Think about a conversation you had today. Someone asked you a question or told you to do something. Now imagine telling a friend what happened — how do you say it? Not the exact words — but the idea.
🎙 Speak: Give me one example. Someone said or asked something. How do you tell the story?
When you report what someone said, three things must change:
Most people change the tense randomly. Today, you'll see the system.
I'm going to show you four direct sentences. Then listen as I change them into reported speech. Can you spot what changed?
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| "Where do you live?" | He asked her where she lived. |
| → Question word stays at the front. Auxiliary verb disappears. Tense shifts back (do → did). | |
| "Don't be late!" | She told him not to be late. |
| → Command becomes tell + infinitive. The negative shifts to the infinitive. | |
Notice: We're not changing the MEANING — just the FORM so we can talk about what was said instead of quoting it directly.
There are two types of questions, and each one changes differently.
The key: if or whether replaces the question mark. There is no auxiliary in the reported form.
Direct: "Have you finished?"
Reported: He asked if I had finished. (present perfect → past perfect)
Direct: "Will you help me?"
Reported: She asked if I would help her. (will → would)
Direct: "Did you see the movie?"
Reported: He asked if I had seen the movie. (past → past perfect)
The key: The question word stays at the front. No auxiliary. Normal statement word order.
Direct: "Where are you going?"
Reported: She asked where I was going. (are → was)
Direct: "Why did you leave early?"
Reported: He asked why I had left early. (did leave → had left)
Direct: "When will they arrive?"
Reported: She asked when they would arrive. (will → would)
I'm going to say a direct question. You convert it to reported speech. You can pause and think — this is learning, not testing.
Direct: "Do you like coffee?"
Convert to: She asked if I...
Direct: "How many languages do you speak?"
Convert to: He asked how many...
Direct: "Are you coming to the party?"
Convert to: She asked if I...
🎙 Speak: Say your three reported versions out loud.
This is the core pattern. Once you see it, tense change becomes automatic.
Present Simple → Past Simple
"I work here" → He said he worked there.
Present Continuous → Past Continuous
"I'm working now" → She said she was working then.
Present Perfect → Past Perfect
"I've finished" → He said he had finished.
Past Simple → Past Perfect
"I worked there" → She said she had worked there.
Will → Would
"I will come" → He said he would come.
Can → Could
"I can help" → She said she could help.
Must → Had to
"I must leave" → He said he had to leave.
Pattern: Each tense slides one step backward in time, but the meaning stays the same.
When you report speech, you're speaking NOW about something said THEN. So the tense must step backward to show "this happened before I'm telling you."
Direct (now): "I feel great!" → She says this RIGHT NOW.
Reported (then → now): She said she felt great. → She said it at a PAST moment. We're reporting it NOW. The tense shows the distance.
The listener needs to know: this was said before, not right now.
For each pair, identify the verb tense in direct speech, then in reported speech. What changed?
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech | What Changed? |
|---|---|---|
| "I'm learning Portuguese" | He said he was learning Portuguese | present continuous → past continuous |
| "I've never been there" | She said she had never been there | present perfect → past perfect |
| "We can do it" | They said they could do it | can → could |
| "I worked for ten years" | He said he had worked for ten years | past simple → past perfect |
🎙 Speak: Can you name two more present simple sentences, convert them to past simple in reported speech?
Commands and requests are different from statements and questions. They use a completely different structure.
Commands use tell. Requests use ask. Negatives use not to.
Direct: "Call me tomorrow!"
Reported: She told him to call her tomorrow.
Direct: "Don't be late!"
Reported: He told her not to be late.
Direct: "Can you open the window?"
Reported: She asked me to open the window.
Direct: "Would you mind waiting?"
Reported: He asked me to wait.
Direct: "Please don't tell anyone!"
Reported: She told me not to tell anyone.
Say the reported speech version aloud. Don't write — just speak the transformation.
Direct: "Finish your homework!"
🎙 Report it: His mother told him...
Direct: "Don't forget your keys!"
🎙 Report it: She told him...
Direct: "Could you pass the salt?"
🎙 Report it: She asked him...
Direct: "Would you please be quiet?"
🎙 Report it: He asked them...
🎙 Speak: Say all four reported versions aloud, clearly and confidently.
Now you're going to transform a complete mini-dialogue. This is where all three patterns (statements, questions, commands) work together.
Your friend went to a job interview last week. Here's what happened. You're now telling a colleague about it.
The Interview (Direct Speech):
Interviewer: "Tell me about your experience."
Your Friend: "I've worked in marketing for five years."
Interviewer: "What's your biggest achievement?"
Your Friend: "I increased sales by 40%."
Interviewer: "Can you describe the project?"
Your Friend: "It took six months."
Interviewer: "When can you start?"
🎙 Speak (3-4 minutes): Tell your colleague what the interviewer asked and what your friend said. Don't quote — use "She said...", "He asked...", "She told him..." Use the past tense consistently.
Without looking at your notes: Can you identify one example of each? (You can speak or write briefly.)
🎙 Speak: Name them out loud.
This is your chance to use reported speech naturally — talking about a real or imaginary conversation you had.
Pick one scenario. Then tell the story in reported speech for 2-3 minutes. The goal: use reported questions, commands/requests, and tense shifts naturally and accurately.
🎙 Speak (2-3 minutes): Tell your story using reported speech. Include at least one question, one command/request, and one statement with a tense change.
If you recorded or wrote notes, can you identify:
🎙 Speak: "In my story, I said... That's a [tense] to [tense] shift."
Without looking at your notes, answer these from memory. Speak your answers:
1. Past Perfect Tense: What is the past perfect used for? Give me one example where you'd use "had done" instead of "did".
2. Tense Timeline: What's the difference between "I finished" and "I had finished"? When do you use each one?
3. Word Order in Questions: How does word order change when you ask someone a question directly vs. reporting it later?
🎙 Speak: Say your answers aloud. These ideas are tools for reported speech.
Can you say the three core patterns WITHOUT looking at your notes?
Pattern 1: Yes/No Questions
Structure: ask + [blank] + subject + verb
Pattern 2: Wh-Questions
Structure: ask + [blank] + subject + verb
Pattern 3: Commands & Requests
Structure: [blank] + (not) + to + infinitive
Pattern 1 (Yes/No): ask + if/whether + subject + verb
Pattern 2 (Wh-): ask + wh-word + subject + verb
Pattern 3 (Commands): tell/ask + (not) + to + infinitive
🎙 Speak: Say all three patterns aloud. Then give one example of each from your own story today.
Think back through the lesson. Which moment was most useful?
🎙 Speak: Which one helped most? Why?
transform yes/no questions into reported speech with "if" or "whether"
transform wh-questions keeping the question word at the front
use "tell" and "ask" with the to-infinitive for commands and requests
shift tenses backward one step (present → past, past → past perfect, etc.)
speak stories about what people said without quoting them directly