The rule in one minute
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) tells someone what was said without using the exact words. Instead of “I am tired,” she said, you write She said that she was tired. There are no speech marks.
Three things usually change.
- Tense moves back one step. am becomes was. went becomes had gone.
- Pronouns change to fit the new point of view. The speaker’s I becomes she or he.
- Time and place words change. today becomes that day, tomorrow becomes the next day, here becomes there, this becomes that.
Do all three together and reported speech works.
Why it costs marks
Reported speech is common in directed writing, where a task may ask you to pass on what a text or speaker said. It needs several changes at once, so mistakes are easy.
The most common mistake is a half-finished shift, such as changing the tense but not the pronoun or time word. A reader can usually follow it, but it looks careless.
In ESL writing this is a direct accuracy error, and it can repeat many times in one answer.
Before and after
- Direct: “I will call you tomorrow,” he promised. Reported: He promised that he would call me the next day.
- Direct: “We are leaving now,” they said. Reported: They said that they were leaving then.
- Direct: “I have finished my homework,” she told her mother. Reported: She told her mother that she had finished her homework.
- Direct: “Do you understand this question?” the teacher asked. Reported: The teacher asked whether I understood that question.
- Half-shifted, wrong: He said that he is tired yesterday. Right: He said that he had been tired the day before.
Notice that a reported question loses its question mark. It becomes a statement that starts with whether or if.
This is easier to improve with a teacher beside you. A paid one-hour trial starts from your child's own recent work.
Try it yourself
Rewrite each sentence as reported speech, then check below.
- “I can’t come to the party,” Maya said.
- “We visited this museum last year,” they explained.
- “Are you feeling better today?” he asked.
- “I will help you tomorrow,” she offered.
Answers: (1) Maya said that she couldn’t come to the party. (2) They explained that they had visited that museum the year before. (3) He asked whether I was feeling better that day. (4) She offered to help me the next day, or She said that she would help me the next day.
Make it a habit
Make the three shifts as a set. Run down a short list: tense, pronouns, then time and place words. The most common error is doing one and forgetting another.
Learn the usual swaps in pairs: now / then, today / that day, tomorrow / the next day, yesterday / the day before, here / there, this / that.
Reported questions become statements. For yes/no questions, start with whether or if. For other questions, keep the question word: She asked where I lived.
If the statement is still true, you may keep the present tense. Decide by meaning, not by habit.
Where students get stuck, and how we help
Students usually move the tense but forget a pronoun or a time word. In our English as a Second Language lessons, a teacher builds reported speech into your directed-writing practice and marks each shift in your own sentences.
Lessons start from RM70/hr. You can book a paid one-hour trial to try it.
Next step
Practise in the practice area. Then read about tense consistency and conditionals. The proofreading guide shows how to check these shifts in a finished answer.