اللغة الإنجليزية — Grammar: Reported Speech (Direct to Indirect Transformation) — 3 ثانوي — شعبة آداب — بكالوريا — المنهاج الجزائري

English Grammar: Reported Speech (Direct to Indirect) — BAC Literary Stream

Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to report what someone said without quoting their exact words. This is a common topic in the baccalaureate exam.

1. Direct vs. Reported Speech

Direct Speech: He said, “I am tired.”
Reported Speech: He said that he was tired.

2. Tense Changes (Backshift)

When the reporting verb is in the past (said, told, asked), the tenses shift 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 saw her” → He said he had seen her.
• Will → Would: “I will come” → He said he would come.
• Can → Could: “I can swim” → He said he could swim.
• May → Might: “I may go” → He said he might go.
• Must → Had to: “I must leave” → He said he had to leave.

3. Changes in Time and Place Expressions

• Now → Then / at that moment
• Today → That day
• Yesterday → The day before / the previous day
• Tomorrow → The next day / the following day
• Here → There
• This → That
• These → Those
• Ago → Before / earlier

4. Pronoun Changes

• I → he/she
• We → they
• You → I/me (depending on context) / he/she/they
• My → his/her
• Our → their
• Your → my/his/her/their

5. Questions in Reported Speech

Wh-questions: Keep the question word and change word order to statement form.
Direct: “Where do you live?” she asked.
Reported: She asked where I lived.

Yes/No questions: Use “if” or “whether”.
Direct: “Do you like coffee?” he asked.
Reported: He asked if I liked coffee.

6. Commands and Requests

Use “to + infinitive” for commands (tell) and requests (ask).
Direct: “Close the door,” he said.
Reported: He told me to close the door.

Direct: “Please don’t go,” she said.
Reported: She asked me not to go.

Exercises

Rewrite the following in reported speech:

1. “I am studying for the exam,” John said.
2. “We will visit Paris next summer,” they said.
3. “Did you finish your homework?” the teacher asked.
4. “Don’t be late,” my mother said.
5. “Where have you been?” she asked me.

Related Lessons

Review also:
Conditional Sentences and
Used to / Be Used to / Get Used to.