Reported Speech (Statements): Rules
Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is used to tell someone what another person said without using the exact words. When reporting statements, we usually make changes to the tense of the verb, pronouns, and expressions of time and place.
Key Rules for Reporting Statements:
Reporting Verbs
- Use reporting verbs like 'said', 'told', 'stated', 'remarked', 'added', 'replied'.
- If the reporting verb is followed by an object, use 'told' (e.g., He told me that...). If there's no object, use 'said' (e.g., He said that...).
- The conjunction 'that' is often used but can be omitted.
Changes in Tenses (Backshift)
- Present Simple → Past Simple (e.g., "I play" → He said he played)
- Present Continuous → Past Continuous (e.g., "I am playing" → He said he was playing)
- Present Perfect → Past Perfect (e.g., "I have played" → He said he had played)
- Past Simple → Past Perfect (e.g., "I played" → He said he had played)
- Past Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous (e.g., "I was playing" → He said he had been playing)
- Future Simple (will) → Would (e.g., "I will play" → He said he would play)
Changes in Modals
- Can → Could (e.g., "I can swim" → He said he could swim)
- May → Might (e.g., "It may rain" → He said it might rain)
- Must → Had to (e.g., "I must go" → He said he had to go)
- Will → Would (e.g., "I will help" → He said he would help)
- Shall → Should/Would (e.g., "I shall go" → He said he should/would go)
- No change: Could, Would, Should, Might, Ought to, Had better, Used to.
Changes in Pronouns
- Pronouns change according to the speaker and listener.
- First person (I, we) changes according to the subject of the reporting verb. (e.g., "I am happy," he said. → He said he was happy.)
- Second person (you) changes according to the object of the reporting verb. (e.g., He said to me, "You are right." → He told me that I was right.)
- Third person (he, she, it, they) generally remains unchanged. (e.g., She said, "He is ill." → She said he was ill.)
Changes in Time and Place Expressions
- Now → Then
- Today → That day
- Yesterday → The previous day/The day before
- Tomorrow → The next day/The following day
- Last night → The previous night/The night before
- Next week → The following week/The week after
- Here → There
- This → That
- These → Those
- Ago → Before
No Change in Tense
- If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense (e.g., he says, she will say), the tense of the reported speech does not change. (e.g., He says, "I am happy." → He says that he is happy.)
- If the direct speech states a universal truth or habitual fact. (e.g., The teacher said, "The Earth is round." → The teacher said that the Earth is round.)
- If the direct speech contains a time clause that does not change the meaning. (e.g., He said, "When I was young, I played football." → He said that when he was young, he played football.)
Important Points to Remember:
- Always identify the reporting verb and its tense.
- Pay close attention to pronoun changes based on the speaker and listener.
- Carefully convert time and place expressions.
- Remember the backshift of tenses, but also the exceptions (present reporting verb, universal truths).