Reported Speech 1
Reporting what people said using say and tell with tense changes
Two Ways to Report What Someone Said
When you want to pass on what a colleague said, you have two options.
You can repeat their exact words (direct speech):
Sarah said, ‘I’m finishing the report today.’
Or you can use reported speech:
Sarah said that she was finishing the report that day.
In direct speech, you quote the person’s exact words. In reported speech, you shift the tense back and adjust pronouns.
Tense Changes in Reported Speech
When the reporting verb is past (said, told), the rest of the sentence usually shifts to the past too.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| am / is | was |
| are | were |
| do / does | did |
| have / has | had |
| will | would |
| can | could |
| want / know / go etc. | wanted / knew / went etc. |
- Direct: ‘I am working late tonight.’
- Reported: He said he was working late that night.
Say and Tell
Use said without a personal object. Use told with one.
- Mark said that he needed the figures by Friday. (not
Mark said me) - Mark told me that he needed the figures by Friday. (not
Mark told that)
You can leave out that in both cases:
- She said she was running behind schedule.
- She told the team she was running behind schedule.
Full Examples: Direct vs. Reported
Here is what different people said, and how you report it later.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| ‘I‘ve lost my access badge.’ | He said he had lost his access badge. |
| ‘I want to transfer to the London office.’ | She said she wanted to transfer to the London office. |
| ‘I can’t attend the Friday meeting.’ | She said she couldn’t attend the Friday meeting. |
| ‘I don’t have much free time this week.’ | She said she didn’t have much free time that week. |
| ‘My team are doing fine.’ | He said his team were doing fine. |
| ‘I‘m going away for a few days and I‘ll call you when I get back.’ | She said she was going away for a few days and would call me when she got back. |
Past Simple in Reported Speech
When the original sentence is already in the past simple, you can either keep it as is or shift it to the past perfect. Both are correct.
- Direct: ‘I woke up late, so I didn’t make it to the morning stand-up.’
- Reported: He said he woke up late, so he didn’t make it to the morning stand-up.
- Reported: He said he had woken up late, so he hadn’t made it to the morning stand-up.
Quick Self-Check
'I'm preparing the quarterly report.' → She said she _____ the quarterly report.
Select your answer:
Tom _____ me that he couldn't finish the project on time.
Select your answer:
'I'll send you the contract by Friday.' → She said she _____ me the contract by Friday.
Select your answer:
'I don't have access to the shared drive.' → He said he _____ access to the shared drive.
Select your answer:
'I woke up late, so I missed the train.' → She said she _____ up late, so she missed the train. Which is NOT correct?
Select your answer: