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❖ Unit 7 ❖ Citizenship ❖ Grammar ❖

Reported Speech

Reported speech (or indirect speech) is used to repeat what someone said without quoting them directly. It involves tense backshift, pronoun changes, and time/place adjustments.

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Three changes to make

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Tense backshift

Direct speechReported speech
Simple presentSimple past
Present continuousPast continuous
Present perfectPast perfect
Simple pastPast perfect
willwould
cancould
maymight
must / have tohad to
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Time and place changes

DirectReported
todaythat day
tomorrowthe next day / the following day
yesterdaythe day before / the previous day
nowthen
this weekthat week
last nightthe night before
herethere
thisthat
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Reporting Statements

Use said (that) / told someone (that).

Examples

Direct: "I am tired." → Reported: She said (that) she was tired.

Direct: "We have lived in Rabat for three years." → They said they had lived in Rabat for three years.

Practice — Statements
  1. "It is raining in London now." → The weatherman said (that) it was raining in London then.
  2. "I saw a great movie last night." → Loubna said (that) she had seen a great movie the night before.
  3. "We have lived in Rabat for three years." → Anas and Nada said they had lived in Rabat for three years.
  4. "I will continue my education in Canada." → Najat told her classmates that she would continue her education in Canada.
  5. "Mark will marry next summer." → Jack told his friends that Mark would marry the following summer.
  6. "Jenny can't come to our party." → Pierre told his wife that Jenny couldn't come to their party.
  7. "I met one of my old friends at the beach last summer." → Hamid said (that) he had met one of his old friends at the beach the previous summer.
  8. "You must do the exercises on page 9." → Mr. Brown told his students they had to do the exercises on page 9.
  9. "My father went to Paris last month." → Imane said her father had gone to Paris the previous month.
  10. "I'm not feeling well." → David said (that) he wasn't feeling well.
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Reporting Yes/No questions

Use asked / wanted to know + if / whether. No question mark. Normal word order.

Examples

Direct: "Do you speak English?" → He asked me if I spoke English.

Practice
  1. "Can Mr. Smith come to the meeting?" → The secretary asked if Mr. Smith could come to the meeting.
  2. "Has Sarah been to Rabat before?" → Reda wanted to know if Sarah had been to Rabat before.
  3. "Are the children at home?" → The man asked if the children were at home.
  4. "Is the teacher in class?" → A student asked his friend if the teacher was in class.
  5. "Can you clean the board?" → The teacher asked me if I could clean the board.
  6. "Have you done well in the exam?" → Nancy asked Paul if he had done well in the exam.
  7. "Is the lesson difficult?" → The teacher asked if the lesson was difficult.
  8. "Have you finished the housework?" → The mother asked her daughter if she had finished the housework.
  9. "Do you enjoy watching football on TV?" → My friend asked me if I enjoyed watching football on TV.
  10. "Does Sara have a job?" → Ali asked if Sara had a job.
6

Reporting Wh- questions

Keep the question word (what, where, when, why, how, who). No question mark. Normal word order.

Practice
  1. "Where is the train station?" → A tourist wanted to know where the train station was.
  2. "What time will the train arrive?" → A passenger wondered what time the train would arrive.
  3. "Why do you hate me?" → Kamal asked Zineb why she hated him.
  4. "How much money do you need?" → The father asked his daughter how much money she needed.
  5. "How does your friend like coffee?" → The waiter asked me how my friend liked coffee.
  6. "How often do you watch TV?" → My friend asked me how often I watched TV.
  7. "What will you do after class?" → Nabil asked Nabila what she would do after class.
  8. "What can I do to pass the exam?" → Nada asked what she could do to pass the exam.
  9. "Where did you go last summer?" → Noura asked Reda where he had gone the previous summer.
  10. "Which lesson did the teacher explain yesterday?" → A student asked his classmate which lesson the teacher had explained the day before.
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Reporting Commands & Advice

Commands → told + (not) + to + verb. Advice → advised + (not) + to + verb. Suggestions → suggested + V-ing.

Commands
  1. "Drive slowly." → Mr. John told his son to drive slowly.
  2. "Don't forget to buy apples." → The woman told her husband not to forget to buy apples.
  3. "Please help me with the homework." → Youness asked his sister to help him with the homework.
  4. "Don't be late for the meeting." → The manager reminded the workers not to be late for the meeting.
  5. "Watch out!" → The sign warned the drivers to watch out.
Advice and suggestions
  1. "You should revise your lessons well." → The teacher advised his students to revise their lessons well.
  2. "You'd better exercise every day." → The doctor advised the patient to exercise every day.
  3. "Why don't you go home and relax?" → Nada advised her friend to go home and relax.
  4. "You shouldn't eat too much at night." → He advised his son not to eat too much at night.
  5. "Let's study English!" → My friend suggested studying English.
  6. "Why don't we travel to Marrakech after the exams?" → Huda suggested travelling to Marrakech after the exams.

❖ Key Takeaways ❖

① Three transformations

Tenses backshift · Pronouns change · Time/place words change.

② Different reporting verbs

Statements → said / told. Questions → asked / wanted to know. Commands → told to / ordered to. Advice → advised to. Suggestions → suggested + V-ing.

③ No inversion in reported questions

In direct: "Where is the station?". In reported: "He asked where the station was." (NO inversion!)

❖ Exam tip

Reported speech is a frequent exam exercise. Pay special attention to: (1) the right reporting verb, (2) the tense backshift, (3) removing the question mark in reported questions.

❖ Unit 7 — Citizenship — Grammar: Reported Speech ❖