Grammar / usage: Reported and direct speech
Subtopic: Section D · Grammar
How to structure your answer
Rule: direct speech reports the speaker's exact words inside quotation marks; reported (indirect) speech restates them in a subordinate clause introduced by 'that' (or by 'whether' for yes/no questions). The conversion typically requires three changes — back-shift of tense, shift of pronouns, and shift of time/place adverbs.
Approach: work through the three shifts in order. First, the reporting verb's tense (usually past) pulls the reported verb back. Second, first-person pronouns become third person from the reporter's standpoint. Third, time adverbs ('today' → 'that day', 'tomorrow' → 'the next day') and place adverbs ('here' → 'there') shift to the reporter's standpoint.
What an examiner expects: the rule stated in one sentence; the three shifts applied correctly in worked examples; corrected sentences with changes underlined.
Common pitfalls: (1) forgetting the pronoun shift while remembering the tense shift; (2) using 'that' before questions instead of 'whether/if'; (3) reporting questions with the question word order ('He asked where was she' instead of 'He asked where she was').
Detailed model answer
138 words · target 100 words · 8 min
Rule: Converting direct to reported speech requires three shifts — pronouns (to suit the reporter), tense (back-shift after a past reporting verb), and time/place markers (now → then, here → there, today → that day).
Worked examples: Direct: 'He said, "I am tired."' Reported: 'He said he was tired.' Direct: 'She said, "I will come tomorrow."' Reported: 'She said she would come the next day.'
Quick check:
- Direct: 'I have finished,' she said. Reported: She said she had finished.
- Direct: 'Where do you live?' he asked. Reported: He asked where I lived.
- Direct: 'Don't go,' she said. Reported: She told me not to go.
- Direct: 'I am going home now,' he said. Reported: He said he was going home then.
- Direct: 'Did you call?' she asked. Reported: She asked whether I had called.
What an examiner expects to see
- Rule: indirect speech uses a 'that'-clause and applies three shifts — tense, pronoun, time/place.
- Tense back-shift: 'is' → 'was', 'has' → 'had', 'will' → 'would', 'can' → 'could', 'may' → 'might'.
- Pronouns shift to the reporter's standpoint.
- Time adverbs: 'today' → 'that day', 'tomorrow' → 'the next day', 'yesterday' → 'the previous day', 'now' → 'then'.
- Place adverbs: 'here' → 'there', 'this' → 'that', 'these' → 'those'.
- Reported questions: use 'whether/if' for yes-no questions; use statement word order, not question word order.
- Reported commands: 'tell/ask/order/request someone to + infinitive' ('He told me to leave').
- Universal truths and habitual present do NOT back-shift.
- Reporting verb choice changes nuance — 'said', 'told', 'asked', 'replied', 'admitted', 'explained'.
- Practice sentences for the examinee to convert.
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- Direct: 'He said, "I am busy today."' Indirect: 'He said that he was busy that day.' (tense and adverb shifts.)
- Direct: 'She asked, "Where are you going?"' Indirect: 'She asked where I was going.' (statement word order; no question mark.)
- Direct: 'The officer said, "Submit the form by Friday."' Indirect: 'The officer asked us to submit the form by Friday.' (command → infinitive.)
- Direct: 'The teacher said, "The sun rises in the east."' Indirect: 'The teacher said that the sun rises in the east.' (universal truth — no back-shift.)