Reported Speech (Direct and Indirect Speech) — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

الرابعة متوسط, تربية وتعليم, دروس المتوسط ضع تعليق

📘 Reported Speech (Direct and Indirect Speech) — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

Subject: English (Grammar / Writing) | Level: 4^th Year Middle School (4AM) | Unit: Grammar — Reported Speech | Duration: 2 sessions

🎯 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

✅ Identify the difference between direct and reported speech
✅ Change direct statements into reported speech correctly
✅ Apply tense changes (backshift) when reporting
✅ Use reporting verbs like said, told, and asked
✅ Report questions and commands properly

🔍 Introduction — What is Reported Speech?

When we speak, we sometimes want to repeat what someone else said. We have two ways to do this:

Direct Speech: We quote the exact words. “I like pizza,” said Ahmed.
Reported Speech (Indirect Speech): We explain what someone said without quoting their exact words. Ahmed said that he liked pizza.

In your BEM exam, you will often see exercises asking you to rewrite sentences from direct to reported speech. Let’s learn how!

📚 1. Tense Changes (Backshift)

When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told, asked), the verb in the reported clause usually moves one step back in time. This is called backshift.

Direct Speech	→ Reported Speech
Present Simple ➡ “I play football.”	Past Simple ➡ He said (that) he played* football.*
Present Continuous ➡ “I am studying.”	Past Continuous ➡ She said she was studying.
Present Perfect ➡ “I have finished.”	Past Perfect ➡ He said he had finished.
Past Simple ➡ “I visited Paris.”	Past Perfect ➡ She said she had visited* Paris.*
Will ➡ “I will help you.”	Would ➡ He said he would* help me.*
Can ➡ “I can swim.”	Could ➡ She said she could* swim.*
Must ➡ “You must study.”	Had to ➡ He said I had to* study.*

⚡ Important Notes

The word “that” is optional in reported speech. He said (that) he was tired.
✔️ Always change pronouns and possessive adjectives: I → he/she, my → his/her, we → they, etc.
✔️ Change time expressions: today → that day, now → then, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before / the previous day
✔️ Change place words: here → there

📚 2. Pronouns and Time Expressions — Quick Reference

Direct Speech	→ Reported Speech
I	he / she
we	they
my	his / her
our	their
now	then
today	that day
tonight	that night
this week	that week
yesterday	the day before / the previous day
tomorrow	the next day / the following day
next week	the following week
last week	the week before / the previous week
here	there

📚 3. Reporting Questions

When you report a question, two things change:

The question becomes a statement (no question mark, no inversion)
Use if / whether for Yes/No questions, or keep the question word (who, what, where, etc.)

Type	Direct Speech	→ Reported Speech
Wh- Question	“Where do you live?”	He asked me where I lived.
Yes/No Question	“Do you like coffee?”	She asked me if I liked coffee. / whether I liked coffee.
Wh- Question	“What are you doing?”	He asked me what I was doing.

💡 Tips for Reporting Questions

Do NOT use a question mark ❌ — reported questions end with a full stop (.)
Do NOT use the auxiliary verbs (do/does/did) in the reported part: “Does he play?” → She asked if he played. ✅
The subject comes before the verb (like a normal statement): He asked where I was going. ✅ (not ❌ where was I going)

📚 4. Reporting Commands and Requests

To report commands or requests, use the pattern:

Subject + told / asked + person + to + verb

Direct Speech	→ Reported Speech
“Sit down!”	He told me to sit down.
“Don’t be late!”	She told me not to be late.
“Please help me.”	He asked me to help him.
“Don’t run!”	The teacher told us not to run.

⛔ Common Mistakes ❌

Mistake 1: Keeping the same tense
❌ He said he is tired.
✅ He said he was tired.
(If the reporting verb is past, backshift the tense!)

Mistake 2: Using question word order in reported questions
❌ She asked where was I going.
✅ She asked where I was going.
(Reported questions have statement word order.)

Mistake 3: Using “say” with a person object
❌ He said me that he was busy.
✅ He told me that he was busy.
(Said + no object; Told + person object)

Mistake 4: Forgetting pronoun changes
❌ She said, “I am happy.” → She said that I was happy. (Wrong — who is “I”?)
✅ She said that she was happy.

✍️ Exercises — Practice Makes Perfect!

📝 Exercise 1: Rewrite the sentences from Direct to Reported Speech

“I am reading a book,” said Sarah.

Sarah said ________________________________________.
“We will visit our grandparents,” the children said.

The children said __________________________________.
“I don’t like spicy food,” said Ahmed.

Ahmed said _______________________________________.
“My mother has bought a new car,” said Karim.

Karim said ________________________________________.
“You must finish your homework,” the teacher said.

The teacher said ___________________________________.

📝 Exercise 2: Report the Questions

“Where do you live?” he asked me.

He asked me ______________________________________.
“Are you feeling well?” the doctor asked.

The doctor asked ___________________________________.
“What time does the train leave?” she asked.

She asked _________________________________________.
“Did you see the accident?” the policeman asked.

The policeman asked ________________________________.
“Can you help me carry this?” he asked.

He asked me _______________________________________.

📝 Exercise 3: Report the Commands

“Open the window,” the teacher said to Samir.

The teacher told Samir ______________________________.
“Don’t touch the paintings,” the guard said.

The guard told us __________________________________.
“Please wait for me,” said my friend.

My friend asked me _________________________________.
“Don’t be afraid,” said the mother to her son.

The mother told her son ____________________________.
“Turn off your mobile phones,” said the flight attendant.

The flight attendant asked us _________________________.

🔑 Answer Key

Exercise 1:

Sarah said (that) she was reading a book.
The children said (that) they would visit their grandparents.
Ahmed said (that) he didn’t like spicy food.
Karim said (that) his mother had bought a new car.
The teacher said (that) we had to finish our homework.

Exercise 2:

He asked me where I lived.
The doctor asked (me) if/whether I was feeling well.
She asked what time the train left.
The policeman asked (me) if/whether I had seen the accident.
He asked me if/whether I could help him carry that.

Exercise 3:

The teacher told Samir to open the window.
The guard told us not to touch the paintings.
My friend asked me to wait for him/her.
The mother told her son not to be afraid.
The flight attendant asked us to turn off our mobile phones.

🏠 Homework Activity

📌 Write 5 sentences in direct speech from your daily life, then rewrite them in reported speech. For example:
My mother said, “Clean your room.” → My mother told me to clean my room.

📌 Summary — Key Rules

🔹 Backshift: Present → Past, Past → Past Perfect, Will → Would, Can → Could
🔹 Pronouns: Change I → he/she, my → his/her, we → they, etc.
🔹 Time/Place: now → then, today → that day, here → there, etc.
🔹 Questions: No question mark! Use if/whether for Yes/No, keep Wh- words
🔹 Commands: told + person + to + verb (or not to + verb for negative)
🔹 Say vs Tell: say + (that) — tell + person + (that)

Reported Speech (Direct and Indirect Speech) — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum