Reported Speech

2nd Year Bac · Unit 7 · Grammar

Learn to report what someone said — statements, questions, and commands — without quoting their exact words.

What is reported speech?

Reported speech (also called indirect speech) lets you tell someone what another person said, without repeating their exact words or using quotation marks. When you report something said in the past, the tense, pronouns, and time expressions usually shift to match the new point of view.

ما هو الكلام المنقول (Reported Speech)؟
الكلام المنقول (يُسمى أيضًا الأسلوب غير المباشر) يتيح لك إخبار شخص بما قاله شخص آخر، دون تكرار كلماته الحرفية أو استخدام علامات التنصيص. عند نقل شيء قيل في الماضي، يتغيّر الزمن والضمائر وتعبيرات الوقت عادةً لتناسب وجهة النظر الجديدة.

Reporting statements — the tense shifts back

When the reporting verb is in the past (said, told), the tense in the reported sentence usually shifts back one step.

Direct speech

“I write poems.” (present simple)

“I am happy.” (present simple)

“I’m looking for my keys.” (present continuous)

“I visited New York last year.” (past simple)

Reported speech

He said that he wrote poems. (past simple)

He said that he was happy.

He said that he was looking for his keys. (past continuous)

He said that he had visited New York the previous year. (past perfect)

💡 Exception

If the reporting verb is in the present tense (“says”, not “said”), there’s no tense change: “I like English,” Alex says → Alex says that she likes English.

Pronouns and time/place expressions also change

Pronouns

I → he/shewe → theymy → his/herour → theirme → him/her

Time and place

today → that daytomorrow → the next dayyesterday → the day beforenow → thenhere → therethis → that

Example

“I saw Maria here yesterday,” Loubna said. → Loubna said that she had seen Maria there the day before.

Reporting questions

Questions follow a different pattern: the word order becomes a normal statement — no inversion, no question mark.

Yes/No questions

reporting verb + if / whether + subject + verb. “Are you hungry?” → She asked if I was hungry.

Wh- questions

reporting verb + wh-word + subject + verb. “What is citizenship?” → He wanted to know what citizenship was.

Modal changes in questions

“Will I be okay?” → He asked the doctor if he would be okay. (will → would)

Reporting commands and requests

Commands and requests use to + base verb — no tense to worry about here.

Example

“Nancy, do the exercise.” → He told Nancy to do the exercise.
“Don’t be late.” → She told him not to be late.

💡 Say vs. tell

Tell always needs a person after it: He told me that… Say does not: He said that… (never “He said me”)

Common mistakes to avoid

⚠️ Watch out

❌ He asked what was citizenship. → ✅ He asked what citizenship was. (no inversion in reported questions)

❌ She said me that she was tired. → ✅ She told me that she was tired. (“say” has no object; “tell” needs one)

❌ He asked if did I like the film. → ✅ He asked if I liked the film. (statement word order, not question word order)

✏️

Your turn — choose the correct reported form

1. “I write poems.” He said that he ___ poems.
2. “Are you hungry?” She asked if I ___ hungry.
3. “What is citizenship?” He wanted to know what citizenship ___.
4. Choose the correct sentence.
5. “Will I be okay?” He asked if he ___ be okay.
6. “Nancy, do the exercise.” He told Nancy ___ the exercise.
7. Choose the correct sentence.
8. “I visited New York last year.” He said he ___ New York the previous year.
9. “I saw Maria here yesterday.” She said she had seen Maria ___ the day before.
10. Choose the correct sentence.
11. “Don’t be late.” She told him ___ late.
12. If the reporting verb is in the present tense, the reported verb ___.