English — Direct and Indirect Speech (Reported Speech: Statements) — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Program

Direct and Indirect Speech

We use reported speech (indirect speech) to tell someone what another person said without quoting their exact words.

Direct Speech vs. Indirect Speech

• Direct: He said, ‘I am tired.’
• Indirect: He said that he was tired.

Tense Changes in Reported Speech

When the reporting verb is in the past (said, told, asked), the tenses change:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present simple: ‘I play’	Past simple: He said he played.
Present continuous: ‘I am playing’	Past continuous: He said he was playing.
Past simple: ‘I played’	Past perfect: He said he had played.
Present perfect: ‘I have played’	Past perfect: He said he had played.
Will: ‘I will play’	Would: He said he would play.
Can: ‘I can play’	Could: He said he could play.
Must: ‘I must go’	Had to: He said he had to go.

Pronoun Changes

• I → he/she
• me → him/her
• my → his/her
• we → they
• you → I/he/she/they (depending on context)

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

Examples

• Direct: ‘I live in Algiers,’ she said. → Indirect: She said that she lived in Algiers.
• Direct: ‘I will come tomorrow,’ he said. → Indirect: He said that he would come the next day.
• Direct: ‘I have finished my homework,’ said Ahmed. → Indirect: Ahmed said that he had finished his homework.

Exercises

1. Change to reported speech: ‘I am happy,’ said Mona. → Mona said that ___
2. ‘We will visit you tomorrow,’ they said. → They said that ___

دروس مشابهة

• $'English Grammar and Writing — Passive Voice, Relative Clauses, Phrasal Verbs —
• المنظمات غير الحكومية ودورها في المجتمع الدولي — النشأة والمجالات والتأثير — الت
• العين — الإبصار والرؤية — علوم الطبيعة والحياة — السنة الثانية متوسط — المنهاج ا