Reported Speech: Key Elements and Changes

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, involves significant changes to various elements of the original statement. This page outlines the primary modifications required when converting direct speech to reported speech in English.

Grammatical Tense Changes

When reporting speech, tenses typically shift backwards in time. Here are the main tense transformations:

• Present Simple becomes Past Simple
• Present Continuous changes to Past Continuous
• Present Perfect shifts to Past Perfect
• Past Simple transforms into Past Perfect
• Future Simple changes to "would + infinitive"

Example: "I am studying" (Present Continuous) becomes "She said she was studying" (Past Continuous) in reported speech.

Modal Verb Adjustments

Modal verbs also undergo changes in reported speech:

• "Can" becomes "could"
• "Should" and "may" remain the same
• "Must" changes to "had to"

Highlight: It's important to note that "should" and "may" do not change in reported speech, maintaining their original form.

Pronoun and Possessive Changes

Personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, and possessive adjectives often need adjustment to reflect the new perspective of the reported speech.

Example: "This is my book" might become "She said that was her book" in reported speech.

Time and Place Expression Modifications

Expressions of time and place are adapted to fit the context of the reported speech:

• "Now" becomes "then" or "at that time"
• "Today" changes to "that day"
• "Tomorrow" shifts to "the next day" or "the following day"
• "Yesterday" becomes "the previous day" or "the day before"
• "Tonight" changes to "that night"
• "Last week" becomes "the previous week" or "the week before"
• "Next week" changes to "the following week" or "next week"
• "Three days ago" becomes "three days before" or "three days earlier"
• "Here" changes to "there"

Vocabulary: "Ago" in time expressions is typically replaced with "before" or "earlier" in reported speech to maintain the correct temporal relationship.