Reported speech in English : complete course

Reported speech is a way of telling someone what another person said, without using their exact words. Instead of quoting directly, you summarize or paraphrase the message. It is one of the most useful grammar tools in everyday English communication.

For example, if your friend says ‘I am tired’, you might later tell someone: ‘She said she was tired.’ That is reported speech in action.

Simple Examples to Get Started

• Direct speech: ‘I love pizza.’ → Reported speech: He said he loved pizza.
• Direct speech: ‘We are going to the cinema.’ → Reported speech: They said they were going to the cinema.
• Direct speech: ‘I will call you tomorrow.’ → Reported speech: She said she would call me the next day.

Notice how the verbs change, and some words like ‘tomorrow’ also shift. This is completely normal in reported speech!

The Key Elements of Reported Speech in English

Reported speech involves several important changes. Let us look at the main ones.

1. Verb Tense Backshift

When you report what someone said, the verb usually moves one step back in time. This is called backshift.

Example: ‘I can swim.’ → He said he could swim.

2. Changes in Pronouns

Pronouns often change depending on who is speaking and who is being spoken to.

• ‘I am happy.’ → She said she was happy.
• ‘We finished the project.’ → They said they had finished the project.
• ‘You look great.’ → He told me I looked great.

Always think about the perspective when changing pronouns. Who said it? To whom?

3. Changes in Time and Place Expressions

Words like ‘now’, ‘here’, and ‘today’ often change when you report speech later.

Example: ‘I will finish this today.’ → She said she would finish that that day.

Why Reported Speech Matters in English

Reported speech is everywhere in real life. You use it when you share news, explain a conversation, write emails, or retell a story. Without it, communication becomes much harder.

• In professional emails: ‘The manager said the meeting had been postponed.’
• In daily conversation: ‘My doctor told me I should rest more.’
• In news and media: ‘The president said the new law would help citizens.’

Mastering reported speech helps you sound more natural and fluent in English. It also shows you understand how time and perspective work in the language.

Comparison with Other Languages

Many learners find reported speech tricky because it works differently across languages.

In French, ‘Il a dit qu il était fatigué’ follows the same backshift logic as English. In Spanish, ‘Dijo que estaba cansado’ works very similarly too. So if you speak French or Spanish, you already have a good base to understand English reported speech!

The main difference is that English has a wide variety of reporting verbs that add meaning: suggest, warn, promise, refuse, and many more. These will be explored in later articles.

A Complete Example

Let us imagine a full scenario to put everything together.

Anna says to Tom: ‘I am moving to London next month. I found a great job there and I can start soon.’

Later, Tom tells his friend:

‘Anna said she was moving to London the following month. She told me she had found a great job there and that she could start soon.’

Let us break it down:

• ‘I am moving’ → ‘she was moving’ (backshift + pronoun change)
• ‘next month’ → ‘the following month’ (time expression change)
• ‘I found’ → ‘she had found’ (backshift)
• ‘I can start’ → ‘she could start’ (backshift)

Key Points to Remember

• Reported speech is used to share what someone else said, without quoting them directly.
• Verbs usually shift one tense back into the past.
• Pronouns change according to who is speaking.
• Time and place words also change to reflect the new context.
• English has many reporting verbs. ‘Say’ and ‘tell’ are the most common to start with.
• French and Spanish learners already know the basic concept, but should pay attention to English-specific vocabulary and verb forms.

Reported speech may seem complex at first, but with practice it becomes natural. In the next articles in this series, we will explore reported questions, commands, and more advanced reporting verbs. Stay tuned!

Sources

• Swan, M. (2005). Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press.
• Murphy, R. (2019). English Grammar in Use (5th edition). Cambridge University Press.
• Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., and Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson Education.