Bac English: Reported Speech (Direct and Indirect Speech) – 3rd Year Secondary School

Reported Speech – 3rd Year Secondary School (Bac) English

Reported Speech (also called Indirect Speech) is an essential grammar topic for the Baccalaureate English exam. It appears in multiple-choice questions, transformation exercises, and writing tasks. This lesson covers all the rules with clear examples.

Lesson Objectives:

• Understand the difference between direct and reported speech
• Learn the rules for tense changes
• Master time and place expression changes
• Practice with Bac-style exercises

1. What is Reported Speech?

When we report what someone said without quoting their exact words, we use reported speech. We often use verbs like: say, tell, ask, explain, claim, state, suggest. Direct: ‘I am tired,’ said John. Reported: John said (that) he was tired.

2. Tense Changes (Backshift):

When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told, asked), the tense in the reported clause shifts back:

• Present Simple → Past Simple: ‘I work’ → He said he worked
• Present Continuous → Past Continuous: ‘I am working’ → He said he was working
• Present Perfect → Past Perfect: ‘I have finished’ → He said he had finished
• Past Simple → Past Perfect: ‘I arrived’ → He said he had arrived
• Will → Would: ‘I will come’ → He said he would come
• Can → Could: ‘I can help’ → He said he could help
• Must → Had to: ‘I must go’ → He said he had to go

3. Time and Place Changes:

Words like here, now, today, yesterday, tomorrow change in reported speech: here → there, now → then, today → that day, yesterday → the day before / the previous day, tomorrow → the next day / the following day, ago → before, this/these → that/those, last week → the week before.

4. Questions in Reported Speech:

For yes/no questions, use ‘if’ or ‘whether’: Direct: ‘Are you ready?’ Reported: He asked if I was ready. For wh-questions, keep the question word: Direct: ‘Where do you live?’ Reported: She asked where I lived. Note: word order changes to statement order (no inversion).

5. Commands and Requests:

Use ‘tell/ask + infinitive’: Direct: ‘Close the door,’ he said. Reported: He told me to close the door. For negatives: ‘Don’t run’ → He told me not to run.

Bac Practice Exercise:

Exercise: Rewrite in reported speech. 1) ‘I have never been to Algiers,’ said Karim. → Karim said that he had never been to Algiers. 2) ‘Will you help me with this exercise?’ she asked. → She asked if I would help her with that exercise. 3) ‘Don’t forget to revise,’ the teacher said. → The teacher told us not to forget to revise.

Summary:

Remember the key rule: when the reporting verb is past tense, shift the main verb one tense back. Pay attention to pronoun changes (I→he/she, we→they, my→his/her). Practice with Bac exam transformation exercises to master this topic.

📍 Similar Lessons:

• Bac English: Modal Auxiliaries (Modal Verbs) – Rules, Examples and Practice – 3rd Year Secondary School
• Bac English: Linking Words and Connectors – Writing Guide with Examples – 3rd Year Secondary School
• Bac English: Grammar Summary and Practice – 3rd Year Secondary School
• English: Unit 1 ‘Getting Through’ – Vocabulary and Grammar – First Year Secondary

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