Reported Speech: Statements, Questions and Commands – 3rd Year Literary Stream – Algeria

Reported Speech: Statements, Questions and Commands

Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to report what someone said without quoting their exact words. It involves changes in pronouns, tenses, time expressions, and word order.

Reporting Statements

When reporting statements, use ‘that’ (optional in informal English). The tense usually shifts back (backshift):
Present Simple → Past Simple: «I like music.» → He said (that) he liked music.
Present Continuous → Past Continuous: «I am studying.» → She said she was studying.
Past Simple → Past Perfect: «I visited Paris.» → He said he had visited Paris.
Present Perfect → Past Perfect: «I have finished.» → She said she had finished.
Will → Would: «I will help.» → He said he would help.
Can → Could: «I can swim.» → She said she could swim.
Must → Had to: «I must go.» → He said he had to go.

Reporting Questions

When reporting questions, use normal word order (subject before verb, not inversion). For yes/no questions, use ‘if’ or ‘whether’. For wh-questions, keep the wh-word.
Yes/No questions: «Do you like coffee?» → He asked if/whether I liked coffee.
Wh-questions: «Where do you live?» → She asked where I lived.
Questions with ‘are you’: «Are you coming?» → He asked if I was coming.

Reporting Commands and Requests

Commands and requests are reported using: tell/ask + person + (not) + to + infinitive.
Commands: «Sit down!» → He told me to sit down.
Negative commands: «Don’t talk!» → She told us not to talk.
Requests: «Please help me.» → He asked me to help him.
Advice: «You should rest.» → He advised me to rest.

Changes in Time and Place Expressions

When reporting, time and place expressions change: now → then, today → that day, yesterday → the day before / the previous day, tomorrow → the next day / the following day, here → there, this → that, ago → before, last week → the week before.

No Tense Change Situations

The tense does NOT change if: the reporting verb is in the present tense (He says…), the reported statement is a general truth (She said the earth is round), the reported statement is still true (He said he lives in Algiers – still true).

Exercises

1. Report the statement: «I am reading an interesting book,» said Ahmed.
2. Report the question: «Have you ever been to London?» she asked.
3. Report the command: «Don’t make noise,» the teacher said.

For more English lessons, check Tenses Review: Present, Past and Future and The Passive Voice: Formation and Use.

📍 دروس مشابهة

• English Grammar and Writing — Punctuation Rules: Advanced Usage — BAC Practice Part 27 — 3rd Year Se
• English — Argumentative Essay — 3rd Year Secondary
• English — Present Perfect: Ever and Never — 3rd Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum
• English — Purpose, Cause, and Result — 3rd Year Secondary