitted that he didn’t understand the instructions.
Direct: “I’ll call you tonight,” she promised . Reported: She promised to call me that night.

Reported Speech: Tense Shifts

When converting direct speech into reported speech, the verb tense is often shifted back one step in time. This is known as the “backshift” of tenses. It’s essential to adjust the tense to reflect the time elapsed between the original speech and the reporting. Here are some examples to illustrate how different tenses in direct speech are transformed in reported speech:

Direct: “I am eating.” Reported: He said he was eating.
Direct: “They will go to the park.” Reported: She mentioned they would go to the park.
Direct: “We have finished our homework.” Reported: They told me they had finished their homework.
Direct: “I do my exercises every morning.” Reported: He explained that he did his exercises every morning.
Direct: “She is going to start a new job.” Reported: He heard she was going to start a new job.
Direct: “I can solve this problem.” Reported: She said she could solve that problem.
Direct: “We are visiting Paris next week.” Reported: They said they were visiting Paris the following week.
Direct: “I will be waiting outside.” Reported: He stated he would be waiting outside.
Direct: “They have been studying for hours.” Reported: She mentioned they had been studying for hours.
Direct: “I can’t understand this chapter.” Reported: He complained that he couldn’t understand that chapter.
Direct: “We were planning a surprise.” Reported: They told me they had been planning a surprise.
Direct: “She has to complete her assignment.” Reported: He said she had to complete her assignment.
Direct: “I will have finished the project by Monday.” Reported: She stated she would have finished the project by Monday.
Direct: “They are going to hold a meeting.” Reported: She heard they were going to hold a meeting.
Direct: “I must leave.” Reported: He said he had to leave.

Reported Speech: Changing Time and Place References

When converting direct speech into reported speech, references to time and place often need to be adjusted to fit the context of the reported speech. This is because the time and place relative to the speaker may have changed from the original statement to the time of reporting. Here are some examples to illustrate how time and place references change:

Direct: “I will see you tomorrow .” Reported: He said he would see me the next day .
Direct: “We went to the park yesterday .” Reported: They said they went to the park the day before .
Direct: “I have been working here since Monday .” Reported: She mentioned she had been working there since Monday .
Direct: “Let’s meet here at noon.” Reported: He suggested meeting there at noon.
Direct: “I bought this last week .” Reported: She said she had bought it the previous week .
Direct: “I will finish this by tomorrow .” Reported: He stated he would finish it by the next day .
Direct: “She will move to New York next month .” Reported: He heard she would move to New York the following month .
Direct: “They were at the festival this morning .” Reported: She said they were at the festival that morning .
Direct: “I saw him here yesterday.” Reported: She mentioned she saw him there the day before.
Direct: “We will return in a week .” Reported: They said they would return in a week .
Direct: “I have an appointment today .” Reported: He said he had an appointment that day .
Direct: “The event starts next Friday .” Reported: She mentioned the event starts the following Friday .
Direct: “I lived in Berlin two years ago .” Reported: He stated he had lived in Berlin two years before .
Direct: “I will call you tonight .” Reported: She said she would call me that night .
Direct: “I was at the office yesterday .” Reported: He mentioned he was at the office the day before .

Reported Speech: Question Format

When converting questions from direct speech into reported speech, the format changes significantly. Unlike statements, questions require rephrasing into a statement format and often involve the use of introductory verbs like ‘asked’ or ‘inquired’. Here are some examples to demonstrate how questions in direct speech are converted into statements in reported speech:

Direct: “Are you coming to the party?” Reported: She asked if I was coming to the party.
Direct: “What time is the meeting?” Reported: He inquired what time the meeting was.
Direct: “Why did you leave early?” Reported: They wanted to know why I had left early.
Direct: “Can you help me with this?” Reported: She asked if I could help her with that.
Direct: “Where did you buy this?” Reported: He wondered where I had bought that.
Direct: “Who is going to the concert?” Reported: They asked who was going to the concert.
Direct: “How do you solve this problem?” Reported: She questioned how to solve that problem.
Direct: “Is this the right way to the station?” Reported: He inquired whether it was the right way to the station.
Direct: “Do you know her name?” Reported: They asked if I knew her name.
Direct: “Why are they moving out?” Reported: She wondered why they were moving out.
Direct: “Have you seen my keys?” Reported: He asked if I had seen his keys.
Direct: “What were they talking about?” Reported: She wanted to know what they had been talking about.
Direct: “When will you return?” Reported: He asked when I would return.
Direct: “Can she drive a manual car?” Reported: They inquired if she could drive a manual car.
Direct: “How long have you been waiting?” Reported: She asked how long I had been waiting.

Reported Speech: Omitting Quotation Marks

In reported speech, quotation marks are not used, differentiating it from direct speech which requires them to enclose the spoken words. Reported speech summarizes or paraphrases what someone said without the need for exact wording. Here are examples showing how direct speech with quotation marks is transformed into reported speech without them:

Direct: “I am feeling tired,” she said. Reported: She said she was feeling tired.
Direct: “We will win the game,” he exclaimed. Reported: He exclaimed that they would win the game.
Direct: “I don’t like apples,” the boy declared. Reported: The boy declared that he didn’t like apples.
Direct: “You should visit Paris,” she suggested. Reported: She suggested that I should visit Paris.
Direct: “I will be late,” he warned. Reported: He warned that he would be late.
Direct: “I can’t believe you did that,” she expressed in surprise. Reported: She expressed her surprise that I had done that.
Direct: “I need help with this task,” he admitted. Reported: He admitted that he needed help with the task.
Direct: “I have never been to Italy,” she confessed. Reported: She confessed that she had never been to Italy.
Direct: “We saw a movie last night,” they mentioned. Reported: They mentioned that they saw a movie the night before.
Direct: “I am learning to play the piano,” he revealed. Reported: He revealed that he was learning to play the piano.
Direct: “You must finish your homework,” she instructed. Reported: She instructed that I must finish my homework.
Direct: “I will call you tomorrow,” he promised. Reported: He promised that he would call me the next day.
Direct: “I have finished my assignment,” she announced. Reported: She announced that she had finished her assignment.
Direct: “I cannot attend the meeting,” he apologized. Reported: He apologized for not being able to attend the meeting.
Direct: “I don’t remember where I put it,” she confessed. Reported: She confessed that she didn’t remember where she put it.

Reported Speech Quiz

Thanks for reading! I hope you found these reported speech examples useful. Before you go, why not try this Reported Speech Quiz and see if you can change indirect speech into reported speech?

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Indirect Speech: Formula and Rules

July 3, 2021

We are talking about a very important and interesting topic. We are talking about direct and indirect speech in English and what is the correct formula of the usage.

Remember to read How to learn English with audiobooks for FREE

This topic can seem complicated at the beginning, but necessary to learn. Having this topic solved, you improve your English to a new level, so let’s start to deal with it.

What are Direct and Indirect speech?

In English, there are two ways how we can tell what another person said. Two ways you can say what someone else has said before.

Direct Speech
Indirect (Reported) Speech

Note : Indirect speech in different textbooks can be called differently: Indirect Speech or Reported Speech . But these two names mean the same.

Indirect Speech = Reported Speech

The infographic shows that there is no difference between the terms indirect speech and reported speech.

Direct speech in English is a type of speech when we retell someone’s speech as it was. We don’t change anything.

John says: I’m a good boy.

To tell what John said, we will say:

We say: John said, “I’m a good boy.”

Indirect speech differs from direct speech in that we DO NOT tell exactly what another person said. We are NOT repeating what someone else said. Indirect speech is when we tell the MEANING of what someone else said.

We say: John said he was a good boy.

Pay attention to what this sentence looks like. Earlier, when John said this, the sentence looked like this:

I am a good boy.

But after WE retell John’s words, in the indirect speech, this sentence looks like this:

John said he was a good boy.

The Quotes and the comma that stood after the name John, separating the speaker from his direct speech, disappeared from this sentence.

In indirect speech, we do not use the separating comma and quotation marks. Because now it is WE are retelling the meaning of what the other person (John) said.

The rule that we don't use the comma and quotation marks in indirect speech

In direct speech, the speaker most often speaks in the first person. That is, the speaker speaks from his person.

John will not talk about himself: John is a good boy . John will say it on his behalf: I am a good boy.

But when we retell the words of John (indirect speech), we cannot speak on his behalf. We cannot say “I am a good boy” because those are not our words. This is John a good boy.

Therefore, in indirect speech, we change “I” to the third person.

He says: I hate you but I need your help.

I retell: He said that he hated me but he needed my help.

To translate direct speech into indirect speech, we use certain rules that you should know.

Let’s take a look at these rules and formulas in order.

Quotation marks and comma

In direct speech, we use a comma to separate the speaker from what he is saying. Direct speech (what the speaker says) is in quotation marks.

When we translate direct speech into indirect speech, we remove quotes and commas.

Jessica says , “I’m from the future.”

We retell Jessica’s words: She said that she was from the future.

Personal and possessive pronouns

When translating direct speech into indirect speech, we change personal and possessive pronouns to third-person pronouns.

Direct Speech : He says, “ I couldn’t stay” Indirect Speech : He said that he couldn’t stay. Direct Speech : Tom says, “ I am deeply disturbed” Indirect Speech : Tom said that he was deeply disturbed.

Note: If in direct speech the speaker tells his own words, then we do not change personal and possessive pronouns.

Direct Speech: I said, “ I will do that” Indirect Speech: I said that I would do that.

Adverbs in direct speech

When we translate adverbs from direct speech to indirect, adverbs change their form.

You can see how adverbs look in direct speech and how adverbs look in indirect speech in this table:

The table shows how adverbs look in direct speech and how adverbs look in indirect speech.

But we don’t always change adverbs this way. We change adverbs only if, when translating from direct speech into indirect speech adverbs cannot express the same meaning as in direct speech.

Take a look at an example:

Mom says, “ Tomorrow we will go to Uncle John’s.” Mom said that the next day we would go to Uncle John’s.

In these examples, we have replaced the adverb tomorrow with the next day . Because we retell Mom’s words on another day. We cannot say tomorrow anymore.

Now look at another example:

Mom says, “We went to visit Uncle John yesterday .”

Now imagine that we are retelling this the next day. We have to say:

Mom said that we went to visit Uncle John the day before yesterday .

If we said “ yesterday “, it would change the meaning of what we want to tell.

If in direct speech in the main sentence the predicate is in Past Simple, then in indirect speech we use the agreement rules.

We put the conjunction “ that ” in front of indirect speech.

Note: We may not use the conjunction that after verbs such as:

He said he found it on the island. He thought he was better than me. He knew he could call you anytime.

The rule says we don't use that after some verbs like to think, to know, to say

Prepositional object

If in direct speech after the verb to say there is a prepositional object, then in order to translate such a sentence into indirect speech, we change the verb to say to tell . In this case, tell is used without the preposition to .

Incorrect : to tell Correct : tell

This means:

She said to me … changes to She told me that …

Note : Remember that in this case we also change the adverbs of place and time and demonstrative pronouns, if they are in direct speech.

Modal verbs

For modals, we use several important rules.

We change modal verbs as well as main verbs when moving from direct to indirect speech.

But we do not change all modal verbs. We leave some verbs in their original form.

Let’s talk about modals in more detail.

Modal verb must

If in direct speech the verb must means an obligation or command, then in the subordinate clause in indirect speech must does NOT change and looks like must .

The teacher says, “You must behave well in class.” The teacher said that we must behave well in class.

If in direct speech the verb must expresses the need, then in the subordinate clause in indirect speech we change the verb must to had to .

Mom says, “You must visit the doctor.” Mom said that I had to visit the doctor.

The past form of Modal verbs in indirect speech

Can and could..

We change the modal verb can in direct speech to could in indirect speech. Could is the past form of the modal verb can .

She says, “I can swim.” She said that she could swim.

May and might.

We change the modal verb may in direct speech to might in indirect speech. Might is the past form of the modal verb may .

John says, “I may propose to Maria.” John said that he might propose to Maria.

Must and had to.

We change the modal verb must in direct speech to had to in indirect speech (if the verb must expresses the need). Had to is the past analog of the modal verb must .

Two examples of using direct and indirect speech.

Modal verbs that do not change in indirect speech

The following verbs move from direct to indirect speech in their original form. They don’t change in any way.

must (if the verb must means an obligation or command)

He says, “I could do this.” He said he could do that.

Let’s take a closer look at these verbs:

The modal verb would in direct speech remains in the form would in indirect speech too.

Mom says, “I would bake a cake.” Mom said she would bake a cake.

If we use the modal verb could in direct speech, then we do not change this verb in any way in indirect speech. Because could is a past form already (It’s the past form of the modal verb can ).

John says, “I could learn to swim” John said he could learn to swim.

The modal verb might does not change its form when we translate this verb from direct to indirect speech. Because the modal might is the past form of the modal may .

He says, “I might ask the same question again”. He said that he might ask the same question again.

We do not change should when switching to indirect speech. Because should is considered the past form of the modal verb shall .

He says, “We should see Mr. Gannon” He said that we should see Mr. Gannon.

We do not change the modal verb OUGHT TO when translating this verb into indirect speech.

She says, “You ought to be angry with John” She said that I ought to be angry with John

Exceptions to the rules

Let’s talk about the important exceptions to the rules of this lesson.

We can exclude the word that out of affirmative sentences in indirect speech. Because in indirect speech in affirmative sentences, the meaning of the sentence does not change, regardless of whether we use that or not.

He said ( that ) he thought you seemed depressed. He said ( that ) there was no need. He said ( that ) he had many friends.

If in direct speech we are talking about a specific event that happened at exactly the specified time and did not happen anymore, then we translate the sentence into indirect speech without the agreement.

He says, “Gagarin went to space in 1961.” He said that Gagarin went to space in 1961.

The event that we are talking about in this example happened at exactly the specified time and did not happen anymore.

Rule and Two examples of using direct and indirect speech.

If in direct speech we use verbs such as:

then when translating into indirect speech, we do not change the form of these verbs. These verbs remain in their form.

She says, “We might find some treasure” She said that we might find some treasure.

He says, “I should do it”. He said that he should do it.

If indirect speech begins with the verb say or tell which is used in the form:
Present Simple
Present Perfect
Future Simple

then we translate such a sentence into indirect speech without changing the tense to the past:

She says, “I cook deliciously.” She says that she cooks deliciously. He says, “I have a new smartphone.” He says that he has a new smartphone. She will say, “I didn’t know it.” He will say (that) he didn’t know it.

If in direct speech we are talking about a well-known fact or law of nature, then we do not transfer to the past such a fact or the law of nature when translating from direct speech to indirect.

He says, “After winter comes spring.” He said that after winter comes spring. She says, “Lions don’t hunt camels.” She said that lions don’t hunt camels.

If in direct speech we use tenses:
Past Continuous
Past Perfect
Past Perfect Continuous

then when translating into indirect speech, we do not change the sentence, we do not translate the sentence into the past.

He says, “I had fixed my car.” He said he had fixed his car. He says, “I was skiing .” He said he was skiing . He says, “I had been all alone for a very long time”. He said that he had been all alone for a very long time.

Interrogative (question) sentences in indirect speech

Look at the following rules and nuances to know how to correctly translate interrogative (question) sentences from direct speech to indirect speech:

When we translate a general question into indirect speech, we put one of the conjunctions between the main sentence and the question:

He asks, “Do you play dominoes?” He asked if I played dominoes. He asked whether I played dominoes.

If we translate an interrogative sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, then we change the interrogative word order to direct word order.

We remove the auxiliary verb that was used in the interrogative sentence. We put the subject before the predicate as it should be for the direct word order.

He asks, “Where are you going?” He asked where I was going.

If in an indirect sentence we ask a question using the verb say and if there is no indirect object in the main sentence, then we change the verb say to one of these words:
want to know

She asks, “Where you are?” She wanted to know where you were.

When translating an interrogative sentence from direct speech into indirect speech, we change all pronouns, verbs, adverbs of place, adverbs of time.

She asks, “What do these letters mean?” She asked what those letters mean.

Special questions in indirect speech

Special questions (or Wh-questions) are questions that begin with an additional, question word.

In indirect speech, such a question should also begin with a question word.

This question word also serves as conjunction. This word attaches the question part to the main sentence.

In the question part, we use direct word order.

At the same time, we comply with all the rules for the Sequence of tenses.

My dad asks, “What do you plan to do with yourself?” My dad asked what I planned to do with myself.

Imperative sentences in indirect speech

When translating imperative sentences from direct to indirect speech, we must take into account several nuances:

Orders in indirect speech look like this:

He said, “ Go now!” He said to go then. She says, “ Carry my bag” She asked to carry her bag.

We use the verb to say when we translate an ordinary sentence into indirect speech. But in imperative sentences, we change the verb to say to a verb that expresses an order or request:

She says , “Carry my bag” She asked to carry her bag.

The infographic shows how we use imperative sentences in indirect speech

In direct speech in the imperative mood, we often use:

let’s (let us)

let’s encourage the speaker and the person to do something together.

In indirect speech, we change let’s to to suggest . For example:

She says, “ let’s do that!” She suggested to do that.

In indirect speech, we put a noun after the verb that expresses an order or request. The noun is the one to whom this request or order is addressed. Then we use the infinitive.

She says, “Replace him, John “ She asked John to replace him.

We can strengthen the request or order in indirect speech if we add verbs such as:
to recommend
to urge etc.

She says , “Read this book” She ordered ( advised, recommend ) me to read that book.

In order to make a negative imperative sentence in direct speech, we need:

not + infinitive

He says, “Don’t cry.” He said to me not to cry.

In direct speech, we often do not name the person to whom the order or request is addressed. But when translating an imperative sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, we must indicate the one to whom the order or request is addressed.

For this, we use a noun or a pronoun.

She says, “Speak to him!” She asked me to speak to you.

Present and future tense in indirect speech

Most often, we translate the future and the present into the past.

He says, “I have two brothers” He says that he had two brothers She says, “I do this every time” She says that he did that every day. He says, “I write books” He says that he wrote books. She says, “I am reading” She said that she was reading. He says, “I can swim” He said that he could swim. He says, “I will help you” He said that he would help me.

Past tense in indirect speech

When we translate a sentence written in the past into indirect speech, we can leave it unchanged or we can change the past to the Past Perfect.

He says, “I saw this movie” He said that he saw that movie. He said that he had seen that movie.

What if in direct speech the main verb is already in Past Perfect?

In this case, the verb in Past Perfect remains unchanged. The verb in Past Perfect in direct speech remains in Past Perfect in indirect speech too.

He says, “I had bought I new house” He said that he had bought a new house.

I live in Ukraine. Now, this website is the only source of money I have. If you would like to thank me for the articles I wrote, you can click Buy me a coffee . Thank you! ❤❤❤

Recommended reading: Complex Sentence in English.

Prepositions of Place in English Grammar

Prepositions of Reason and Purpose

Direct Word Order in English Sentences

Word Order in Interrogative Sentence

Prepositions of Time At In On: When and How To Use

Complex Sentence In English

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Former President Trump spoke to the press upon his arrival in Atlanta. He spoke about several things, including Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the Georgia election interference case.

Trump refrained from directly responding to a question about his opinion on abortion, emphasizing that it is a settled issue and up to the states to decide.

"For 53 years, it has been a fight," Trump stated. "Now, the states are handling it. Some have handled it very well and others will end up handling it very well. That’s something that the states will make a determination on."

He also criticized President Joe Biden.

When asked about Fani Willis' recent attempt to get his appeal of the disqualification ruling thrown out, Trump dismissed the case as "totally discredited" and labeled it as "election interference."

"I think that case has been totally discredited. It's on behalf of her and her lover, Wade. Mr. and Mrs. Wade. And I think the case has been totally discredited. I would hope, it seems to be. And we'll see how that ends. The one in New York is totally discredited. Every legal scholar said they have no case. It's a horrible thing, but it's election interference," Trump said.

Fox 5 reached out to District Attorney Fani Willis’ office for a response to Trump’s comments but her office stated they are declining to comment at this time.

Trump was also met by former senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

After Trump left the airport, he stopped at a Chick-fil-A on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW in the Vine City area.

While details had not officially been released, the Georgia Recorder reported that Trump was in town to attend a fundraiser luncheon with local business leaders and supporters like former U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot and Georgia Aquarium, Tommy Bagwell, a prominent figure in the poultry industry, Don Leebern III, known for his involvement in the beverage sector, and Bill White, an advocate for Buckhead.

The Georgia Recorder reported that attendance at the fundraiser was priced at $6,600, with an additional $25,000 fee per couple for a photo opportunity with the former president.

This was Trump's second visit to Georgia in a little more than a month. On March 9, he and President Joe Biden hosted dueling rallies in the state ahead of winning their respective primaries.

Trump loses motion to dismiss Georgia charges

A Fulton County Superior Court judge denied former President Donald Trump’s request to toss his case because of the First Amendment.

Recently, the former president asked a Fulton County Superior Court judge to dismiss the Fulton County election interference case on the grounds of free speech.

The indictment issued in August 2023 by a Fulton County grand jury accused Trump and 18 others of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia after the Republican incumbent narrowly lost the state to Biden. Trump’s attorneys argued that all the charges against him involved political speech that is protected even if the speech ends up being false.

But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that at this pretrial stage he must consider the language of the indictment in a light favorable to the prosecution. The charges do not suggest that Trump and the others are being prosecuted simply for making false statements but rather that they acted willfully and knowingly to harm the government, he wrote.

Trump and his co-defendants have filed a new request asking McAfee to reexamine his dismissal.

At state dinner for Japan, blossoms and bonhomie on the menu

White house guests included actor robert de niro, former figure skater kristi yamaguchi, and bill and hillary clinton.

The first state dinner for Japan in nearly a decade was festooned with cherry blossoms. Lots and lots of cherry blossoms.

In the East Room of the White House on Wednesday evening, President Biden reminded the dinner guests — including actor Robert De Niro, former figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, and Bill and Hillary Clinton — that cherry blossoms signified possibility. He began his four-minute toast, alongside Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, by saying that the blossoms “remind us that we can begin anew every year. That tomorrow can be a better day than today.”

Biden also told the story of receiving a large, shiny envelope of letters a few days after his inauguration in 2021. Inside were notes of appreciation from Japanese students who stuttered, just like the president had in his youth. We’re the same , the letters conveyed.

The Style section

“Well, we are the same, Japan and the United States,” Biden told the guests. “We may be divided by distance, but generation after generation are brought together by the same hope, the same values, the same commitment to democracy and faith.”

Kishida echoed these sentiments in his speech, delivered in English. But in a departure from diplomatic tradition in the Biden era, Kishida didn’t borrow lines from an Irish poet. Instead, he quoted both “Star Trek” — the bilateral relationship should “boldly go” into the future — and John F. Kennedy, from a 1961 state dinner for Japan: “The Pacific Ocean does not separate Japan and the United States. Rather, it unites us.”

Dinner began with thick slices of cured salmon, laid on a springy mattress of ruby red grapefruit and crowned with avocados, cucumbers and shisho leaf tempura. The inspiration for the sushi-like dish was the “iconic California roll,” according to White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford.

The entree of dry-aged beef rib eye contained nods to both American and Japanese cuisine: morel mushrooms from Oregon and greens from Ohio were adorned with sesame oil sabayon and a blistered shishito pepper butter.

Not even dessert was safe from cherry-blossom diplomacy. The salted-caramel pistachio cake was enveloped in a matcha ganache, flanked by cherry ice cream, and drizzled with raspberry.

Cherry blossoms patterned the sage-green tablecloths. Cherry-blossom centerpieces towered over the guests. The springtime color scheme was pastels: pinks, periwinkles and lavenders. The flower arrangements included Jill Biden’s favorites: peonies, roses and hydrangeas. Even the floor was transformed into a vinyl river of spring blossoms and gold-dappled koi fish — a symbol of “friendship, peace, luck and perseverance,” the first lady said earlier.

The after-dinner entertainment was singer Paul Simon, a favorite of both Jill Biden and the Japanese prime minister. His first song was “Graceland.”

The merry, cherry state dinner drew out the very rich — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook — and the very Washington: The guest list included the secretaries of the Treasury, State, Energy, Commerce and Homeland Security.

It was “great” to be back in the White House, said Bill Clinton as he walked toward the dinner, pointing to a portrait of Hillary hanging on the wall. Hillary, when asked her thoughts about the upcoming presidential election, deflected. “Oh, we’re having a good time tonight,” she said.

Also present were a handful of governors from key swing states, such as Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina.

Compared with recent state dinners — the Bidens have hosted France, India and South Korea — it was a smaller affair (with around 225 guests ), full of formality and lacking subtlety: from the spread to the decor to the toasts, the emphasis was on the sweetness of shared achievements and the promise of fresh hopes, despite the wars raging in Gaza and Ukraine, and the specters of Japan’s neighbors, China and North Korea.

As they gave their toasts, Biden and Kishida stood in front of panel of traditional Japanese fans, each pleat signifying the many different paths a life can take, according to Carlos Elizondo, the White House social secretary.

Unlike Biden, who doesn’t drink alcohol, Kishida is known as an “enthusiastic” practitioner of drinking diplomacy, according to Nippon TV. During Kishida’s time as foreign minister, he reportedly competed with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov over who how much they could drink while discussing matters of state. This was considered to be Kishida’s “diplomatic strength,” in his bid to become prime minister, reported the Diplomat in September 2021, as neither of his competitors were the drinking type.

At an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn on Wednesday morning, Biden, wearing his trademark aviator sunglasses and a navy blue suit, lauded recent Japanese actions that also serve American interests. The prime minister pushed for sanctions against Russia when it invaded Ukraine, strengthened Japan’s defense arsenal, and rekindled a relationship with South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol (with an assist by the Biden administration, which hosted a summit between the two countries at Camp David in August).

Speaking after Biden on the South Lawn, Kishida vowed to take Japan’s relationship with the United States even further — “covering space and the deep sea,” he said in Japanese.

Japan will join American space missions, the leaders announced, with plans for a Japanese astronaut to be the first non-American to walk on the moon.

But these dreams of celestial camaraderie between the two countries could be dashed by domestic issues. Both Biden and Kishida have been dogged by low popularity ratings. After a fundraising scandal rocked his Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida has been charged with leading reform efforts, which may include a snap election. In the face of mounting social inequality, Kishida has also vowed to pursue a “new form of capitalism” for the people of Japan.

Biden has struggled with high inflation and surging costs throughout his presidency. Enthusiasm for him has lagged among left-leaning Democrats, who have been critical of his support of Israel as it continues to bombard Gaza.

The state dinner guest list reflected these political concerns — though, when asked, few attendees wanted to discuss politics.

Neither Bezos nor Cook nor De Niro confirmed whether they planned to donate to or campaign for Biden. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen did not share her thoughts on the new inflation numbers.

When she arrived, former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards did not miss an opportunity to talk about abortion rights. “ I think women’s rights are the most important things going on in this election,” she said, describing it as a motivating issue for women — and men.

The night before the state dinner, the Bidens took the Kishidas to BlackSalt, a D.C. restaurant renowned for its sustainable seafood. (President Biden had the crab cakes.)

And the Bidens gave the prime minister and his wife a few gifts: a custom framed lithograph and two-volume Billy Joel LP set (autographed by the singer), an autographed soccer ball signed by both the U.S. and Japanese women’s national soccer teams, and, of course, a framed painting of a Yoshino cherry tree — the one planted by the two first ladies last spring.

An earlier version of this story misreported the name of South Korea's president, Yoon Suk Yeol. This version has been updated.

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The Trump camp and the White House clash over Biden’s recognition of ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’

President Joe Biden waves as he arrives Air Force One, Tuesday, March 29, 2024, in Hagerstown, Md. Biden is en route to Camp David.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is facing criticism from Donald Trump’s campaign and religious conservatives for proclaiming March 31 — which corresponds with Easter Sunday this year — as “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

The Democratic president issued the proclamation on Friday, calling on “all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.”

But in 2024, the March 31 designation overlaps with Easter, one of Christianity’s holiest celebrations. Trump’s campaign accused Biden, a Roman Catholic, of being insensitive to religion, and fellow Republicans piled on.

“We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s press secretary. She assailed what she called the Biden administration’s “years-long assault on the Christian faith.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday, April 10, 2024, after arriving in Atlanta. Trump on Wednesday questioned the mental fitness of Jewish voters who back President Joe Biden and framed this year's election as a referendum on the strength of Christianity in the U.S. as part of a blunt effort to appeal to evangelical conservatives who are a critical element of his political base. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on social media that the “Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter” and called the decision “outrageous and abhorrent.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the Republicans criticizing Biden “are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric.”

“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American,” Bates said. “President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit.”

The advocacy group GLAAD said in a statement that people can both celebrate Easter and show their support for the trans community.

“The date of Easter moves each year, while Trans Day of Visibility is always recognized on March 31, but this year right-wing politicians and talking heads are using the coincidental timing to overshadow the hope and joy that Easter represents,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO.

Biden first issued a proclamation on transgender visibility in 2021 . Proclamations are generally statements about public policy by the president. But this year’s overlap with Easter and the heated tensions from the presidential campaign made the latest transgender proclamation a way for many Republicans to question the Democrat’s religious faith.

Biden devoutly attends Mass and considers his Catholic upbringing to be a core part of his morality and identity. In 2021, he met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and afterward told reporters that the pontiff said he was a “good Catholic” who should keep receiving Communion.

But Biden’s political stances on gay marriage and support for women having the right to abortion have put him at odds with many conservative Christians.

Middle East latest: Iran attack on Israel could be 'imminent' - but what might it look like?

Security circles in the US and Israel have likely accepted that the killing of a top Iranian commander in Damascus earlier this month means Iran will have to "retaliate in some form", with reports suggesting an attack could be imminent.

Thursday 11 April 2024 09:33, UK

Israel-Hamas war

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Biden says US support for Israel 'ironclad' on Iran
Alistair Bunkall : Attack from Iran on Israel reported to be imminent
Three sons of Hamas leader killed in strike | IDF gives details of attack
Explained: Who is Ismail Haniyeh?
Watch: Moment he is told his family has been killed
Alex Crawford report : Yemeni fishermen face threat of Houthi attack - but on Gaza they are firmly behind the militants
Live reporting by Brad Young

Israeli forces did not consult senior commanders or Benjamin Netanyahu before killing three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, according to Israeli media.

Neither Mr Netanyahu nor defence minister Yoav Gallant were told in advance of the strike, which was coordinated by the Israeli military and the Shin Bet intelligence service, senior Israeli officials told Walla news agency.

They said his sons were targeted as fighters and not because they were relatives of the political leader.

The Israeli military did not comment on reports that four of Mr Haniyeh's grandchildren were killed in the attack.

A 23-year-old man from Leeds has been handed a suspended sentence after publishing pro-Hamas content on X.

Ozain Ibn Yousef, of Mexborough Place, admitted posting images of armed soldiers wearing Hamas headbands and sharing Hamas-led videos in October and November last year, according to the UK's counter-terrorism policing group.

He was given a 16-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years, on Tuesday.

Since 2001, the UK has proscribed Hamas's military wing as a terrorist organisation. This was extended to the whole group in November 2021.

Yousef was charged on 27 February 2024 with publishing images that aroused reasonable suspicion he supported a proscribed organisation.

Alongside the suspended sentence, Mr Yousef was ordered to undertake 100 hours of community service and he will be subject to a 35-day rehabilitation requirement.

Russia's foreign ministry has told citizens they should refrain from travelling to the Middle East, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

The US and its allies believe major missile or drone strikes by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel are imminent, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

"The tense situation in the Middle East region persists," said the Russian foreign ministry.

"We strongly recommend that Russian citizens refrain from traveling to the region, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, except in cases of extreme necessity."

Earlier this morning, German airline Lufthansa said it had suspended flights to the Iranian capital, Tehran.

German airline Lufthansa has said it has suspended flights to Tehran.

Israel is currently on alert for an Iranian retaliation following a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran's embassy in Syria earlier this month.

An Iranian news agency briefly caused concern when it published a report saying all airspace over Tehran had been closed for military drills. This story was then removed and the agency denied it had issued such a report.

Lufthansa says it has suspended flights to and from Tehran from 6 April until probably today.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are in close contact with the authorities. The safety of our guests and crew members is Lufthansa's top priority," a spokesperson for the company told Reuters news agency.

Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines are the only two Western carriers operating international flights into Tehran, which is mostly served by Turkish and Middle Eastern airlines.

We've just been hearing from our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall , who says reports suggest an attack from Iran on Israel is "imminent".

Security circles in the US and Israel have likely accepted that the killing of a top Iranian commander in Damascus earlier this month means Iran will have to "retaliate in some form".

Watch: Attack that killed Iranian commander

That killing was more than 10 days ago, but Bunkall says the Iranians "tend to be quite calculated in what they do" and "don't often act rashly".

Reports from the US which cite intelligence sources say Iran is planning to target military or government infrastructure, rather than Israeli civilians.

This would be seen by Iran as a "like for like" response, but Bunkall says it's not clear whether the US and Israel would agree.

The US has been warning Iran "not to push it too far" as there is a "big risk of it spiralling dangerously out of control".

Bunkall says the Iranians have a "network of proxies around the Middle East that they leverage to their own interests" and they may well use these again for their attack.

Until now, Iran has not wanted to be directly involved in the war with Israel.

The US president has said that Washington will do "all it can" to protect Israel's security in the face of Iranian threats.

Joe Biden said support for Israel was "ironclad" on the issue, despite his frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu over his approach to the war in Gaza.

Antony Blinken has reiterated US support for Israel when it comes to threats from Iran.

The US secretary of state told Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant in a late call yesterday that Washington would stand with Israel against the threats.

The pair also discussed the effort to release hostages from Gaza as talks over a potential ceasefire continue.

The US's Middle East envoy has called on the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Iraq to step in and urge Iran to lower tensions with Israel.

Tensions between the rival powers have been heightened since the killings of Iranian generals in an attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.

Tehran blames Israel for the attack. Israel has not commented.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, White House Middle East czar Brett McGurk asked officials to send a message to Iran that it should de-escalate with Israel, which they did.

Iran said yesterday that its foreign minister had spoken with his Saudi, UAE, Qatari and Iraqi counterparts.

It comes after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel "must be punished and it shall be" for the Damascus blast.

We reported last night on a story in Iranian media that air traffic over the capital of Tehran was suspended for "military drills" (see 10.55pm post).

In a later update, the semi-official Mehr news agency removed its report that Iran was closing the airspace and denied it had published the news.

The original report, which it posted to X, cited the Iranian defence minister as saying all air traffic had been halted from 8.30pm (UK time) "due to military drills".

Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and wider Middle East crisis.

Yesterday saw the Israel Defence Forces strike and kill seven members of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's family.

His sons Hazem, Amir and Mohammed were killed alongside four of his grandchildren near Gaza City.

But the leader, who lives in Qatar, was defiant that the killings would not change Hamas's stance on a ceasefire - with the group said to be considering the latest Israeli proposal as of Tuesday.

Before we get into today's updates, here are the other key happenings from the past 24 hours:

Israel will open a new land crossing into the Gaza Strip designed mainly to facilitate deliveries to Palestinians of aid from overseas or neighbouring Jordan, the country's defence minister said;
Israel's war against Hamas will last so long that boys still in school can expect to fight in Gaza, an Israeli war cabinet minister said;
Yemen's Houthis said they targeted four more ships in the Gulf of Aden;
Clear differences remain between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu on Israel's plans to launch an offensive in Rafah, an official in the prime minister's office said.

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Economic News

What to Expect From This Week's Inflation Report

Consumer Price Index Is Expected to Provide Mixed Signals

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Update, April 9, 2024: This story has been updated to include additional analysis from economists.

Key Takeaways

The widely-watched report on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) next week is expected to show overall inflation accelerating while the important "core" inflation measure slows down.
Surging gas prices have pushed inflation up, while prices for cars have fallen.
The report could influence policymakers at the Federal Reserve, who are deciding when and how much to lower interest rates.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to deliver another round of mixed signals about the course of inflation on Wednesday when it publishes the official report for the Consumer Price Index for March.

The consensus forecast among economists is for the CPI, a measure of the cost of living, to have risen 3.5% since last March, an acceleration from the 3.2% annual inflation rate in February, according to a survey of economists polled by the Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal .

"Inflation’s stickiest components—housing and other services—continue to see strong price growth, propping up inflation even as certain goods prices cool," wrote Kayla Bruun, senior economist at decision intelligence company Morning Consult.

However, it’s also expected to show a cooling of “core” inflation , an important measure that excludes prices for food and energy, and which is closely watched by central bankers at the Federal Reserve who set the nation’s monetary policy.

Core Inflation Likely Shows Less Price Growth

Economists view core inflation as a more reliable indicator of the trajectory of inflation because prices for food and gas often go up and down for reasons that have nothing to do with broader inflation trends. The consensus forecast calls for core prices to have risen 0.3% in March, versus a 0.4% gain in February, and the 12-month change decreasing to 3.7% from 3.8%. The difference in the trajectory of core and overall inflation is mainly due to gas prices, which rose faster than they usually do this time of year, economists said. “Energy prices have taken a turn higher in recent months, which has likely caught the attention of consumers,” Stephen Juneau and Michael Gapen, economists at Bank of America Securities, wrote in a commentary ahead of the release. Meanwhile, prices for used cars, an important component of both core and overall inflation, have fallen, putting notable downward pressure on the core measure.

What Will the Fed Think?

Inflation measures are attracting extra attention from financial markets these days because they’re crucial to all kinds of interest rates throughout the economy. Officials at the Fed are preparing to cut the fed funds rate , but have said they will do so only when they’re confident inflation is under control. Therefore the quicker inflation falls, the greater the chances of reduced interest rates on mortgages and credit cards, all of which now have interest rates close to their highest in decades.

A report in line with expectations could leave the Fed on track to begin cutting interest rates in June, Juneau and Gapen wrote.

On the other hand, surprisingly high inflation could delay rate cuts, or even prompt the Fed to raise its interest rate even higher than its current 23-year high—a possibility that had been considered off the table until Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman brought it up Friday in a speech.

Morning Consult. " Inflation & Price Pressures Report: Scarce Housing is Propping Up Inflation ."

Wells Fargo. " Weekly Indicator Forecast ."

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Consumer price growth accelerated in March, adding to cloudy picture for U.S. economy

Inflation remained elevated once again in March, adding another round of price increases to Americans' already-strained wallets.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 12-month price growth accelerated from 3.2% in February to 3.5% in March, matching consensus forecasts among economists.

Excluding food and energy, which represent commodities with more volatile prices, the so-called core 12-month reading was unchanged in March at 3.8%.

Customer looks at deli meat section at grocery store.

Some of the items seeing the largest 12-month leaps in price gains included auto insurance, which soared 22.2%; domestic services like home cleaning, up 10.9%; baby food and formula, up 9.9%; and outpatient hospital services, up 8.3%.

If there was any relief, it was in grocery prices, which were up just 1.2% on the year. And prices for new and used vehicles fell.

But Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, put the situation succinctly in an email following Wednesday's release.

“There is no improvement here, we’re moving in the wrong direction,” he said.

On paper, the U.S. economy has looked solid. The unemployment rate has now remained below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s. Stocks have been at all-time highs. The economy continues to add jobs.

But since the start of the pandemic, Americans have seen average prices increase more than 20% overall — giving people a sense that the cost of many goods and services, not to mention housing, has surged to unreasonable levels.

When will prices come down?

So what will cause price growth to finally slow down to the Federal Reserve's 2% target?

Unfortunately, it usually takes a major economic crisis for broad categories of prices to reverse. Instead, the best that consumers can hope for is that they stop going up so fast.

While there are some signs that it's happening — grocery price increases, for instance, have finally fallen below 2% after surging during the pandemic — economists say it's likely to still take some time for inflation to truly subside.

Complex economic forces, they say, continue to keep price growth elevated.

A significant worker shortage sparked by the pandemic — especially for front-line service employees — helped push hourly pay higher. But this resulted in pushing up prices on the consumer side, since labor costs represent a significant portion of the overall cost of given goods or service.

Meanwhile, supply chain disruptions that emerged during the pandemic have yet to fully subside, said Sarah House, a managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo.

She pointed to automobile prices, which have surged more than 20% since the start of the pandemic for new vehicles and more than 30% for used vehicles. While the pace of their price increases has abated, difficulties in sourcing auto parts, plus the loss of experienced technicians, have pushed vehicle prices higher.

This, in turn, has pushed auto insurance rates higher — and it turns out that car insurance commands a significant percentage of the overall increase in consumer prices.

“The services side is where we’re continuing to see stronger [price] growth,” House said. “That’s where we’re still getting an elevated degree of inflation from.”

Stagnant pay and higher borrowing costs

Americans’ pay has barely kept up with the price increases. While federal stimulus at the outset of the pandemic helped give people a cash cushion during the worst of it, there is an emerging consensus that this same cushion helped drive prices higher by giving people money to spend.

On net, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that the effect of inflation has caused Americans’ average hourly pay to rise by just a few cents compared with where it was at the start of the pandemic.

The Federal Reserve, which is in charge of taming price growth, in part by raising interest rates, has sought to fight fire with fire. By raising the cost of borrowing money, the central bank has tried to reduce demand for goods and services, ultimately pushing price growth down.

The Fed’s interest rate hikes have indeed caused borrowing costs for everything from credit cards to automobiles to homes to climb to levels not seen in years.

For many Americans, that’s meant getting locked out of the housing market, not to mention paying credit card rates above 20% and auto loan rates above 8%.

But inflation has persisted, surprising many economists. At the start of the year, the consensus forecast was for economic growth to slow, allowing the Fed to start cutting interest rates this spring, with a total of three cuts for 2024.

But a growing number of analysts now say that, at a minimum, rate cuts will be delayed. Still others say there won’t even be three cuts.

Despite all the challenges, the risk of a recession that would lead to significant job losses remains low. Yet there are signs that consumer jitters are accelerating. The New York Federal Reserve reported Monday that fears of job losses are climbing and that workers who are already out of a job say getting hired is now more difficult than it was prior to the pandemic.

While about one-quarter of Americans report their household financial situation to be better than a year ago, about one-third report being worse off.

It all adds up to a precarious situation. In a speech last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called the economic outlook "still quite uncertain."

"The job of sustainably restoring 2% inflation is not yet done," he said.

Rob Wile is a breaking business news reporter for NBC News Digital.

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Time and Place in Reported Speech
Time and Place in Reported Speech. When we report something, we may need to make changes to: time (now, tomorrow) place (here, this room) direct speech. reported speech. She said, "I saw Mary yesterday." She said she had seen Mary the day before. He said: "My mother is here."
Changing time and place in reported speech| reported speech| English EFL
Place. If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any changes to place words. But if we are in a different place when we report something, then we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences: He said: "It is cold in here ." → He said that it was cold in there.
Reported speech: indirect speech
Reported speech: indirect speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
Reported Speech
To change an imperative sentence into a reported indirect sentence, use to for imperative and not to for negative sentences. Never use the word that in your indirect speech. Another rule is to remove the word please. Instead, say request or say. For example: "Please don't interrupt the event," said the host.
Changes in Time and Place in Reported Speech • 7ESL
Time and place references often have to change in reported speech: Now -> Then. For example: Direct speech: " The children are playing outside now. Reported speech: He said that the children were playing outside then. Today -> That day. For example: Direct speech: " I've got a piano lesson today. Reported speech: She said that she had ...
Direct and Indirect Speech: Useful Rules and Examples
To convert direct speech into indirect speech, you need to follow a few rules. Step 1: Remove the Quotation Marks. The first step is to remove the quotation marks that enclose the relayed text. This is because indirect speech does not use the exact words of the speaker. Step 2: Use a Reporting Verb and a Linker.
Indirect Speech
Indirect Speech is a way of expressing the words or utterances of a speaker in a reported manner. In contrast to direct speech, where the original speaker's words are quoted verbatim, indirect speech is more about reporting the essence or meaning of what the speaker said rather than quoting them exactly. ... "Tomorrow" becomes "The next day" or ...
Reported Speech
Reported speech is the form in which one can convey a message said by oneself or someone else, mostly in the past. It can also be said to be the third person view of what someone has said. In this form of speech, you need not use quotation marks as you are not quoting the exact words spoken by the speaker, but just conveying the message. Q2.
Reported Speech In English: The Ultimate Guide
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words. For example, let's say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon. Jon, however, is not feeling well.
Reported speech
Direct speech (exact words): Mary: Oh dear. We've been walking for hours! I'm exhausted. I don't think I can go any further. I really need to stop for a rest. Peter: Don't worry. I'm not surprised you're tired. I'm tired too.
Reported Speech in English Grammar
Introduction. In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. We can use their exact words with quotation marks, this is known as direct speech, or we can use indirect speech.In indirect speech, we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed.Indirect speech is often introduced by a reporting verb or phrase such as ones below.
ELT Concourse: essentials of reported or indirect speech
On the right we have reported or indirect speech - how the message is passed on. On the face of it, there's nothing terribly difficult about this idea. The tense shifts back one (from, e.g., was to had been, from can to could, from am coming to was coming. At the same time, I changes to he or she and tomorrow to the next day and so on. Here's ...
Direct and Indirect Speech (Grammar Rules and Great Examples)
Converting Direct to Indirect Speech. 1. Eliminate the quotation marks that enclose the relayed text. 2. Retain the tense of the reporting verb and add the word "that" after it. 3. Change the tense of the verb in the reported speech, if needed. 4. Change the pronouns accordingly.
Reported speech: statements
indirect speech: She said she loved the Toy Story films. direct speech: 'I worked as a waiter before becoming a chef,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd worked as a waiter before becoming a chef. direct speech: 'I'll phone you tomorrow,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd phone me the next day. Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Indirect speech
Introduction. We use indirect speech to report what someone else said: Clara: "I'm tired." (direct speech) Sonia: Clara said that she was tired. (indirect speech) When you want to tell someone what somebody else said you can just repeat their words (direct speech): Peter: She said "I'm hungry". (we use quotations marks when writing direct ...
100 Reported Speech Examples: How To Change Direct Speech Into Indirect
Direct: "I will help you," she promised. Reported: She promised that she would help me. Direct: "You should study harder," he advised. Reported: He advised that I should study harder. Direct: "I didn't take your book," he denied. Reported: He denied taking my book. Direct: "Let's go to the cinema," she suggested.
Changing time and place references
Time and place must often change when ing from direct to reported speech.
Indirect speech
What is indirect speech or reported speech? When we tell people what another person said or thought, we often use reported speech or indirect speech. To do that, we need to change verb tenses (present, past, etc.) and pronouns (I, you, my, your, etc.) if the time and speaker are different.For example, present tenses become past, I becomes he or she, and my becomes his or her, etc.
Indirect (Reported) Speech
"I could see you tomorrow." - He says (that) he could see me tomorrow. 3. Optional Backshifting. When the verb of speech introducing the indirect speech is in a past tense (simple, progressive or perfect), and the situation reported is still true at the moment of speaking, we can, but do not have to, backshift:
Indirect Speech: Formula And Rules
In direct speech, the speaker most often speaks in the first person. That is, the speaker speaks from his person. John will not talk about himself: John is a good boy. John will say it on his behalf: I am a good boy. But when we retell the words of John (indirect speech), we cannot speak on his behalf.
Indirect speech
In linguistics, speech or indirect discourse is a grammatical mechanism for reporting the content of another utterance without directly quoting it. For example, the English sentence Jill said she was coming is indirect discourse while Jill said "I'm coming" would be direct discourse.In fiction, the "utterance" might amount to an unvoiced thought that passes through a stream of consciousness ...
He said,"I am going to New York tomorrow." Into indirect speech
It is better to think of reported speech as a description of what was meant, rather than a mechanical conversion from direct quote. When you understand it like this you see that "I'm going to New York tomorrow" and "I will go to New York tomorrow" and "I will be going to New York" mean the same thing. So when reported you could use either
The word 'tomorrow' changes to _____ in Indirect Speech
The word ' tomorrow ' means the time that is to come. Hence, the word 'tomorrow' changes to "the next day". The following table will enable us to find the kind of sentence: Direct speech. Reported Speech. now. then, at that time. today. that day, on Sunday, yesterday.
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Time and Place in Reported Speech

Place words

Changing time and place in reported speech

Course Curriculum

Reported speech: indirect speech

Indirect speech: reporting questions

Reporting wh -questions

Who , whom and what

When , where , why and how

Indirect speech: reporting commands

Indirect speech: present simple reporting verb

Newspaper headlines

Indirect speech: past continuous reporting verb

Modal verbs

No backshift

Indirect speech: changes to pronouns

Indirect speech: changes to adverbs and demonstratives

Typical changes to demonstratives, adverbs and adverbial expressions

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Direct and Indirect Speech: Useful Rules and Examples

Direct and Indirect Speech

Differences between Direct and Indirect Speech

Change of Pronouns

Change of Tenses

Change of Time and Place References

Converting Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech

Step 1: Remove the Quotation Marks

Step 2: Use a Reporting Verb and a Linker

Step 3: Change the Tense of the Verb

Step 4: Change the Pronouns

Converting Indirect Speech Into Direct Speech

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech Examples

Indirect Speech Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Posts:

Indirect Speech

What is Indirect Speech?

Changes in Verb Tenses

Exceptions to Tense Shifts

Changes in Pronouns and Time Expressions

Time Expression Changes

Indirect Commands and Requests

Indirect Questions

Related Posts:

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Reported Speech - Definition, Rules and Usage with Examples

Table of Contents

Transforming Direct Speech into Reported Speech

What is reported speech?

What is the formula of reported speech?

Give some examples of reported speech.

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A Comprehensive Guide To Reported Speech In English

What Is Reported Speech In English?

How To Form Reported Speech In English

Reported Speech In English: Changing Verb Tenses

Simple Present → Simple Past

Present Progressive → Past Progressive

Present Perfect → Past Perfect

Past Simple → Past Simple Or Past Perfect

Past Perfect Tenses Do Not Change

Will → Would

Can → Could

May → Might

Reported Speech In English: Changing Pronouns

Reported Speech In English: Place And Time Expressions

Reported Speech In English: Word Order In Questions

Promises, Agreements, Orders, Offers, Requests & Advice

Reported Speech In English

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