Indirect Speech

Reported speech, or indirect speech, tells what someone said or thought. It requires adjusting tense, time/place expressions, and pronouns. For example:

John: Are you going to the beach today?
 
Me: John asked me if (whether) I was going to the beach that day.
                  ^question      ^tense                 ^time

When you’re telling someone what someone else said earlier, it’s essential to adjust the verb tenses, expressions, word order, and pronouns to represent the changed context and timeline compared to the original conversation.

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Image source: test-english

Tip

Beware of these quirks when changing verb tenses:

1. Past simple and present perfect both become past perfect.
2. must becomes had to

Image source: test-english

Image source: test-english

Tip

For reporting questions, switch clauses to regular order with new verb forms.

Image source: test-english

References

• https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/reported-speech-indirect-speech/