Reported speech
Telling people what others said
- Reported speech tells what someone said — without quotation marks.
- Direct: "I am tired," he said.
- Reported: He said he was tired.
say and tell
- say (that) … — no listener: She said she was busy.
- tell someone (that) … — with a listener: She told me she was busy.
- that can be left out.
Complete with say or tell: He ___ me that he was busy.
“tell” takes a listener (me): “He told me …”. “say” does not.
Tense backshift
- When the reporting verb is past (said, told), the tense moves back one step.
- am / is → was; are → were; will → would; can → could.
- present perfect / past simple → past perfect.
Direct → reported speech
Shift the tense back, change the pronoun, and adjust time words.
Report this: She said, “I will help you.”
After “said”, will moves back to would: “She said she would help me.”
Translate into English: 他说他累了。
Backshift after “said”: is → was: “He said he was tired.”
Pronouns and time words change
- I → he / she, you → me, my → his / her.
- now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day.
In reported speech, does “tomorrow” often change to “the next day”?
Yes — time words shift too: tomorrow → the next day, now → then.
Common mistakes
- ❌ He said me that he was busy. → ✓ He told me… / He said… — tell takes a person, say doesn't.
- ❌ She asked me where did I live. → ✓ …where I lived. — statement order, no did.
- ❌ He said he will come tomorrow. → ✓ …he would come the next day.
Match the direct speech to its reported form.
Backshift: am → was, will → would, can → could.
Report the question: “Are you busy?”
Yes/no questions report with if / whether + statement order.
- say (no listener) / tell + someone.
- Past reporting verb → backshift (is → was, will → would).
- Pronouns and time words change too (tomorrow → the next day).
Think of something a friend said. Report it in one sentence using “said” or “told” (with backshift).
Example: “My friend told me she had passed the exam.”