English — Grammar: Reported Speech (Statements, Questions, Commands) — 3rd Year Secondary — Literary Stream — Baccalaureate — Algerian Curriculum

Reported speech (or indirect speech) is used to report what someone said without quoting their exact words. This lesson covers the rules for transforming statements, questions, and commands into reported speech.

Reported Statements

When reporting statements, we change the tense of the verb, pronouns, and time expressions.

Tense changes:
Present Simple → Past Simple: “I like coffee.” → He said he liked coffee.
Present Continuous → Past Continuous: “I am reading.” → He said he was reading.
Past Simple → Past Perfect: “I went home.” → He said he had gone home.
Present Perfect → Past Perfect: “I have seen it.” → He said he had seen it.
Will → Would: “I will come.” → He said he would come.
Can → Could: “I can help.” → He said he could help.

Reported Questions

Yes/No questions: Use “if” or “whether”. Word order changes to statement order.
“Do you like pizza?” → He asked if I liked pizza.
Wh- questions: Keep the question word, change word order.
“Where do you live?” → He asked where I lived.

Reported Commands and Requests

Use “told + object + to + infinitive” or “asked + object + to + infinitive”.

“Close the door.” → He told me to close the door.
“Don’t be late.” → She told me not to be late.
“Please help me.” → She asked me to help her.

Time and Place Changes

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

Exercises

Report: “I am studying English,” she said.
Report: “Have you finished your homework?” the teacher asked.
Report: “Don’t forget to bring your books,” he said.

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English — Grammar: Reported Speech (Statements, Questions, Commands) — 3rd Year Secondary — Literary Stream — Baccalaureate — Algerian Curriculum