Reported Speech Rules and Examples

What is the correct indirect speech of 'I get up every morning at seven o'clock'?

What is the correct indirect speech of 'I want to visit my friends this weekend'?

What is the correct indirect speech of 'When are we going to leave'?

What is the correct indirect speech of 'We've lived here for a long time'?

What is the correct indirect speech of 'I may bring someone with me to the party'?

What is the correct indirect speech of 'He must be guilty'?

What is the correct indirect speech of 'Have you finished reading the newspaper'?

What is the correct indirect speech of 'I will help you'?

What is the correct conversion of a sentence into Reported Speech?

Which of the following sentences is in Reported Speech?

What do you do to convert a sentence from Direct Speech to Reported Speech?

Which sentence is in Direct Speech?

What is the purpose of using Reported Speech?

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Reported Speech?

What happens to the verb tense when converting from Direct Speech to Reported Speech?

What is the main difference between Direct Speech and Reported Speech?

Reported Speech Rules

Direct speech to indirect speech
- Change verb tenses (present → past, past → past perfect, etc.)
- Change pronouns (I → he/she, you → he/she, etc.)
- Change time and place expressions (today → that day, here → there, etc.)

Examples of Reported Speech

"I get up every morning at seven o'clock" → He said he got up every morning at seven o'clock.
"I want to visit my friends this weekend" → Tom said he wanted to visit his friends that weekend.
"When are we going to leave?" → She asked me when we were going to leave.
"We've lived here for a long time" → They said they had lived there for a long time.
"I may bring someone with me to the party" → Peter said he might bring someone with him to the party.
"He must be guilty!" → Jack said he must have been guilty.
"Have you finished reading the newspaper?" → He asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.
"I will help you!" → You said you would help me.
"I'm studying English a lot at the moment" → Jerry said he was studying English a lot at that moment.
"How long have you lived here?" → She asked her how long she had lived there.
"I can come tonight" → Susan told me she could come that night.
"I've worked here since I left my last job" → She told me that she had worked there since she had left her last job.
"Why do you want to study Russian?" → Mark asked me why I wanted to study Russian.
"I must get going. Otherwise, I'm going to be late" → He told me he had to get going. Otherwise, he was going to be late.
"I really wish I had bought that new car" → She told me she really wished she had bought that new car.

Practice Exercises

"I travel to exotic places" → Tom said he travels to exotic places.
"I am going to the store" → Susan said that she was going to the store.
"I owned a flower shop" → Linda told me that she had owned a flower shop.

Learn about the rules of converting direct speech to indirect speech, including changing verb tenses, pronouns, and time and place expressions, with examples to illustrate the concepts.