When we want to communicate or report what another person has said, there are two ways of doing so: direct speech and indirect or reported speech. In direct speech, what
When we want to communicate or report what another person has said, there are two ways of doing so: direct speech and indirect or reported speech. In direct speech, what the person has said is placed within quotation marks (“…”) and should be word for word, however, when we use indirect or reported speech, the verb tense changes. Below is a table with an explanation of the tense changes in indirect or reported speech.
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| present simple | past simple |
| present continuous | past continuous |
| past simple | past perfect simple |
| past continuous | past perfect continuous |
| present perfect simple | past perfect simple |
| present perfect continuous | past perfect continuous |
| past perfect simple | past perfect simple (*doesn’t change) |
| past perfect continuous | past perfect continuous (*doesn’t change) |
| Modal Verbs | |
| will | would |
| can | could |
| must | had to |
| shall | should |
| may | might/could |
Time expressions also change in indirect or reported speech. Below is a table with an explication of these changes.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| this week/month/year | that week/month/year |
| tomorrow | the next day |
| next week/month/year | the following week/month/year |
| yesterday | the day before or the previous day |
| last week/month/year | the week/month year before or the previous week/month/year |
| now | then/at that moment |
| Other changes | |
| here | there |
