Reported Speech (Direct to Indirect Speech): Grammar Rules, Examples and Exercises — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

Introduction

Reported Speech (also called Indirect Speech) is used to report what someone said without quoting their exact words. When we change direct speech into reported speech, we usually need to change the tense, pronouns, and time expressions.

Lesson Objectives

• Understand the difference between direct and reported speech
• Learn the rules for tense changes in reported speech
• Practice reporting statements, questions, and commands

1. Tense Changes in Reported Speech

When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told, asked), the tense changes as follows:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple: “I play football”	Past Simple: He said he played football
Present Continuous: “I am reading”	Past Continuous: He said he was reading
Past Simple: “I visited Paris”	Past Perfect: He said he had visited Paris
Present Perfect: “I have finished”	Past Perfect: He said he had finished
Will: “I will come”	Would: He said he would come
Can: “I can swim”	Could: He said he could swim
Must: “I must go”	Had to: He said he had to go

2. Time and Place Changes

Direct	Reported
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

3. Reporting Statements

Structure: Subject + said (that) / told + object + (that) + clause

Examples:

• Direct: Ahmed said, “I am tired.” → Reported: Ahmed said (that) he was tired.
• Direct: She told me, “I like reading.” → Reported: She told me (that) she liked reading.

4. Reporting Questions

For Yes/No questions, use ‘if’ or ‘whether’. For Wh-questions, keep the question word.

Examples:

• Direct: He asked, “Do you speak English?” → Reported: He asked if I spoke English.
• Direct: She asked, “Where do you live?” → Reported: She asked where I lived.

5. Reporting Commands and Requests

Use ‘told’ or ‘asked’ + object + infinitive (to + verb).

Examples:

• Direct: The teacher said, “Open your books.” → Reported: The teacher told us to open our books.
• Direct: “Please help me,” she said. → Reported: She asked me to help her.

Exercises

Exercise 1: Change into reported speech:

1. “I am studying English,” Ali said.
2. “We will visit Algiers next week,” they said.
3. “Did you finish your homework?” mother asked.

Answers:

1. Ali said (that) he was studying English.
2. They said (that) they would visit Algiers the next week.
3. Mother asked if I had finished my homework.

Summary

In reported speech, we change the verb tense, pronouns, and time expressions. The reporting verb (said/told/asked) determines the structure. Practice is key to mastering this important grammar skill!